At Monster Fight Club, we believe in recognizing individuals who go above and beyond, and Alex is undoubtedly one of those outstanding contributors. Their personal dedication to volunteering sets them apart. When Alex approached me about organizing Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone demos at a local convention, the only assistance they sought was related to demo notes and ensuring proper brand representation. Recognizing the exceptional effort they were putting in, I felt compelled to share their story with the entire team.
Witnessing Alex's ongoing commitment to cultivating the Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone community, we've proudly appointed them as an honorary Fixer (emissary) for MFC. In appreciation of their efforts, we've sent them a demo care package, along with some additional goodies, as a token of gratitude and a warm welcome to the team!
Curious to delve deeper into Alex's motivations, their demo experiences, and the journey they undertook, I posed some questions for Fixer Alex to reflect upon. Here is their insightful response.
Please enjoy, and you can find Fixer Alex on our Discord, always ready to help their fellow players.
Yours in monstrous gaming,
Audrey, your Monster Maven
-Why did you take on running demos at your local con?
Cyberpunk has always been my favorite setting for dang near everything. RPG, Video Games, Clothing, Style, etc. I have also been a big fan of smaller skirmish-style miniature games for a long time but never could find one that I really enjoyed more than playing one game a week. CZ hit me right in both of those aspects, so of course, I adore it. I wanted a good way to show off the game to get more players. I was actually looking at ways to show it off around town, even going up to multiple game shops and just playing, so maybe people would show an interest in it. That was not doing much for getting the word out, so I started up a chat group for it, but it never passed three to four people. I then saw that I had an opportunity to show it at a convention that was local for me, and I thought, “This is perfect,” so I talked to the people in charge, and they said they would be happy to let me host a demo for the two-day con.
-How did you prepare for the event?
I immediately contacted the lovely people at MFC to see if it was even legal for me to do something like this. It was all new to me. Once I got the go-ahead from them, I started planning (and painting ……. a lot). I was happy because I was then contacted by a veteran demo person, and they helped me with ways to show off the game and the system. Helping to make it understood that it’s an easy game to learn but still a competitive game! After gathering and painting all the terrain and miniatures I needed, I subjected my partner to listen to me give my demo intro and speech for the game until I had it pretty well down. Once I had all that ready and perfected (as much as it could be), I studied the rules to make sure I was able to give quick answers (A lot of us mini-game players have very specific questions, and I wanted to be the person who had the answer!). Once that was all done, I was ready, and it was already Con time!
-What was easy about it, and what did you learn that you will need next time?
A lot of it was easy for me as I am a natural when it comes to talking about something I am passionate about... Don’t get me going on a subject I am interested in unless you have time! The people at MFC made it super easy for me to get the info I needed and even reached out on occasion just to make sure I had not caught fire (thanks, y'all!)
Next time, though, I will definitely say I want to be better prepared with flyers for the game, cards for the local gaming group as well as MFC’s business cards, maybe something to give away like stickers, bigger signs, and to have QR links readily available. I tend to go overboard on anything I do… my Cyberpunk terrain has lights on it, for crying out loud. I will also bring a cart, as I had to lug a backpack, all my terrain, mats, minis, books, computer for display, and cards up and down the elevator. All of that stuff is very portable, but I just went overboard and brought ALL my terrain instead of a logical amount.
-Any plans for the future?
Totally! I have already started a local Jacksonville, FL discord, which is quickly growing, hopefully to the surrounding cities soon. I have contacted every game store within about 1 hour of me and asked about running demos and getting game groups together. They had all been very excited as most of them had heard of the game, but no one had really stepped up to show it off. I have had wonderful learning nights and the beginning of a local campaign with already 30+ people in the local group wanting to learn how to play, learn how to make and alter terrain, people wanting to get quick fights in, and people wanting to get into the campaign style of the game! It has been a great and quick start to growing a community, and I don’t foresee it stopping anytime soon!
Nakamacon! Nov 4-5th 2023
Game Store Demos
Jax FL GamersCorp!
Java Game Haus
Demos at Counterspell!
