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THE TIME HAS COME ONCE MORE TO GO TO I N D I A N A P O L I S FORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! - - - --- - - -- - - -- - ----- - - - -- - - -- - - -- - -- - - -- - - - - - -- - -- -- - - --- - - -- - - -- - ----- - - - -- - - -- - - -- - -- - - -- - - - - - -- - -- -  GEN CON INDY*.  July 30 - August 2, 2015.    Once, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin's finest wargaming event,   filling the Horticultural Hall to near-capacity with nearly 100 attendees.  Fun fact: My "Lake Geneva/Gary Gygax's Home/Horticultural Hall" pilgrimage was on the same day as my "Michael Jackson's childhood home" pilgrimage Now, Indianapolis, Indiana's finest (and arguably-largest in the world**) gaming-writ-large convention, filling the Indianapolis Convention Center with 56,000+ attendees, and growing ~15% yearly. -=-=-=-=- (If you were here for last year's thread, you will recognize a fair number of the recommendations and such, but rest assured I am revising it constantly) UNASKED QUESTIONS Q. WHAT A. In miniature: GEN CON in its own words: "a consumer and trade experience dedicated to gaming culture and community. Gen Con Indy is the largest annual consumer fantasy, electronic, sci-fi, adventure and hobby game convention in North America. Each year gaming enthusiasts converge to share their love for all things gaming, from tournaments to guest appearances, exhibit hall booths to electronic games, workshops, seminars, anime, art shows, auctions and countless other activities." In my words: no matter what kind of nerdy bullshit you like, Whether role-playing, boardgames, collectible card games, collectible figurine games, collectible game games, or probably even anime and fursuits or whatever, YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU SEEK. Whether you are terrified of other human beings or cannot live without constantly telling everyone around you about your character/army/custom table, YOU WILL HAVE AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE. -=-=-=-=- Q: HOW? A: SIMPLE It is I believe it is The Will Call booths are actually open 24/7 (24/4?) on-site so if you have any concerns whatsoever about mail not reaching you then you should probably roll like that. I would link hotel information, but there is basically no point as all of the attached and nearby hotels sell out immediately when the housing block goes on sale (I believe last year it was down to selling out in 10 minutes or something?). There is a pretty good shuttle from the airport, so your second-best bet to managing to nail a last-minute downtown hotel may be staying at an airport hotel. There is usually a decent amount of parking available in the area surrounding the convention center as well, but of course it is fairly expensive and I have heard more than one story of someone forgetting where the car was parked since all the parking garages look the same. Speaking of: Syntaxed posted:There is the shuttle that is connected to someone of the outside hotels, including ones near the airport. -=-=-=-=- Q. SO WHAT SORTS OF EVENTS HAPPEN AT GEN CON BESIDES WHAT YOU ALREADY MENTIONED? A. Well, you know: Tournaments for dozens or maybe even hundreds of various board, card, miniature, and role-playing games. An exhibitor/dealer's hall larger than a football field. The world's greatest Auction***. True Dungeon, which is basically a Children's Discovery Museum for adult gaming nerds. A pretty substantial Art Show and Author Alley where their pleading eyes only occasionally guilt you into buying something. The Costume Contest Parade, where for about ten minutes straight hundreds of people in legitimately-amazing costumes stroll through the convention center and block traffic to make you mad. As for events, you can look at Alan DeSmet's amazing GenCon.HighProgrammer page to look through last year's events to get an idea of what you might