12 Tips for RECON Remote

RECON starts in exactly one week. Here’s how to make the most of your time at this event.

[1] Get the Right Ticket

Players should grab a Community Ticket, professionals should grab a Pro Ticket. Basic Tickets will let you view the videos, and interact with sponsors, but that’s mostly it. Champion Tickets really are for folks who have the money and want to support what we are doing. We appreciate anyone who is supporting in any way.

There is a path to upgrade your tickets. Contact RECON@roomescapeartist.com for more info.

[2] Use the Discord App (Download)

You can access Discord through a web browser. Don’t do that. It will make everything harder. Also, while you’re at it, make sure that you are running that latest version of Discord, and restart your computer before the event.

Note that you can also use Discord on your phone, in the app, if you happen to be on the move during RECON.

[3] Make Good Talk Decisions

None of the Main Stage talks at RECON are counter-programmed. You don’t have to choose between different talks. This is deliberate. In general, I recommend watching all of them, if you can commit to the full event. If you cannot, my recommendation is to bias towards watching the talks that you are a little less interested in or topics that you are less familiar with. If you are comfortable with game design, you will get less out of the talks about game and puzzle design. I always see people at conferences watching talks about things that they know a lot about, and then get disappointed when they didn’t learn that much. Embrace the unknown.

[4] Watch the Finance Talk

I love all of the talks, but I really think that Dino & Gary have one of the most important talks that we have ever featured. They present a fairly dry topic exceptionally well.

[5] Plan Your Food Ahead of Time

RECON kind of sucks you in, and then at some point you forgot to eat. Have a plan for snacks and meals ahead of time.

[6] We Have Amazing Volunteers

If you’re confused, something isn’t working, or you just need help, we have a small army of volunteers that are trained and prepared to support you. Just ask.

[7] Facilitated Discussions & Birds of a Feather

These organized group discussions are an amazing resource for Pro and Champion ticket holders. Come ready to ask questions, share experiences, and be open about struggles.

[8] Visit Our Sponsor Booths

We have a great collection of sponsors. This year we narrowed the number of sponsors and really vetted them. They are fantastic. Check them out; chat with them. Go to their demos. If they have a product that fits your needs, consider buying.

[9] Talk Chat Moves Fast

Each talk has its own chat. When that talk is streaming, it moves like Twitch chat… which if you aren’t used to it… feels like reading the Matrix. You don’t have to keep up with it. Enjoy the talk, scroll through the chat afterwards.

[10] Improved Discord Experience

Brendan Lutz, REA’s CTO, has made some massive improvements to the RECON Discord server for 2023. These will be rolling out to a server near you very soon. He has done a fantastic job of smoothing our onboarding process, and making things just work better. I saw the near final demo earlier this week.

[11] Embrace the Bar Scene

Back in 2020, after programming had ended the first day, some folks started using the open video chat channels to hangout and keep the conversation going. This morphed into the video chat bars. Those are back, and the after-hours conversations are one of the best parts of RECON. Leave time for them.

[12] RECON Runs on “New York” Time

We are hosting RECON from New York, and on the official schedule, all times listed are for New York. We phrase it this way so that you don’t need to remember a time zone, or whether to account for daylight savings. Just ask Google what time it is in New York right now, and you can figure out where we are in the RECON schedule.

This event is optimized for New York, and that’s where we are hosting it from. We encourage those on the west coast of the US to wake up early and tune in. And we invite those in Europe to stay on late into the night. For one weekend, we hope you can shift your schedule a bit. We know it’s tough for Australia; you’ll basically have to be nocturnal, but we really hope you can come for at least some of this event.