The New Breathalyzer for Minneapolis Police - Glock 9mm

Since the world will end on 21 Dec 2012, that means tonight at midnight will be the very last New Year’s Event for all of us. So while everyone else is telling you to be safe, I’m telling you to go out with a bang. Drink Jag-Bombs till your puke pukes, and you wake up in a foreign country with a hangover that lasts until the spring thaw.

But don’t drink and drive. Here in Minneapolis, the police have a new breathalyzer – it’s called a Glock 9mm. They just shoot you if they think you’re driving while intoxicated. I don’t even think they get out of their car to do it.

So don’t drive while intoxicated. I wouldn’t want you to miss the end of the world. I hear it will be pretty epic.

OK, too much coolness in one place to be ignored. Avoid this at your peril.

This info all taken from their official press release:

The Bands

Phantom Tails – City Pages Best New Band of 2011, Phantom Tails formed in early 2009 as Orion Treon, Logan Kerkhof, Sergio Hernandez and Dave Dorman naturally came together out of their previous projects. They wield analog synthesizers, fuzz bass, and surf guitar while brandishing electronic drum beats sampled from vintage 808 machines, and sonar whale recordings.

Phantom Tails on Bandcamp
Phantom Tails on Myspace
Phantom Tails on Twitter

Fort Wilson Riot – the Minneapolis- based duo of Amy Hager and Jacob Mullis have no shortness of ambition, having put out two EPs and two full-length records in five years. Amy’s soprano floats over Jacob’s growl and yelp, but there is nothing easily classifiable about the Fort Wilson Riot sound. From the crashing guitars and keys, to the blasting uplift of trumpet and harmonica lines to the dancing thump of electronic drums, Fort Wilson Riot are an energy that grabs hold and takes you on a journey.

fortwilsonriot.com
Fort Wilson Riot on Twitter
Fort Wilson Riot on Facebook

The New EPs

The Armageddon Experience – Phantom Tails are releasing their followup to Songs of the Hunchback Whale called The Armageddon Experience. This new EP contains five new songs:

• Flotsam & Jetsam
• Dressed Wounds
• Onward & Awkward
• Young Rapture
• Glacial Drumlins

These songs don’t stray far from the gritty mix of heavy drum samples, spacey keyboards, and unexpectedly catchy hooks featured on their 2010 debut, Songs of the Hunchback Whale, but go further to establish their ‘deep space doom funk’ sound. The new songs draw from apocalyptic landscapes and natural disasters as depicted in  film and art and then mixed with rhythmically dynamic negative space and Latin polyrhythms. Recorded and mixed by Ross Nueske and mastered by Greg Reierson of Rare Form Mastering.

Generation Complex – Fort Wilson Riot’s new EP, Generation Complex is the band’s fourth record. Here’s the track list:

• For All The Little Things
• The River Song
• The Appendix Song
• Generation Complex Pt. 1 (Diamonds In Your Eyes)
• Generation Complex Pt. 2 (A Night Alone)
• Song for Sympathy

Live versions of “For All The Little Things” and the “Generation Complex” songs were released previously as part of Fort Wilson Riot’s Daytrotter session and all the tunes have been developed and honed through two years of touring. Generation Complex was recorded in borrowed houses and friends’ basements, including Phantom Tails’ home and was mastered by Rob Schlette.

One Vinyl To Pull Them Both Together

Take the two new EPs from these two great bands and put them back-to-back on vinyl, and you get one awesome double-EP. Phantom Tails The Armageddon Experience on one side, and Fort Wilson Riot’s Generation Complex on the other. This natural pairing offers up two sides of the Twin Cities’ best core-shaking, hard-dancing, guitars-and-electronic-drums-driven rock n’ roll in one incredible package.

The “Phantom Riot” Event (and how to get Free Beer!)

The split vinyl will be released at “Phantom Riot”, a double-headliner all-out party at the Triple Rock Social Club on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011. The first 24 fans to buy the vinyl at the show get a free Pabst Blue Ribbon!

WHERE: Triple Rock Social Club
WHEN: 9PM, Saturday, December 3, 2011
HOW MUCH: $5, 21+

“Phantom Riot” is sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon and 89.3 The Current.

