Phoenix Comicon planning

I wanted it to be a huge showing. I knew so many people involved in the show itself and that would be attending. This is my home base. To not do well would be like a politician losing their home state – not good, not good at all! This is the crowd that should want to support me, and that I want to do well by! I knew the layout and how things worked – so I should do well here of all places. Further, when I setup for having games at Phoenix Comicon, the plan was to do the Kickstarter within a week after. So I put my attention on doing well.

About six weeks before PHXCC, I realized I was TOO busy with things to complete a prototype of my Dungeon Break, I had to contact the gaming director and tell her I needed that modified. We went from five to four games on the schedule. It literally made me cry. I hate not following through on a thing. I wanted to have all five games done, and I absolutely love that one, but haven’t been able to finish the development of it. If I had done it, it would have consumed the whole month before Phoenix Comicon (and in my brain the Kickstarter) so had to set it aside. Even my GMs were sad, but understood.

I was very focused on the Kickstarter too, and set the 3 upcoming convention plans aside. For the pending KS, I was trying to update Battle Gnomes and promote it in other avenues, mostly online. I was also researching and reading dozens of articles on best practices for both a Kickstarter and game design. That had been a thing since the start, but as I grew anxious I read more. I did get lost in all the things I was doing from setting up events outside of this one, training GMs on the games, editing Battle Gnomes, reaching out to various reviewers and trying to get someone to bite the line, along with several little things.

For various reasons, on May 11^th I decided to postpone the Kickstarter. It made me very sad to make that decision also, but, I had to do what was best in the long run. People call me impatient because I want to move forward to being done, and I want the success NOW, and I want to publish and do the things… but, I’m just trying to avoid taking too long. People who take too long I want to get a move on things. I also want to do that strategically. I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot by moving too quickly, without enough marketing.

Alright, down to four games, one month until Phoenix Comicon, no Kickstarter, but two other out of state conventions prior to PHXCC in three weeks. At this time, I was focused on gathering my GMs to teach them the games, that was something we would do for several hours on several days. I also went ahead and updated all four of the games, cleaned them up for any changes I could make before the event. I brainstormed, with the help of my team, different items to bring to the conventions. I wanted ALL THE ITEMS. I looked at every type of promotional item, scoured the websites. I was looking at bags, fans, toys, bracelets, necklaces, shirts, pens, and everything else! However, my support team reminded me that MAYBE it wasn’t ALL necessary. So I decided to think more critically about what was actually needed. I decided matching shirts, lanyards, and buttons specific to my GMs was a fun idea. I knew they’d like it, and they would look professional. For people playing the games, chapstick, ribbons and buttons were sufficient. Big buttons with fun text and ribbons that promote the games and company. The chapstick was just fun, especially in the hottest state of the U.S. It had a cute little gnome on it.

I also wanted the table to stand out. My sister prepared two standing banners for me, and I decided we needed table signs to be seen. Also, I wanted a unique table cloth so I just grabbed some cheap, green fabric. I wanted to do posters, but decided it wouldn’t be worth the cost for a one time show and they aren’t always easy to reuse. So, I nixed it. Two banners, table stands, and tall signs that show what games are being played at those locations. Along with ribbons and buttons. That was my signage, and I was hoping it would be enough. It had everything that we could need, I was just hoping it would feel “full.” Like we brought a good showing. We were ready. I knew if it didn’t look GREAT that I would leave the site and get things to really spruce it up! However, that wasn’t even close to being an issue. Our showing was as good as it possibly could be, and I didn’t spend extra money on unnecessary things. The prep worked, 4 games worked, and the team did well. More on that in the Phoenix Comicon blog.