[Threshold]

It went great actually! The interest in text games was surprisingly HUGE. Our round table was one of the most heavily attended, and people were so excited about discussing our questions and topics that it ran way over. The conference organizers said they received a lot of positive feedback about our round table, they invited us back next year, and want to give us more time!

There is still a lot of interest and love for text games. Our topic title turned out to be almost prophetic: "Text Games: We Aren't Dead Yet!"

Obviously the thing most people were surprised to learn was that text games are still commercially viable as well. But we didn't dwell on that part. We talked about the things text muds HAVE TO DO WELL in order to be viable, and how those are things all types of games should make sure they do well: UI design, descriptions, chat interface, community management, etc.

To answer your second question, we mentioned a few times (and as well), but only for the purpose of making an example or when someone asked us about them directly.

I also mentioned TopMudSites a few times and encouraged people to come here and see how vibrant the text gaming space continues to be.

I would highly recommend that anyone interested in the gaming industry attend the next year. I learned a ton about many aspects of the industry and business. I also got to meet Dr. Bartle and many other interesting people. As far as conferences go, it is very inexpensive for attendees and it is a lot of fun.