The Second Chance

• Dec 5 @ High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
• Dec 6 @ Borg Ward – Milwaukee, WI

For those getting their Fringe on this week, I recommend Michael Merriam’s Darkly Through the Light Waters, Twin Cities Tales.

Michael is a great writer and reader. His performance is a hybrid of an author reading and a minimalist, one-man show where the one man happens to have the script with him on stage.

The three stories Michael presents are short, entertaining and chock-full of magical beings, action and romance. Think True Blood without the vampires.

Here’s a copy of the flier which gives you pricing, schedule and more description:

A Convention for High-Level Author Discussion

The 4th Street Fantasy Convention Conversation describes itself this way:

• a convention for people who are serious about good fantasy and good stories.
• a weekend of high-quality, high-intensity, mind-stretching fun.
• a single track program sized so that everyone can experience the same panels.
• fascinating conversations.
• an opportunity to promote interest and quality in fantasy literature.

I like that they call it a Conversation, not a Convention. The panel programming is structured like a Convention, but the audience is allowed to interact  add, and steer the conversation (under the control of a panel moderator). Some of the best conversation for me was found outside the actual programming, when writers would break into groups between panels, kibitzing in the back room, noshing at nearby venues, assembling in the hotel bar for some social lubrication, or taking over the conference room after hours for a late-night music jam.  The ability to digest and process the info with other authors is great because it allows you to take the high-level theory back to the day-to-day applied practice of writing.

Fourth Street is geared more toward art than craft. The level of discussion is more philosophical and abstract than the discussions we have at MNSpec Writer’s Groups. The topics are heady, and even panel topics that were started simply because “I didn’t like it when author X did this…” end up getting analyzed at a high level that might throw newer authors. With a roomful of experience, intelligence, alcohol and overcompensating introverts, your mileage will definitely vary. You could get moments of non-topic pedantic bullshit, but the results are usually writer-philosophy-Nirvana.

Who-All Was There

It was good to see a respectable turnout of my fellow MNSpec writers: the talented, published (and MODEST, damn him) Michael Merriam, his lovely wife Sherry Merriam, the uber-talented Dana Baird, the lovely and talented and very pregnant Abra Staffin-Wiebe, the cheerful uber-hipster couple Eli Effinger-Weintraub and Leora, and the charming Tracy LaChance. It was comforting to know that we could have taken the conference if we had to (except maybe Elizabeth Bear, she seems like a scrapper) but fortunately it didn’t come to that. It would be great if MNSpec could have an even greater presence at 4th Street in 2012. I was glad to have plenty of people I knew at the convention, because socializing is a major component of the event, and if you have people there whom you know, (or if you’re naturally outgoing and extroverted) I think you’ll get more out of it.

I was forewarned that there is a “country club” feel to the 4th Street convention, and I can tell you this is  is kinda-sorta true. A high percentage of people attending conference have been there before. I would say less than 10% of the group were first time attendees. Overall the regular crowd was friendly and accepting of The New People. There is also the core group that created 4th street called the Scribblies. These are the royalty in the not-so-invisible hierarchy of 4th Street. You don’t have to bow to them, but it’s clear that they run the show.

If the Scribblies are the Royal Court, then the Queen would be Janet Grouchy, the real power behind making 4th street a success. Janet is actually a Momma Duck in Disguise who made sure we were all taken care of over the long weekend. She was my personal caffeine source, keeping me supplied with Diet Coke and Louisiana Coffee for my high-octane needs. Janet was the epitome of Southern Hospitality. She checked on each table personally to make sure our lunches were alright before she sat down herself. Fourth Street is very lucky to have someone like Janet to coordinate this awesome event/resource for writers.

Highlights

Conrad Zero and the Queen of Urban Fantasy, Emma Bull

The #1 highlight of the convention for me was when one of my personal hometown heroes Emma Bull sat down beside me, and we got the chance to chat. For those who don’t know, Emma Bull wrote War for the Oaks in 1987, which is considered to be the book that defined the Urban Fantasy genre, and had a huge impact on my own writing career. I told Emma that her work inspired me greatly, but that she should not feel responsible or guilty for any stories I might publish because of that inspiration. After three days of observing Emma in action, I can tell you she is smart, sparky, fun, and still passionate about writing after almost 25 years. She is living proof that writing will not eventually turn you into Harlan Ellison.

