Gaming conventions are the peculiar state these days. They have a long, honorable, interesting history. Yet, in a time of computer games, they may seem a bit outdated to some outside of the fandom (at least to those outside the fandom). I also have seen, at least in my area, a revival of interest in non-electronic gaming, making me wonder what trends this portends.
Now, as I've been recently addressing ideas on how various kinds of conventions can “go farther” (thanks to Convention Career Connection), gaming–oriented conventions are really interesting to speculate on. They are, in many ways, traditional and focused. Yet, in other ways gaming has such a long history of innovation and change, such a long history of interesting people developing unique entertainment, there's also a lot to talk about career-wise.
(I should note, in order to talk about gaming, I am focusing on cons that deal with war-gaming, pen-and-paper RPG, etc. Video Game events will fall under another essay.)