find. Maybe this year I will actually remember to update the event listing when it goes live  There are sometimes celebrities, but they have been actively moving away from featuring celebrities as part of the show since so many other conventions are predominantly about celebrities and Gen-Con DOES NOT NEED THEM TO SUCCEED  Too bad, as I will clearly never forget meeting Sid Meier and Traci Lords in the same afternoon, but so it goes.But the main point is this: if it is nerdy and you like it, IT IS PROBABLY HAPPENING AT GEN CON. BUT WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS HAPPENING AT GEN-CON!?!? """COSTUME PLAY"""   @  @  God I loved this costume @    SAFARI FATTYSTATUE PLAY  @  $   #Companies showing up and making a big splash and disappearing forever!   Blurry Goons Doing Things!  !  Seriously worst gaming advertisement ever. Literally unpronounceable name + "Millions of years ago...it happened." Epic Sweeping Vistas!    @    Actual Gaming!    @  Behold Ken St. Andre, creator of Tunnels & Trolls and on the Wasteland design team, Running A Game(tm) S-H-O-PP-I-N-G!         not that Troll & Toad sells much beyond collectible card games there anymoreNon-Euclidean Moments!   Terrifying Throngs of Humanity!   Generally Intense Things.  #  $    Check out the "Hold Ptolus As Long As You Can" contest from Gen-Con 2006! EXTREMELY Intense Things!  $The awesome Dungeons & Dragons Documentary panel, starring the creators, Jon Peterson of "Playing at the World" fame, Tim Kask the first editor of Dragon Magazine, and Nesbit37[!]  An Auction moment caught in time, with the world's most mesmerized bidder up front THE MOST ASTOUNDINGLY INTENSE THINGS!  @   #  $ -=-=-=-=- Perhaps this year I will mix things up and put in a bunch of articles about previous Gen-Cons to help you understand WHY YOU SHOULD GO EVERY YEAR Once again, the Wikipedia page. This article goes nicely with that discussion we closed last year's thread with, about the haunting stares of the Living Dead First-Time Exhibitors being so unnerving. Officially called the 'largest gaming convention in the world" here, oh man, good times Oh I did not expect to be posting an article critical of Gen-Con's lack of minorities but THAT IS THE KIND OF PERSON I AM When the Onion's A. V. Club talks about you, you know you are a big deal. There was an X-Com Board Game? Oh, and other interesting SCOOPS from last year. Alan DeSmet, runner of GenCon.HighProgrammer.com, the best Gen-Con planning webpage around, has SURVIVAL TIPS FOR THE CONVENTION. -=-=-=-=- Q. WHAT SHOULD I BRING???????? A. QUAREX'S ARBITRARY GEN CON RECOMMENDED ADVENTURE KIT:
Q. WHAT IS FOOD A. PLACES EVERYONE SEEMS TO SUGGEST YOU EAT IN THE AREA: Firstly, a map showing all the places to eat close to the Convention center. The closest food to the convention itself is likely in the form of food trucks on Georgia Street (right outside the uhh East entrance I think). I have heard basically only good things about all of those trucks though I have not tried them myself yet.
Here is VISIT INDY'S list of all its restaurants that have appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (a show on the Food Network here in The America). And here we have VISIT INDY's list of its TOP 25 LOCAL RESTAURANTS! Several Gen-Con/this post favorites show up, including Café Patachou, Scotty's Brewhouse, Bazbeaux ... St. Elmo Steak House definitely is amazing, and their shrimp cocktail is noteworthy in the most meaningful sense of the term, but I am not afraid to acknowledge that I think Ruth's Chris has a better variety of options for stuffing yourself. And even though this is NOT A RESTAURANT I think the HANDLE BAR warrants a mention. For anyone unfamiliar with the concept of a 16-person bicycle that has a bar in the middle, well, you might want to get acquainted this year. I can definitely see Goons heading for this ... though as I am in kind of sort of tolerable shape and was all but dead weight after about an hour when I went on such a tour in Seattle, I am not sure we quite meet the athleticism quotient needed as a group to use it, haha. Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER GENERIC TIPS FOR ME A. YES AND YES I DID STEAL THE IDEA FOR THIS SECTION FROM LAST YEAR'S EXCELLENT COMIC CON THREAD
