Latest news: ReaperCon dates have changed!
Rather than late-April/early-May, the convention will be in late-October. While there's been a bit of an uproar with the initial "I have to wait 6 more months?!" (which I admit was my first reaction), I'm interested to learn the additional reasoning behind it. I can only assume some things at this point (which can be ill-advised), and I'm sure it has something to do with event pricing, available site dates, expanding space, and possibly the Hilton Garden Inn and other guests being overwhelmed with our late-night shenanigans :) In any case, the Bones III Kickstarter will demand much of the Reaper team's time in the coming year. To help myself sort through my feelings about this change, I decided to write a list of my own personal pros & cons about my favorite annual convention:
Pros
- Bigger space: more inclusive & room to expand for amount of guests & events (i.e. classes won't need to be held in hotel guest rooms due to lack of space)
- Open-concept gives more versatility for events, vendor expo space, etc.
- Hotel won't be far from the convention site (~3 miles)
- No need to choose between ReaperCon & AdeptiCon in 2016
- More time to paint!!! That's rarely a bad thing (unless you're a procrastinator like we can all be)
Cons
- Not held at the hotel: Less convenient, especially for those without cars & con-goers who carry lots of supplies around during the day (me). I'll have to make sure & pack light!
- Open-concept: potential for high noise level & without lobby/hotel rooms to escape to (ouch)
- Dates aren't in the "slow months" at work. Requesting vacation during Oct may prove challenging
- Con is now over a year away and that means longer to wait :(
- It's change. As a "Type A" person, I struggle with change. I was looking forward to the convenience of the hotel
While there's no such thing as "the pros outweigh the cons" (since each idea holds different weight to each person), the fact is I have not seen this venue. It may just be one big concrete room with no sound barriers or it may be one open room with smaller, quieter rooms off to the side where they'll hold additional classes or events. I'm sure there are additional reasons for the new dates, and it's silly to try and predict what may/may not happen as a result of this change. Honestly, I know what I'm upset about and that's change and the unknown. I at least knew what to expect with the convention held at the Hilton Garden Inn and now I have no idea. However, Reaper has over a year to make it work and I'm sure they have some creative solutions for some of the "Cons" I've listed above. Either way, I'm looking forward to ReaperCon 2016 and I know without a doubt: it'll be worth it!