Arena Building and Impostor Syndrome

[TheAmishStig]

I know MageSmiley also builds, and imagine some other of you guys do as well.

When you're in the middle of an arena build, or worse setting up on a con floor, and something like Rogue Arena comes up...how do you cope with the inevitable sensation that your A game is more like a D game in the grand scheme?

It's heavy on my mind right now, as I repaint Tilkendrom for an event in October...a friend linked to it as "Oh, something like this?" and I immediately had to manage expectations, feeling like crap while doing so.

That little gremlin in the back of my mind is saying "Who are you kidding, this is junk, throw it in the bin", but so far the sense of duty, the "No, you made a commitment, follow through" is winning.

[Racer]

I think it's best not to be over critical with yourself mate - I've spent years modifying & remodifying my Battle Gothic Ships ... and then get stressed over having to repaint them .

So long as everyone has a good game & a good time then the actual set up isn't a major part of the atmosphere .
We've found that layout of an Arena or Town matters much more than the scenery :

Back in the '80's at my School , we did 3-D models/bases for the buildings for games using those metal miniatures .
Battle Cars came with Building Counters & it was easy to have slot them in on top as rooves & paper/card walls placed under them to signify one or two story constructions . Very primitive & street furniture like lamp posts or trees even more so . Didn't detract from the endless afternoons spent playing using them at all . I still have the flattened cube base for one of the larger 2" by 2" square Buildings preserved in an old science textbook , around 33 years after I helped make it & colour it in .

I'm sure it'll be fine :-D

[schoon]

I'd have to agree with Racer.

Fun is far more important than comparison, and pretty much any 3D set up is going to be fun.

[TheAmishStig]

Originally Posted by schoon

I'd have to agree with Racer.

Fun is far more important than comparison, and pretty much any 3D set up is going to be fun.

It is, I would much rather play a great layout scribbled on taped-together printer paper than suffer through a lousy one with two grand in materials to make it 3D...but out on the con circuit, comparisons are inevitable, and a bad spectacle while I'm wearing an MiB shirt isn't just egg on my face, it makes the game and the company both look bad, and that's something I worry about constantly

It's something that came up as a gut-punch last night...seeing photos of my rig next to the one that was at Historicon 11 says 'hey, you're on the right track, keep iterating', but seeing photos of it next to rigs like Warrior Stadium, Rainbow Bay, and especially Rogue Arena make the devil on my shoulder going on about being an imposter start screaming at the top of his little lungs. Wasn't sure what anyone else does to convince him to STFU.

[woodchuck]

You're taking the time and effort to run a game at a con if you and your players had fun then you've done your job and if you've recruited a new fan or two even better. It doesn't matter if your set-up isn't as cute as some Rogue Arena game.

[Parody]

Meh. All of our maps are 2D and we've run a bunch of fun games at cons. A fancy 3D arena is no assurance of fun.

If you enjoy building 3D terrain, great! If not, then don't and put your time into stuff you like to do. :)

[kjamma4]

I would never play a game again on the nicest set up I've seen after the judges there made a sexist comment when my daughter was in the lead mid-game.

Be a good GM/Ref/Player. The best icing in the world can't make up for a cake made of .......

[juris]

Are the players laughing and having fun? Then you win as a GM. That is the only thing that matters. I second KJ's comment about ****** GMs ruining a game no matter how much prep they put into it.

Script some jokes, have fake algae burger ads, have crazy fans invade the arena like Deathrace 2000...

[Magesmiley]

Well.

Fun is important. The 3D and whatnot is eye candy to attract newer players who have a higher expectation of games these days. It's not necessary for having fun.

That said, at conventions, there has developed an expectation for some eye candy and a game with a black and white map sheet as its battlefield isn't going to pull many players in. And ideally, you want attendees stopping to watch the game to build up interest in playing. Color is very important - it goes a long way to attracting interest. A good color scheme can go a long ways to making things look way better than the duct tape hiding underneath might imply.

As to the setup, it's a battle for constant improvement for me. As long as my gear keeps looking/working at least as good (and preferably a little bit better) than last time, I'm satisfied.

It's also time consuming, particularly the month before a convention as I'm pulling everything out of storage, touching up dings and damage that occurred.

It's also about some experience. I have built a few 1X cardstock and foam core arenas in the past, not to mention scenery for 40K before I put together Rainbow Bay.

And it takes time to build up your gear. Keep in mind that the first year I ran Car Wars at Dragonflight I was using Austin Searles' gear. The second year I was borrowing parts of his gear. The third year I was fixing stuff that didn't work very well still. It wasn't until about the 4th year that I had most of the stuff figured out and things were starting to go somewhat smoothly. And I still was making upgrades.

I'll admit I had a few of those moments myself while doing this. Thinking I was doing so good and then seeing someone else's blow my mind away. For me, it brings out a bit of a competitive streak - I think of it as a challenge to figure out how do I go about making my stuff better.

Borrow ideas, ask for suggestions, see what other players are doing. Learn from other peoples' mistakes, Ask your players what would make things look cooler.

Oh and if you are going to paint it, I'd advise staying away from the latex paints and going with acrylics (and a heavy coat of clear spray paint or varnish on top). I've had nothing but trouble with the pieces I originally did with a latex paint.

[TheAmishStig]

Originally Posted by Magesmiley

Well.

I'll admit I had a few of those moments myself while doing this. Thinking I was doing so good and then seeing someone else's blow my mind away. For me, it brings out a bit of a competitive streak - I think of it as a challenge to figure out how do I go about making my stuff better.

That's the kind of thing I was hoping for (the outpouring of consolation is appreciated, but wasn't what motivated me to post)...this is the first time I saw somebody else's rig and didn't think "I need to up my game"; I saw it and thought "Good God, I'm a phony...why am I even trying, I'll never be in that ballpark...", which has left me struggling to shake it off.

If the paint job ends up coming out close to your Warrior Stadium, I can live with that for the time being, I think. At least long enough to get better tools (+/- 1/16" is about the limit for my current equipment) and iterate the "soften the intimidation factor" game aids a couple more times.

The condensed movement table was a big hit in the spring, but could use some tweaks; the condensed control table is going in the right direction, but isn't quite there yet.

Originally Posted by kjamma4

I would never play a game again on the nicest set up I've seen after the judges there made a sexist comment when my daughter was in the lead mid-game.

Be a good GM/Ref/Player. The best icing in the world can't make up for a cake made of .......

I cannot apologize enough that you've had that experience. If it was one of us (meaning an MiB), please, please contact someone at the company so action can be taken.