And see you there. *(neé Lake Geneva Wargames Convention) **I once thought that Essenspiele in Germany had 3x as many attendees--then I found out that they only list their TURNSTILE attendance, which is each day's unique visitors added together, not their total number of unique visitors. Ergo, the ~150,000 Essen claims as a peak compared to Gen Con's turnstile attendance of 185,000 last year suggests it really is the biggest now. ***Full disclosure: I am an RPG/T.O.V.A. auctioneer, though I loved it and talked it up constantly every year even before joining up in 2012. PHOTO CREDITS (after the picture) # ThaShaneTrain @ Len $ Nesbit37 ! WhiteHowler The rest are mine, far-flung across 14 Gens-Con. Q. OH ONE LAST THING, DO YOU HAVE ANY PICTURES THAT ARE NOT OF GEN-CON BUT METAPHORICALLY ILLUSTRATE THE JOYS OF ATTENDING? A. I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED   I really did not have the heart to post the two identical pictures I have from different years of the same incredibly fat woman passed out in a chair
Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Jul 6, 2015 |
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Jan 7, 2015 05:48
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Reserved once again SO HARD for information on Goon-run events, of both the formal and informal variety. Even though last year we only had one event promoted in this post  WE STILL HAVE AN OFFICIAL GROUPME CHAT!!! In fact, it is probably only still active because I popped up every month or so to talk to Mudcrab Merchant like a Spamming jerk. Lawen posted:Go here to download the app for your iOS/Android/Windows Phone. WE ALSO PROBABLY HAVE AN OFFICIAL IRC CHANNEL Hawaii_Lame-O posted:Server is irc.synirc.net ADD YOURSELF TO NESBIT'S GOOGLE DOC!!! nesbit37 posted:The main part of Gen Con starts a week from today! Go add your name and contact info to this spreadsheet if you have not done so already and want goons to check in with you on things. Between this and group me we should be able to organize things spur of the moment pretty well while there(they both worked well last year): OH IF YOU HAVE AN "ANDROID" "MOBILE CELLULAR TELEPHONE MACHINE" YOU CAN INSTALL THIS WHILE IT EXISTS: THE UNOFFICIAL 2014 GEN CON APP which honestly I mainly recommend getting for access to maps of the center, nearby hotels, and downtown area, even if it never gets updated for this year's events.  AS IT HAPPENED TWO YEARS IN A ROW SO FAR, I SEE NO REASON NOT TO ASSUME THIS WILL BE HAPPENING AGAIN AND WE SHOULD GO: [PROBABLY] COME TO THE COLTS GRILLE FOR NERD TRIVIA BY WEDNESDAY [JULY 29] NIGHT AT 7:00, WHICH [PROBABLY] DOUBLES AS THE OFFICIALISH GOON MEET! Colts Grille (next door to the Embassy Suites Indianapolis Downtown, if you know where that is!) 110 West Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46227 THANKS TO CAMOSEVEN 2014 FOR BEER INFORMATION camoseven posted:
GOON AUDIO BROADCASTS, SOME FOLKS CALL THEM PODCASTS I CALL THEM AUDIO BROADCASTS, RELATED TO GEN-CON POTENTIAL GOON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PARTYTIME HAPPYJOURNEY #1 POSSIBLY TAKING: TRAIN: UPSTATE NEW YORK: QUAREX VIRGINIA BEACH: Loki_XLII CALIFORNIA?: Bucnasti BUS: COLUMBUS: Len and his CREW STUPID BAT: THE SOUTH: Nighthob Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Feb 10, 2015 |
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Jan 7, 2015 05:48
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GENERAL INDY BEER INFO 
. I also killed two birds with one stone and threw some things in there for my family, so just ignore any references to my mom's place or whatever.
