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Gen Con Report

  • Aug. 18th, 2008 at 11:01 AM
English scribe
There's waaaaaay too much to report, so I'll stick to the highlights. However, there were a LOT Of highlights, the best of which was meeting so many people I only know by online nicknames.

So, the highlights:

  • Winning the Diana Jones Award was a glorious start to the con, and I pretty much floated on that high for the rest of the show. The award now rests safely in my study for the next year (or 6 months, as I'm sharing custody with Jason Morningstar).
  • I heard some wonderful rumors that perhaps one or two other companies or individuals will attempt an Open Design. I'll be the first to sign up. I think it's an approach that creative folk in the industry could use to do work outside the "studio system" that WotC and most major publishers use, to do niche products and specialized material that might not make sense for a mass audience.
  • The Green Ronin team was awesome, as expected. I very much enjoyed meeting patrons, KQ subscribers, and folks who had never heard of Open Design, and talking up Freeport and the super-deal on d20 GR books. I love being a booth monkey, honestly, and just talking to gamers.
  • Meeting folks at the panels was great. Thanks to everyone who attended and asked questions about freelancing, about steampunk and publishing and Open Design. I rattled on in my usual style, and shared a few new ideas for the future as well.
  • Met up with Nicolas Logue, and was happy to hear that his Hellfire Congress mega-event for Pathfinder Society organized play went off well. As I heard it, the White Wolf LARPers had an edge in the scheming/intrigue-heavy scenario. Oh, let's admit it, they owned the RPGA-style players this time out.
  • Ed Greenwood and Steven Schend helped carry the new issue of KQ to the booth in the dealer hall. And I was happy to find many other freelancers ready to take on some magazine work; freelancers are really making KQ better every issue (and thanks for the lift, guys!). Meeting a dozen veteran freelancers and new writers who will hopefully query the next wave of great material for the magazine makes me worry less about some of the big features I hope to see soon.
  • I spent time with novelists and book editors. As you might expect, a very witty crowd where the beer flows like water. I tried to keep up.
  • The patron playtests of Wrath of the River King + Tales of Zobeck deserve their own writeup, but I was (not surprisingly) very impressed by the way things went. I wish I had more energy for the Saturday game, but by that point I was running on fumes.
  • Was super-happy to pick up a bunch of indie gamesJohn Wick's pitch for the "anti-D&D" RPG, which he calls Houses of the Blooded, was especially entertaining. Victoriana, A Dirty World, Changeling: the Lost and Tales of the Caliphate also got my attention, but at some point there's really only so much I can carry. Or afford, frankly.
  • I bought the new Gygax and the Worlds of their Own fiction.
  • The Fat Ogre Dragon Games forest and castle maps/3D standup architecture was amazing. Especially the forest version. They well deserve the ENnie award they won for that one.
  • The art show was, as always, a complete joy for me. I missed seeing Diesel, but I met Pat Loboyko, the cover artist for KQ#6, as well as Drew Baker who I know from his L5R work. And I introduced myself to several new faces AND happened to meet the artist who illustrated "The Kingdom of the Ghouls" in Dungeon #70. And found a print of the Monkey King by Vinod Rams that I had to purchase. I hope some of these art connections turn into ongoing relationships for KQ and OD art and covers.


Whew.

UPDATE: Man, my post was littered with nasty typos. I'm still recovering from the con whirlwind. And so here's an Expanded List of Convention Greatness:
  • Met Bruce Cordell, Jefferson Dunlap, Phil Athans, and Jessica Blair on the plane. They stalked me the whole show. :)
  • Met the flyer ninja and was very happy to just hang out on Wednesday for a bit. Next year, I'll know the terrain, and those ninja will be unstoppable.
  • Patron and Open Design Editor [info]varianor brought along some awesome steam-and-gear-oriented props. I ran out of time to use them all, but several boilers, lightning cages, and a gear pulpit saw use.
  • Did a couple of podcast interviews and had a panel recorded for video. I'll post links when I get them.
  • Ran an adventure for a few younger players on Saturday night. I liked their enthusiasm, but my inner design monologue was concerned about player/character compatibility.
  • Learned that New Crobuzon is going to be done up as a setting book from Adamant. Yes!

