Gen Con 08 Palladium Room!

[ApocalypseZero]

Yeah, I'm getting your hopes up with that title.

I've been in contact with the Gen Con Staff about either renting or obtaining a dedicated room for Palladium to do with as it pleases. Sadly, they can not devulge anymore information at this time, check back with them in Dec./Jan. This is due to space limitation that have crept up at Gen Con 07, and any of you who were there will know what I'm talking about.

I'll continue to work towards this goal, but I know that many looking to register early with Gen Con may feel pressed with deadlines. I am not completely sure about the timetable, but sometime in the next year or two, the RCA Dome will come down once the other stadium is complete. After that, the Convention Center will be expanding to cover the grounds of the old RCA Dome. This may play a factor if it happens this year (new stadium is well underway).

When I know more, I'll let it be known.

[Braden Campbell]

GenCon dates and location?

[Greyaxe]

I'm not near a map, how much farther from Toronto is that than Michigan?

[Xar]

560ish miles, one way

[Spinachcat]

In years past, the GenCon people were very open to the concept of theme rooms IF IF IF you could fill them and it was very hard for new organizations to make the kind of table commitments that would be necessary.

If I knew that there would be a Palladium Room at GenCon, I would make the trek in 2008. In fact, I will throw this out there. If there is an official Palladium Games Room at GenCon 2008, I will run one game per day for the con.

Heck, maybe I'll run a Rifts "Seven Years on Cerebus" mini-arc to promote Rifter Zero. Thurs / Fri / Sat / Sun = 4 games x 4 hrs each that I'd throw in. Hmm...always tempted to run some Splicers or Mechanoids or Wormwood though...

[Xar]

my bad I was thinking off the top of my head from Detroit only.

Actually, CL, I think you answered him correctly. I just went overboard cause I was curious. Indy is lots closer for me; too bad it's a time of year I can't go.

[Greyaxe]

1200 miles round trip, ouch, wonder how much a plane would cost? Ill need to get a passport. and calculate how much money it will cost for gas.... lots to do. only have ..10 months to work it all out.....should be enough time... I wonder what my wife will say... She is usually very supportive, maybe we can go together, but theat is extra cost which makes the frikin long drive more cost effective..... maybe she can stay home and Ill bring don, we can listen to head banging musick the whole time.... better now driving is not only cheeper but fun.. could be good. Ok I think ill go.

[ApocalypseZero]

Sadly, there will be NO Palladium Room at Gen Con. In fact, Gen Con may not have a lot of room at all this year.

Beginning in August, the RCA Dome, which is attached to the Convention Center, is planned to be demolished and the grounds be used to expand the Convention Center. While this is great news, the 2 large rooms once held for CCG Tournaments (Both combined equal about the size of the Exibitors Hall) MAY be closed off and not accessable due to being just outside the field level of the Dome. Not to mention where there was once a large, decently close lot to park in is now the site of a brand new stadium. Yeah, things are going to be crowded and cramped.

But, I will be running 3 games of Rifts at 5 hours each, one on Thurs, Fri, and Sat. My brother will be running 5 games of Robotech: Shadow Cronicles with 2 games on Thurs & Fri and the last on Sun. Now, only need them to be approved.....

[Reelman]

AZ, thanks for all your hard work, it is sometimes frustrating dealing with the GenCon folks and construction is not helping. I have submitted 4 PB events, 2 Rifts, 1 Chaos Earth, and 1 BTS, also waiting on approval. I am planning on offering free demo style games all day Saturday. Anyone else running scheduled events or interested in offering free demos, please let us know. Thanks.

[ApocalypseZero]

I even had the idea of renting a suite or conference room from one of the nearby hotels, either WAY too expensive or the hotels didn't have one at all or available.

[Warwolf]

Anyone else running scheduled events or interested in offering free demos, please let us know. Thanks.

If I knew for sure that I would be there, I'd commit to running stuff in a heartbeat. I probably won't know anything until May, though.

[Spinachcat]

Sadly, there will be NO Palladium Room at Gen Con. In fact, Gen Con may not have a lot of room at all this year.

You can make this happen. Maybe not in 2008, but you can doooo it!

