The need for fan events, and a brief look at how to plan to avoid a flop

With BlizzCon 2006 canned and E3 2007 on the ropes, event planning seems to be increasingly in the hands of fans and affiliate sites. Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle looks at how individual developers treat the idea of a fan event, and offers a rudimentary "how to" for affiliate sites and guild masters planning their own get-togethers.

"Please note that as you're booking venues, food, and accommodations, you'll most likely need to front a sizable guarantee. Size is the most important factor, and unfortunately size is usually a crapshoot. To complicate matters, before you can start taking peoples' money and getting a decent estimate, you need to have the details pretty well worked out. To work out the details, you need to have a decent estimate. Joseph Heller couldn't have worked out a better catch-22, and this is why event planning is not for the feint of heart. If you do this, do it for the love of the game - because in all likelihood, the more complicated you make it, the more likely you are to lose money."

Get clicking to read more. Do you think Ethec is on the right track? Share your fan event ups and downs with us in the forums right here at Ten Ton Hammer!