MIB North Extras: Director's Cut: Who'da thunk?

Director's Cut - Who'da thunk?

In my middle years, I have chosen to live a life of cheerful naïvetê. This does not mean that I have not experienced things that would preclude this choice; simply, I choose to regularly ignore said experiences for the sake of enjoying the world through unfettered eyes. This has dual benefits -- those with no sense of grace to their worldliness tend to shy away from me, and those with a bit more style like to believe that they are somehow corrupting me. Both outcomes make me smile.

Before the complete pretentiousness of the above sinks in, let‘s rush to the example at hand. I attend several large gaming conventions each year, including the two biggies: Origins and Gencon. I occupy a space in-between the average con-goer and the industry professional: the demo team member. I‘m one of the happy little cogs that make the convention schedule go round, and have the badges and perks to show for it. (Perks such as sleeping seven to a room, in sleeping bags on the floor. In my middle years, no less.)

One of the oddities I‘ve experienced at these shows is an actual anti-gaming vibe. I actually had an industry person tell me this year, “Don‘t get caught playing games -- they won‘t take you seriously.” (The “they” mentioned were apparently some sort of police squad that would monitor my activities, record them in my Permanent Record, and would attach said Record to my resume were I ever foolish enough to apply for a game industry job.) I heartily ignored said advice -- dooming myself to a life on the outside, no doubt -- and continued to look for opportunities to play games in my off time.

Above a certain level of industry involvement, a convention is first and foremost a place to conduct business. A game company employee has meetings to attend, networking to participate in, and products to push. After ten hours of retailing, I have no problem with deciding to go out drinking with folks at the end of the day. (As they say, I‘m not only an owner, but I‘m a client.) Where I personally draw the line is to somehow jump from that choice, to a point where you are rejecting the very premise several thousand of your customers showed up for in the first place.

I have chosen to enter this hobby not out of economic necessity, but out of love. The support and resources that I put into my con events and company support are my way of ensuring that I will have worthy opponents to play against for years to come. Come the end of the day, I want to know that my sweat has given me the opportunity to sit down at a table with a group of like-minded folks who are as passionate about games as I am, and play a little something.

Of course it‘s naïve. Over the past few years I‘ve acquired a brutal overview of what makes a game company work, and it‘s a hard, thankless job. My enthusiasm is tempered by the knowledge that for those I work for, the success of the next product would, as usual, define what (or if) products will be available in the future. But, the best thing I can do for these companies is to want to play games with people as often and as enthusiastically as possible. One of the things that make me a valued member of my various teams is that I can absorb the reality of the game industry, channel it into worthwhile, useful support, and still be my damnably, relentlessly cheerful self.

Alex Yeager
AlexYeager@yahoo.com
SJ Games North US MIB RD/Cheapass Games Demo Monkey