GenCon 2008

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GEN CON - The Best Four Days in Gaming

Gen Con can’t be defined as a vacation. From August 14th through the 17th ; Indianapolis, Indiana is the site of more activity than a lot of gamers see in a year. I took off the day before and after for traveling and recovery. If you go, I suggest you the same.

I’m skipping over anything about the city because these four days are about immersing yourself in the convention. If you can’t find something to do every waking minute, you’re not doing it right.

Games. Wait, I didn’t write that correctly. GGAAMMEESS. There are at least twice as many games going on 9 to 9 as can be played. If there’s a conflict, look on the schedule for another time. Many games have more than one time that it is played.

Game events require a ticket to play. The prices are listed in the convention guide. Range 0-$30. Many games are 0, $2 or $4. Sealed deck card tournaments or national tournaments with nice prizes hit the high prices of $18, $20 or $30.

Board Games. The variety and amount of games are the draws and the detraction for the convention. Games were canceled when only one or two people show. But this is not a problem! Be prepared by knowing alternate game locations and times.

If you concentrate on gaming during the convention, I suggest the Puffing Billy tournament. Mayfair Games sponsored this tournament in which players choose one train game from each of five different categories. Depending on the finish in the categories, one player will be champion.

Role Playing. Whew. I gave up role playing (RPG’s) back in college. It was fun and if I had the time, it still would be fun. Gen Con allows everyone to live glory days and epic battles of a fantasy world. From the Grand Pappy of D & D to Spycraft, Call of Cthulhu, Buffy, Babylon 5, Star Wars to Hero Systems (and more) there’s somebody playing your system, your universe.

The big ticket for the last two years has been the True Dungeon. Not exactly Live Action Role Playing (LARP) related, players spend twelve minutes in each of ten different rooms battling monsters or overcoming puzzles and traps. I wasn’t able to purchase any of the $38 tickets even though I got on-line five minutes before they went on sale. They go that fast.

To get an idea of what the True Dungeon experience was like, I volunteered for a shift. The company in charge is professional and creates an ambiance better than any Halloween haunted house experience I’ve visited. Some people are hired. Others are volunteers. The vast majority of people there like to have fun and to let visitors have fun as well.

The EXTRAS:

Costuming is fun for the people who dress up and for everyone who appreciates the characters they dress up as. The costumer’s dedication, time and energy is presented by bringing the character they love that much closer to reality. We, who recognize the character, have to give them a smile or thumbs up to show our admiration for their work and kinship in appreciation of the character they’ve brought to life.

Gen Con offers a variety of seminars during the four days of gaming. Visitors can learn how to make scale mail, make chain mail, make foam weapons, podcast, knit, belly dance, paint miniatures, write or at least write better. If you have to take a break from high powered gaming, learn something new and creative at a seminar.

I attended a number of writing seminars held by Jean Rabe on different aspects of writing and selling stories. The ultra-short version: Read more. Write more. Network. If an editor wants a change to the story, do it.

Need some down-time during the convention? Forget it! The closest you’ll get is watching one of the animes or Independent movies that are shown in a nearby hotel suite. Pick a subject or genre you like and expect the unexpected. If you want good, you’ll hate it and if you don’t expect much, you’ll love it. People create Indie-movies for the thrill of creating and the love of the art form.

Everybody wants Stuff. And you get Stuff in the Exhibit Hall. Free stuff and not free stuff is to be found. Play exhibition games. Meet the guests of honor, the artists, the writers and the super heroes.

Walking through the Hall this year, I was surprised by the sophistication and visualization of the Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG). First stop was the Champions on-line game. Development is based from the Champions RPG. While they currently offer the Desert setting with Snake Gulch, the Ghost Town, a Military Base and Toxic Mutants; Spring 2009 is the scheduled release date for Monster Island. Weak beasts exist on the fringes but as players journey into the center, they encounter more difficult creatures: dinosaurs and monsters

Want to live a seafaring life? Flying Lab Software offers Pirates of the Burning Sea. In this MMOG, players can be pirates, freetraders or naval officers. Object of the game? live, survive, kill things. As players improve; they gain titles and improve their ships. Players band together to take over ports or go on Epic Missions where they can find great treasure troves. Flying Lab also offers forums where players can offer suggestions to designers and developers.

From the old seas to the outer reaches of space: Eve Online enables players to captain spaceships. Players of the same race or alignment band together to conduct operations against their enemies or even make new enemies. The game has been on-line for five years and is still going strong. If you liked the look of Babylon 5, you’ll love the look of Eve.

To gauge the popularity of a company, look at the line of people buying the product. Because not only are customers willing to shell out $XX for a product, they’re willing to stand in line for twenty minutes. With that in mind, Fantasy Flight Games wins a blue ribbon. Introducing a new gaming concept, the Living Card Game (LCG), Fantasy Flight games and bags were a common sight at Gen Con.

The LCG begins by offering a fixed card distribution as opposed to the CCG’s which offers commons, uncommons and rares. Future expansions will be fixed sets allowing customization and an on-going story. Current games include A Game of Thrones (available September 2008) and Call of Cthulhu (available October 2008).

Final note for Gen Con 2008: This prior year saw the passing of the man who brought us Gen Con and the RPG Dungeons and Dragons, Gary Gygax. In his honor, a five foot Styrofoam die was created and Gen Con attendees were asked to donate dice by placing them in it. Saturday night the Giant Die and all donated dice were auctioned with the $1,500 raised going to Fisher House (A home offering lodging to disabled veterans and their family members during their recovery.)

Through RPG’s many of us have lived and played in a world where we have fantastic adventures. Where we meet others who become friends. Where our dreams become real and our mettle is tested. Because of Gary Gygax, our daily world became a better place for gamers and for geeks. Thank you, Gary.