GAMERT (Gaming) Round Table

Hello, Fellow Gamers --

As we start coordinating the various gaming pieces for Annual 2011 in New Orleans, we're taking a look at the Gaming Pavilion on the exhibit floor. Unfortunately, Annual comflicts with the Origins conference again this year, so we're going to have to work extra hard to get game publishers and vendors onsite.

So I have two questions for you:

1. Which game companies would you like to see on the exhibit floor?
2. Do you have any personal connections you could use to make a pitch to game companies to come to Annual?

TIA,
Jenny

No connections sadly, but what about Cheapass Games?

Have we ever had them at ALA? Their model seems to be a great fit for Libraries.

I'd like to see the Penny Arcade / PAX guys, WoTC (they are still usually there, yeah?), the company that does Fluxx, oh! and the company that does Settlers of Catan.

they have had a bit of a restructure. They sold off most of their games to another company and are now working on a different model where they are holding the games they still hold right to hostage, releasing them when they have raised a minimal sum. Once the ransom has been paid they are free for anyone to print an play.

Which game companies would you like to see on the exhibit floor?

Nintendo.  Yeah, that probably won't happen, but if they could be there, boy oh boy it would be grand.  Just imagine a bunch of 3DS display units for librarians to play around with....they would blow minds!

Do you have any personal connections you could use to make a pitch to game companies to come to Annual?

Ha!  I wish.  

Dude, we totally had Nintendo on the exhibit floor in 2008 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/alastaff/2655985901/), but it's been difficult to convince them they should come back and to get similar big names because I don't have much output I can point to from this group.

When they ask why they should pay money to be on our exhibit floor, there's no active cohort of gamers or potential gamers within ALA itself that I can connect them to. I know how much gaming is going on, but the discussion in this group isn't active so I can't point them here. The Librarians' Guide to Gaming is a couple of years old now. The Games and Gaming Member Interest Group doesn't have any current initiatives I can show them.

When all of the great gaming going on in libraries is talked about only in non-ALA spaces, I can't pitch them that they'll get a lot of support on ALA's exhibit floor. I'd love to see this group step up to be more visible within the Association so that we can get more companies on the exhibit floor, donors for National Gaming Day, and sponsors for a future gaming conference.

#makeithappen

Jenny

I am hoping with the move to make the MIG a roundtable that we can start to build momentum and establish a presence. I think we have a fantastic set of minds involved and for some reason or another (new baby) we haven't been able to establish traction. With the roundtable comes a more estabished entity that we can rally and organize around. Additonally, it provides a source of revenue to help make some of these fantastic ideas that we have been floating around a reality.

Brian

I am interested in this. What do we need to do to get this done?