What is TempleCon?
Founded in 2006, TempleCon is a celebration all things with a retro-futurist theme, right next door to one of the coolest cities in the world, Providence, Rhode Island. While we suppose you could call TempleCon a convention, as many are quick to do, it's a bit more than that. It's really a three day festival of modern hobby gaming and retro-futurist fandom, including events, performances and activities from all the genres out there that you can think of, and probably some that you can't. It's also a social event, which means that while we're all about the entertainment, we're even more about the people who love it. We started TempleCon for a lot of reasons, but one of them is because we think that things gaming and fandom need to finally be dragged out of the basement and into the ballroom. TempleCon breaks a lot of the long-standing rules of "geek" conventions, and offers up a diverse event full of wild parties, great games, live music, crazy performances, guests, workshops, vendors, and a ton more stuff that we think you'll like.
Trust us. You want to be here.
So, why is it called TempleCon?
Good question. A partial answer is because once upon a time some of the folks behind TempleCon used the phrase "Temple of the Night" to refer to certain super-secret plans for world domination, which happened to include freelance event coordination, specializing in gaming, nightlife, and stupidly over-the-top hosted parties which are still legendary in some parts of the country. That really doesn't completely answer the question, though. We think of the "Temple" in TempleCon in terms of the ancient definition of the word, long before it was applied to any specific religious context. To us, the word Temple represents a sacred chosen gathering ground where like minds meet and socialize, to learn from and test each other and create amazing experiences together, and to see some amazing costumes and performances. And smash some faces in a bunch of games of your choosing. That too.
Oh, we've also opened a stupidly cool gaming store and lounge in Rhode Island called "The Temple". For more information, check that out here. Reverse name recognition is so awesome.
Who goes to this type of thing?
Lots of different people. I'll be honest with you, fictitious-FAQ-question-person, another one of those many reasons that TempleCon was conceived is because we felt that the convention scene tended to pander to the rather unflattering stereotypes of gamers and science fiction fandom in general. We have found that the gaming hobby and retro-futurist fandom are also full of a lot of really decent people who often stay away from big events because they just don't want to deal with all the crap, and we don't blame them. So, with that in mind, TempleCon isn't just for gamers or hardcore science-fiction fans. It's for people who game, and for people who love science fiction, steampunk, retro-futurism, or gigantic parties, in whatever form most appeals to them. What that means is that this party has lots of different types of people at it, from the incredibly casual gamer, to the disturbingly hardcore one, from people who have never previously heard of retro-futurism but want to know more, to the die-hard steampunk cosplayer, and every indecisive bastard in between.
How much does it cost?
Really, you don't want to know. I try not to think about it. Oh, whoa, wait. You mean "How much does it cost to attend?" That's totally different. If you pre-register in advance for TempleCon you can expect to pay $35 for a weekend membership. If you would like to pay at the door because you are lazy and couldn't pre-reg, or just love us so much that you like supporting TempleCon and want to give us more money so that we can eat real food instead of instant ramen, you can get a membership at the door for $50 for the whole weekend. If you want to wuss out, we have per day options too. Check the Registration page for more info.
Not only is our entry fee pretty tame, but we also don't charge per event ticket prices or any of that nonsense. So when you come to TempleCon, you get your badge, and you play games, see shows, and go nuts until you collapse due to lack of sleep and we drag you away. That's it. We keep things pretty simple.
We also have some discount plans in place. If you gather a group together of 5, 10, or 15 people who don't hate you and are willing to pre-register for TempleCon with you, you are eligible for our group discount. That means we let you and your minions in for $30 each for the full weekend. If you have a valid current military or student ID, you can also sneak in for $30 for all three days, so long as you pre-register, or $45 at the door. We figure that in both cases you wake up every morning with the possibility of being in something akin to open warfare, so you deserve a break.
I have no money, but would still like to attend. Can I somehow get in for free?
If you are completely broke but still want to attend, it may be possible to arrange something. We accept the ancient currency of indentured servitude with which to oil the cogs of our well-tuned machine. If volunteering to join the ranks of the TempleCon staff for the weekend sounds like something you'd find enjoyable, we pity you, but will kindly direct you to the Volunteer Page for more info. Be warned, though: we bust ass to put on this show, and we run a tight ship. If you work hard, you'll earn yourself the weekend for free, a ton of respect from us, and a TempleCon T-shirt. You can use it to wipe up your tears of pain on Monday morning.
You also might want to consider running an event at TempleCon. Game masters get into TempleCon for free on the days that their events run, so you might want to consider submitting a proposal to us to run your favorite game system at the convention.
Or, if you want to work with some crazy people during the year leading up to the big weekend, you may want to check into our internship opportunities. Talk to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it about those.
What's the general age of people who attend TempleCon?
Well, we don't care what age you are, and a few gamer moms and dads do show up with lil' Steampunk and Gaming fans in tow. However, most guys and gals who attend TempleCon are at least 18+, with the vast majority being 21+. If you are mature enough to hang with adults and don't require some "kiddy-event-track" or something to keep you from burning the hotel down, welcome to TempleCon.
And while we won't card you, the lounge and the convention-area bars probably will, and we know that you are going to want to spend plenty of time there. We told you it's a party, remember?
What kind of rules are there? What kind of atmosphere should I expect?
That's actually two questions.
Which is ok, because we don't have many rules. Just don't be stupid, and treat everyone else with respect. We're really not huge on telling you what you can and can't do. We started this convention specifically to get away from the commercial, the cliquish, and the boring. We started this to provide a weekend-long refuge for actual grown-ups who don't need their hands constantly held when they just want to cut loose, relax, and have a insane weekend. We're not going to tell you to keep your voice down or to put your drink away here because someone might be offended by the sight of a freaking beer.
We aren't busting our ass and subsisting on cases of stale instant ramen to fabricate some homogeneous corporate circle-jerk that tries to cater to the whims of every single idiot out there. We know some people are going to read the website, and be offended at both our attitude, terrible attempts at humor, and most importantly that we don't have some kind of sacrosanct reverence for the smelly, antisocial neck beard demographic who love to whine more than have fun. It's just not us.
Now that you are finished ranting, what should I bring?
Aside from all your usual convention gear, I'd say comfortable shoes, and your functioning brain. The brain is used for remembering that you are going into a social environment (that is not the Internet) with others. That means that you promise not to be a raging idiot to people. Like I said, we're not so hot on lots of rules, so just try not to do things that cause the Warwick Police to show up, ok?
Who organizes TempleCon?
Various people. Two of the people behind the curtain influence the core decision-making process, usually by yelling a lot. We don't have a staff page because we're not too big on personal ego stroking (we hire people for that), and just want to run a solid convention. If you really want to meet us, head out to a Temple of Steam Tour event or just come to the convention and look for the two people who are either running around barking orders at people, or sobbing quietly in the corner, depending on what day of the weekend it is.
TempleCon also isn't some side project of ours; we work on this thing year round. Sometimes we wonder why. We're sure we'll find out eventually.
I heard that TempleCon has a theme. Is that true?
Yes, TempleCon's theme is that of all things Retro-Futurist. We think it fits both our style and the venue we're in, as well as many of the events that appear at TempleCon. But, that is a discussion for a different part of the FAQ.