Conventions are hard!
My god, cons are difficult! Taking my TTRPG to cons is 100% vital, but its always an ordeal. I've been making things since I was in middle school and taking them to conventions to share and sell. Comics, games, zines, art. For an introvert like me, showing up at a show (big or small) to present myself and my stuff is really difficult. Will people by nice? Not always. Even really great shows have a few assholes who seem to show up mostly to be difficult or awful to artists, vendors and creators. And some shows have a LOT of this kind of attendee. Is the show run well? Not always. Not even often. Most shows have at least some staff and volunteers who are trying their best and really care. A lot of shows are run by people who have no idea what they're doing, are just trying to make a quick buck, are actively trying to take advantage of guests, volunteers, vendors and creators, or who are only interested in being the king of their own little domain. Will the whole thing be an unpleasant sensory overload that lasts for 9-12+ hours a day with no relief? Usually yes. Will anyone even look at my stuff, let alone buy it? Often no. Its almost always an uphill battle.
Will every single gamer tell you that they'd rather play D&D or PbaA or some fucking World of Darkness thing or just watch Critical Role? Or jus buy dice? Yes. This will be the vast majority of all interactions. So? So why the fuck does anyone do this? Why put yourself through this just to hopefully break even on table and travel expenses? Its vital. For me, its my best tool for actually getting people to try my game. For winning people over. For getting a face to face one on one connection to make my appeal, even if it only lasts 30 seconds. Getting attention online is next to impossible (for me). No one will take a minute to learn anything about my game. Its not a SYSTEM. You can't play it with PbtA or FitD or Poly-whatever or some D20 thing. Its not part of an established movement like OSR. Its not a Morkborg or Mothership thing. So no one wants to look. Its not part of a trend. Its not a solo game. Its not a journaling game. Its not a 1 page game. Its not mech game. Its not horny. You can't fuck the characters. They're 10. So no one looks. That's no ones fault. Getting attention is so hard, but we're all so distracted and tired. And over and over, I hear people tell me they don't have time or energy for something new. So everything I mentioned above, that's a tool other designers and publishers use to get people to look. And that's 100 fine. If it sounds like I'm bitter and complaining (I am both!) it isn't directed at other games or other designers or fans or gamers. Its that we don't have enough time. We're all overwhelmed. We don't have the resources to explore and experiment. We have to play with what can fit within the limits we're forced to live with. So we find something we like based on a system we already know, because then we don't have to spend time learning something new. We stick with a game we already know, because at least our friends will try it. We'll try a horny game, because we were going to be horny some amount of the time anyway. We live within limits and we look for things that fit. (And we're lucky that there are a lot of great things that DO fit!)
And we end up missing a lot of things, because we don't have time to explore. Even online. Even while we're doomscrolling on tumblr we pass right by things because "it looks kind of neat but it's a new system and I've never heard of it so why bother?" The con is the answer. At the con, I can talk to you. You have time. You have 30 seconds, or a minute, or a half hour. You already bough a snack and some dice and you have money left to spend. And maybe you're feeling adventurous!
I can tell you about Yeld (my game). I can give you a real pitch. You can hear it directly form me. You can see how excited I am. You can hold my book in your hands. Oh, its really nice! The binding is good. The paper quality is good. There's so much art! I can show you how it works. I can show you what's exciting about it, what's familiar, and what's different. I can sell you on the idea that playing kids (or a dog) on an amazing adventure is fun. Exciting! No, its not what you're used to. Its different. That's the point. But you loved Avatar, right? You love Owl House. You loved Stranger Things and Naruto and Steven Universe and stories about children who take their future in their own hands as they set out to explore a strange world and stand up to injustice. These are stories of danger and tragedy and hope and darkness, no less BECAUSE they are about young people. No, this isn't personal wish fulfillment and playing a sexier version of yourself. TTRPGs can be other things. There's so much satisfying fun to be had in playing a character who is in the process of discovering who they will become. Of making mistakes and choosing poorly. Of getting lost in a strange and scary world with your friends and struggling to find your place in it. Finding your way home, or choosing to never go back. I'm going off a little. But my point is, I can pitch! I can show you how my game works. I can show you why fights are fun and involving and something to look forward too, while also showing that the game is about more than fighting. I can talk about how Yeld doesn't focus on moment to moment or scene to scene roleplay, but character and relationship development through travel, the passage of time and world building. I can easily show you who complex interlocking systems that are not meant to be obvious work together to create a satisfying gameplay loop that expands session to session as you play. I can convince you that building a narrative together with rotating Game Master rules isn't scary, but exciting and an amazing tool for expression! Doing this online is impossible. No one pays attention. There's too much to see. At a con, I have you. Even if just for 30 seconds. What else? There's so many GOOD reasons to bring my game to cons. I can sell books! Some shows I sell next to nothing. Other shows I sell everything I bring. It balances out over time. More and more often I hear "I saw this online, but didn't know anything about it!" Well, now I can tell you! Now I can put a book in your hand!
I can meet people! New gamers I meet at shows are more likely to become long term fans. More likely to not just buy my game, but actually read it and play it and be excited about it. Fans I meet who already like my game are more likely to continue to be excited. Store owners and con organizers I meet in person are more likely to invite me to events. Its very common for me to leave a con invited to a half dozen other events. A bigger stage: I can do panels, where I get to talk about whatever I want. As introverted as I am, I still regularly host panels and talks about game design, publishing, crowd funding, story telling, working with kids, making weird games, making art for games or just talking about my games. These panels almost always lead to immediate sales at the show. If I'm doing a panel on day 1 I expects a sales boost on day 2. I can run games with the same effect. People who play in my games get to directly experience them, and almost every game I've ever run at a con has resulted in at least 1 long term fan. I get to talk to people directly and show them who I am, what I love and why the thing I made is exciting TO ME. That pays off 80% of the time. That brings people back to my booth, and they leave with a book. I make friends and allies: Other designers, other artists. Stores. Cosplayers. Crafters. Manufacturers. Small publishers. Con staff. Reviewers. Press. Its not just about meeting people, its about building relationships. I don't mean networking. I don't mean sycophantic bullshit. I mean mutualism. I mean seeing what other people are doing, getting excited about it and HELPING them. Do you need to share a table? Do you have some water? Do you want to get lunch? Do you want to join my panel? Do you need someone to watch your booth while you run a game? Do you want to do a bundle together? Can I play your game? Can I see your art? Hey, you're not alone. We do this together. Yes, I'll tell my fans about your game. Yes, I'll check out your podcast. Yes, I'll come play your game. No, I don't have time tonight. I'm exhausted. So I'll find another way to support you. We survive on mutualism. We're not in this alone, and what goes around comes around. I NEED support: I can't... you know, I can't do this alone. Making things is hard. Making art, comics, games... I honestly sometimes feel like its killing me. I wouldn't want to do anything else, but its hard in a deep way that a lot of people don't get. I need community and support and comradeship and inspiration. And I can get that at a con. Even if it doesn't go great. Even if its a disaster. I can commiserate with my peers and I can lick my wounds and I can come home Monday and GET BACK TO WORK. There's always more to be done, and nothing reminds me of how much I LOVE doing this than a con.
My name is J. My game is called The Magical Land of Yeld. You can get it as a book or pdf from my site, DrivethruRPG, itch.io, IPR and Tabletop Bookshelf. Look for me at cons in the Portland area and Pacific Northwest. if you're hosting an event, let me know!