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I am going to viciously co-opt posts from the Chat Thread to get things going over here! Particularly because I even have some responses for your comments/questions!LuiCypher posted:I, too, am going to Gen Con for the second year in a row! I know this because I've already got a hotel room lined up about two blocks away from the convention. A few words of advice to anyone here who's thinking about Gen Con: LuiCypher posted:However, VIGs come with another benefit - they can give out/sell guest VIG passes which, although they don't come with as many bells and whistles, gives you the early access to the housing portal and first shot at VIG passes for the next year's convention (I may be wrong on the latter, but the former is true). And as an also-greedy Hilton Honors member I can confirm your theory; I always have a back-up room ready to go from August or September of the year before just in case all else fails ("all else" now being "our V.I.G. decides to not go"). It ends up being like $300+/night to book that way BUT knowing we will be a block away worst case scenario is nice. I do always put my room back in the pool once I know we are set though! Len posted:Last year was the first year we had any issue with the housing In the four years we went to Gencon. I personally blame the fact I didn't do the hotel booking this time around but booking without the housing portal just sounds like an all around better idea and I'm not sure why we didn't think of it.
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Jan 7, 2015 05:53
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nesbit37 posted:Getting excited for it already now that the new year is upon us. Gary Con in 2.5 months isn't helping either. I have to say I am feeling nervous about getting a hotel room. Last year was a nightmare, and I wish they would post the date of the hotel signups already so I can make sure I have an hour blocked out of work for it. As someone who flys in from the east coast I definitely need a room, preferably within walking distance or at worst on the shuttle line. Last thing I want to do is pay for renting a car after paying for a plane ticket. nesbit37 posted:I just edited out the info of people from 2014 in that spread sheet and opened it back up, so if anyone has problems accessing it via the 2nd post in this thread let me know. BUT I LOVE THEM OF COURSE SINCE SOME ARE READING THISCountblanc posted:Two of the people I usually go with may not go this year, and if that happens the entire thing might crumble. Hopefully that doesn't happen though because GenCon is a cool time. Grinspork posted:Maybe this year, I'll go on that bicycle bar and get intoxicated while seeing the sights around the city! I am definitely adding the Handle Bar to the list. Though I suppose it should be in the beer list. Oh ... wow, Camoseven, you never mentioned you had FOOD in your beer list that you spent way too much time on! WHAT A GREAT LIST! Do you want me to incorporate your suggestions into the main list or do you want it to be a unique Camoseven attraction?
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Jan 8, 2015 01:42
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Grinspork posted:I added myself to the list to feel brave and proud with you two and I will update when I know more information of when my flights are and all that other information. Speaking of flights and other stuff, I know the opening posts are basically infinite information overload, so my comment about Goon Trains(tm) got buried--a few people in the Traditional Games Chat thread and I talked about how fun it would be to collectively decide on specific trains to take cross-country, sitting near each other and gaming as much time as we could stand while on the way. Of course, the only three people who expressed interest are coming from three entirely unrelated parts of the country, BUT there is certainly a chance something could gain steam. (for those too lazy to look up there, the three locations so far are Vermont, Virginia Beach, and California [I think])
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Jan 8, 2015 06:00
