[HoE] [CON] My GenCon Complaints

["Bertman" <bert@mail.ahc.umn.edu>]

Introduction:
Well, now that I've fully decompressed from my GenCon experience, I thought
I'd write yet another review of GenCon.  However, unlike other reviews, this
post will be dedicated to complaints and suggestions for improvements. This
is, I think, my sixth GenCon.  Although I found it enjoyable, it was still
tainted by the poor job that Andon did, and I am not alone in this
assessment. Last year, I had to laugh when I read the WotC hired Andon
because they were professionals.  It was the most disorganized GenCon that I
had attended.  I cut them some slack because it was their first time and we
were in the new Midwest Express Center.  There were so many complaints last
year that I fully expected a much more "professional" event after all the
feedback that they got.

Pre-Registration:
Frankly, I don't see why Andon can't do real-time registration.  Most
universities now have web based real-time registration for classes.  Even
non-web registration (through non-web internet, phone, etc.) have become
real time.  You immediately know whether or not a slot is open or closed.  I
find Andon's claim to mail out confirmation letters in a week to be false.
My first one took 15 days to get back.  My second one was a little better
and only took 12 days.  If they went to online real-time registration (or
phone real-time), they would save a bundle on postage.

Another gripe about registration is the poor treatment of Canadians.  I met
a bunch of them who NEVER got their pre-registration book.  They requested
the book through e-mail, phone, and letters, yet they never got it.  They
had to register for events without knowing more details of the session. I
don't know if Andon was skimping on the postage or what, but this is clearly
unacceptable.

Speaking of the pre-registration book, I have another complaint.  They
should have listed the events by type and games, not just by time slots.  I
had to go through the time by time listing several times before I found all
the game sessions that I was interested in.

On-Site Registration:
Last year, I believe that you could only sign up for events 16 hours in
advance of the session.  This year, it changed to 23 hours in advance. I saw
a number of people asking about events that were more than 23 hours in
advance.  They just wanted to know if the session was still open or not.
Some of the operators were helpful while others simply would not help people
out.  This kind of inconsistent behavior really ticks people off.

At times, the events registration area was so full that people could not get
refunds in time.  I would strongly suggest a refund only line for people who
want to turn in their tickets for refunds or in exchange for generic
tickets.

Since Arena/Bruce Hall was so far away from the MWEC event registration
lines, I was glad to see an event registration booth in Arena.  However, one
terminal is not enough!

On-Site Book:
I did not find this book to be very useful.  It also contained many errors
and omissions, especially in the maps.  For example, Demonblade, one of the
miniature game companies, had a booth but was not listed.  The book also had
no event descriptions.  You needed the pre-registration book for that.  Then
if you wanted to know of all the game sessions, you need to pick up the
little supplemental book, which I never received when I picked up my badge
and did not even know about until Friday noon.  Thanks, Andon.

Miniature Games:
This year, the miniature games were in Bruce Hall for the most part. Thank
god they moved the miniature games from the Labyrinth of the Arena where it
was last year. Many thanks to everyone who complained last year to Andon.
However, I have a new complaint.  They moved some of the events to the
second floor of MWEC.  This is all fine since it gives miniature games great
exposure; people just passing by could see the miniature gaming, could get
interested, ask questions, etc. However, all miniature event tickets had
Bruce Hall as the location.  Once people got to Bruce Hall (2 blocks away
from MWEC), they were told that their game was in MWEC, and would have to
walk back. Why they can't assign table numbers from the get go is beyond me.
This is poor planning, plain and simple.

RPGA Events:
I am really starting to dislike the RPGA events at GenCon.  I hate the
staging area.  Many first timers have no idea how the staging area works.
It's not clear in the on-site book.  There are far too few volunteers
helping people find their staging area.  Furthermore, if you happen to be
late to get to your staging area because you didn't know how the place
worked, you essentially get screwed.  Since there are multiple sessions
running, the judges show up and take people one a first come first serve
basis.  If you are late, and there are problems with no-show judges, you
have to sit and wait, and wait, and wait.

In one of my sessions, we had THREE no-show judges.  This was handled very
poorly.  The RPGA people didn't know what to do with the last group and had
us sit and wait for nearly 40 minutes past the start time.  Finally, another
volunteer said he would GM the session, even though he had never read the
module.  Thankfully Brandon was a great GM.  He improvised and roleplayed a
great game.  Even so, the session was short by an hour, we didn't finish the
module, and disorganization was expected.  RPGA should have made a decision
to cancel and refund our tickets much earlier instead of making us sit and
stew.

I also really hate where the gaming takes place.  In those little curtain
alcoves that they construct, sound is really bad.  It's also poorly marked.
I saw way too many people leave the staging area being told to go to alcove
XXX by the RPGA people, only to come back a few minutes later cause they
were told the wrong number, wrong direction, or simply could not find it due
to the lack of decent maps.

Speaking of maps in the Arena, where the hell was Chaosium HQ?  The first
two days were a mess as people after people were trying to find it to no
avail.  It was chaos.  I noticed that by Saturday, someone had drawn on the
posted maps where Chaosium was located.  This kind of thing should have been
in the on-site map from the get go.

MWEC Events:
OK, what's deal with the second floor gaming area?  Why can't they number
the tables in a visible way?  Why can't they number the tables in a logical
way?  Why can't they provide a map of the room at the entrance?  Why do we
have to go to each table to see what the number of that table is underneath
all the gaming stuff that was being laid out and covering up the table
number?

Judges:
I met a couple of judges who told me that Andon lost a whole box of judge
badges.  Boy, were the judges happy.  To top it off, Andon didn't have
correct room/table assignments information.  Way to go, Andon!

Exhibit Hall:
Why, oh why, do they only run from 10AM to 6PM?  Increase the time!

I was glad to see the presence of several games that were missing from last
year's GenCon.  Most notable was Steve Jackson Games which had a showing at
the Atlas Games booth, and Dream Pod 9 which had a showing at Alliance Games
booth.  Still, I would love to see the official return of these and many
other smaller companies.  Here's hoping that Andon will apologize and ask
these companies back to GenCon after screwing them over last year.

Hilton:
Currently, the Hyatt is not connected to MWEC.  Maybe that's the reasons
they moved various events to the Hilton.  I would have still preferred the
Hyatt.  Although it would be across Fourth Street, the Hyatt would still be
in between the Arena and MWEC.  To go from Arena, past MWEC, across
Wisconsin Avenue to the Hilton is a long haul, especially if you're gaming
session ended a few minutes late.

Cancellations:
I was amazed at this.  My friend was signed up for a LARP. He goes to the
meeting place.  Bunch of other people are also waiting.  Nothing happens for
15 minutes.  Someone goes and checks.  It's cancelled.  Why the hell would
they not post at the meeting place a simple sign saying that the event was
cancelled?  He goes to get his ticket refunded.  They hassle him because
it's passed the starting time.  You IDIOTS!  It was cancelled!  Give me back
my $#@!* money!

Conclusion:
Looking back on this post, I see that some of my complaints will be fixed
simply because the new building will be up.  But then again, having seen
Andon in action for two GenCons, I'm sure other new problems will keep
cropping up.  Let's hope they fix some of the problems that I've pointed
out.  Although these are my personal gripes, many of them were shared by
various attendees that I had the pleasure and displeasure of meeting.  Quite
a few people were staying for the Sunday, 5PM, end-of-con feedback session.
I'm going to mail my complaints to Andon again, and so should you.

Bertman