A BRIEF GENCON XL REPORT
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:07 pm
A BRIEF GENCON XL REPORT
This is being sent to several lists, posted on the websites I frequent, so as to not miss anyone.
As this is written on the Wednesday after our return I am still not fully recovered from the whole event. What follows is a terse prcis of my trip to Indy and the highlights of things there from my narrow personal perspective. Forgive me if you were there and I do not mention out meeting. So many people, so poor a memory for the crush of events at such a huge gathering
First, the crew at the Troll Lord Games exhibit that had to put up with us much of the time:
Stephen Chenault
Davis Chenault
Todd Gray
Mark Sandy
Jason Alexander
Richard McBain
Jeffrey Talanian
Peter Bradley
James Misher
Ashley the Volunteer Booth Babe
As well as:
Aldo Guzzi, also a booth pic snapper it seems
Kerry Bourgoine, beer connoisseur, my sometimes co-writer, and game designer in his own right
Also there with a costume line:
My pal Mick Bradley with a true sense of humor
Betty Bradley, his charming wife and also our friend
Stalwart Jim (whose actual identity is a government secret)
WEDNESDAY 15th (Our Wedding AnniversaryGail is a saint!): Gail drives me, son Alex, grandson Mike Gygax, and two of their friends from Lake Geneva to Indianapolis. We hit in later that expected, so I rush up to our suite (thank you GenCon) to DM an OD&D (three booklet) game dungeon crawl in my original Greyhawk dungeons for a half-dozen of the Esteemed EN World Moderators. I had a blast and they played well indeed, assuring me that they too enjoyed the play session. Each of the six created 2nd level PCs and managed to survive the adventure, although my house rule when taking damage allowing -1 HP per character level saved a loss or two. I would have liked to play a couple of more hours, but impending con events dictated I hit the rack to get my beauty rest Hypersmurf presented me with a complete plaques game from the Gord the Rogue stories at the end of the session. That blew me away!
THURSDAY 16th: After a barely passable in-room breakfast everyone but Alex and I headed for the con site while the two of us, joined by son Luke, went to the hotel lobby to await a limo that took is to the main entrance of the place. Upon arriving two pretty young ladies escorted me inside and down the red carpet (see GenCon website for a video of this: http://www.gencon.com/2007/indy/) while Alex and Luke wearing sunglasses followed me as if they were bodyguards. Choice indeed! The audiences ovation nearly overwhelmed me, but I pulled it together and did a lot of waving and handshaking to show how very much I appreciated their welcome. There taking photographs was a long-time fellow from TSR days, Rick Mataka; that was a treat. Then Peter Adkison had me assist in the opening roll of two giant D6, and by luck they came up a 1 and a 6. Inside there awaited my wife and the others, and a power scooter. (My bad leg doesnt allow me to walk very far without severe pain.) As I had never driven such a contraption it was a true learning experience for me during the whole of the convention. I only ran into two people, that at very slow speed, so no harm donewhew!
Thereafter, with a con staff minder leading the way I motored off through the crush of happy gamers to the Troll Lord Games booth. They had a place for me to park not only the scooter but also my butt. I did both and spent most of the remainder of Thursday autographing, shaking hands, having my picture taken (alone or with one or more of the fans) and doing as much conversation as the throng allowed. What I heard then and for the remainder of the show pretty much boils down to a heartwarming thanks for many tears of gaming enjoyment, how gaming brought long-term friendships and even romance and marriage, improved studies, aided in creativity and occupational successin short made a great deal of very positive difference in so many lives. Of course I was both proud and very much humbled by all of that. After all, I am just another gamer having a lot of fun myself.
I joined Robin D. Laws, Peter Adkison, and Harold Johnson on the panel covering 40 Years of GenCon, that ran from 5 6 PM Thursday. It was a thorough discussion directed by Mr. Laws, author of the book by the same name as that of the seminarand I autographed many a copy of the work thereafter.
Gail got us into the RAM restaurant and Brewery for our nights dinner, the manager of which is a dedicated gamer. The beer there was excellent.
