summary: "In which I drive to Philadelphia and play a bunch of games."
summary: "In which I drive to Philadelphia and try to play a bunch of games."
---
## Driving there
@ -26,35 +26,22 @@ The convention center didn't open until mid-afternoon so I took the time to do s
My schedule for the first day is pretty light, mostly because the convention opens at 2PM on a Friday. My priorities were board game play/testing, filling in gaps spectating on tournaments.
#### Friday
The tabletop offerings didn't really line up with my schedule, I wanted to spend th evening mostly with my friends while we had the time
##### Character Study, Writing, and Creation - Rachel and Guinevere
- What Drives a character?
- goals
- allies, who qualifies?
- background/upbringing
- who is in their life? friend? family? lovers?
- personality
- What is their motivation?
- Character analysis
- Astarion
- Trilla something from Jedi stuff
- Character creation
- who are they?
- what kind of world do they inhabit?
- who is in their life? friend? family? lovers?
- personality?
- How does analysis help with creating a character?
- character goals?
- how did they get here?
- why do they want what they want?
- How do their interactions with other characters affect the story
- Why do they act the way they do?
- Ways to get in tune with your character
The tabletop offerings didn't really line up with my schedule, I wanted to spend the evening mostly with my friends while we had the time. We rocked around the merch hall, I grabbed a few gifts, and we killed a little time before the one Friday panel that caught my eye.
##### Character Study, Writing, and Creation
This panel was hosted by panelists who introduced themselves as Rachel and Guinevere. I wasn't fast enough to catch all of their social media details but you can find Guinevere [here](https://www.instagram.com/nightsongcosplay/).
The panel was really solid. Rachel and Guinevere were enthusiastic and knowledgeable and made a point of treating writing and narrative-building as an exercise in fun that anyone can engage in, which I found refreshing. A full reproduction of their presentation would probably not be in good taste, but here's the short version.
The core thesis ended up being very straightforward: learn your character. The most important detail is motivation: what do they what, why, what are they willing to do to get it? Only marginally less important, and now in no particular order:
- Who are their allies? What (dis)qualifies someone for this status?
- Background/upbringing.
- Who is in their life? Friends? Family? Lovers?
- What kind of world do they inhabit?
Guinevere led a practical demonstration by analyzing two characters to identify these attributes in Astarion of Baldur's Gate 3 and Trilla Suduri from some Star Wars games I never bothered paying any attention to. Quick breakdowns of their motivations and important relationships and a contrast between the two: Astarion's need for freedom remains steady throughout his arc while Trilla eventually sets aside her vengeance and reaches some sort of peace.
They closed out the panel with a short discussion on ways to get in tune with your character, including but not limited to:
- pinterest board
- playlist
- collage
@ -64,16 +51,14 @@ The tabletop offerings didn't really line up with my schedule, I wanted to spend
- likes and dislikes
- draw, make a paper doll, visualize the character
The Q&A was funny, two of the three questions I heard were just monologues about personal experiences with bad roleplay which does legitimately suck but also isn't really a question. All in all, excellent panel.
#### Saturday
woke up at 7am. saw a white tail buck grazing near the stream.
I only signed up for a Saturday game of Ten Candles.
- [ ] 1100: Convention Opens
- [ ] 1100: THPS2 High Score Competition
- [ ] 1100: Board game freeplay
- [ ] 1100: Board game playtesting
- [ ] 1130: MtG Draft Pods
- [ ] 1200: Burnout 3: Takedown tournament - hall C
- [ ] 1200: Twilight Imperium ( game )
- [ ] 1300: Gaming through Generations - Emerald stage
Nick Dumas
5 months ago