I was fortunate to attend CHI PLAY 2025 on-site at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh alongside one of my co-organizers Dr. Mark Hancock. Not only was this my first time attending CHI PLAY, it was also the first time I'd hosted a workshop. To be fair, it was the first time anyone had hosted this workshop: the First Interdisciplinary Workshop on Human-Computer Narrative Interactions (HCNI@CHI PLAY 2025; proposal is available on the ACM DL). What I quickly learned is the first rule about workshops: expect them not to go to plan.
Now, just because workshops refuse to obey the laws of time and space doesn't mean that they aren't worthwhile. What I learned is that they are excellent for starting discussions and working with new people, which is incredibly useful when you're exploring new ideas. At CHI PLAY, workshops are also helpful ice breakers; since they are often scheduled on Day 0 (i.e., the day before the conference officially starts), workshops are a great way to find others that you'll happily spend the conference discussing presentations and panels with (and Lindy Hop, Pokemon, why Assassin's Creed peaked at Brotherhood...), exploring CMU's Entertainment Technology Centre (I aspire for my work spaces to be as fun as that!) and main campus to find the Scotty Dog statue, visit the nearby University of Pittsburgh's "Cathedral of Knowledge" (which is a gorgeous building where you can unironically order chicken tenders and fries for dinner), and—in true HCI Games Group fashion—sing karaoke very badly on the final evening of the conference (except for the one song I didn't know, Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush). You also meet people that you also want to stay in touch with, which is a precious thing that makes you feel right at home in the community. It was also surprisingly easy to start impromptu discussions with others milling the halls grabbing tea and snacks, or just taking a quiet break between sessions. By the end of the conference, we greeted each other by name and rapid-fired thoughts as we hurried to wherever we needed to be.
What I realized is that workshops and conferences are not that different. Plans don't always go exactly as planned, and time is just a suggestion. And that's ok. It just means that there are more opportunities to discuss the game you're excited about now as you bounce from session to session having the time of your life. I understand why attending in-person isn't an option for many. However, if you do get the chance, I would strongly advise that you do. Until we get that VR setup that mirrors the conference space and let's you shake someone's hand as if you were in the same room, I think being physically present is one of the best ways to build those human connections we need to sustain our motivation to do good work for the humans interacting with computers.
P.S. Since I was in the US, I was obligated to try Dunkin' Donuts to see how it compared to Tim Horton's. My primary directive remains intact. Tim Horton's FTW.