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Len posted:My crew is taking a Megabus out of Columbus. It's not a train but if anyone else is doing that we could try and game. There are tables on them in some seats. Grinspork posted:Oh wow, there is a train from San Antonio to Indianapolis, but I feel like I'll be accosted by old people the whole time. LuiCypher posted:Holy poo poo, I made it somewhere near an OP! T.O.V.A.! T.O.V.A.! Yeah it is pretty much the best. I appreciate anyone being skeptical about anything someone says is THE BEST, because yeah usually if you go in expecting something to be amazing it ends up being bland or something. But it really is at least a little fun for virtually everyone. Here you go, this sums everything up:  I am going to mix this into the other Auction-related comment: Mr.Trifecta posted:Quarex, I enjoyed you hosting the auction. After your set was done, was excited for the charity auction only to be bored to tears as whomever was doing the hosting duties, kept droning on and on about the history of the items rather then just selling the items. Mind you, last year was my first year, is the charity auction always a snore? for compliments so thank you; I mainly started auctioneering because literally all of my friends (most of whom are quick to make fun of someone who suggests possessing a skill) told me I would be better than the worst auctioneers, which was really all I hoped. And to the credit of the bad auctioneers, it was not at all uncommon in the past for people who hated being on the microphone to go up due to there simply not being anyone else volunteering who DID want to do it--I believe that situation has resolved itself in the past few years, though.Oh, but about the ongoing Boring Auction Bits. Well, the problem here is that the Charity Auction's whole deal is "let Frank Mentzer and Tim Kask tell literally any story they can possibly think of in order to try to enhance the perceived value of an item being sold." It does have the effect of driving off the casual attendee, but I am sure they assume that the big money is going to come from the most fanatical people anyway. I am certainly not sure they are wrong. T.O.V.A. has always been an anomaly the other direction--buoyed by Auctioneer Josh's relentlessly hilarious assault, you would be hard-pressed to find nerds who would not get at least some enjoyment out of being there, at least for as long as the slow pace lasts until the "oh poo poo we are not going to be able to sell everything" part starts. I am not going to say I always enjoy the other people who are on stage with Josh, but some are good, and I have gotten enough compliments to make me believe I am not making it worse. It may be because I understand that Josh is the Whole drat Show and anyone trying to steal the spotlight from him is just reducing the audience's enjoyment. Well possibly also since we play well off each other in real life, translating nicely into Believable Auction Banter(tm). Blah blah Auction blah blah!
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Jan 9, 2015 03:04
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Edit: GREETINGS FROM NEXT WEEK, POST--YOU ARE NOW THE ONE-STOP SHOP FOR THIS8one6 posted:https://soundcloud.com/underdiscussion/sets/gen-con-2014 Gen Con 2014 clockworkjoe posted:http://slangdesign.com/rppr/tag/gencon/ 8one6 posted:We recorded a Tips for Gen Con episode for our podcast a couple of years ago, if you want to listen it's here. (I've skipped it past the unrelated spotlight at the beginning.) Quarex posted:I did a few guest stints on some friends' INTERNET AUDIO BROADCAST a few years back, and one of the times they wanted me to come in was when they were doing a Gen-Con special. My favorite moment of the entire thing starts at 38:50 when the guy who has never gone to Gen-Con asks about vices ... and ... oh god. The resolution still makes me happy. If you want to skip an inexplicable discussion of the female attractiveness at the convention over the years, avoid from 03:00 to 06:00. 8one6 posted:My podcast just posted out Tips for Gen Con episode here! ...ANDNOW...THEORIGINALPOST... Mr.Trifecta posted:Speaking of which, I noticed a giant what I can assume Aliens case that I wasn't sure if it was sold or not at the auction. Do you remember it? Was it just a giant miniature setup of the Nostromo or something? Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 03:13 on Jul 24, 2015 |
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Jan 9, 2015 04:20
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Yeah you basically have to be crazy to want to switch hotel rooms during an extended stay ANYWHERE, let alone during a once-a-year event where every moment spent away from the convention zone is a tragedy. Meanwhile, my V.I.G. buddy confirmed that our annual Embassy Suites stay is locked in already; see you plebes there ... if you make it there LuiCypher posted:Of course, if attendance trends continue the way they are there are going to be a lot more people using the system this year. I did some extremely reliable back-of-napkin math and estimated that if Gen Con attendance trends continue, based on an very limited sample of 2012, 2013, and 2014, there should be about 63,400 people this year. This is based on some incredible assumptions though, like that there will be growth and it will