Arcanacon
Encyclopedia
Arcanacon is a role-playing
convention held in Melbourne annually. It is one of several Role-playing conventions of Victoria, Australia run through the year.
Arcanacon is the longest running role-playing
convention in Victoria.
In 1983 the convention was held at Melbourne University. As well as a Dungeons and Dragons
major, it also included the second ever freeform to be run in Australia, as well as Traveller
, DragonQuest
, RuneQuest
and Call of Cthulhu
tournaments.
1984 saw the convention at University High School
and the major appearance of Syd the Arcanasaur, the convention's mascot. In 1985 the convention moved to Melbourne College of Advanced Education. In 1988 it moved to Collingwood Education Centre, where it has remained until now.
Initially the convention was held in September, but it later moved to August and then to July, where it was run during the Victorian School holiday period. In 2001, the convention moved to the Australia Day
Weekend (the weekend closest to 26 January). The move was in part due to a perceived change in the focus of CanCon (which is run in Canberra
on the same weekend) from mixed roleplaying and wargaming
to solely wargaming.
Although sections of the convention had been run with various theme over the years, at Arcanacon XII the convention itself started running an overall theme. In 2000 this theme became a part of the events run at the convention, and games in the theme were sought out to give each year a different feel.
In 2007, a short documentary about roleplaying was filmed at Arcanacan XXI for the Channel 31 television programme Planet Nerd
.
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
convention held in Melbourne annually. It is one of several Role-playing conventions of Victoria, Australia run through the year.
Arcanacon is the longest running role-playing
Role-playing
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role...
convention in Victoria.
In 1983 the convention was held at Melbourne University. As well as a Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
major, it also included the second ever freeform to be run in Australia, as well as Traveller
Traveller (role-playing game)
Traveller is a series of related science fiction role-playing games, the first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop and subsequent editions by various companies remaining in print to this day. The game was inspired from such classic science fiction stories as the Dumarest saga series by...
, DragonQuest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
, RuneQuest
RuneQuest
RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world...
and Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
tournaments.
1984 saw the convention at University High School
University High School, Melbourne
The University High School is a public, co-educational high school, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville.-History:...
and the major appearance of Syd the Arcanasaur, the convention's mascot. In 1985 the convention moved to Melbourne College of Advanced Education. In 1988 it moved to Collingwood Education Centre, where it has remained until now.
Initially the convention was held in September, but it later moved to August and then to July, where it was run during the Victorian School holiday period. In 2001, the convention moved to the Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
Weekend (the weekend closest to 26 January). The move was in part due to a perceived change in the focus of CanCon (which is run in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
on the same weekend) from mixed roleplaying and wargaming
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
to solely wargaming.
Although sections of the convention had been run with various theme over the years, at Arcanacon XII the convention itself started running an overall theme. In 2000 this theme became a part of the events run at the convention, and games in the theme were sought out to give each year a different feel.
In 2007, a short documentary about roleplaying was filmed at Arcanacan XXI for the Channel 31 television programme Planet Nerd
Planet Nerd
Planet Nerd is a television comedy variety programme broadcast on Channel 31 Melbourne. It stars local Melbourne comedians Dan Walmsley, Paul Francis Verhoeven, Ben McKenzie, Simon Barber, Jason English-Rees, Andrew Doodson, Lou Pardi, and Rob Lloyd, and features other local Melbourne talent as well...
.
List of conventions
- 1983 Arcanacon I
- 1984 Arcanacon II
- 1985 Arcanacon III
- 1986 Arcanacon IV
- 1987 Arcanacon V
- 1988 Arcanacon VI
- 1989 Arcanacon VII
- 1990 Arcanacon VIII
- 1991 Arcanacon IX
- 1992 Arcanacon X
- 1993 Arcanacon XI - First Eleven
- 1994 Arcanacon XII - The Dirty Dozen
- 1995 Arcanacon XIII - Unlucky for Some
- 1996 Arcanacon XIV
- 1997 Arcanacon XV
- 1998 Arcanacon XVI - Sweet Sixteen
- 1999 Arcanacon XVII - Summer of the 17th Troll
- 2000 Arcanacon XVIII - Arcanacon 1800s: A Victorian Roleplaying Convention
- 2001 Arcanacon XIX - Arcanacon 2001: a roleplaying convention
- 2002 Arcanacon XX - Akenaken: Secrets of the ancient world
- 2003 Arcanacon XXI - anniversaries, birthdays and celebrations
- 2004 Arcanacon XXII - Folk Tales and Faerie Stories
- 2005 Arcanacon XXIII - conspiracies, secrets and paranoia
- 2006 Arcanacon XXIV - Swashbuckling, Exploration and Adventure
- 2007 Arcanacon XXV - Legends of the Silver Screen
- 2008 Arcanacon XXVI - Zombies, and Witches, and Dragons, Oh My!
See also
- The Sunday Age (Australia), Gang Game Nazi-like, racist - police. 386 words, 31 May 1992, Page 5
- Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Space Oddities. By Michael Idato, 1815 words 3 June 2000, Computers Section Page 10.
- The Age (Australia), Role-playing Nerdy? Nah!. By Carolyn Webb, 1058 words, 25 January 2001, Today Section Page 3.
- Ariel Archives CD, published by Brett Easterbrook (Ariel Archives website)