Divinity 2 - RPC Blog part 3

The third blog on the Role Playing Convention can be found on the Divinity 2 site. Some new photo's can be found there and the following text.

Last day of the show, and as the doors roll open, the crowds once again surge in, eager to pick those last few minute bargains that they agonized over the day before. Then, if they are anything like me, they will have suddenly panicked at about 10pm Saturday night when it dawned on them that you REALLY want that item, and it MIGHT NOT BE THERE TOMORROW!!!!!

Most early risers included the clearly disciplined stormtroopers and associated bounty hunters, whereas mid day saw the arrival of the more feisty characters, (including a contingent of shouty dwarves chucking insults at an argumentative orc warband). At times, the Divinity stand felt like a very busy executive lounge at an airport that only went to fantasy or sci fi destinations….

We had a huge amount of fans come by to do the book quest today, and it was pretty exhausting for everyone from DTP, but again, the enthusiasm and politeness of the show goers was overwhelming. In three days we didn’t come across a single grumpy person (even the ogres) and that is pretty impressive considering how many people came by. I managed to grab a few minutes with the Community Manager, Bettina, who was rushing around meeting up with her beloved forum folks, plenty of smiles all around!

The sun came out again for a little while, and so many people took the chance to relax outside with a beer and listen to some amazingly lively medieval style bands. One thing I did notice, conscious or not, arch enemies didn’t mix. Elves sat in shaded areas in the breeze, orcs sat in circles and traded insults and the occasional punch, or took a back seat behind others and continuously teased or pestered them good naturedly; dwarves blockaded one of the beer tents; and humans practiced sword play, or tried on different armour types, as they admired themselves in mirrors.

As 6pm rapidly approached, the halls began to empty, and there was something quite sad about that. Seeing folks carefully packing away their costumes and returning to jeans and Tshirts, was surprisingly somber. Since Friday I have seen countless guild folks meeting up, clearly for the first time, groups of strangers sitting together, drinking and talking, some good natured boisterousness and just some darn good folks. I wonder if there are many other passions like this, that can claim to cram 15,000 people in one building, their clothes clearly defining personal tribal associations, giving them access to alchohol and food, allowing them to be armed with weapons – yet never once was there any hint of any real disagreement. This was an event packed with folks that love their hobby, are willing to share that passion openly with others, and possibly the nicest, most enthusiastic, and friendly people I have ever had the privilege to meet.

Raise a tankard to the manically busy DTP marketing team next time – they worked their fingers to the bone, and never once sneaked off for a crafty Stamina potion... :)