follow a pattern or something like that. And yeah, there obviously has to be some sort of growth ceiling for Gen-Con, though it is possible that the ceiling will end up being "moves out of Indianapolis after 2020 and instantly contracts as a result" or something. As much as that would probably destroy the perfect "gamer city" vibe of the convention in the process. Oh, but I am not entirely sure that I understand why the event's attendance fluctuated erratically from the 1990s until the slight dip the year after the economy collapsed in 2008, and then somehow led to continual 10%+ growth annually. Certainly people talk about how nerd stuff is cool now, but it was cool a decade ago too but the numbers still seemed capped forever at 25,000ish until MAGIC HAPPENED edit to clarify: no not Magic the Gathering, that is what just changed Gen-Con forever from "mostly role-playing/computer/board/wargames" to "oh god like 1/3 collectible card games and then everything else also" for a few years. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 07:11 on Jan 10, 2015 |
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Jan 10, 2015 06:51
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Len posted:It probably doesn't have anything to do with it but Origins started to shrink in 09 from the two years I went before. In 2010 every hall had lost space and the vendor hall was shrunk down and that was when we decided to just start going to Gencon instead. Mr.Trifecta posted:Wow that was a big tease then. I was expecting a 1:1 Pulse Rifle. 8one6 posted:Only 199 days to go! I should put your link in the second post since it is sort of like a Goon Event after all. I listened to this last year and I AM LISTENING TO IT AGAIN TODAY I can barely believe I am about to acknowledge this but I did a few guest stints on some friends' INTERNET AUDIO BROADCAST a few years back, and one of the times they wanted me to come in was when they were doing a Gen-Con special. My favorite moment of the entire thing starts at 38:50 when the guy who has never gone to Gen-Con asks about vices ... and ... oh god. The resolution still makes me happy. But overall this is a nice companion piece to your show, 8one6, because you are the coherent and reasonable counterpoint on the same subject.
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Jan 11, 2015 07:42
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8one6 posted:I'll be listening to this tomorrow. Also as for the show I linked, I get asked about THE AUCTION at just after 17:00, and anyone who does not think the Auction sounds that exciting should listen to me explaining how it was years of me making fun of it casually before I actually gave it a chance and was like THIS IS SO AMAZING (oh and I did not remember one of the normal hosts explaining the evolution of attractive women attending Gen-Con to start the show; you are free to skip a few minutes there)
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Jan 11, 2015 19:59
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Badges cannot sell out for our Supreme Gaming Convention unlike how they can sell out for Scrub-Tier conventions (hence the concerns about how the growth could potentially become too much for Indianapolis). Actually I have totally tried and failed to get PAX tickets three times, more power to anyone who succeeds, haha.
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Jan 12, 2015 04:23
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I forgot they used to not allow events to start after ... 10 was it? Midnight at the latest. That was dumb. Though I can understand how the older people running the convention would be like "why the hell would you want an event that starts at 2?" and meanwhile the young lunatics were like I DEMAND TO GAME LITERALLY UNTIL I PASS OUT AT THE TABLE My first year attending (1997) I think we slept about 4 hours a night on average, and one of my friends not only passed out in the middle of a Villains & Vigilantes game, but passed out while holding his dice (in his hand above the table) and waiting for his turn in combat. That is dedication to the craft. And I know he is reading this and will probably chime in to apologize ala Ronnie from Whomp for ruining our game 18 years ago. It is almost time for my yearly efforts reading the official forums and reporting back on the most mind-blowingly terrifying or depressing comments! I am not sure much is going to beat the one-two punch of the guy who posted constant schizophrenic word salad about Gen-Con oppressing him ... or the woman who was very upset that she had to walk farther than the lobby of her hotel to board the shuttle Also is it narcissism if listening to myself talk about Gen-Con from 2009 gets me hyped up for Gen-Con 2015?