Another personal highlight was during a panel called “Off with ‘is head!” which discussed how, when and why authors might kill off main characters. One audience member was struggling to come up with an example of a character who become immortal, even mythological, by transcending death. I yelled out “Frodo Lives!” The guy looked equal parts confused and annoyed, like I had Tourette’s Syndrome or something. I could just as easily have yelled out “Jesus Christ!” but I figured more of the audience had read The Lord Of The Rings than The Bible. (I’m waiting for the movie myself.) But seriously, I didn’t just make up this phrase. If it has it’s own wikipedia page, it qualifies as pop culture. Good thing I had a +3 Potion of Snub-Resistance on me.

The “Another Panel” is complete genius. If anyone tries to take the discussion off-topic (intentionally or not) people can claim “That’s Another Panel” in which case someone writes it down on a board and the discussion returns to the topic at hand. At the end of the weekend, the last panel is called “Another Panel” where the list of topics is examined for further discussion.

There was so much book/author-name-dropping that it made me feel guilty for not reading more. The good news was that I was able to add a whole slew of fiction books to my amazon wish list. (Thank goodness for free wireless.) and a slew of movies to my Netflix queue. Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore had a handy table at the conference with an assortment of books by the authors in attendance.

I picked up a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and got Scott to sign it. Scott is a great speaker with a great sense of humor and an odd combination of gregariousness and modesty. One of the discussion panel topics was about killing off main characters, which apparently happens in this book. Of course, I immediately had to buy it. Not because a main character dies, but I told Scott that any author willing to take chances like that is going to take chances in other areas too, and that’s the kind of author I want to read.

The best parts of 4th street for any author are information, motivation, and networking. Just talking about writing with writers, and bouncing around so many great ideas made me want to go home and write ten novels. If you’re a writer in the Minnesota/Minneapolis area, you owe it to yourself to attend the 4th Street Fantasy Conversation.

Things I learned at 4th Street Fantasy Conversation 2011

• If you have a clean house, you are not an author.
• If you aren’t a control freak, you aren’t really an author.
• Weight gain in authors is also known as “street cred.”
• Write better.
• Write things you have a passion for.
• Simply because you talk a good talk on a panel doesn’t mean your writing is good.
• Simply because you botch or get trounced on a panel doesn’t mean your writing sucks.
• You’re never going to keep your audience if you worry about keeping your audience.
• The deadline for your Science Fiction manuscript is Fantasy, and the deadline for your Fantasy manuscript is Science Fiction (esp since it involves Time Travel.)

I’ve decided to take part in WordCount’s Blogathon 2011:

The WordCount Blogathon is an annual event that brings together professional writers and anyone else with a blog for the purpose of improving what they do by posting to their respective blogs every day during the month of May.

http://michellerafter.com/the-2011-wordcount-blogathon/

My goals for the blogathon are meager. I was already considering trying to post here more often, and this is a timely opportunity to motivate myself. Plus, it has the added advantages of community-building and SEO. The real challenge is going to be coming up with useful and/or entertaining things to blog about each and every day for the next month.

Looking back over the last seven years of posts here at conradzero.com I noticed a shift away from short, entertaining posts to longer, more informative ones. (Actually, the short posts have been outsourced to twitter and facebook.) For this blogathon, I’m going to try releasing more moderate-sized posts, or perhaps break large posts into a series, while trying to keep the same proportion of entertainment/information. Infotainment? Regardless, I’ll do my best to remain a source of useful information and inspiration for other authors, especially those writing dark fiction.

Today is the last day to sign up, and you have until 11PM Pacific time. Best of luck to all the Blogathon participants!

Update: List of all WordCount Blogathon 2011 participants can be found here.

Yours Darkly,

Tips To Make Any Event More Professional

It’s awesome that there’s enough of a community to pull together themed fashion shows here in Minneapolis and St. Paul.  So far we have Music, Vampire, Zombie, and now Steampunk fashion shows. Most of them are very well done and professional. Some are not.

One show in particular left me disappointed. Truth is, I’d hesitate to call it even semi-professional. And that’s a shame, because with just a tiny bit of consideration and a few keystrokes, it could have been on a par with professional events like Voltage: Fashion Amplified.

