For years now, conventions have been the primary arena in which players get together and exchange ideas. CE recently attended the last Orccon in Los Angeles, California, where many hobby personalities were in attendance.

At right, David Nichols (editor of Fire and Movement) sits and ponders the eccentricities of some camera-wielding magazine editors.

Orccon is one of three conventions put on in the Windham Hotel in Los Angeles by Strategicon. The other two are Gateway and Gamex. The next convention in the series is in May on Memorial Day weekend.

In my opinion, the best things about attending these conventions are the camaraderie and the exposure to new products, ideas, and people. It's also a wonderful opportunity to meet our audience face-to-­face. Nothing can beat the direct feedback from customers at these events, and it allows us to demonstrate the enthusiasm we have for games and the gaming industry.

This article is probably starting to sound like a pitch for attendance at these conventions. You're right; it is. Attendance at the last Orccon was good, but we want it to be better.

At risk of stating the obvious, each of us plays games for one paramount reason: it's fun. What's more, nothing can beat an evening spent with friends playing the latest gaming creation from your favorite company. So why, if you already have a group of friends to play with, should you pay thirty bucks to get a three-day convention ticket? The answer is easy, and is essentially the same reason you play games in the first place: it's fun.

A couple games at Orccon.

But more importantly, you'll be attending an event that is relevant to your hobby You'll be surrounded by people who enjoy the hobby as much as you do. Sure some have different gaming tastes, and not everyone gets along; but that really isn't important. By attending you will see games you haven't seen before, play with people you haven't met before, and make friends you wouldn't otherwise have made.

The gaming industry has often been referred to as a brotherhood. Well, like family, you can't pick who the members of the family are; but you can attend the reunions, and that is very much like what these conventions will become to you in time -reunions with people you only see a couple times a year.

But why are we at CE so gung-ho about convention attendance? Because we want to meet you. We want to talk to you about your ideas. We want you to come and see us at our booth, to sit down and play a game with us. We believe that the essence of good gaming is the social interaction of game play and of the friendships that develop as a result. And we want to be a part of that.

Now we realize that not everyone can attend the conventions in Los Angeles, and we cannot attend every convention held everywhere else. But there are little conventions going on all the time, being put on by people dedicated to the same principles we are. Seek them out and attend them.

CE supports every convention that comes to our attention with product donations, and we attend if we can. If you know of a convention being held in your area, have them contact us. It doesn't matter how big they are; we will be more than happy to announce the convention in CE and send product donations that can be given away as prizes.

So if you can, come and visit us in Los Angeles on Memorial Day weekend. We would really like to meet you.

One Small Step Booth at Orccon.
Fox One and Cybernaut in play with shy passerbys.