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Jan 13, 2015 05:57
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CaptainRat posted:YOU SON OF A BITCH I FELL ASLEEP AT THAT TABLE IN CONFIDENCE CaptainRat posted:Gen-Con is awesome and the auction is awesome and everyone should go. nesbit37 posted:No, you should totally do this every morning to gain maximum excitement. Actually, if anyone has any great podcasts, videos, blogs or articles on Gen Con's past they should totally post them in here so we can all get pumped up via nostalgia. 8one6, feel free to upload any episode you would want linked, obviously. Here is a video that is basically "an excited newbie's quick tour of Gen-Con, that I found myself listening to at work, being surprised that the narrator is capable of keeping a stream-of-consciousness patter going the entire ~hour of the video. Apparently the creator "Rahdo" is a Thing given that he had fans coming up to him while recording the video. Richard Ham? Apparently a long-time video game developer, per his own discussion with someone near the end of the video. Oh, he was lead designer on Fable II and worked on BUBSY 3D! ULILLILLIA WOULD BE PROUD TO WATCH THIS VIDEO And we might as well throw Wil Wheaton into the Gen-Con video mix here. I mean this is basically just a Fantasy Flight advertisement BUT it has several great action shots of the convention regardless. And of course Backno already beat me to suggesting a Gen-Con wedding. Good for him. Len posted:Reading it that way makes me feel like I'll stop going to Gencon in the next couple years. I love going and all but I don't see me wanting to pay over $100 for a badge. Maybe it's just because the only cons I've gone to are Gencon and Origins but even $100 feels really steep. Len posted:What is True Dungeon like? Every year it immediately sells out but we don't know enough about it to attempt getting tickets. It's some sort of larp that you can level up in and stuff? We're under the assumption that you can spend the $40 or whatever and fail meaning you wasted money. Is that the case? Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Jan 15, 2015 |
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Jan 15, 2015 02:42
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nesbit37 posted:Quarex, which auction section do they usually put old gen con programs and memorabilia? I know I have seen the old swag bags at TOVA before but wasn't sure about programs. Want to try and fill out some program gaps if I can this year I think. Related: http://www.amazon.com/Poster-Gen-94-Varios/dp/B00FEK8378 Jedi425 posted:loving gamers ruin everything Related to Nesbit37's question, I have sold True Dungeon tokens both years I have been a T.O.V.A. Auctioneer, and the set featuring all of a dude's tokens from 2008-2011 went for like $250 if I recall correctly. Even more insane than "random 1990s Magic card assortment!"
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Jan 16, 2015 03:38
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I played it the first couple years, and it was a ludicrously chill event where dudes had fun. My roommate even won a 'I backstabbed the party and all I got was this t-shirt' shirt, which was hilarious to us. But you can tell how long it's been since I hit a GenCon, since now apparently neckbeards spend thousands on token packs before the con is even open for pre-registration.
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It is a lot of random chance every year, seemingly, as to whether you save a lot with the hotel block instead of booking directly. What it IS, however, is increasingly impossible every year to get a good room outside of the housing block. From the time the convention moved to Indianapolis, I booked rooms for the next year in September almost every year. Then, suddenly, in 2011, nearly every hotel was already booked by September. At the time we blamed the MotoGP event and its accompanying motorcycle enthusiast gathering being on the same weekend as Gen-Con, but given that last year they stopped overlapping and the hotels remained incredibly challenging to book early, I am going to guess the hotels just finally figured out to block off those rooms early so jerks like me could not beat the system.
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Jan 18, 2015 03:56
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Is anyone any good at anything Er I mean, anyone skilled with E-DESIGN who could easily make some elegant/bold/simple/convoluted/invisible dividers for organizing the opening posts? I realize the first posts look pretty much like A Bad Mess as it stands. Maybe "THE CONVENTION!" "THE EVENTS!" "THE TRAGIC HUMAN NEEDS FOR FOOD AND DRINK!" and "THE LOOT/THE WARRANT/CARMEN!" Or basically anything that looks Gen-Con-like Maybe I should just take the splash art from this year's webpage and cut it into strips and write words in an outlined font on it YEAH MAYBE YOU SHOULD SOLVE YOUR OWN PROBLEMS, QUAREX look If I knew what font the main Gen-Con logo was in, I probably could. Jerk. Hmm, 100+ questions into IdentiFont it finally gave me an interesting possibility...O.K., no, Adobe Caslon is not right, but it will do for me. For now. 
