Imagine old city. Italian, beautiful city with narrow streets, small squares and decorated gates. With small shops on every street and hundreds of small restaurants and cafes on every corner. It’s sunny in the day and it’s bright in the night too, with all those lamps and lighting from windows, cafeterias and moon. Imagine Lucca.
Imagine convention that takes place in a whole city. Not in the exhibitor hall. Not in the convention center. Imagine convention that absorbs the whole city. With exhibition tents on every square. With geeks on every street. With events, cosplays, fun taking place on every corner.
They say Gen Con has about 50K visitors. They say Essen has about 50K visitors.
Lucca has 180K visitors…
Imagine convention that takes place in a whole city…
Every little shop celebrates convention. Whatever it sells jewelry or clothes, whatever this is a grocery store or small pizza place, it celebrates convention. Comic books, video games, cosplay. The whole city… You walk those narrow streets and you see comic book store and another comic book store, and store with action figures and store with cosplay accesories and you don’t get it. How’s that? This is some sort of a dream city? With only geek dedicated stores on every street?
They explain you. For the 4 days of convention local stores close and rent the space to geek stores who open only for those 4 days.
So you walk those narrow streets. Geeks all around. Comic book store on the right, action figures store on the left. Dream city it is…
You are fan of Dragon Age? They built actual village for you. Have fun. You are in a Lucca. Dream city…
So you are comic books fan. Or Warhammer fan. Or Munchkin fan? It’s not gallery that waits for you. It’s actual performance area, where your favorite artists paint in front of you, create masterpiece paintings right there, right for you. Imagine Lucca, can you?
Awards ceremony? Of course, it takes place in a fancy theater. Guest panels? Of course in press room. And so on and so on…
Last weekend I’ve been in Lucca. Biggest con I have ever been. Con that takes place in a city. Literally. Imagine that. Imagine Lucca…
I strongly believe that good board game is the one that tells a good story. You play it and suddenly you are sucked into it, you feel chills on the skin. Emotions grow. In a moment you defend castle. You hear roar of warriors. You smell boiling oil. You are into it.
That's how I design my games. I always want to tell a good story. I want players to be into it. As deep as possible.
