Building a Game Community and Game Friend Environment

1
Building a Game Community and Game Friend
Environment

• Tips for establishing the physical and social
  space of game community.
• Donald G. Dennis
• Library Game Lab of Syracuse

2
Club and Game Communities

• BMHS Gaming Society
• Players Guild of Central Oklahoma
• NOSFA
• Syracuse Board Gamers
• Syracuse Game Crawl
• OK Gamers

3
Game Support

• Chaosium Tournament Sanctioning
• Chaosium Event Support
• RPGA Regional Director
• Convention Coordinator
• Soonercon
• Psurrealcon
• Thundercon
• Club Game Days

4
Media
Onboardgames.net
Boardgameswithscott.com
5
Professional

• Iron Crown Enterprises
• Brand Manager
• Demo Team Lead
• Production
• Web Master
• Green Knight Publishing
• Line Developer
• Event Manager
• Break Away Ltd.
• Designer

6
Defining the Environment

• Physical
• Space
• Furniture
• Storage
• Décor

• Social
• Community
• Atmosphere
• Synergy
• Resources

7
Part 1 Crafting the Physical Space

• Access Exposure

8
Game Space

• Lighting
• Power
• Internet Access
• Ambient Sound
• Sound Isolation
• Food Beverage

9
Furniture

• Chairs Tables
• Shapes
• Sizes
• Mobility
• Versatility
• Electronic Games Trolleys
• http//www.gaylord.com/

10
Storing Games

• Available
• Visible
• Secure

• Shelving
• StorageHanging BagsSleeves
• Box Bands

11
Décor

• Posters
• Displays
• Game Sculptures
• Games Game Boards
• Puzzles
• Banners
• Cardboard Stand-ups

12
Part 2 Social Gaming Community

• Enthusiasm is contagious, play games to find
  gamers.

13
Web Community

• Calendar
• RSS Feeds
• Forums
• Wiki
• Game Chooser
• Personal Pages
• Ratings
• Collections
• Game blogs

14
Age focus, social group focus

• Youth
• Young adults
• Adults
• Elderly
• Cross Generational

• Encourage participation outside of focus age.
• Be willing to run multiple program tracks, for
  differing ages

15
Build around a Game Focus
But dont count out other games

• Traditional
• Board Games
• Card Games
• Dice Games
• War Mini Games
• Role Playing
• Table top RPGs
• Live Action
• Parlor LARPs
• Live Scale RPGs
• Live Action RPGs

• Electronic
• Arcade
• Handheld
• Console
• Computer
• Stand Alone
• Networked
• Massively Multiplayer
• Collectible Games

16
Gamer Advisories

• Games by theme or mechanics
• Books about games
• Books and comics where characters play games like
  Yugi-oh, Harry Potter, or the True Game
• Game related websites
• Audio and Video Podcasts
• Movies Cloak Dagger, ET, War Games,

• Session Reports
• Reviews
• Game of the month
• Game lists

17
Game Related Books

• Choose Your own Adventures
• Lost World battle books
• Role-playing Games
• Hoyles

• Humor/Comics/ Graphic Novels
• PVP
• Dork Tower
• Knights of the Dinner Table

18
Activities

• Recurring game nights
• Tournaments
• Game club showdown
• Regional championships
• Mini Conventions
• Spotlight on traditional or classic games

• Showcase
• Chess Master
• Game design session
• Speed date/speed games
• Release parties for
• Games
• Related books
• Lock-ins After Hours

19
Advertising

• Conventions
• Game Groups
• Game Stores
• Online Stores
• Game News Sites

• Newspaper Schedule
• Public Radio
• Mailing lists
• Social Networking Sides

20
Part 3 Resources

• Virtual and Physical

21
Area National Clubs

• Benefits of Clubs
• Established social networks
• Existing game related organization structure
• Personal game collections
• Community authority

• Benefits to Clubs
• Always need space
• Regular game nights
• Special events
• Community exposure
• Consistency
• Low pressure environment

22
Game Companies

• Promotional Material
• Posters
• Buttons
• Stickers
• Limited availability components
• Bonus Scenarios
• Rules Clarification
• Demo Teams

• Educational Material
• Seminars
• Lesson Plans
• Skill Development

23
Company Support

• Mayfair Games educational outreach Toledo Lucas
  County Public Library
• Seminars
• Classroom Programs
• Education Doc with common terminology
• Lists of game skills
• Green Ronin Publishing possible tie in with
  licenses
• Looney Labs
• Northstar Games
• ZMan Games
• Knucklebones

24
Conventions

• Multitude of games
• Local clubs in action
• Programming tracks Seminars
• Demo Teams

• Some have free admittance to librarians or other
  educators
• Spread the word
• Free advertising
• Support for programs and literacy
• Advertising Swap

25
Library Game Lab Nexus

• Online portal to connect
• Librarians
• Researchers
• Students
• Gaming industry
• Library vendors
• Individual-focused
• Representatives of organizations
• Not representing an organization
• Library centric resources

26
Board Card Game Resources

• Board Game Geekhttp//boardgamegeek.com
• Board Game Newshttp//boardgamenews.com/
• Knucklebones Magazinehttp//kbones.com
• Online Vendors
• Time Well Spent
• Fun again games

27
Role-playing Game Resources

• The Gaming Report http//www.gamingreport.com/
• RPG Nowhttp//www.rpgnow.com
• Gleemaxhttp//gleemax.com/
• Pyramid Online Magazine

28

• Game Stores
• GAMA Game Manufacturers Association
• GPA Game Publishers Association

29
Electronic Game Resources

• http//gamersinfo.net/
• http//www.ign.com/
• http//www.mobygames.com/
• http//www.gamasutra.com/
• http//www.gamefaqs.com/
• http//gametrailers.com/
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games

30
Conclusions

• The community is as important as the games
  themselves
• There area many free resources to get programs
  started
• There are already people trying to help you meet
  your goals, they just dont know it

31
Questions?

• Donald G. Dennis
• donaldgdennis_at_gmail.com
• http//www.donaldgdennis.com
• http//gamelab.syr.edu