Comments

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[info]jagdell wrote:
Aug. 18th, 2008 09:39 pm (UTC)
Curses, I'll get you next time Mr. Baur!
Ah now I see why you chose to declare Gen Con a neutral zone for our cataclysmic conflict of wits, Fluff and Wire-framed crunch.

I too am caressing a project similar to Open Design and I plan of making the 1st project free and open to all to see if I have the chops to pull it off and can get judged by others on my potential.

Expect to hear from Project Kobold Love soon, I'm going to dedicate part of it to you oh Nemesis! Chances are you'll love it.
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[info]open_design wrote:
Aug. 18th, 2008 10:09 pm (UTC)
Re: Curses, I'll get you next time Mr. Baur!
A project similar to Open Design!? Wonderful, I will happily show up and sabotage, er observe your progress.
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[info]avidreader514 wrote:
Aug. 18th, 2008 11:09 pm (UTC)
Speaking of Caliphate Nights...
...I really should get around to reading my PDF of Caliphate Nights. And my original edition of the True20 rules. That's what I get for buying things online immediately on release.

I was thrilled to see from the GenCon photos that Alderac is finally releasing a Legend of the Burning Sands RPG sourcebook. I love that CCG and have been waiting for that to arrive for years...
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[info]varianor wrote:
Aug. 18th, 2008 11:29 pm (UTC)
May I recommend not gaming after 7 PM on Saturday? (Says the voice of hard experience. My friends once referred to me as a "lich" after similar efforts.) That said, if there's more assistance that you need, I'd be very happy to assist at the con. I just need to schedule it in. Nice report! Gen Con was, as always, a blast. Meeting you, Ben and Benjamin was one of the highlights.
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[info]open_design wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 12:28 am (UTC)
Your advice is very apt, and I'll definitely be doing future games before Saturday. The whole show takes a certain crazed approach to scheduling, and I always try to overdo it.

It was a pleasure to meet you as well, of course, and I hope to see you again next year.
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[info]jedisoth wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 12:35 am (UTC)
Also, if you don't game after 7PM on Saturday, that frees you up to come to the Annual OYT Dinner held at P.F. Chang's!
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[info]terraleon wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 03:07 am (UTC)
I would have to concur! It was a blast to meet everyone, playtest _Wrath_, and play flyer_ninja. :) Any help I can provide will be happily supplied! Next year I'll hopefully get to sit down at your game, varianor!

-Ben.
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[info]varianor wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 03:40 am (UTC)
No worries. It's all good, isn't it? :D
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[info]terraleon wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 12:29 pm (UTC)
Very much so, and it only gets better each year.

-Ben.
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[info]valmiras wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:48 pm (UTC)
Enjoyed playing Wrath with you, Ben, with our "Expeditionary Interfaith Council."

"I am going to beat that horse until candy comes out of it." LOL!
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[info]sadrx wrote:
Aug. 22nd, 2008 10:06 pm (UTC)
Agreed. That session ran well, and it was neat getting to meet some of the other LJers in person.

-Benjamin
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[info]jaws9 wrote:
Aug. 27th, 2008 06:42 pm (UTC)
Playing with y'all made my first experience with 4E a pleasure.


Joe
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[info]chronomance wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 01:11 am (UTC)
GenCon can be a killer on multiple levels. But seeing so many Cabages was great fun, and your seminar was not too rambly. It was good advice from years of experience from both sides of the editorial screen.

Also, I hope that there weren't too many people who couldn't find your booth initially. (Look to Green Ronin, my friends!)