FRIDAY 17th: Breakfast was at a fast food joint in the hoteland decent enough. Thereafter I opened again with autographing at the Trolls exhibit. All there was as noted above, but I believe I saw Samwise (from my Talk List) in that period. My minder took Gail and I off for my part in the Christianity and Gaming" panel from 2 to 3 PM. That was enjoyable, but all too brief for much meaningful comment on my part, the bulk of the discussion being on how to deal with the misconceptions about the dangers of RPGs in general and D&D in particular. When that was completed I got a break, then wended my way over to the Paizo booth to autographmainly the Anubis Murders fantasy mystery novel, the first of three Magister Setne Inhetep yarns of mine that are reprinting, Death in Delhi and Samarkand Solution following it in due course.. That was my first chance to have a face-to-face chat with Erik Mona, and I took full advantage of that. As a matter of fact all the folks I met at Paizos exhibit were great, and long-time acquaintance Lisa Stevens stopped to say Hi to me and chat briefly while I was there, Interaction with convention attendees there was much the same as everywhere else at the event (that including being stopped on the floor, when having a cup of coffee, outside having a puff of a cigarillo, or walking about nearly anywhere). After the appearance at Paizo we went back to our con digs to relax a bit before dinner.
Con host and all-around great fellow Peter Adkison invited Gail and I to the Very Important Gamer dinner, an event that ran from 7 to 9 PM Friday. It was held at a nearby live theater building, the 4th floor of which had a ceiling of around 20 feet height, an upper tier that was done in a Spanish architectural style, with a ceiling made to look like a night sky with a full moon, and lights as stars. When we came in Spanish guitar music was playing, and the scene was delightful. Before we went to the tables a crowd of attendees mingled and enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail. Not a few greeter me and asked for autographs and pics with me. Very flattering. When we selected a table, joined by Peter Bradley and several others, Peter Adkison stopped by with Richard Garfield so as to finally introduce us. I do wish we had been able to discuss game design for an hour or two, but it was not the time or place. The buffet served was quite good. All and all a most enjoyable time. Afterwards we went back to our suite, had a nightcap with some friends, and than I crashed.
SATURDAY 18th: I slept late, then we went for breakfast at the hotel jointanother acceptable start to the day. Thereafter it was off to Tracy & Laura Hickmans Killer Breakfast," with a con staff minder leading us so we would not go astray. Not knowing how great a show this event was, I came in at around 10:30, near the conclusion. What I witnessed was superb. Tracy and Laura put their considerable talents into producing a very amusing and highly entertaining feature of GenCon. There were over 600 in the audience. Hats off to such a production! (If I make another show Ill not miss this event from its inception, as it will be two hours of great fun.) The audience was delighted when I joined the victims on stage, and Tracy allowed me to survive until the shows conclusion when The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch wiped out everyone, audience included, at 11 AM. A fitting end to the Killer Breakfast.
Back to the Troll Lord Games exhibit for the usual, and I believe this is when Martin Campion, a fellow IFW member in the past, and designer of a game both Tom Wham and I dearly love to play, Rails West, stopped by to give me greetings. At the conclusion of that stint I went for a smoke break and off to the Paizo booth for more autographing there from 2 3 PM. After another great session there we scooted back to the Trolls place where I concluded the days appearancesalmost.
About 20 of us had dinner at RAM again, and again their brews were fine. Many fans there stopped by, or stopped me entering or leaving, to laud my efforts and get a signature and/or photograph with me. When I completed my scooter safari back to our hotel we were joined by something over a score of good people for a brief room party. By 10:30 I folded, and the soire broke up.
SUNDAY 19th: In theory Sunday was totally free, but
We met Martin Campion for a fancy breakfast buffet in the Eagles Nest restaurant atop our hotel. There a photographer from Wired magazine finalized the time for a photo shoot of me at GenCon for an article that will be run in the magazine sometime fairly soon. Gail and I then found my minder, and he escorted us to the exhibit hall where I took station in my usual spot with the Trolls. I was astonished to find myself inundated by eager fellow gamers once again. I had meant to scooter the hall, but I just couldnt leave those wanting to see me high and dry, so I stayed put and did the usual thing. So much for visiting Fat Dragon Games as I had planned, getting a new Settlers of Catan game from Mayfair, and searching for other interesting Boardgames at the show Next time for sure.
When out having a puff of cigarillo the Geek Squad did an interview with me that appears on the appropriate con highlightsalthough how appropriate the interview is might be another matter.
Near the end of the show I did a photo shoot with the pro sent by Wired Magazine as mentioned above. That ate up around an hour, but I didnt so much as shatter one lens
We made it back to our lodgings safely at the conclusion of GenConalways a bittersweet timeand being really wrung out sent son Alex out to bring back Chinese for dinner.
MONDAY 20th: We slept until around 8:30 AM, packed up, and motored back to beautiful Lake Geneva in the rain. Upon arriving home we learned that the planned weekend Venetian Festival festivities had been cancelled due to the heavy rains. The lake is a foot higher than normal, and its outlet, the White River, is overflowing its banks. I guess we missed nothing interesting while away at the convention.
