Brainstorming: Gaming Panels

[jducoeur]

I've just found myself as the Gaming Track Manager for next year's Arisia, which means I need to assemble a roster of panels, right quick. I have a moderate pile of suggestions so far, but they're of varying quality, and a bit "clumpy" in terms of subjects, so I'd like more ideas for the mix.

My friends have lots of knowledge of the subject, so: here's a request for a little quick brainstorming of suggestions for panels on the subject of Games, broadly defined -- this includes Board/Card Games, Videogames, Tabletop and Live-Action RPG, Game Culture, etc.

Please focus on topics you would like to attend or talk about, not just notions for their own sake. Not all suggestions will be used, but all are welcomed. "Yes, and" comments about other peoples' suggestions are okay, but please don't shoot down other peoples' ideas. Diversity of viewpoints highly encouraged. Feel free to email or direct-message me if you would prefer to make a suggestion privately.

Thanks!

Comments

[writerkit]

"Here is how you get started in LARPing" on a practical level. I'd really love to see Arisia offer a step-by-step "these are the organizations doing LARP around here, this is what you likely will encounter at your first one, these are common etiquette rules, these are common pitfalls, this is how casting works, here's how you tell if it's good for beginners..." Most beginner classes and panels I see err on assuming basic knowledge because the teachers have been doing it so long that it really is basic knowledge to them. I'd like to see someone skip that and get down to explaining all the tiny little details that make me so nervous about actually going to or signing up for a LARP.

I'm sure someone's already suggested the "sexism/racism in game culture" panel, and you could break that down several ways since the different areas of Game Culture are sexist and racist in different ways, but I'd certainly attend whatever version of it you ran. For that matter, I'd like to see one that branched out from "Gamergate! Internet trolls!", assumed the audience already knows that Game Culture is indeed frequently racist and sexist, and got into the more subtle variations that people are more likely to encounter in their real lives.

[aishabintjamil]

You might get more practical stuff out of the experienced gamers by casting the how to get started panel as something like "10 things I wish I'd known before my first LARP". That might get them to home in on the things that were missed in the introductory explanations.

[jducoeur]

"Here is how you get started in LARPing" on a practical level.

Interesting -- LARP 101 is a perennial topic, but this is a useful spin on it. (As is aishabintjamil's suggested tweak.) I like it.

assumed the audience already knows that Game Culture is indeed frequently racist and sexist, and got into the more subtle variations that people are more likely to encounter in their real lives.

Hmm -- yeah, this might actually be more useful than the more common focus on the really egregious offences.

Thanks!

[tpau]

larp 101 generally gets less attendees then moderators so....