I talked with GenCon a few years back about a 70s-Gaming room which would be devoted to running RPGs that came out 1974-1979 and those versions. A bunch of GMs were interested, but GenCon's requirements to host a room across the days of the con were too much to handle.

Here's my suggestion for the Palladium Not-A-Room. Keep talking to them and do what you can to find out WHO is the doing the table and room assignments for RPGs. Get their email and talk to them about placing Palladium games in a defined section.

The best way to do this would be for you to rally all the Palladium GMs on this site who are going to GenCon. You can add to this list by posting on the GenCon forums so other GMs who may not come here will also heed the call and rally to your banner. Have them submit events and build an email list and game list to present to this WHO at GenCon. Show that you have a block of 40+ events.

Also, talk to Palladium about GenCon support. Sometimes knowing that a company will supply swag will help the WHO get behind the idea of a designated area.

IF IF IF you can get a designated area - even if that means 1/2 a room, then you absolutely and utterly GOTTA GOTTA GOTTA get visuals - posters, banners, etc that proclaim the Palladium territory.

[ApocalypseZero]

I think the point is being lost here a bit.

ALL games are losing room. There may only be HALF a Convention Center open when Gen Con rolls in. So everything would be effected, except maybe the Exhibitor's Hall. I'm not sure what are the space limitations, but things are supposedly tight. On top of that, it is unknown WHO will be running games officially under Gen Con right now or not. I know Reelman submitted games early and still hasn't heard a reply on Accepted or not. I literaly posted my games and my brothers on the last day. Last year, I didn't get approved until A WEEK before the Con.

Gen Con is disorganized and the impending loss of more space is going to cause more disorganization. Last year, GM's were going upwards of 3-4 blocks OUTSIDE of the Center to the place where their games were to be held. This year, who knows. Somehow though, I doubt the new Center's construction will not be as quick as the new Stadium's is. *Holds Rant in Check*

Then there is the whole shadiness of 'How games are selected by Gen Con to be ran at Gen Con' thing that bothers me. *Holds Rant in Check*

[Reelman]

SpinachCat, thanks for the suggestions. Like AZ said the last couple of years and maybe even next year Gen Con is suffering from a severe lack of space due to the construction of the new stadium/convention center. Since we (me, AZ, and Zach) began working with Gen Con, we have suffered from limitations of space almost entirely due to construction. The available space for next year is questionable but I am planning on talking to Derek at Gen Con after he gets this years events finished.

What we really need is commitments from GMs to run enough hours to justify a room or partial room to Gen Con. Also looking for GMs this year to run free demos, Gen Con was pretty good about offering open tables for games last year albeit in off site hotels.

I got an email from Gen Con that my events were accepted for consideration just yesterday.

[ApocalypseZero]

My Rifts games at Gen Con have been approved. My brother's Robotech games are re-submitted due to Gen Con's craptastic system and not clearly defining what they want to see. Hopefully they will be accepted as well.

[ApocalypseZero]

Well, my brothers Shadow Chronicles games have been accepted. That's good news.

But onward to the reply from Gen Con about renting space......

If you are still interested, I can certainly help you get things squared away now. Have you already submitted the events you would like to run?

Rooms are priced based on the number of tables that would be able to fit in them, and the rates are as follows:

· Board & card game tables are $108 per day and $396 for the whole show.

· Tables for miniatures games are $88 per day or $336 for the whole show.

· RPG tables are $200 per day or $672 for the whole weekend.

If you can let me know what size room you’d like to try to secure – and specifically for how long – I can try to see what options we may have for you. To be honest, however, it will be extremely difficult to find much space for you. Things are very, very tight this year.

Thanks,
Derek Guder

So, as I see it, most normal rooms hold 10-15 tables, and if we were to have a room to ourselves it would be 10 Tables times $200= Daily Rate or 10 Tables times $672=Entire Weekend rate. That's a minimum of $2000.00 a day or roughly $7000.00 for the weekend! Hmm.....somehow I just don't even feel like asking Kevin and Co. about this. These prices are rediculous. I could rent a Suite at the Hyatt all weekend for less than that.