I see authors who make the same mistakes and come across as unprofessional with their book readings, signings and other public events. This article suggests simple ways to make any event look and feel more professional. It doesn’t pertain to authors only; any event can be made more professional by implementing these suggestions.

Sharing

One way authors act unprofessional and amateurish is when they are overly-protective of their work.  I once met a guy who said he was writing a book, but wouldn’t tell me what it was about. A person in my writer’s group marked on the rough draft he submitted for an editing critique that it was copyrighted. Seriously.

Events can exhibit the same unprofessional behavior on a larger scale. The steampunk fashion show I attended announced that absolutely no one was to take pictures, and anyone so much as exposing a camera would be roughed up. Meanwhile, there were hordes of “approved” people (Read: friends) running videocameras and snapping pix throughout the show.

Contrast that behavior with Voltage Fashion Amplified, a music/fashion show run by local fashion maven, Anna Lee. Cameras are encouraged. Anna knows that even crappy pix from your cellphone are free publicity. Every single person who takes pix of that event, posts the pix online, and reviews the event on their blogs are contributing to the promotion of the event. Why would you limit free publicity?

I suspect that people who are overprotective of their work are simply afraid that someone else will do it better. If that is your fear, then you shouldn’t release your work to the public. Ever. In any shape or form. Just keep in in your closet until you die, then someone else can get rich off it. (Or more likely, throw it away.)

Give First, Sell Second.

• Having something on hand to sell is nice, but not necessary.
• Having something on hand to give away is necessary.

Most people get this backwards, and treat their event like a Pampered Chef party. “Come to my book reading so you can buy my book!” does not entice anyone but your mother to show up. Tell people what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for you.  Free is the keyword. If your event doesn’t cost anything, say so. Prizes and giveaways are a good incentive. You don’t have to give away gold bricks or vials of unicorn tears. Bookmarks, posters or a drawing for a free (signed) copy of your book will work and they don’t cost much.

If you’re charging admission, you better have something pretty stellar to show. People want a lot for their money.

Recently, Prince held a concert and a “free” copy of his latest CD was included in the ticket price. We know better. The price of admission was raised to offset the cost of the CD and his album sales skyrocketed. Someone put a stop to that behavior, and good thing, because it wasn’t fair to those who already owned the CD. But nothing says authors can’t do something similar, like having the book available right at the door and offer a discount if purchased at the same time as the event cover.

Get a Quality MC

The Master of Ceremonies is the personification of your event – arguably as important than the talent. A hack MC can make even a good event look like its run by hacks. There’s more to being a good MC than just being comfortable in front of an audience, and it’s more than just filling empty space with witty banter.

An example of a great event MC is local hero Bobby Marsden, who runs the Fearless Filmmakers events. Bobby knows how to keep things moving along. He can direct a group of people on stage as easily as he can direct the attention of the audience, all while maintaining a sense of humor. Bobby Marsden knows how to control the event. And when he doesn’t, he knows how to maintain appearance of control over the event.  Things go wrong. The next act isn’t ready. The projector is broken. The microphone is cutting out. I’ve seen Bobby deal with all this in style, and most of the time, the audience doesn’t even realize something is wrong.

If the MC doesn’t have control, the audience will try to ‘help.’ NOTHING makes your show look like it was put on by a bunch of fanboyz than a bunch of fanboyz who hijack the show from an inept MC.

Be careful when your MC is also appearing in the show as an act. You might argue that the Oscars, Saturday Night Live and the Teen Choice Awards have announcers and presenters whom also take part in the show. The difference is that they are famous.  If you can get Lady Gaga to MC your show, then by all means have her on as a musical guest too. Having your cousin Tim act as MC is fine, but when he shows up later as a musical guest, it looks cheap.

Don’t Hide Your Event

It should be obvious, but if you want people to find your event, posting fliers all over town is optional. Posting the event info online is not. And I don’t mean  just the Date, Time and Place. People need to know if there is a cover charge, how long will the event last, and if there are age limitations. Most importantly, if the content of your event isn’t obvious from the title then you need to give a description of the event, ideally one that entices people to go.

It’s not good enough to list the event info on your blog. No one reads your blog. I know, because no one reads mine either. You need to put the info where people will go looking for it.

