There are some really outgoing game designers who thrive on making public appearances. That's never been me. Sure, I ran some demos at Gen Con 2003, but I usually shy away from them because I'm not crazy about the public speaking. This changes this weekend.
I've been invited at the last minute as a guest for SpoCon 2008 where I will be sitting on a panel and running some games on Saturday. The panel will be on, of all things, 4th edition. They were very interested in having me on it for a couple reasons. First, I'm published, second, I told them that I'm more interested in what Pathfinder has to offer than 4th edition. So I'll be at that thing talking up Pathfinder while trying not to dwell on the negatives of 4th edition.
They also roped me into running a few games. I'll be running a session of True20 with the Reign of Discordia campaign setting in the morning as well as a couple blocks of the Pathfinder RPG using the Alpha 3 rules in the afternoon and evening. Revenge of the Kobold King should be just the right length to fill the block of time.
If anyone lives in Spokane, come check out the Con. The website is located here: http://www.spocon.us/programming and no, you won't see my name on the web site's guest list because my appearance just came about over the last couple of days, but I'll be there fully immersed in gaming goodness.
Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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There are some really outgoing game designers who thrive on making public appearances. That's never been me. Sure, I ran some demos at Gen Con 2003, but I usually shy away from them because I'm not crazy about the public speaking. This changes this weekend.
Darrin, I am going to be starting my search for Pros for the Gaming Panels at Norwescon 32 very soon....if SpoCon agrees with you, then I'll add you to my list of "potential panelists" in my search.
And that goes for any other game designers, developers, publishers, and freelancers. I don't know how many I'll need/be allowed to have, but it can't hurt to have a longer list. ;-)
While this is cool and all, doesn't this belong in Gamer Life instead of PFRPG?
Also, I hope all that go enjoy themselves. Timothy Zahn is going to be there and well as plenty of other cool guests (like Darrin).
I'm interested. Do me a favor and email me offline. You can reach me at darrin.drader at werecabbages dot com
While this is cool and all, doesn't this belong in Gamer Life instead of PFRPG?
Also, I hope all that go enjoy themselves. Timothy Zahn is going to be there and well as plenty of other cool guests (like Darrin).
I put it here because my time there will be spent promoting Pathfinder, which I find ironic since I haven't yet done any work for Pathfinder. I made sure they knew that I wasn't a Paizo employee or representative before agreeing to all this.
I really hope I get the chance to meet Timothy Zahn. I've been a fan of his for years.
I just got back from the Con and it was very, very interesting to get a wide range of opinions, and also to see who was playing and from what walks of life they were from. The people there were pretty evenly split between the people in their 20's and those who are older. There were lots of greybears in attendance, and I say that as my own beard is beginning to show a little bit of noticeable gray.
I ended up with a couple of kids in my Pathfinder game. One of them was very sold on 4E, while the other one (frankly the one who seemed the more intelligent of the two) absolutely loved Pathfinder. What's more is that his dad, who later took us out to a spendy restaurant and has been a player since OD&D also preferred Pathfinder after he took a good look at it.
I left the two copies of the alpha that I had printed up with the kid's father and another guy who was very interested after playing in the game.
Overall, I'd describe it as a smashing success in terms of balance, playability, and interest. 4E definitely has its converts, but I'm positive that there is a healthy version of people who are far more interested in an improved version of 3.5. The biggest issue I had when talking to people was to get them to understand who Paizo was, why they were significant, and why they should check out the game. If there were some way to increase awareness of the existence of the company and the PFRPG, I think it would be highly successful - assuming that the trends I saw today are consistent across the board, and granted it is always possible that they are not.
Glad to hear it was such a success.