July 2021 - Summer Conventions, Panels, & More!
Happy July!
Here’s what’s going on in the IGDN this coming month!
5 Questions with Matthew Orr
For those of you who are unaware, Matthew is the IGDN’s Convention Coordinator, a complicated gig in (this, the year of our lord) 2021. With GenCon and Origins right around the corner, Matthew’s been working tirelessly to make sure the IGDN is represented both online and in-person.
What is your role as Convention Coordinator and what conventions have you coordinated for the IGDN to take part in this summer?
In short, the role is handling all the details that make going to cons possible. From applying for our booth, to registering hotel rooms, to deciding how to break down costs, to driving the truck full of our products to the con on the set-up day. Honestly, the ConCoord role is a lot bigger than I realized. Infinite hat-tips to my predecessor, Pete Petrusha, who did the job for three con seasons. It’s one thing to say “sure, I’ll organize cons”, but quite another to be the one who actually has to track down dates on convention websites, and send the emails out to members, and accept deliveries of boxes of shiny new games, and then live with those boxes stacked around my front room. I’m changing that last step, at least, and soon we will be able to ship direct to our storage unit.
Given this was always going to be a year of uncertainly, with reduced capacity cons and ongoing pandemic concerns, I decided early on IGDN would only attend our three biggest cons this year. With the adjusted dates that’s GenCon in mid-September, Origins at the start of October and PAX Unplugged in December.
Since GenCon is first up, how will the IGDN be present at GenCon this year, both in-person and virtually?
For in-person, we have the same size booth as we had in 2019, 10x40 feet – we should be in the same spot too, right in the middle of row 1. We’ve got about 60 different products in the booth this year. There’s still time for others to buy in as well (cutoff is the end of August). I love that we have long-term members still taking part with their games, as well as plenty of new members who are getting their first chance to show off their games in the booth.
We will also have a game room. We have 84 events registered. There are old favorites, several classic indie systems, and even games still being play-tested, so they there should be something for everyone’s taste.
Online is less-developed as of right now. We will be have a digital booth accessible through the Looking Glass, just like last year, but no one has signed up to run any online events. The window to sign up to run an online event is open until 17 July. The event submission form went out via email, it’s also on Discord, or just contact me.
How can folks who will be attending the convention in person take part in IGDN events and activities?
If you are going to GenCon this year and want to play some games from your peers, by all means sign up to play games in the game room. There are also openings to run games in the game room. Response from our pool of non-member volunteer GMs has been sluggish, so if you want to earn a badge as a GM, let me know. If you just want to say hello, please come by the booth and say hello! Take a picture of your product on the shelf, tell your fans to meet you there. This year Alex, our Membership Coordinator will also be at the booth throughout the con, so if you have any questions for him or want to bring a friend around to hear about IGDN membership, that’s what he’s there for.
Also, there will be the IGDN Social [Get these details from Alex].
How can members who aren't able to travel yet get involved?
As I mentioned, the sign-up window for running online events is open for a couple more weeks. There will certainly also be plenty of non-IGDN games to play, if you just want to play some games online. A date for registration of online events hasn’t been set yet.
The Indie Groundbreaker Awards will be live streamed again this year so watch for the announcement of that. [That’s not really a GenCon event, but it traditionally has been. Again, get the details from Alex.]
What are you most excited about as tabletop gaming conventions return?
A lot of the really big companies have decided not to attend as many cons this year. With some of the larger companies missing, it should be a great year of the medium-sized operations like IGDN to really stand out. We have a lot of wonderful new games releases this year that deserve to have as many eyes on them as possible. I really excited for the mix of types of games we’ll have. We have plenty of book-based RPGs and zines like Wannabe Games’ Moonpunk, Good Strong Hands from Nerdburger Games, and Buried Key’s Lost Road. At the same time, Imagining Games is going all out for Rest in Pieces - a block tower-based RPG – with custom block towers and Grim Reaper plushies. Fraggin’ Unicorn will be showing off Gangs of the Undercity, their fantasy cyberpunk miniatures skirmish game. IGDN has never had a miniatures game like that before, so I am hopeful it brings new eyes to the booth. Taken together, we have a strong mix of games this year to really show off all it can mean to be “indie.”
If you have any questions about getting involved, you can contact Matthew at conventions(at)igdnonline(dot)com. Matthew is also the Creative Director of Wet Ink Games.
Summer Marketing Series!
There’s not a way to do marketing wrong, but there is a way to do it right. And — as a game designer, a storyteller, and a weaver of worlds — you are among the most qualified people in the world to do it!
This July, join IGDN for our Summer Marketing Series! We’ve gathered together experienced marketing experts from the game industry who can teach you the best ways to market your upcoming, new, or existing project.
Check out the schedule below to see which speakers and panels you might be interested in, and then click the link to sign up! We do have plenty of space for IGDN members, but this will be made open to the general public, as well, so if there’s anything you’re really interested in, you may want to sign up sooner rather than later.
Fill out the form here to mark your interest and book a seat in any of these talks.
The idea for this summer series came from IGDN Member, Simon McEntire. If you have ideas for fun new initiatives for the IGDN get in touch with leadership! We are here for you!
Events & Social Calendar
Upcoming Conventions
Sept 16-19: GenCon
Sept 30-Oct 3: Origins Game Fair
Dec 10-12: Pax Unplugged
Summer Marketing Series - pre-register here
July 11th @ 1pm EST: Twitching for Attention with Ryan Omega
July 13th @ 7pm EST: The Keys to Kickstarter with Anya Combs
July 18th @ 2pm EST: Selling your Games with Stories with Simon McEntire
July 18th @ 6pm EST: Marketing your Creative Project on the Internet, a panel
July 25th @ 1pm EST: Building Roots: Organic Growth on Twitch & Twitter with Mitchell Wallace
July 27th @ 7pm EST: Metagaming your Kickstarter with Brenna Noonan
If you have items to include in this newsletter next month, fill out this form! If you have suggestions or you’d be interested in helping curate this newsletter, email marketing(at)igdnonline(dot)com.
Thanks for reading! May all your rolls be natural twenties.