• Start with the venue website.
• Local media – Here in Minneapolis, the must-haves are vita.mn and city pages.com, but don’t overlook the MN Daily website, the Rake, Metromix.com and others.
• Specialty websites for your type of event. For example Dark Twin Cities.com loves to list local events with some dark flair. Jambase and Eventful list music events.
• If you didn’t think of social media like facebook, myspace and twitter, et al. then you should have someone else promote your events for you.
• Fine, go ahead and put it on your blog too. It’ll make you feel better.

You’re probably laughing right now. “Zero, have you been smoking grickle-grass with the Lorax? Everybody knows you have to list your events online!”

Um, actually, they don’t. When searching online for the steampunk fashion show, all I could find was an abstract event name which had more to do with porn stars than steampunk fashion. I ended up getting a tiny bit of info from one of the fashion designers for the show, and I totally took a chance even going. Most people would have given up. Actually, most people would never have found out in the first place. Perhaps the people holding the event didn’t want others to attend? Was it pseudo-members-only? That’s the feeling I got, which brings me to my next point.

Don’t Exclude your Audience

Add up the above suggestions and you’ll arrive at a larger truth about events. Be inclusive. Not exclusive. Cliques are for kids. No one’s going to have good things to say about your event if they feel snubbed. In fact, they’ll probably write a blog post just like this one.

If you’re a first-time visitor to Goth Prom, Renn Fest, Voltage: Fashion Amplified, the Zombie Pub Crawl, and other artistic events in the Minneapolis area, you’ll be welcomed, hit on, and have fake blood puked on you like everyone else. That’s the kind of experience that makes you want to not only come back again next year, but invite more people.

Planning

I shouldn’t have to say this, but have a schedule. Stick to it as close as you can, but be prepared to be flexible when things go wrong.

Team Up

OK, maybe you aren’t a big deal. Maybe the only crowd you can draw is your mother, and that’s because you live with her and will be driving her to the event yourself. If so, you might consider adding to the talent pool. A little cross-promotion can go a long way. Get your author friends involved and make a bigger event out of it. Get local vendors involved. God forbid if you can make the event big enough you might get some sponsors interested.

Summary

Is there anything wrong with a writer booking a venue and ignoring these thoughtful tips? Of course not. As long as they’re happy with just their friends showing up. In which case, they’d be money ahead to hold the event in their parents garage, then they can have full control of the event and keep all the money for themselves instead of splitting it with the venue.

But if you want to run a pro event that will grow over time, you have to include your audience. Make sure they know how fun and value-added your event is. Have a schedule and make sure your MC can manage the crowd in case things go wrong. Make your event findable online. These things separate the pros from a bunch of kids screwing around.

Did I miss anything? Any other event-behaviors that irk you or make the event less-than-professional? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Great Minnesota Geek Together

Yesterday I attended the Minneapolis St. Paul WordCamp 2010. A collection of people who embrace WordPress as their blog platform and/or CMS of choice came together to celebrate a fantastic open-source software package and explore its possibilities.

At the Customizing WordPress class, Josh Byers gave the audience this geek test:

• How many people know what this picture is?
• Raise your hand if you saw the movies Lord of the Rings
• Keep your hand up if you read the books.
• Keep your hand up if you bought the DVD?
• Extended Edition?
• How many of you bought the first edition and then were pissed off because you had to buy the extended edition?

He pointed at the few hands still remaining in the air. “These people,” he said, “are the real geeks. Go to them if you need help with WordPress.”

After a miserably cold slog through the heaviest snowflakes I’d ever experienced, and a Bruegger’s Bagel sandwich that was so bland it made the snowflakes seem tasty,  I arrived at the luxurious Best Buy Headquarters. After loading up on t-shirts, stickers and even a pint glass from the nice folks at iphouse, I killed off a Saturday with seminars on everything from coding plugins and themes to custom post types and e-commerce.  Lunch was catered by Buca.

Things I Learned At WordCamp 2010

Heres a list of facts I took away from a day’s worth of seminars and carousing with WordPress users.

Content Trumps Design

The truth is that all blogs look the same in Google Reader. If your blog has useful info, it doesn’t really matter if you use grey text on grey background with grey shading and grey graphics that look like they were made by your cat.

