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Southern Arizona Gamemaster's Conference

Jul 25
Sat 11:30 AM
Location
Eckstrom-Columbus Branch Library

4350 E 22nd St
Tucson, AZ 85711
520-594-5285

How to find us
"We will be in the conference room on the left side as you enter"

Estimated attendance
 32  people attended.
5.00 5.0014

Who organized?
Jason Corley and Jim (Black T-Shirt Man)

SAGA welcomes all gamemasters, new and old, to the first-ever Gamemaster's Conference. Whether you are just getting started or are highly experienced, whether you prefer your game loaded with story and cinema or challenges and tactics, you have something to share and still have things to learn. This is your chance to learn from the best and contribute to them too!

Admission is absolutely free - lunch is not provided, so eat before you come.

Our special guest is John Wick, award-winning designer of Legend of the Five Rings, Seventh Sea and Houses of the Blooded, among many others. He also is the author of Play Dirty, one of the best "play technique" books out there. You can find many of his current works, including Play Dirty and Houses of the Blooded at The Wicked Dead Brewing Company on Indie Press Revolution.

SCHEDULE

11:30 - noon - Registration.
11:55 or so - Introductory Remarks - Jason Corley

12:00-12:25 - Berin Kinsman (of unclebear.com) - Worldbuilding 101
12:25-12:50 - Dave Martin (of the Wrecking Crew White Wolf demo team) - Compelling NPC Design
12:50 - 1:00 - Break

1:00-1:50 - John Wick (megacelebrity and hero to the masses) - Play Dirty
1:50-2:00 - Break

2:00-2:15 - Jim Myers (SAGA Board, Tucson By Night Shared Campaign) - The 3 Cs of Player Rewards
2:15-2:30 - Don Dehm (GAMA Board, pulpgamer.com) - Pacing and Player Engagement
2:30-2:45 - Derek Rex (pulpgamer.com) - Modifying Modules
2:50-3:00 Break

3:00-3:25 - Jason Corley (best GM in Tucson) - Pressures On The Party - A Campaign Design Technique
3:25-3:50 - Thomas Denagh (SAGA Board) - Lo-Prep No-Prep

4:00-4:20 - Ron Blessing (The Game's The Thing) - Player-Centric Gaming
4:20-4:45 - Directed Discussion - Topics: What challenges do GMs face in Southern Arizona's gaming community? What could you share with the GM community? What topics would you like to see covered in greater detail?
4:45 - The end! Volunteers can stay to help clean up.

Please RSVP! Since this is a venue we have not used before it will really help to know how many people are coming. And please feel free to bring people who you know are RPG players but who have not previously attended SAGA meetups.

Photos of this Meetup

No photos yet.

Talk about this Meetup

  • Jason Corley
    Posted Jul 27, 2009 10:22 AM
    Jason Corley
    Assistant Organizer
    Great job, everybody. Read the feeback in detail on the right hand side.
  • Pre-Meetup comments below
  • Jason Corley
    Posted Jul 24, 2009 1:55 PM
    Jason Corley
    Assistant Organizer
    Jim Myers has called in sick - his time will probably be redistributed to a few people who have mentioned their topics might benefit from a bit more detail. We're still good to go!
  • Jason Corley
    Posted Jul 24, 2009 1:44 PM
    Jason Corley
    Assistant Organizer
    Gang, if you are signing up for the waiting list, please feel free to come down and attend. 25 was my eyeball estimate of what the room could hold. It may be more. Either way, we may have some no-shows.
  • Jake Lilevjen
    Posted Jul 13, 2009 10:24 AM
    Jake Lilevjen
    This looks like it will be an awesome, and extremely useful conference. I am looking forward to listening and possibly contributing as amuch as I can about making this game that I love more fun!
  • Jason Corley
    Posted Jun 18, 2009 10:50 AM
    Jason Corley
    Assistant Organizer
    We now have a full schedule with everyone announced. And plenty of people in the dugout to present if time gets full. Some answered their "can you present?" question by saying "sure, what do you want me to present?" That is the wrong question - the question is "what do you fairly burn to present to your fellow GMs?" Bring your thoughts and experiences. That's what we desire.
  • Posted Jun 5, 2009 2:03 PM
    Jim (Black T-Shirt Man)
    Assistant Organizer
    I'm not arguing with your modesty, but as an empiricist, I would like to see your data and experiment procedures.
  • Jason Corley
    Posted Jun 5, 2009 1:34 PM
    Jason Corley
    Assistant Organizer
    I am probably the best GM in the world, but science has only proven that I am the best in Tucson. Being the modest man that I am, I only claim what science has shown to be true.
  • Thomas D
    Posted Jun 5, 2009 1:12 PM
    Thomas D
    Wandering Monster
    Just "in Tucson", Jason?

Who attended?

  • 32 attendees
    • “ Excellent presenters and it was good to meet the really dedicated GMs in Tucson. Brian Gross ”
    • “ If the vision of the conference was to provide practical GM advice by sharing experiences in the hobby, it was definitely met. The presenters were all well-prepared and they shared information interactively. This was a meeting of people who have a greater investment in the RPG hobby than "the players". The emphasis was on how to make "the players" and the GM job more interactive. While the GM is responsible for the story, much of the advice given emphasized how to make other hobbyists interested in the rewards of the GM role. This was not a "let me tell you about my campaign" discussion. This was a "let's all talk about the good things about our campaigns and how we can share that success." ”
    • “ Very informative conference. It was well planned. The speakers were interesting and well prepared. We're going to have to find another place to hold it next year. If anymore people came, there wouldn't have been room. ”
    • “ It was great to hear so many different, good ideas from so many people. I took a lot of notes, and will use some of those ideas in the very near future. On a side note, I just started my 10th year of high school teaching...and I am happy to say that our local gamer community produced some better 'in service' training today than so much of the crap that masquerades as professional development I'm forced to sit through in my job. The presenters were engaging, informed, and stuck to their topics well. ”
    • “ Must do another one. Must have podcast and video gear to capture. A thing of beauty. ”
    • “ I thought that there was a lot of great information discussed here. A ton of good insite and ideas for running games. There was a good selection of topics and all the speakers were informative and knowledgeable and seemed to have a lot of experience to draw upon. It was inspiring and I learned some useful techniques. ”
    • “ It was dope. I learned a lot and will totally go again. ”
    • “ That was fantastic. We should be able to rate this more than five stars. This has got to be a recurring event. ”
    • “ Fundamentally great. The presenters were brilliant and engaging, and the audience was full of energy and great ideas as well. They certainly challenged the presenters and everyone walked away with big smiles on their faces and brimming over with enthusiasm and, for my part, new knowledge. HUGE success. Bigger than we expected. ”
    • “ great stuff and well done! ”
    • “ I had a great experience listening to the speakers and getting to share real ideas with other seasoned GMs. I am looking forward to more. I'd like to thank Jason and Jim for organizing and spearheading this event. ”
    • “ Freakin' awesome. All the presenters had thought provoking presentations, that make me psyched to kick my GMing into high gear. The audience was attentive and brought a lot more to the discussion. ”
    • Gary (+1 guest)
    • Don