Last, it was great to see you, and I'll try not to be at the restaurant that doesn't allow in non-drinkers. I'll just lurk around the con center. And don't hesitate to ask if there's anything else I can help with, ninja stuff aside.
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[info]trevorstamper wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 01:49 pm (UTC)
Well, the non-drinkers part was my fault...who knew? I have been to several Claddagh's before, and never had that problem. It appears it is only an issue in Indy...

We tried several angles to get my daughter in the door, but it was no use. To make it worse, the Hard Rock cafe was pretty empty, but they still managed to take an awful long time to bring us our food...

Oh well! The rest of the con was a blast!
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[info]halo_ov_fire wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 01:28 am (UTC)
That's it...
...I don't care if I have to walk accross Asia and swim part of the Pacific; I'm going to Gen Con 2009 and gaming.


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[info]smart13 wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:23 am (UTC)
Just a quick heads-up, the maps and 3d architecture are from Fat Dragon Games. I'm not connected to them or anything, I'm just a fan. Glad you had a great Gencon - I hope to make it in the next year or two.
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[info]open_design wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:16 pm (UTC)
Thanks, corrected.

And hope to see you there next year!
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[info]nerdmonkey wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 12:27 pm (UTC)
Wow. Sounds like Gen Con was pretty cool. I've never been there, but maybe I'll have to plan to be there next year.
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[info]varianor wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 12:55 pm (UTC)
Yes, you should go. Every geek should make at least one pilgrimmage to "Mecca" in their lifetime. I have been priveleged enough to make six myself.

You knwo what? We need more Open Design activities for patrons and family! Just to incent everyone to start saving now. :D
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[info]open_design wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:15 pm (UTC)
Yes, I'd agree that everyone should do the pilgrimage at least once. It's an amazing time.

And I think more Open Design activities will happen next year. I'm trying to figure out the balance between booth time, game time, and panels/Q&A time. If you have suggestions for what you'd like to see, I'm all ears.

I'd like to host a patron breakfast or lunch, and I think running playtest slots for the public might also be fun...
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[info]varianor wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:32 pm (UTC)
Here's an utterly crazy notion. A reverse tournament. You start with a single game for six people - all DMs. They then go out and run the same adventure for up to 36 people the following day. (Two-round tourney, max.) Patrons on round one, patrons and public on round two.
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[info]nerdmonkey wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:20 pm (UTC)
It's not so much money as time. My gf and I only get so many days off each year and it's tough for me to justify using 15% of them going to GenCon when we could be using them for a long weekend somewhere. If GenCon weren't in the middle of the country, it would be an easier sell.
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[info]nerdmonkey wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 02:31 pm (UTC)
Eh, with a year to plan I'm sure I can come up with something.
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[info]varianor wrote:
Aug. 27th, 2008 01:53 am (UTC)
I don't know if this helps, but if you volunteer to work 8 hours for four days for Gen Con, they reimburse 1/4 of a hotel room cost and give you your badge for free.
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[info]99bullets wrote:
Aug. 19th, 2008 01:42 pm (UTC)
Grrrr! Too much fun being had, will have to make do with Gencon UK
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[info]wyrm1234 wrote:
Aug. 23rd, 2008 08:35 pm (UTC)
This year's GenCon was pretty good, as far as I'm concerned. The DMs I played with for the LFR events were uniformly great (which doesn't always happen with RPGA events). The Dungeon Crawl Classic Tournament was fun, even if the encounters were killer. I enjoyed getting a chance to meet Wolfgang at the Green Ronin booth, even if I did have to apologize for missing the flyer deployment. There seemed to be more women playing and DM'ing DnD, and I saw quite a few kids playing DnD, which I think is great for the hobby. All in all, I thought it was a pretty successful Con and I look forward to heading back again next year.
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[info]naturaltwenty wrote:
Aug. 25th, 2008 01:38 am (UTC)
My son and I stopped by the Green Ronin booth and said hello and pick up my print copy of KQ instead of it being mailed! It was nice to meet you in person. Next time I'll have to stop by when I've got more time and I'm not running Pathfinder events:).

All-in-all a good convention.

Greg Volz
Natural Twenty Gaming
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