7:00 on Wednesday, April 5th.
Since I can't get online, I'm typing up a little note to share with y'all (and myself) later.
Met Gameprinter. Good guy. Lots of fun to talk to. Just as reasonable and sensible in person as he is online.
Speaking of Gameprinter... Met Jay Cormier of Bamboozle Brothers. I should refer Jay to Gameprinter, since Jay's making the, "self-publish or license," decision right now. I think he's leaning heavily toward self-publishing. To his credit, he's got a nice stable of about 8 to 10 games that are ready to roll, very nice sell sheets, and his pitch is spot-on. We played each others' games in a very public space and drew a nice little crowd. Another great guy and generally fun to hang out with. I'd like to get him on the BGDF – he'd be a great addition and it'll be fun to watch him progress down his chosen path.
Speaking of Jay... Also met John Halko. He's from Bethlehem - my wife's home town. He's also a game designer pitching games to publishers. Didn't get to talk to him much, since I was busy playing my game (Duplexity), then Jay's game (Junkyard - a very clever dexterity-balance game). Seemed pleasant enough. Should invite him to BGDF also.
Met three people from Roving Judges. They're a group of people who play RPGs and board games. Nice folks. I suspect I should follow up with them, but I don't know what with other than, "Nice to meet you." However, one of them is already a Game of the Month subscriber. I wonder if they'd be willing to playtest? I'm sure they'd be good at it.
Met a married couple from Wyoming who are on the verge of opening a game store. They have about $20,000 to start it off with. Their primary advantage in the marketplace is that they'd be the only game in town. Apparently it's a college town with a robust Warhammer 40K community and one one-screen movie theater. They have a line on a 1,000 sq. ft. space for $800 a month, which sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Can't remember their names for the life of me. They're doing their homework, and have their heads on straight. Having been in their shoes (about 15 years ago), I wish them the best of luck.
Marcelo - my game/talent agent - is a dynamo of power and energy. (Note to self: Remember to ask him for the Apotheosis MP3.) I have appointments today with Playroom and Bucephalus, and am likely to get time with Atlas Games; Marcelo was very impressed with the Brazilian sketches. Dude knows frikkin' everybody.
Speaking of Bucephalus... Met one of the Bucephalus dudes. Can't remember his name either, but it was short. The point: He has a lot of the same interests as me, in terms of college degrees. However, he's been able to travel - and lots of it. Totally hardcore. Was in Beijing for two weeks for the Olympics, has aspirations to go to Egypt, and so on. I'm sure he has a gajillion stories.
Met dude who is here as rep. for KublaCon. Very fun and sociable guy.
May go out dancing later tonight at the Bellagio across the street later tonight. We'll see what happens.
Have not been able to get GAMA's WiFi to work yet. Very disappointing. In-room wired internet access is $14.00 per day. Also disappointing. South tower room very spacious for $280 total. Bally's in-hotel eateries not very affordable, but what can you do (other than starve)? View of the strip from 72nd story room is stupendous. Took pictures with my phone's (not very good) camera, which I'll likely put online for y'all. It faces down the Strip towards the Luxor. Paris' Tour de Eiffel Deux features prominently, and I can see about half of the Bellagio's dancing fountain.
Speaking of expensive food... Ate at the Bellagio's buffet last night with Aaron and Scotty, and their fulfillment service partners at Studio 2. I don't eat a lot, so buffets aren't a good deal for me. $30 for a buffet is even less good for me. That said, the buffet was pretty pleasant. I took it easy, had tiny portions of a lot of things, and had a good time. The food I ate wasn't worth $30, but the dining company was worth it. Without them, I'd've eaten by myself and felt awfully adrift and lonely.
Speaking of lonely... The only thing that'd make this better is if Sharon were here to share it. Even so, this was, is, and will be worth it.
Now it's time to shower and get all spiffed up in my nice-nice clothes, find some grub to eat, and see if I can't get on their Wi-Fi network. I came thiiiiis close to using the in-room connection, but I have an idea for how to force GAMA's Wi-Fi to work.
Life is good.
