RPGaDay: Meet

To continue last night's theme of in-person conventions, since I wrote it very late and it's still on my mind, conventions are both a great and terrible way to meet people.

They're great beause all the things that can make socialising difficult are gone.  Everyone there is going to be a fan of RPGs, so no worries about finding things to talk about.  I'll definitely have people to talk to, because I'll be in a game and any competent GM will ensure that everybody gets involved.  Conventions let me ignore the fact that I'm a shy introvert and go out and have fun and meet lots of people.

They're terrible because I have no idea who most of those people are.

I'm not good with faces to begin with, and to make matters worse...well, I wouldn't be able to find my way to a convention by following the trail of nerds if RPG convention-goers didn't have a certain look about them.  Even if I meet someone who looks familiar, knowing how my brain processes faces means I'm often not sure if I have met them before or if they just look similar to someone I've met.

Then there's names, and I really appreciate conventions that supply name badges, as that removes at least part of the name problem.  What it doesn't do is change the fact that basically everyone at RPG conventions is called Chris, Paul or Andrew.  And then to further confuse matters, we immediately get into a game where nobody is using their real name anyway, so even if I do remember a name it's 50:50 whether it's their own or the character they played.

My chances of remembering someone are significantly higher if their name or appearance is significantly outside the norm (although I can't always put a name to a face).  Otherwise it can take a lot of conventions for me to be able to identify someone on sight.

What I won't forget, however, is the fun we had together.  So if you see me at a convention, whether in person or virtual, and I don't seem to recognise you, remind me of the game we played.  Because even if I can't remember your name or your face, I'll absolutely remember you.