DDC 37 Survey - Responses

Game Room space, yes, is limited, but our Scheduler is brilliant and capable of making a lot happen even with the limitations. We did put some overflow gaming tables on the back patio fairly late on Saturday afternoon this year. If the weather is good enough next year, we’ll ask for overflow tables to be set up much earlier.

All of this is is not to suggest we'll never consider moving, but it's not likely to happen in the next few years. We’re at an awkward size - tight in the current hotel, but small enough to get lost in the vastness of the larger ones we know of. If you can point out a place an easy drive from Oakland with about 500 sleeping rooms and between 19,000 and 24,000 feet of public function space, we’d be happy look into it.

Some of you suggested we go to an "All Pre-Con" reg, having everyone sign up for games before the Con (like Pathfinder does). There are a number of reasons this won't work, including, but not limited to: Over half our attendees still pay for their memberships when they arrive at the con; game cancellations; life getting in the way of you actually coming to DDC (and if it were an extreme circumstances, we might not be notified, leaving Guests signed up to games and not even at Con); changing your mind, plans or interests at Con, so the games you signed up for no longer work, etc. Pathfinder can do it because they have a smaller audience. With over 1700 of you potentially signing up for games, trying to do it all pre-Con just isn't feasible. We offer on-line Game Reg from Feb. 1 until late sunday afternoon, and open (paper) Reg throughout Con at the Info/Game Reg table during Info Table operational hours (8am-10pm), and are pondering other ways to make it easier and more convenient.

When you submit your Game Reg choices for a session (either electronically or with a paper slip), the Data Entry person (often me) enters the numbers you chose for your first, second and third choice (if made). All of this goes into a database, and the Game Sorter then goes checks First Choices by weight, seating the Weight 1 players into their games first, then Weight 2, and then 3, and so on up to 50, filling all game seats at each level until the maximum is achieved.

If there are fewer requests for seats than seats in the game, everyone who requested the game is in! O Happy Day! If there are equal numbers, it fills the game seats and is done. But if there are more requests than seats as it goes up the weights, it randomizes the requests at that weight, and fills the game.

Note that, since all games are filled at the same time for each "weight" for each choice level (First, Second or Third), it may be that your second and third-choice games were filled with other people's First choices.

If your requested first choice game is assigned to you, you're "done", if it is not, you are considered for your second choice, and then your third, in that order. You'll never be put into your second or third choice game unless your previous choice is filled.

This has been true for the last 10 years, but the Priority Pre-reg really brought it to the our attention. We are re-writing the Input and Sort programs to make sure that Priority choices are weighted when the session is Sorted, not before.

Note - This part of the program was written 10 years ago, when each session had a specific sign-in time, and it worked fine - then. When we went to "turn in slips at any time", this part of the program was not updated - frankly, it just didn't occur to me. - Roderick

The other problem, as has been mentioned before, is handwriting. I have never done a session that did not include some number of instances (from 1 or 2, to 10 or 20) of having to check with other folks in the Con Suite to see if I'm reading the number correctly. I also have some Guests every year who have memorized a juxtaposed (or upside down!) version of their badge number, so each time I get a slip, I have to check the name in the database and add the correct badge number. Or there's a badge number but no name. Or vice-versa. Or three game choices, but neither Name or Number. Or a badge number and/or name, but no game choices. As long as there are human beings on both ends of the process, there will be mistakes. But we are all doing our best...

After Con, I look at the Pri slips and check to see if I made any notes on them that need to be handled (including issuing another Pri for next year), and I'll also see if I can figure out what the other strange issues referenced above were caused by. I am in conversation regarding the Pri slips, and how we can do it better to assure that those folks earning Pri's will get into their chosen game. As I'm doing data entry, my normal process is to do all Pri slips as soon as they come in, to lock in the first choices if at all possible, and deal with any issues right away. I recognize how important Priority Game Reg is to those who earn it, and make every effort to see each person in their chosen game.

Paper posting will go faster next year, too, as we'll be doing the printing at the Info Table, and will have more folks to get the results put together and posted.

Finally, a lot of you asked about using the Hotel's Info screens for Game Reg results; the Hotel is very proprietary about those screens, and are only offering us limited use of them at this time. We will keep asking, though!