Update! Sign-ups are now open for the Board Game and D&D sessions. The schedule below has been updated as well. You’ll want to visit the new #AIEConWinter2021 Discord channels for signup procedures for the various sessions which are slightly different between D&D and Board Games.
Background: The long, dark winter is upon us and what better way to spend it than with friends online. Announcing the first ever AIECon! This will be our first attempt to put together a weekend of “games convention” style side activities a bit outside the usual in-game events we hold across our divisions.
The AIECon for Winter 2021 is scheduled for the weekend of January 22nd to the 24th. The leaders of the event tracks are hard at work pulling together plans and finalizing details (so yes, this is all subject to change) but here’s what you can likely expect:
Presentations and Panels: We’ll have an opening event with a guild town hall, a closing event to wrap up the weekend, and a live version of some of our AIE podcasts. These will all be broadcast on Twitch and possibly shared live in Discord, as will most of the other track events.
Update! Two panel presentations have been added as Con sessions. On Saturday at 3pm eastern/2pm central we’ll have a board gaming panel with experts and guests talking about the industry and games. Later on Saturday at 7pm eastern/8pm central we’ll have an indy-game developer join us to talk about game dev, their game and more. Be there in Discord or Twitch!
Casual Games: You’ll be able to sign up for and/or jump in ad-hoc to some casual party games. Think Jackbox (and maybe some others). We will get some time windows of casual, fun play time scheduled and stream the fun for “audience” participation as well. The schedule has been updated. These will be first-come-first-served sessions and we can swap people in and out of game and audience positions throughout the timeslots.
Board Games: Our board game team is setting up an online, streamable version of two different board games with a couple sessions each. Sign-ups are now open in the #board-game-signup channel using a reaction bot to grab a slot. Get in there now and reserve your slot. Post in the chat channel if all slots are filled and you’d like to be on standby. Also be sure to join in Discord and Twitch to watch and see the action live. Here is a brief description of the two games:
Forgotten Waters plunges players into the lives of pirates aboard the finest ship ever to sail the seas. Okay, it ain’t the finest ship, not even close really, but it’s certainly not the worst! Lots of laughs and fun are on the horizon!
Arcana Rising invites up to six spellcasters to participate in a competition to acquire arcane artifacts and cast mighty spells in an effort to gain knowledge and power. As they gather their mystical relics, they note the passing of the moons which amplify the power of certain schools of magic allowing wizards to cast spells at the peak of their power!
Dungeons & Dragons: Are you D&D curious or a seasoned expert? Three DMs have set up sessions for us over the weekend. Sign-ups are now open with details in the #d-and-d-signup channel where you can find the link to the sign-up spreadsheet. The games are designed for online play and most are set up for beginners to be able to join and learn. These will also be streamed so we all can watch and cheer along with the adventurers.
There’s lots more work to be done so keep an eye out here for details on the specific tracks, how sign-up might work where they would be needed, and additional hype!11!1!! Get the word out to all our AIE friends and family and anyone outside AIE that you think should jump in or play along as a spectator.
This is a very early draft agenda representing how the weekend might be scheduled. Some of our usual game stuff may still be happening as well, like Noob Raid. More to come! Send us questions in Discord in the #AIECon channel, block out the dates on your calendar, and we hope to see you there!
This is a triumph. I’m making a note here, “huge success!”
— GLADOS