what to bring when exhibiting games at doujin events in japan
· 4-minute read
a fair number of people have asked me to share my experiences exhibiting games at events & i've never got around to making a post specifically about that rather than about a specific experience at a specific event, so here's that post!
to go with this, i've also translated some of my past posts about exhibiting at various events from japanese to english - linking them here:
as a bonus, here's a link to my post about tokyo game show, which is absolutely not a doujin event, but i go into a lot of detail about my prep so hopefully it can still be helpful:
what's a doujin event?
i think people who are familiar with the term doujin or doujinshi might think of events like comic market (comiket) where people sell self-published fancomics, but doujin as a general term just refers to people who share an interest in something, who then make ～stuff～ surrounding this interest. so you can have doujin comics, yeah, but also doujin games, doujin music, &c. it doesn't have to be fanwork - there are lots of original doujin works too!
how's it different from any other event?
this is just me sharing my personal experience exhibiting at doujin events vs other events, but in general doujin events in japan are...
- mostly individuals sharing their own work (fewer publishers/companies)
- less about money, in the sense that there are often more hobbyists, people who just want to share their stuff, &c.
- much cheaper to exhibit at lol
obviously these are broad generalisations but just as a vibe kind of thing, at the same doujin event i have seen incredibly detailed & graphic porn comics, a full-length amateur super sentai-style animation, an essay book reviewing various foreign food restaurants in a random city, an art collection by a fairly famous food artist of food he ate after cycling, & a sexy typing game run on old hardware released before i was born. & this was all at the same event!
stuff i make sure to have
as somebody who is very forgetful, i keep my usual exhibition set in a small suitcase & only ever use that suitcase for exhibiting to avoid forgetting something & having to rush out to buy it on the day.
this is what i usually bring:
- poster stand (+ poster): i have a po.su.ta stand which i like because it's very compact & easy to carry but can hold up to a b2 size poster! make sure to check the height restrictions for the event though!
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tablecloth: the size you need will depend on the event, but many doujin events will just have a very plain table for you to use to exhibit, which is why a lot of people will bring their own tableclothes to decorate! you can bring any cloth you already have available, but there are also places where you can print your own design. please note that many events have restrictions like requiring fire-resistant cloth!
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portable monitor (+ whatever hardware i need to play the game): for demoing games i bring my own portable monitor if the event does not have one available. my portable monitor case includes the monitor itself & the cables i need to actually use it.
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cardboard shelf: if you're not selling anything this isn't that important but if you are, i absolutely recommend picking up a cardboard shelf... i love these things so much. i have the old dan dan danboard (now there is a dan dan neo) which is a cardboard shelf that folds into a very convenient box which makes it light, easy to carry, & just super versatile. there's a space behind it where i can put stuff i don't want visible from the front of the table too. i've used it at pretty much every event i exhibited at & it's still going strong! i love this shelf!!!
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card stands: i use these to display stuff like prices, "photos OK", "free stickers", &c.
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generic box: i just find it helpful to have a box to stuff everything in to keep my suitcase organised. i can put it on the table after to organise stuff too!
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coin case: this is a coin case i got from a 100-yen shop which only stores 500 yen & 100 yen coins, because these are the only coins you need at a doujin event. i always have some coins in the case before any event to use as change.
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free paper/flyers: i always like having something free for people to just pick up if they walk by my table & are interested!
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hard case (+ merch list): i have a hard clear case which is where i put my printed merch list!
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generic pouch: this is what's inside...
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masking tape*: i ran out of the tape i usually use so this is a stand-in, but usually i have a roll of cute masking tape just because sometimes i want to put a little stuff up with some cute tape
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1000-yen bills for change: sometimes people will have big bills so i always have a stack of 1000-yen bills ready to make change.
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small notebook: where i keep track of what i've sold
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clips: i have these for if i randomly want to write a little pop-up message & stick it on my booth
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marker: for writing pop-up messages
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pen: for the notebook
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biggish pouch: & another pouch just for organising!
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business cards: for exchanging with other people! i have my game art on the back so it's cute 🥰
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removable double-sided tape: i use this for stuff i want to stick up & also remove easily! sometimes events have places to put up posters & stuff so this is the tape i use then.
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clear tape: seriously it's just good to have a lot of tape... very useful
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easel stand: for standing up my merch list in the hard case
stuff that is nice to have
the stuff above is what i bring for pretty much every event, but below is some stuff that i might not always need but can be useful sometimes.
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big tote bag: to carry any extra stuff you want to bring (or stuff you bought home)
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poster tube: keeps your poster free from creases! this one is an extendable one so it can hold big posters.
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wet wipes: for wiping off the keyboard/headphones/controller/&c. after people use it
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metal stand: i got this from a 100-yen store when i wanted to add some height to my table... i think it could be useful in some cases but for me personally i think it's too heavy so i don't use it that much haha
- business card holder: i like to have a business card holder that can go around my neck since i have an issue remembering people's faces so i want to make it easier for other people to remember who i am 😂 i also carry stickers in it to give out to people!
- generic cards for various uses: i think it can be nice just to have some blank cards or reuseable cards (here there's "free", "sold out", "old merch for 〇〇〇 yen") for whatever purposes you want. these are ones i got for free at comitia before!
how it all looks
all of that gets stuffed into my suitcase (except the poster tube which i'll carry separately.)
at actual events this is what all of it looks like. some of these are not doujin events but i always just do the same thing at most events so i'm sharing the photos anyway!
i hope this gives you an idea of what stuff can be useful to have if you want to exhibit a game at a doujin event in japan! i think exhibiting can be very fun so i highly recommend it if you get the chance.
an aside: online events
while this is all about offline events, there are online events like web-onlies for games too on sites like picrea & pictsquare that are fun to participate in too!