Leave WordPress.com

Your site living on WordPress.com is like you living in your mom’s basement. Its a great place to start from. It’s free, and lots of things are taken care of for you. But you can’t change anything, and the only traffic is housewives attending your mom’s Pampered Chef parties. If all you’re doing is blogging about yourself and writing snarky movie reviews, then wordpress.com is perfect for you. But you have no plugins, and no control over (or revenue from) the ads on your site.

If you’re serious, if you want people to take your website seriously, and you want to get more quality traffic, then you have to move out of mom’s basement.  Register a domain name. Get a web host provider. Install a theme that doesn’t come pre-installed with WordPress, slap a logo on it, and you’re in a suburban house with a white picket fence. Lovely.

WordPress Themes Rock

If you want the Frank Lloyd Wright of website homes, then you have do some customization, write some code yourself or pay for a premium theme.  I did all three. Vivathemes.com provided the current theme here at conradzero.com. I bought a theme with a framework I liked, and then customized it to make it my own. I won’t lie to you. It takes time and/or money to install, customize and upkeep a custom template. It’s a business expense like the sign on the front or your building that shows the world you’re not just some fanboy.

WordPress Plugins Rock

Plugins extend the functionality of the standard WordPress software. I run several plugins here at conradzero.com:

• Akismet is a necessity if you enable comments. It blocks comment spam the same way that gmail blocks e-mail spam.
• Google Analytics for WordPress is a necessity if you want to know where your traffic comes from (and you do.)
• The Sociable Plugin adds all the different social media icons to the bottom of each post.
• WP Facebook Like adds the “Like” button at the bottom of each page and post.

Themightymo.com listed several other plugins that add zing pow zam to your website. If you really want to try out some website bending plugins, try out buddypress which turns your site into a multi-user social media site, e-commerce which turns your site into a fully functional store, or RPX, which integrates Facebook, Twitter and other social media functionality to your website.

SEO = WTF

Actually that’s not entirely true. I didn’t attend any of the SEO seminars, mostly because I’ve read enough about SEO that I could give a seminar on it myself. The simple truth is that content wins, and if you have quality consistent content, and links to other quality content, you already have all the SEO you’ll ever need.

WordPress Users Use Macs

Hey don’t shoot the messenger, but the number of macs at MSP WordCamp 2010 far outnumbered Dells and HPs combined.

In Summation

MSP WordCamp 2010 was a mixed bag, but overall a big success for me. Some people are better coders than presenters, and some people are more interested in giving a sales pitch than a how-to seminar, but in the end I got way more than my $30 registration fee. There was even a tech booth with WordPress gurus who could help you with problems on your live website!

If you’re interested in learning more about WordPress, WordCamp is a great value. Keep an eye out for the next WordCamp, or follow WordCampMSP on Facebook.

The Arkham Nights Convention in Roseville, MN

I’d tried to play Arkham Horror once before, and the game host was hoping to figure out the rules on the fly. Unfortunately, the rules for Arkham Horror would drive the sanest of people barking mad, so needless to say, Cthulhu was victorious on that day.

So when I heard about Arkham Nights at Fantasy Flight Games in Roseville, MN, I figured I would have to be insane to pass it up. The part-gaming-conference, part-product-placement event offered people the chance to sign up for all the different variations and expansions of Arkham Horror, as well as the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, and the Call of Cthulhu card game, and a board game called Mansions of Madness that hasn’t even been released yet. Some of the games were being run by the game designers themselves. There was also a panel discussion with the game designers and a costume contest.

Friday I attended “How To Play Arkham Horror”  (See if you can find me in this pic.) On Saturday I played the Call of Cthulhu role playing game with one of the Fantasy Flight game designers.

Review of the Arkham Horror Board Game

For those who haven’t played it, Arkham Horror is preposterously complicated. In fact, if it bears any semblance to the struggle we’ll have to go through when Cthulhu finally does awaken…we’re fucked.

That said, the game is also preposterously fun to play. All players work together to kill monsters, close gates to strange dimensions with bad geometry, and at best, just keep the peace until the Ancient One hits the snooze button and goes back to sleep. If you’ve never played before, it’s good to have a moderator there to hold your hand, answer rules questions and give you sage advice. By the end of the game (5 hours, and we did win btw. Take THAT Elder Wimp!) the five of us noobs could have run a game without a moderator.

