With less than four weeks to go, the convention planning is simultaneously heating up to a fever pitch as the weekend schedule takes shape, and cooling into a deceptive lull as the production phase – ordering swag, print materials, finalizing the programs, and so forth – winds to a close. We’ve grown our Game Library, worked with the community to build a game schedule, and worked on features, In the coming weeks we’ll be turning a lot of our attention to boring, operational details… everything from sound equipment to schedules for streaming content to table stands and placards. It’s not sexy, but the details are what really create a quality event and make the experience memorable.
Why is that? Well, I’m glad you asked.
From the very first Tsunami GameDay event in Wichita nearly four years ago, I’ve always planned big. Even then, I treated a small free event like a big deal, with online game registration, live podcasting, in-store savings and prizes. We printed flyers and advertised on social media, via our podcasting network, and on industry forums. It was profoundly satisfying to soak up the excitement, and I’ve striven to keep every GameDay since on a similar level. We even limit them to strictly seasonal events to help retain a sense of anticipation and focus on devoting more resources to each outing.
TsunamiCon is, of course, on a whole new level. From our very beginnings, we’ve always planned the con as a three-day event at a major venue. We partner with local hotels and catering companies, we organize live entertainment and featured events both on-site and extracurricular, and we produce a selection of commemorative swag for attendees to take home, if they so desire. The costs are frankly staggering, and we’ve yet to make a single penny (last year, in fact, we ended a little in the red), but it’s been worth it.
So that being said…. boring operational details, here I come.
Be sure to spread the word, let your friends and family know about the con, and plan for an amazing weekend. We have lots of games on the schedule, a ton of giveaways, some very cool vendors, and some really fun events planned for this year’s convention. And as always, if you have a question that you can’t find an answer to on the website, you can check our FAQ or drop me a line at info@tsunamicon.org.