WoW Insider at Dragon*Con 2008!
by Krystalle Voecks 
Aug 26th 2008 at 9:30PM
Perhaps you were one of the myriad people who made it out to the WoW panels at Dragon*Con last year. Maybe you just heard of this raucous, geeky event and decided that since you can't make it to the West coast for BlizzCon, you'd check out Dragon*Con. Whatever your reason, we're heading back again this year along with our sister site Massively with a variety of World of Warcraft related panels for you to enjoy!
If you're heading to Hotlanta this weekend to take in all the awesome that is sure to be Dragon*Con 2008, we've prepared a handy guide to some of the MMOG track happenings that may be of interest. Join us after the break for a panel breakdown, or check out the full schedule on Massively for all things MMO going on at D*C 2008!
If you're heading to Hotlanta this weekend to take in all the awesome that is sure to be Dragon*Con 2008, we've prepared a handy guide to some of the MMOG track happenings that may be of interest. Join us after the break for a panel breakdown, or check out the full schedule on Massively for all things MMO going on at D*C 2008!
Note: All times Eastern. Host hotel for this year's MMOG track is the Sheraton. The master post on Massively will be updated as the schedule changes, so check back! Also of note: frosty adult beverages will be on sale at all night-time ballroom events.
Athens Room
|
Sunday
1:00 PM  |
Maintaining wife (or husband) faction Tired of fighting your worst battles after the raid is over? Come and join Kevin Stallard and Krystalle Voecks as they discuss how to keep your significant other happy while still having enough time to play your favorite games. |
Augusta Room:
| Friday 2:30 PM |
Herding cats 101 (aka Guild Management) Sometimes the largest challenge in an MMO isn't the raiding; it's getting a group together in the first place. Find out how leaders of successful large guilds get things done - and manage to stay sane.Trevor Legg from <Lost Order of Akalabeth> and Michael McGreevy from <Children of Midian> share their tips and tricks. |
|
Friday
5:30 PM |
MMO Etiquette School Join Mark Crump, Kevin Stallard and Krystalle Voecks (and any other industry folk who decide to pop by) for an old fashioned raucous roundtable of MMOG war stories. Laugh along as the panel and audience swap tales of horror, hilarity and honor in MMOs. For those of you new to MMOGs, this is a great (and funny) object lesson on just what not to do. |
|
Saturday
2:30 PM |
WoW Drama (aka Schadenfreude 101) World of Warcraft? Drama? Nooooooo. Join WoW Insider and Massively as we look at some of the things we've seen and heard from the forums, commenters, and more. Bring your own tales of epic lulz to share in this free-form style panel! |
|
Sunday
10:00 AM |
Legal and ethical Issues in MMO gaming (The gold-farming panel) Back by popular demand, come and let your "Inner Johnny Cochran" out for an hour. If the gold is farmed, who gets harmed? Who really owns all that stuff that you work (play) so hard to get or make? If you came to Dragon*Con seeking legal advice, you should probably seek professional (psychiatric) help. If, however, you want to come and get into a good discussion, then this is the place to be. |
|
Sunday
2:30 PM |
So you'd like to work in the MMO industry? Eddy Webb from CCP Games (EVE Online). Mark Capps (Unreal), and Mark Crump will answer your questions about how to get into the Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming industry. If you're an artist, designer, programmer, writer, or just a fan of the genre, join us for an inside look at how it all happens. |
|
Sunday
4:00 PM |
WoW Addons MMORPGs in general, and World of Warcraft in particular, never seem to have a user interface that does everything we want it to. There are millions of addons out there that promise to do everything from dress you appropriately to cast your spells for you with a simple click of the mouse. How do you find them? What is dangerous? What's coming in this next patch?? Krystalle Voecks and Mark Crump have some answers that may help. |
Sheraton Capital Ballroom:
|
Friday
7:00PM |
World of Warcraft Q&A and Wrath of the Lich King preview Join Massively and WoW Insider as we answer questions on everything from "old school" raiding to the latest Wrath of the Lich King information in a "no marketing-speak allowed" throw-down. We will also be showing video footage of your first steps as a Death Knight from the current WotLK beta. Note: big fat Wrath spoilers! |
|
Saturday
4:30 PM |
MMO Costume Contest check-in Come one, come all! From basic costumes, to highly detailed, entries are welcome from any and all MMOs! Just have a notecard/piece of paper/scrap of bar napkin with your name, the game your costume is from, and a quick description. Note: Contestants for the MMO costume contest must check in no later than 5:00 PM. |
|
Saturday
5:30 PM |
MMO Costume Contest Last year, we had an idea, 2 weeks notice, and landed a packed house and a full overflow room. This year, we're ready to do it even bigger, and with even more awesome prizes! Come watch - or dress as your favorite MMO character and join in as Krystalle Voecks from Massively hosts the 2nd Annual MMORPG Costume Contest. Special guest star judges include Jorgen Tharaldsen from Funcom and Alan "Brenlo" Crosby from Sony Online Entertainment. |
|
Sunday
7:00 PM |
MMO Trivia contest We have prizes up for grabs -- but this game isn't about loot; It's about bragging rights. Everyone plays, anyone can win. You can pre-register as a team on the DC MMO website or catch up with the D*C MMO staff in person at any of our panels during the weekend. The only "charge" to play is that you have fun! |
|
Sunday
10:00 PM |
World of Warcraft: An evening with WoW Insider & Massively Here it is. The one you've all been asking for since last year, when we packed not one, but two rooms and had to turn away 300 more people because we couldn't cram anyone else in the door. The WoW party is back with a vengeance. Come and represent the Alliance or the Horde in a battle of epic partying. We're going to punt gnomes, nerf warlocks, and make last year's get together look like a tea party. Oh, and we'll have some schwag too. You know, if you're into that kind of thing. Note: Wrath spoilers! |
Filed under: Events, Fan stuff, WoW Social Conventions, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Vladius Aug 26th 2008 10:23PM
Lets just hope we don't have a repeat of what happened last year....