There you have it.
Gary
This is being sent to several lists, posted on the websites I frequent, so as to not miss anyone.
As this is written on the Wednesday after our return I am still not fully recovered from the whole event. What follows is a terse prcis of my trip to Indy and the highlights of things there from my narrow personal perspective. Forgive me if you were there and I do not mention out meeting. So many people, so poor a memory for the crush of events at such a huge gathering
First, the crew at the Troll Lord Games exhibit that had to put up with us much of the time:
Stephen Chenault
Davis Chenault
Todd Gray
Mark Sandy
Jason Alexander
Richard McBain
Jeffrey Talanian
Peter Bradley
James Misher
Ashley the Volunteer Booth Babe
As well as:
Aldo Guzzi, also a booth pic snapper it seems
Kerry Bourgoine, beer connoisseur, my sometimes co-writer, and game designer in his own right
Also there with a costume line:
My pal Mick Bradley with a true sense of humor
Betty Bradley, his charming wife and also our friend
Stalwart Jim (whose actual identity is a government secret)
WEDNESDAY 15th (Our Wedding AnniversaryGail is a saint!): Gail drives me, son Alex, grandson Mike Gygax, and two of their friends from Lake Geneva to Indianapolis. We hit in later that expected, so I rush up to our suite (thank you GenCon) to DM an OD&D (three booklet) game dungeon crawl in my original Greyhawk dungeons for a half-dozen of the Esteemed EN World Moderators. I had a blast and they played well indeed, assuring me that they too enjoyed the play session. Each of the six created 2nd level PCs and managed to survive the adventure, although my house rule when taking damage allowing -1 HP per character level saved a loss or two. I would have liked to play a couple of more hours, but impending con events dictated I hit the rack to get my beauty rest Hypersmurf presented me with a complete plaques game from the Gord the Rogue stories at the end of the session. That blew me away!
THURSDAY 16th: After a barely passable in-room breakfast everyone but Alex and I headed for the con site while the two of us, joined by son Luke, went to the hotel lobby to await a limo that took is to the main entrance of the place. Upon arriving two pretty young ladies escorted me inside and down the red carpet (see GenCon website for a video of this: http://www.gencon.com/2007/indy/) while Alex and Luke wearing sunglasses followed me as if they were bodyguards. Choice indeed! The audiences ovation nearly overwhelmed me, but I pulled it together and did a lot of waving and handshaking to show how very much I appreciated their welcome. There taking photographs was a long-time fellow from TSR days, Rick Mataka; that was a treat. Then Peter Adkison had me assist in the opening roll of two giant D6, and by luck they came up a 1 and a 6. Inside there awaited my wife and the others, and a power scooter. (My bad leg doesnt allow me to walk very far without severe pain.) As I had never driven such a contraption it was a true learning experience for me during the whole of the convention. I only ran into two people, that at very slow speed, so no harm donewhew!
Thereafter, with a con staff minder leading the way I motored off through the crush of happy gamers to the Troll Lord Games booth. They had a place for me to park not only the scooter but also my butt. I did both and spent most of the remainder of Thursday autographing, shaking hands, having my picture taken (alone or with one or more of the fans) and doing as much conversation as the throng allowed. What I heard then and for the remainder of the show pretty much boils down to a heartwarming thanks for many tears of gaming enjoyment, how gaming brought long-term friendships and even romance and marriage, improved studies, aided in creativity and occupational successin short made a great deal of very positive difference in so many lives. Of course I was both proud and very much humbled by all of that. After all, I am just another gamer having a lot of fun myself.
I joined Robin D. Laws, Peter Adkison, and Harold Johnson on the panel covering 40 Years of GenCon, that ran from 5 6 PM Thursday. It was a thorough discussion directed by Mr. Laws, author of the book by the same name as that of the seminarand I autographed many a copy of the work thereafter.
Gail got us into the RAM restaurant and Brewery for our nights dinner, the manager of which is a dedicated gamer. The beer there was excellent.
