Sillicon
From Irish Roleplaying and Gaming Wiki
Sillicon is a convention run by STOCS in DCU.
Table of contents |
Next Sillicon
Discussions are ongoing surrounding Sillicon X, and it is the intention of next years Games Soc committee to run an expanded convention, encompassing console and PC gaming along with RPGs, Wargames, CCGs and the like. This is still very much in the ideas phase so no dates have been set yet.
Pub Quiz
By far Sillicon's most renowned event was its pub quiz. This was the mainstay of the con for many years, attracting many gamers from all over Dublin.
Free Stuff
Sillicon was also traditionally a font of free stuff, giving out free t-shirts and food.
Sillicon Today
At the time of writing Sillicon 8 has ended, and there is much discussion about its future. The runners of the pub quiz have stated that they will not being running it again next year, and the con's attendance is at an all time low. There is a determination to bring the con back better than ever, but only time will tell as to whether this can be achieved.
History
The first Sillicon was in 1999 and featured a pub quiz where the scoring was mapped to a Snakes & Ladders board. It was hosted by the Great Doctor Cthulhu (Adam Kelly).
The second was known as 'Sillicon 10' The Wrath of Con, beginning a tradition of naming Sillicons after Star Trek movies, this was to cause problems later on. The binary naming scheme was not so popular. Sillicon 10 suffered low attendance due to a rail strike and the foot and mouth crisis. This is despite the foot and mouth crisis occuring a year later.
- Sillicon 3: The Search for STOCS was arguably the most successful Sillicon. It ran in 2001 and enjoyed good attendance, atmosphere, and enthusiastic staff.
- Sillicon 4: The Buoyant Gnome is rumoured to have been held in 2002, but official sources hotly deny this.
- Sillicon 5 was held in 2003 and enjoying many of the good things about Sillicon 3 along with which it is considered the golden era of Sillicon.
- Sillicon 6: The Undiscovered Con III (unofficially called by some "Con Tree") was held in 2004 and though a good con, was less successful than its illustrious predecessors.
- Sillicon 7: Generations was held in 2005 and featured for the first time a trade stand and tea boiler. The con continued the declining trend started at Sillicon 6.
- Sillicon 8 (note lack of Star Trek reference) is considered one of the low points of Sillicon, in its aftermath much has been said about the running of the convention and questions have been asked as to whether the convention should be allowed continue.
Con Directors
| Con Director | Sillicon | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Kelly | Sillicon 1 | 1999 |
| Ciaran Kenny | Sillicon 10 | 2000 |
| Adam Kelly | Sillicon 3 | 2001 |
| Alan Meaney | Sillicon 4 | 2002 |
| Mark Dunne | Sillicon 5 | 2003 |
| Graham Kavanagh | Sillicon 6 | 2004 |
| Liam O'Taillur | Sillicon 7 | 2005 |
| Liam O'Taillur | Sillicon 8 | 2006 |
| Liam O'Taillur | Sillicon 9 | 2007 |
