Monday, October 1, 2007

Nuke-Con XVII

The Creighton University Skutt Student Center is a nice place to hold an event but you have to be in good shape to get from the parking lot to the actual building which hosts events. And most of fandom isn't, not with XL clothing being considered fannish medium. It's a nice walk for a 20-year old but I didn't see too many of the Creighton students gaming. Inconvenient parking plus the gaming convention in Des Moines (Fields of Honor) and River City Roundup the same weekend meant that Nuke-Con was going to take a hit on attendance, which they did.
There were some changes the Nuke-Con committee had to make to adapt to this new venue. The usual concession stand was replaced by Creighton sponsored eating establishments, though prices had been negotiated down for the weekend. It was a multi-level event, since the student center has its rooms divided between three floors. And their anime room was the five large screen televisions in one of those eateries. But the things we come to expect from a Nuke-Con were all there. Lavish miniature games, RPGA events, newly designed gaming experiences straight from the companies designing them, computerized warfare, lead figure painting (as opposed to the Chinese practice of painting figures with lead), gaming supply vendors, and a game materials auction. Fredd Gorham, their Artist Emeritus, ran his Artist's Jam on Saturday for the second year, which makes it a fannish tradition Fredd. Several local fannish groups were also in attendance supporting the convention: OSFES, NERO, OtakuOmaha, Amtgard. So it doesn't matter the venue they are able to find, the Nuke-Con people know how to bring fun things together in a complete low-cost package. Watch for another change in venue for 2008. The Skutt center does not book events a year in advance.
While it is easy to blame external circumstances for dropping attendance figures at Midwestern fannish events. I have to wonder if competing activities or a sense of apathy pervading Omaha fandom is the reason. Are we getting too old and/or jaded to support these events. What do you think? Post a comment about the state of Omaha fandom. Let's hear from you.