Can-Con.... what the hell is it? Can-Con is the Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature. And yes... that's quite a mouthful. ;)
Arcana Creations has been primarily a developer over the past few years (since the fall of 2009) and, as my loyal readers know, it has been a bit quiet as far as releases have been concerned. However, I have been on a minor campaign since 2012. I've been writing more on this blog and doing a bit of work here and there. Arcana Creations has put out a couple of (free) issues of the Domesday (Castles & Crusades Society) as well as the free Swords & Wizardry adventure 'The Vile Worm' (Free until October 17th and available HERE).
There have been a couple of other things, not quite ready for publication, as well as the Ballista material. Ballista has been mentioned in the past, but given the many changes its undergone and the simply the issue of interesting circumstances befalling me, I've talked about it less and less. The good news is something will manifest itself VERY SOON.
With that in mind, I've finally set up the store site on RPG Now! Titles I have worked on as developer (with Brave Halfling Publishing) have already been transferred to my Storefront there and there will be new material showing up later this month. I'm even setting up some Cafepress swag since, once in a blue moon, someone may want some (even if it's me to promote stuff elsewhere).
All of this brings me to Can-Con. While I've attended Cons before (though very few in number), this is the first one I attend and have a table for Arcana Creations. Can-Con is a very tiny con the recently started up again after a 10 year hiatus. For the past couple of years, my other half had attended this convention located in Ottawa (Canada's capital for my non-Canadian readers) as a panelist. Given our familiarity with the convention and some of the people who run it, it seemed like a good marketing opportunity to 'put myself out there' and get people more familiar with what I do.
I also hoped to have a Quickstart for Ballista ready for the con. However, with everything else I had going in preparation for the convention, and the fact I have a 9-5 job, it didn't quite happen. So close though.... so very close. :)
I was able to bring with me a sample of products that Arcana Creations had been involved with in the past as well as showcasing some Brave Halfling Publishing products. While we didn't have the time needed to get a bunch of other BHP product shipped up to me (John is already elbow deep in shipping Appendix N and other Delving Deeper material), I decided it was a chance to sell some gently used and classic gaming material. Between all that and some dice, people were at least visiting the table.
I had an interesting vantage point of the dealer room and in many ways I cornered the market on gaming stuff. The convention is primarily a literary one as opposed to a gaming centric one which does skew sales expectations but at this point in the game, it's all about visibility and marketing. Of course, next time around, I'll get a proper banner made up and hopefully step up the table presentation. ;)
While I won't go into actual figures, my 'take' for the weekend did help cover some of the basic expenses generated by doing a convention like this. I also walked away with a couple of books due to some trades I did with some of the other vendors. It was a fun weekend but, more importantly, it got me 'out there'. I met a lot of people and made a couple of contacts as well as some friends.
Most importantly perhaps was the impact we had by being there as far as the rest of the con is concerned. Towards the end of the convention, there was some discussion about gaming have a bit more of a presence at the convention next year and I've already committed to do it.
M
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