This is an interview with Chris Stuart of G.A.M.E. G.A.M.E. is a geek convention being held Oct 9 through the 11th in Springfield, MO at the Springfield Expo Center. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
(Geeky KOOL) Chris, thank you for giving us a few minutes. I know you are very busy preparing for G.A.M.E. For our readers that are not familiar with G.A.M.E., tell about about G.A.M.E. and what to expect from this 3 day convention.
(Chris Stuart) Thank you for taking an interest and asking me to share some information with you. G.A.M.E. stands for Gaming Arts Media Expo. Through this event we hope to show the “mainstream” world that the activities of “geeky” interest have significant artist and educational value. During our event you can do participate in a variety of events that include; table top gaming, miniature painting, costume contest, live-action role-playing, stage performances, panels, shopping our exhibitors wares, meeting local artists, electronic gaming and more.(GK) With various geek and comic conventions in the Springfield area over the last year, what makes G.A.M.E. different and unique from some of the others?(CS) We truly focus on creating a welcoming and all-ages atmosphere. We don’t have a focus on children’s programming but we do have a variety of activities that anyone 12 years old & older will enjoy and be able to have fun doing. We also want to make sure when you come to our convention that you are taken care of and that you don’t feel you have to “know someone” or be in a particular crowd to be “in” and to have fun. This year too we have really focused on making our tabletop gaming super organized. If all goes well our GMs and players will all be able to know when and where their games are taking place, what to do, who will be playing, etc. We are focused on service and making sure the money you spend supporting this event is returned with a great experience and memories of a great weekend.
(GK) Some conventions are very family friendly and family centric. Other conventions are more adult oriented in content and feel. Using the movie rating system of G, PG, PG-13, and R, where would G.A.M.E.’s rating fall?(CS) That’s funny — I didn’t read ahead and might have answered this. I’d say overall we are PG to PG-13. There are some games (Cards Against Humanity — which is a blast) and some performances that are geared for 18 & up — but we focus on those happening more into the9PM and later times. Generally our attendees behavior and demeanor are nothing that a family would find disturbing to their kids. And … if some thing DOES appear to be R … we want to know about it. Our policies about public behavior or clear and this year each ticket purchaser had to click they agree to those policies. We’ve never had any issues and we aim to keep it that way. 😉
(GK) Tell our readers about the special guests that will be attending G.A.M.E.(CS) We are happy to announce that we will have Mark Dodson and Mike Mason as our Guest of Honor! We also have Artist Guest of Honor D.A. Frizell! Mark Dodson has a long list of credits of which most people will know the character Salacious Crumb in Star Wars Episode VI “Return of the Jedi” and the gremlins and mogwais in “Gremlins”. Mikey Mason is an amazing rockstar, fanboy, geek that has some wonderful videos and songs that all of us geeky types can relate to and find hilarious. You can read more about our Guest of Honor on our site: http://springfieldgame.com/
goh/ D.A. Frizell also has a long line of credits in the art world and you can read more about him on our site as well: http://springfieldgame.
com/artists/artist_alley
(GK) Batman Live Parodies will be stage performance during G.A.M.E. What can you tell us about these parodies and when the performances will occur?(CS) The Batman and Buffy Live Parodies are immensely entertaining. We are pleased to have “A Class Act Production” troupe with us again for a 3rd year! This year we hope to have provided an excellent performance space with better sound and lighting than in years past. Their performances are listed on our site at: http://springfieldgame.
com/performances/
(GK) Preparing for a convention this size has to be a ton of work. Please give us a little insight in what goes into putting on a convention and when do you start preparing for a convention.(CS) BOY OH BOY is it a TON of work! Not only do we have our 3-Day convention, but at Eclectic Endeavors we focus on creating a network of associations that keep us in touch with our geek community all year long. We typically start off the year with “Picnic at The End of The Universe” in the spring. You can read about this event here: http://springfieldgame.
com/p-a-t-e-o-t-u/ Then we will have a GAME Day at The Creamery in mid or late summer depending on the schedule for the year. You can read about GAME day here: http://springfieldgame.com/
game-day/ Then we do one other big event that is a live-action adventure. In 2014 we did “Ozarks Adventure Quest” that was a city-wide fantasy themed quest hunt where people dressed up (if they wanted) and found their way from location to location and having encounters at those locations. At the end we would award the team with the best role play and best scores. In 2015 we did the “Mission : GAME” event at The Creamery and in connection with our spy-theme for “GoldenDie Year 007!” — this live-action adventure was centered on a spy team going from location to location within The Creamery. Both events were a blast. And all our events all year long are focused on building a community locally. We will start preparing for Year 8 and 2016’s events in December of 2015. Come January 2016 we will announce our ticket and registrations opening for Year 8.
(GK) How can readers get tickets for G.A.M.E. and what is the cost of tickets?(CS) At this point anyone coming to G.A.M.E. Year 007 will need to purchase tickets at the door. Pre-Registration shuts down about 2 weeks before so we can prepare as much as possible for everything. The cost for 3-Days is $25. More details can be found here: http://springfieldgame.com/individual_registration/ about individual days and other details. (GK) Chris, thank you for your time. We look forward to checking out the fun.(CS) Thank YOU for your time and I truly appreciate your interest in our events.
Make sure you check out G.A.M.E. Year 007 if you will be in the Springfield, MO area next weekend.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
#G.A.M.E. #Convention #Springfield_MO