Ahoni Aug 26th 2008 10:46PM
Ok, so what happened last year?
Ichthus Aug 26th 2008 10:50PM
You mean the part where a different track was doing horrible things with MMO panels completely unrelated to the real MMO track?
Krystalle Voecks Aug 27th 2008 6:54AM
@Vladius: If you mean the space issue, the only panel in a "small" room this year is Wife/Husband faction. We weren't sure if that would pack out (we're hoping not, and that y'all are instead getting your other halves to play WoW with you) so to be safe, we put it in the small room.
Beyond that, the other rooms this year are substantially larger. The main party / Q&A's are in a ballroom with capacity of 1200-1500, so we should be good for space.
@Ichthus: I'm assuming you mean the EFF track panels and the fan-run Trivia contest last year? I can't speak to the EFF track -- they do their own thing. I haven't heard of them doing MMO panels this year, however. The easy way to avoid that is just to skip any WoW panels that aren't on the MMORPG track. Don't accept substitutes! ;)
As for the trivia, that's in the Capital ballroom, and is fully in control of the MMORPG track director/Staff. It's not just WoW trivia this year, however, so be prepared!
kangshi Aug 26th 2008 10:28PM
looks like you'll be in larger conference rooms this year. hopefully.
Krystalle Voecks Aug 27th 2008 5:47AM
The only "small" room this year is Maintaining Wife/Husband faction, and isn't directly WoW-specific; just general MMO interest.
But just so you know, the capacity at the low-end is 170 on the Augusta. The Athens room is 260, and the Capital Ballroom (That's North, Center and South combined) can fit between 1200-1500 people. In comparison, the room we were in last year fit approximately 130 people. (We won't talk about how many were actually in there, but we'll say that it was ridiculously hot.)
timekeeper Aug 26th 2008 10:44PM
I wish I had vacation this year at Labor Day, I'd love to be at D*C this year. Alas, it was not meant to be.
Krystalle Voecks Aug 27th 2008 6:48AM
There's always next year! Good time to start saving. ;)
kangshi Aug 27th 2008 8:51AM
it would also be a good time to book the room for next year. the rooms were all booked up for the next year in a matter of weeks.
Charlie Taylor Aug 26th 2008 11:25PM
w00t! I'll be there just like last year, taking pictures :D
Max Aug 27th 2008 1:48AM
People who go to things like dragon con = super nerds that even normal nerds can make fun of.
Charlie Taylor Aug 27th 2008 1:25AM
I'm sorry you feel that way, but a couple thousand people disagree with you. As well as Jewel Staite, I'll be sure to inform her of your lofty opinion.
Krystalle Voecks Aug 27th 2008 6:33AM
You know, if both D*C and PAX didn't look like they were headed for record packed-crowd attendance this weekend, I might be inclined to give that opinion more credence.
Sorry man, geek is the new black.
Jhestor Aug 27th 2008 7:29AM
Agreed. Last year over 35,000 people attended... D*C is the largest fandom/pop culture event in the country. Although the actors were fun to meet, my favorite celebrity that was there for fans was Grant Imahara from Myth Busters... very nice guy!
People who deride others for their fandom are often either in denial about their own hobbies, or even worse, are secretly ashamed of what they do and take comfort in belittling others. Thumbs down for those of you that bolster your own fragile ego by putting down everybody around you.
Life is meant to be enjoyed by any means necessary. For some people, that means dressing up in silly costumes and letting all the normal social "rules" fly out the window... and if a person can get over themselves for a weekend and just commit to having some fun, they'd realize how enjoyable a silly weekend of nerdery can be.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there; I was as disappointed as most about being turned away from the wowinsider panel last year, and am excited about the new room space.
cjshrader Aug 27th 2008 7:15AM
All types go. I like to go and make fun of some of the cos-players, but really that's just to be cool in front of my friends. Some of those costumes are amazing.
If you're in the area, just stop by and see it. If you tell the people at the front you're going to the bathroom or something they'll let you in the hotel so you can get a feel for it. I used to think it was a convention of the biggest nerds (And goths). Well, it still is, but there are all kinds of people there and it really is a lot of fun. My only complaint is every year more and more people go and now you spend half your time waiting in line.
@Jhestor: Last year I got all of their autographs on a picture of Kari Byron. Shame they won't be there this year, they were pretty funny at the Masquerade.
Jhestor Aug 27th 2008 7:38AM
@ cjshrader
Right on, about the masquerade; funny stuff.
kangshi Aug 27th 2008 8:48AM
you know if your really too cool for school, than you can always do what about 60% of the people do. get really drunk or high and feel like your in another world when you walk around the convention when about 40% of the people are in costume. of course, i don't think aol blogs or wow insider would agree with you getting drunk or high, but thats just the thing to do. you'll see me at the bars watching college football in between walking around amazing at the costumes. hell this may be the first year in about 10 years i go that i may even go to a session (a wow insider one of course b/c i couldn't get into one last year). its like a geek mardi gras.
SeaRaptor Aug 27th 2008 7:52PM
Ethan Phillips is emcee'ing Masquerade this year. Shoudl be a trip.
I didn't make it to any of the WoW Insider stuff last year, but hope to this year. Maybe I can convince my wife to come along to the couples' faction panel. ;)
Evi Aug 27th 2008 12:45PM
I can't wait! Thanks for the guide.
Badger Aug 27th 2008 10:52PM
Wait a minute. Who organized the MMO "Track?" And for that matter what exactly is a "Track" anyway?