Fort Collins Comic Con 2024: Saturday

Even though we got there early the parking lot was already full. There were a few handicap spots near the front, but within half an hour of us getting there even those were filled. I was actually surprised how few handicap spots the senior center had. In this front they also had the different themed cars and car clubs. 

Car Show

Dealers Room/Artist Alley/Vendor Hall

The day started out with a stop to the dealer rooms. Yes, rooms. For this con the dealer's room was a combination of dealers and artist alley. To be truthful it felt like there were more artists then dealers. The rooms were on opposite sides of the con with one on the main floor and the other in the basement. There was an elevator, so it was still accessible. 

This was the one in the basement.

This was the one on the ground level.

This critter was in the ground level dealers room overseeing everything. The name tag read Wulfric C Duncan, Werewolf, He/Him/His.

Panels

The Ritual of Gameplay

Presenter: James "Pigeon" Fielder, Ph.D. , CSU

Notes:

-Liminality constant in pre-modern societies.

-In the past play also had links to religion.

-Gaming experiences linger and carry over into real life.

-The Magic Circle: Liminality, the magic circle, synthetic experience, and presence. Fears faced in liminality fosters courage & agency. Over coming group obstacles builds team cohesion. Huizinga- the temple & the tennis court are indistinguishable.

-Symbolic Correspondence: The mask-wearer embodies the persona (a right of passage). Power of symbolic capital. Learn while wearing a new identity. Immerse players as new personas in challenging roles.

-There should always be a debrief after the end of games.

-Social wisdom through games of application, knowledge, skill, courage, and strength.

-Juul's logic of failure, people hate how it feels to loose, but keep trying anyway. 

Overall:

This was a good panel, but very advanced for most people. You had to have an understanding of game theory, anthropology, and philosophy to understand the topics he was presenting. I wish he would have been a professor at CSU when I was there. I think his classes would be interesting to attend. 

Look Ma! I'm Going Viral!

I waited in this room for awhile, but the panelist never showed up. When I checked outside of the door I saw that the panel had been crossed out (canceled). I then ran into this a few more times and gave up. I only got to see one panel when I normally try to cover at least 3 a day.

Outside

Behind the building, outside, there were several different fun areas set up. This included a toss game, a superhero training area, a larping area, and more.

For this game the goal was to use bean bags to knock over monsters.

They even had cute little prizes you could win.

The mimic bag was insane in the level of detail it had. All made of leather.

A perfect little fidget toy for geeks.

Other Things Seen Around the Con

The 501st had their area set up.

The above photo is of the video game area they had set up. This was a good area to get a break from the crowds of the con. They also had a quiet room set up as well in what looked like the senior center's library/computer room.

Cosplay

Day 2 had a lot more cosplayers out.

Overall Impressions

Since this was my first time at this con I did feel a little like a newbie. It did take a little time to get used to the layout even though it was small. I also found myself feeling uncomfortable and disorientated due to overheating. On Friday it was fine when there was less people, but on Saturday the heat was overpowering. They really needed to kick up the AC for that many people. Also the programing for Friday needs to be kicked up and the need the dealers room open then as well. Friday just felt useless. I know the con can't do much about panels getting canceled, but having back up plans like impromptu trivia or something would have been nice. Overall, it was an ok con and it will be interesting to see how it grows over time.