Unfortunately, I was only able to attend Wyrdcon from 11am until 7pm on Saturday but even in that short time, I had a blast!  It was a much better convention than I had expected it to be, being the first time and all of that.  And some of the presentations were amazing.  The people from the Nordic LARPing community were incredible with their presentation and other panels helped to either to remind me of what made a great game or even give me some more good advice. Such ideas were:

• Creating IG physical representations for games skills and abilities so that the player has a constant reminder about what their characters can still do.  i.e. - no more, "I forgot I still had a dodge" idea.
• Use OOG descriptors for internal monologues
• Definitely use foreshadowing
• Use other media other than NPCs to drive plots
• Award some sort of bonus for proper character deaths
• If your player's way to survive your game is to avoid plots, you're doing it wrong
• Players should win more than half the time.

So two San Francisco Bay Area games happening this month.  One is this weekend for the Alliance (www.alliancesf.net) - more info under the forums section about it.

Second is Realms of Conflict happening 1/29-1/31 and you can gather more info at their Yahoo site games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Realmsofcon...

I'm hoping to be at both however my girlfriend is coming in for a convention the next week so money might be a little tight as she is the princess and I become the pauper.

This was posted on another forum - I'm not sure how legitimate it is but doing a search on the email seems to show that someone is looking for some people for a new reality show:

 My name is Serita; I am a casting producer located in New York City and I am
currently working on a brand new makeover show to be aired on a major cable
television network in the winter of 2010. We are currently looking for women all
over the US who are I need of a makeover.

I wanted to contact your organization and other organizations and sports groups
because I know from working on other shows that when you are totally dedicated
to a specific activity other things in life tend to fall by the waist side. I
am not spamming you nor do I mean to offend. I just wanted to extend a fun
opportunity to the women in your group. We are looking to bring out your most
positive, confident and assured self with a makeover from professionals.

I have pasted below the casting flyer information for anyone who is interested.
The show is very light hearted with a very positive spin on it.

Sincerely,

Serita

* Do you have an inner fashionista inside that wants to come out?
* Are you a fashion victim trying to keep up with the times?
* An overworked mom whose style needs an update?
* Do you dream of a new look and a new you?
* Are you ready to make that dream a reality?

Major Cable Television Network, currently casting their brand new makeover show,
is looking for you!

Now is your chance to reinvent yourself! We are looking for women (ages 25 to
40) who are in need of a makeover. Whether you are tired of your old look or
just looking to understand what looks best on you or just confused on how you
can make the best impression possible.
This light hearted and fun makeover show will teach you the skills you need to
turn heads and make your confidence soar.

If you or someone you know is in desperate need of this opportunity please send
3 recent pictures of yourself or the nominee along with a brief email to...

NYCMakeovershow@gmail.com

Tell us why you're unhappy with your current look and what has kept you from
changing it.

If you haven't noticed, going around the internet is some pictures and vids of a Fallout based LARP that happened in Russia recently. 

(Original Russian language website)
http://sdmobile.livejournal.com/18969.html

(Google translated website)
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=ru&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http://sdmobile.livejournal.com/18969.html&prev=hp&rurl=translate.google.com

I had been drumming around my head for some time to make a post apoc game that included airsoft.  I recently been chatting with a couple of people who were disappointed in the current LARP games in the area and they also think the idea of LARP with limited useage of airsoft could be interesting.  Now, with this coming out, I can't help but want to do it.  So it looks like it is true " Never say 'Never Again' "

I'm going to search around to see if anyone has rules set up for a Fallout game yet (I figure using it as a basis would help to hook people in - just will need to change some of the 'proprietary' information).  But, barring that, I'll just come up with my own simple ruleset and start dissecting the Fallout universe.

In the last year, I have played in three LARP games

• Realms of Conflict
• Alliance San Francisco
• Alliance Seattle

And guess how many of them have a web site? 

None

Although each have a forum online, none have an actual website.  This seems quite unprofessional.  To me, this means that people are interested in only in keeping those that are currently in the game and not looking for new individuals.  A web site can tell a lot about your game - from pictures to histories, locations, costs, etc.  All of this can be covered in a forum but we are very much a visual race and having nice graphics and designs show that you are willing to take some effort in your product/company to make it look good.

As I posted in a reply to someone else, a lack of a website can easily be a very negative mark on the business/game itself.  The phrase I'm hearing is "If they don't have the time or ability to put up a web page, what type of dedication or quality will their games be?"

I'm almost wondering if things are beginning to taper off - just when they should, in fact, begin rolling big.