Expo approaches and I am getting my ducks in a row, or at least stuff in a bag and social media sorted out.
I’ll not be updating the blog much during the day at all, and possibly not much over the course of the con. Most of the reviews I’ll be note taking on and then writing up properly when I get back but I do hope to do an overview of each day. If you want to keep up with me when I am actually wandering about the con you can follow me on Twitter or Instagram. I’ll be posting the occasional thing to Facebook as well but Twitter and Instagram will be the best way for me to communicate with you as I go, as it were. I’ve also updated the menu at the top of the page with a special Games Expo tab, so that if you want to follow posts only relating to expo for the next little while, you can do so.
You’ll find links to all these things on the right hand side of the blog:
I’ll be wearing some livery for the blog that looks like this:
on a nice red polo shirt. Getting 4 of these made so one for each day: travelling and the three days of the con.
As I am going to be wandering around all day I am packing as little as I can in my ‘wandering around the con’ bag. Let’s have a little look at what I am carrying and why.
First off I am carrying a laptop style shoulder bag. I thought about taking a rucksack that would be a little more comfortable, but the shoulder bag will make everything I need a little more accessible, and also mean I am not whacking people as I wander around.
I’ll be taking this:
And it will be filled with this:
So what’s all this stuff then and why. So first up is my new ASUS Chromebook Flip which I am absolutely adoring. Extremely light, perfect for writing on and can also convert into a tablet for PDF reading. Great little computer. This is for writing up reviews and the like in the evening, probably won’t get much use during the day but I want to have it on me if I get a moment here and there.
I’m taking my Nikon SLR to snap some nice photos of the games I’ll be playing, people I’m meeting etc. I’m going to be getting some practice in with that over the next week or so to make sure I don’t do what I did last year and turn off the auto focus. Bloody idiot. I’ll be using my phone for quick snaps and to update my Instagram and Twitter as I wander round.
Other bits of tech include my phone, a Moto 4g Plus which isn’t in the picture for reasons I am sure you can guess, an Anker battery pack and cables for my phone, unfortunately my Chromebook needs plugged in via it’s proprietary charger, also in the bag. I expect the phone to last most of the day, but I will be using it for quick photos and updating Instagram, Twitter and the like so is likely to need a bit of a boost.
Whilst I am playing a game though I don’t want to festoon the table with more tech than an Apple Store, so I am going to have a notebook with me and a few pens to make notes on games as I go. If I need to do an interview or anything I’ll be using my phone to record that. I have a bunch of new business cards made up, the majority of which will be in my suitcase, but I’ll be carrying a supply on me and a little case I can have in a pocket to hand some out.
Other things in the bag, that aren’t pictured at the moment, are mostly survival and cleanliness. I am going to be talking to people all day so mints are an essential for the breath and water to keep my mouth from drying up. I’ll have some deodorant on me as well to round off that side of things and probably a snack or two. I think that should do me. That’ll be just about 5kg on me for most of the day, so that shouldn’t be too bad.
Any games I buy as I go will just have to go in bags provided and regular trips back to the room will probably be in order, or the excellent drop off service that Leisure Games are providing.
Really getting excited for Expo now, and I can’t wait to highlight games that I hope will bring you as much joy as they do me.