The Second Day, and The End - "Bump Out"

Sunday, 12th of March 2023

*this info is applicable for saturday too

• I am in "Just Dance", "Retro Games", and "Free play areas" ↳ spending most time in freeplay

• Walking around, making sure everything is running ↳ Range of games: animal crossing, tetris, fortnite, rocket league, taiko drum game, fifa, street fighter, super smash bros, mario kart 8, etc. ↳ fits all players , (introvert, alone, multiplayer, competitive, etc.) ↳ prizes to be won in games when there were highs-ones (tetris, etc.) ↳ PC /keyboard games, nintendo, xbox ↳ x1 staff , a volunteer

• lots of competitiveness in freeplay zone in both individual and group games ↳ smash bros, tetris

• Bring your own computer zone (BYOC). Culture of playing video games in a public setting

• Collection of volunteering shirts

• Cosplayers - main stage

• "Artist's alley'' zone - fan made art, DND dice, clothing stalls

• The games expo - challenges for a reward, complete 6 challenges (e.g. Just dance, retro, car games)

• An attendee had asked me to verse them in Mario kart in the free play zone

• My shift - 2.30pm until 9.15pm. 30 minute break

• Name tag had my "gamer tag" on it & not my first name. this is interesting

• Super smash bros (SSB) arena . lots of spectators ↳ Very visible in groups & out groups / social categorisation → different communities ↳ to splay ↳ trading card games (TCG) (MagicTG, Pokémon) ↳ FPS games ↳ DND, board games

• Volunteers very open, playing / communication with attendees is high

• Ratio of attendees - range of ethnicities, age groups and genders ↳ predominantly male dominated convention (both in staff / volunteers 1 attendees) ↳ especially in free play zone I arenas . cow % of women

• Prizes that tempt individuals in the community (razer, racing chairs, t-shirts, RGB keyboards, headsets , marvel figures, game specific rewards (Rainbow 6 siege)

• Rhythm games zone: people bringing their own drumsticks

• Indie games zone: only 2 panels (one PC based game, one mobile)

• Bringing games from home into a public environment (Mario kart 8) ↳ "celebrating gaming culture" ↳ volunteers!

• People with and without skill - many different levels ↳ mobile gamers , but also Pc / console.

• Formation of groups in the volunteers: 4 team leaders, staff ↳ determined by whether they have volunteered before

• Lots of spectators around cosplay competitions, super smash bros competitions, speed running, etc. ↳ High levels of immersion ↳ Not a lot of time to speak to other volunteers, besides on break and handover (2:45pm)

• Social identification. in groups and out groups.

• AS A VOLUNTEER, YOU EXPERIENCE THE EVENT IN A WHOLE NEW WAY /LENS.

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The day was quite similar to Saturday, however my time with attendees was a lot shorter, with the expo ending at around 5pm. I was on the floor for just under 3 hours before bump in began. It was at the point in the expo where attendees would come up to me for a conversation, to get help with something on their phone

because they had cosplayer gloves on, or for advice on where to check out in the con

vention hall. I had a man come up to me, who I had been observing all weekend in freeplay - he was eager to win tetris, with a score of 33000, or something similar like that if I remember correctly. We were both observing other people constantly attempt to beat his high score, but to no avail. Sunday was by far more laid back when compared to Saturday.

We gave out the prizes to the winners, and I even checked out one of the games sneakily before the expo shut at 5pm. And, about this, is that when I sat down at the indie game zone with the game

developer, he said that, "If anyone comes up and asks what you're doing with me, I'll tell them that you're helping me." Which, I thought was really funny (but also super nice).

I then, went and got a photo with a Media person from the convention. I just thought he looked really cool, and he was the star of the expo, as many had thought. He added more life with his music, and commentary as he walked around the convention halls throughout the two days.

During this time, I was also asked to 'guard' the BYOC area, for attendees to ensure that they could pack up their PCs safely without unwanted guests trying to cause chaos.

Once all attendees had left, bump out begun!

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BUMP OUT

• Ushering the remaining attendees out of the venue

• Making sure all that are remaining in the conventional hall are wearing Hi-Vis vests

• I had a really nice chat with some of the volunteers while on break while inside volunteer HQ, we talked about our lives, the games we like to play, and our experiences as volunteers and joked around for a bit. It was nice to connect with others on that level.

• Packing up of chairs, tables - tiring labour

• When we finished packing down the venue there was a strong sense of community within the volunteer groups, as this was a time where we mainly spoke to each other and got to know each other.

Bump Out was a period of reflection on the event. I truly believe it was a period in time where we came together as volunteers the most. To me, it was a feeling as if we had achieved something. At the start of bump in, we had a process where we did a clearing of the whole convention centre hall. This is when we all, as volunteers, gathered into one line and walked down the hall in unison to make sure that the hall was ready to be cleared out. This included making sure that there were no more attendees in the hall, and ensuring that everyone remaining in the hall had Hi-Vis Vests on.

The Clearing Process

And then, the clearing begun! We split into groups and started dragging chairs away, packing up tables, and boxing up monitors. The time crunch had started, as we wanted to be out as soon as possible. Learning the brandings of tables, chairs, and to not mix them up because they were with different hiring companies. Watching artist's take down their work, back into suitcases while we packed away boardgames from the tabletop zone. And a time where I spoke to volunteers the most. It was hard work, dragging 10 chairs at the same time as they make an obnoxious noise across the hall as it becomes more and more empty. It wasn't until now that I felt that I was apart of something. At the beginning of the convention, when I first met all the volunteers, I felt alienated in a way from the rest of the group for a range of reasons - age, gender, and my background. By the end of bump in, I had felt much more in place. There was a strong sense of community, leadership and encouragement across the volunteers.

This then links to prosocial behaviour - Prosocial Behaviour is defined as a behaviour that benefits another person or has positive social consequences (Staub, 1978). It refers to voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals (Eisenberg and Mussen 1989). This is directly linked to what we did as volunteers. We had no expectations of how the game expo would turn out, yet, we all still showed up for a community and gave it our best. We all wanted one thing - a smooth, successful event. Nothing more and nothing less. Our input within staff channels and communication with other volunteers, and attendees had benefitted the event.

Once bump out had finished, we were all ecstatic (despite being so hungry and tired) after volunteering over the past 2 to 3 days. We were then surprised by freebies, kindly given to us as they were what was left from the prize wheel from the convention. We then had pizza and soda, where we all talked to each other and connected from the convention and the success that it was.

Freebies

Pizza Party!