FRIDAY 17th: Breakfast was at a fast food joint in the hoteland decent enough. Thereafter I opened again with autographing at the Trolls exhibit. All there was as noted above, but I believe I saw Samwise (from my Talk List) in that period. My minder took Gail and I off for my part in the Christianity and Gaming" panel from 2 to 3 PM. That was enjoyable, but all too brief for much meaningful comment on my part, the bulk of the discussion being on how to deal with the misconceptions about the dangers of RPGs in general and D&D in particular. When that was completed I got a break, then wended my way over to the Paizo booth to autographmainly the Anubis Murders fantasy mystery novel, the first of three Magister Setne Inhetep yarns of mine that are reprinting, Death in Delhi and Samarkand Solution following it in due course.. That was my first chance to have a face-to-face chat with Erik Mona, and I took full advantage of that. As a matter of fact all the folks I met at Paizos exhibit were great, and long-time acquaintance Lisa Stevens stopped to say Hi to me and chat briefly while I was there, Interaction with convention attendees there was much the same as everywhere else at the event (that including being stopped on the floor, when having a cup of coffee, outside having a puff of a cigarillo, or walking about nearly anywhere). After the appearance at Paizo we went back to our con digs to relax a bit before dinner.
Con host and all-around great fellow Peter Adkison invited Gail and I to the Very Important Gamer dinner, an event that ran from 7 to 9 PM Friday. It was held at a nearby live theater building, the 4th floor of which had a ceiling of around 20 feet height, an upper tier that was done in a Spanish architectural style, with a ceiling made to look like a night sky with a full moon, and lights as stars. When we came in Spanish guitar music was playing, and the scene was delightful. Before we went to the tables a crowd of attendees mingled and enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail. Not a few greeter me and asked for autographs and pics with me. Very flattering. When we selected a table, joined by Peter Bradley and several others, Peter Adkison stopped by with Richard Garfield so as to finally introduce us. I do wish we had been able to discuss game design for an hour or two, but it was not the time or place. The buffet served was quite good. All and all a most enjoyable time. Afterwards we went back to our suite, had a nightcap with some friends, and than I crashed.
SATURDAY 18th: I slept late, then we went for breakfast at the hotel jointanother acceptable start to the day. Thereafter it was off to Tracy & Laura Hickmans Killer Breakfast," with a con staff minder leading us so we would not go astray. Not knowing how great a show this event was, I came in at around 10:30, near the conclusion. What I witnessed was superb. Tracy and Laura put their considerable talents into producing a very amusing and highly entertaining feature of GenCon. There were over 600 in the audience. Hats off to such a production! (If I make another show Ill not miss this event from its inception, as it will be two hours of great fun.) The audience was delighted when I joined the victims on stage, and Tracy allowed me to survive until the shows conclusion when The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch wiped out everyone, audience included, at 11 AM. A fitting end to the Killer Breakfast.
Back to the Troll Lord Games exhibit for the usual, and I believe this is when Martin Campion, a fellow IFW member in the past, and designer of a game both Tom Wham and I dearly love to play, Rails West, stopped by to give me greetings. At the conclusion of that stint I went for a smoke break and off to the Paizo booth for more autographing there from 2 3 PM. After another great session there we scooted back to the Trolls place where I concluded the days appearancesalmost.
About 20 of us had dinner at RAM again, and again their brews were fine. Many fans there stopped by, or stopped me entering or leaving, to laud my efforts and get a signature and/or photograph with me. When I completed my scooter safari back to our hotel we were joined by something over a score of good people for a brief room party. By 10:30 I folded, and the soire broke up.
SUNDAY 19th: In theory Sunday was totally free, but
We met Martin Campion for a fancy breakfast buffet in the Eagles Nest restaurant atop our hotel. There a photographer from Wired magazine finalized the time for a photo shoot of me at GenCon for an article that will be run in the magazine sometime fairly soon. Gail and I then found my minder, and he escorted us to the exhibit hall where I took station in my usual spot with the Trolls. I was astonished to find myself inundated by eager fellow gamers once again. I had meant to scooter the hall, but I just couldnt leave those wanting to see me high and dry, so I stayed put and did the usual thing. So much for visiting Fat Dragon Games as I had planned, getting a new Settlers of Catan game from Mayfair, and searching for other interesting Boardgames at the show Next time for sure.
When out having a puff of cigarillo the Geek Squad did an interview with me that appears on the appropriate con highlightsalthough how appropriate the interview is might be another matter.
Near the end of the show I did a photo shoot with the pro sent by Wired Magazine as mentioned above. That ate up around an hour, but I didnt so much as shatter one lens
We made it back to our lodgings safely at the conclusion of GenConalways a bittersweet timeand being really wrung out sent son Alex out to bring back Chinese for dinner.
MONDAY 20th: We slept until around 8:30 AM, packed up, and motored back to beautiful Lake Geneva in the rain. Upon arriving home we learned that the planned weekend Venetian Festival festivities had been cancelled due to the heavy rains. The lake is a foot higher than normal, and its outlet, the White River, is overflowing its banks. I guess we missed nothing interesting while away at the convention.
There you have it.
Gary