Review of the Arkham Nights Gaming Event

Facilities

The facilities were really nice, and just the right size for the over hundred people who showed up. I understand you can rent out table space and there are rooms in the back for those who want to run their campaign against the ancient ones in secret. Fantasy Flight Games offers a membership that provides discounts on game rental and table/room use. Yes, you can rent the games to play right there at the facility. And if you’re planning on actually getting into games like Warhammer 40K you’d be foolish to pass up that member’s discount. Just the core rulebook will set you back $75. But casual gamers won’t balk at the few bucks it costs to rent space for gaming.

No outside food is allowed, but there is a local pizza place that they will allow delivery. Pop, chips and other snacks are available in the facility.

Price

Asking people to pay twenty five bucks to play games you’re trying to sell them is steep. For the price of three people going to this event, you coulda pooled your cash, bought the game and figured it out over the course of several years. And $25 was the pre-registration price – the door admission was more. The real value in the Arkham Nights convention was the ability to play all the variations of the game, with all the expansions, (some of which are as expensive as the core game.) You also got to play with the game designers and with other enthusiastic fans of Lovecraftian Mythos. I’d say $25 was… almost worth it.

Conventions like Minnecon and Convergence charge  more than $25, but the offer way more content. Fantasy Flight Games could have offered a ten dollar Fantasy Flight Games  gift certificate with each paid registration, free membership, or better yet, knocked ten bucks off the admission price.

Programming

The discussion with the game designers and the costume contests were a nice touch, but really there could have been a lot more depth to this event. Focusing on the mythos of HP Lovecraft instead of the games (only) offered by Fantasy Flight would have made this a better event. How about a table for a local book vendor with a selection of Lovecraft’s books? How about local artists Lovecraft-inspired works? How about panels/discussions of the Chtulhu mythos? How about other vendors besides Fantasy Flight Games?

A convention with these things would pull in hundreds if not thousands of interested fans, instead of the hundred or so people who attended.  Perhaps they are building up to that. If so, this was a good start.

Scheduling

Strangely, the event organizers waited until the doors opened for people to register for game slots. This means people who showed up at the door had the same chance as someone who pre-registered to get in on the limited games. I was one of the first people in line and signed up at 6:10 for a game that started at 6:00. As you probably guessed, several games filled immediately, and other scheduled games had no one sign up for them.

Not cool.

The event coordinators should have taken game-slot registrations as people signed up. Then, the supply of available games would have been in-line with the demand of people who wanted to play them. Forcing people to fit into their ‘schedule’ didn’t really work. For example, I wanted to try out the Cthulhu card game, but Sunday was the only day I had available for it. There was only ONE Cthulhu card game on Sunday, which booked up immediately. As a person who pre-registered and paid a more-than-modest admission price, I was disappointed.

Hopefully, the administrators of Arkham Nights will take what they’ve learned from this event and use it to make future iterations of Arkham Nights even better. By offering a little more for a little less, and fixing the scheduling issues, Arkham Nights could really take off and become something to look forward to each year.

My magic 8-Ball tells me that there will be a Steampunk Themed Burlesque and Fashion Show at Station 4 in St. Paul, MN on Wed, 14 July 2010.

There are very few facts to back this prediction up. The listing at Station-4′s website only shows Abby Rhodes’ Psychedelic Spectacle starts at 8PM.Vita.mn agrees.

I suggest you pay attention around 10:15 to catch the fashion portion of the show, but if the 8-ball is correct, there should be plenty of steampunk a go-go to feast your goggles on.

If you know something about this event that the 8-Ball doesn’t, please drop it in the comments.

Yours Darkly,
-Zero

Not sure if anyone told the Phantom Tails that there is no such thing as a Hunchback Whale, but then again, there’s no such thing as a Phantom Tail either.  (Then again, how would you know whether you had a phantom tail or not?)

You can decide for yourself on July 6, 2010 when their CD Sounds of the Hunchback Whale lands in stores.

Then, on Friday, 9 July 2010 the Phantom Tails take the stage at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis, MN for their CD Release Party.

If you can’t wait, just drop in on the Phantom Tails MySpace page and give a listen to some mid-fi, electronic-spiced, grungy-guitar goodness. There’s also some Phantom Tails stuff on youtube.

• Phantom Tails on MySpace
• Phantom Tails on Twitter