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Jan 20, 2015 00:48
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Oh, here is a DOINGINDY.COM article about, well, Doing Gen-Con! Not much new information but I do love me some Gen-Con articles.CellBlock posted:Holy balls, there's a Gen Con thread already! In January! loving Yes! (Like I really need to start thinking about Gen Con now, because I don't have so many things going on between now and then... gently caress 'em, Gen Con!) As to your other point about partying and fun times, I will try hard to not have a third grandmother die the day before Gen-Con starts, necessitating me leaving the convention early  that is only partially a joke, last year it was my grandmother-in-law. I ran out of kinfolk-grandmas with Gen-Con 2009.nesbit37 posted:I do wonder how much needing to be the badge purchaser to reserve a hotel in the block is going to help. In the past everyone got codes which they could of course just share with whoever they wanted. I don't know if it impacted things much but I am sure it didn't help. Len posted:That's good. I don't know why Gencon for $100 seems crazy expensive but for some reason it does. That comes out to $25/day and I have more than that much fun. But something about it sits weird to me.
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Jan 21, 2015 23:42
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Lawen posted:Yay, new GenCon thread! Also the room lottery is going to be terrifying I am sure. Good luck to everyone! As for ALL THIS: Lawen posted:Great job on the first post(s) as always Quarex. I have one nit-bone to pick though:    I will duly add your disappointment to that section. But yes, I do tend to live in places woefully lacking in quality meat-time. Or I sometimes in places where there are so many other interesting cuisines that I never think to just go get a steak. Certainly the shrimp cocktail and the UNBELIEVABLE WATER SERVICE(!) are both good enough that I think everyone should go at least once just to experience them.I will also add the Fogo de Chao recommendation; I keep forgetting about it since I have never gone, and I always somehow end up at Texas de Brazil instead. Anyone been to both who can say how similar they are? Haystack posted:Well, the application said they were looking for all sorts of art, but from what scuttlebutt I've been able to gather the jury has very heavily favored generic "fine" fantasy and sci-fi art. You know, the sort of stuff you might find on a MTG card.
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Jan 24, 2015 22:37
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head58 posted:Here's a video of how it's really going to work for us all: I knew coming in here after the housing day had gone down would produce delight. Pez posted:I'm trying to go again this year (last year was my first!) but it all hinges on whether we can get a good downtown hotel again and my wife not murdering me for going 2 years in a row. I had an absolute blast and want to make it an every year pilgrimage, only this year we're flying instead of driving from NC to IN. Syntaxed posted:Awesome the Gen Con thread. I'm going to go this year it looks like. If everyone here can't get a hotel we can all stay with Quarex, right? ARE THERE STAIRS IN YOUR HOUSE, QUAREX? And yes, go to the Auction. Go so hard. Solvency posted:Nothing further is available within walking distance to the convention hall. Shittiest idea ever, I've been going for 15 years and they screw me over. What the gently caress. Did you join the VIG lottery? I do not know if that is already over or what. PuttyKnife posted:The rates I saw on the conference tool were pretty ridiculous given the hotels they were at. Before the conference, I reserved a room at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Indianapolis Northwest for 189 a night. It is 12 miles away but it's basically an apartment for my wife and I for 2 days. Edit: Oh wait: Pez posted:I learned a lot from last year- bring comfortable shoes, try to bring my own food to avoid spending so much money on eating, and that it's pretty pointless to bring my own games since last year all my group played was stuff we bought there. I'm also debating on using a technique someone told me for saving on luggage space- take older clothes I don't mind parting with and donate them to local homeless folks before I leave, use luggage to bring back loot. That or I'll do what a lot of the neckbeards I was stuck in close proximity with last year apparently did and not change clothes for 4 days. I got married in Iceland, which we did on the condition that my parents would agree to come--my Mom was like "I've wanted to go there since 1965!" and so I was like "oh it is ON!" So my Mom has not really been known for her fashion sense for the last couple of decades; once we got a cat, she decided she needed clothes to wear around the house that would not get cat hair on them, which basically turned into her rarely dressing up. Hey, whatever; Mom Prerogative and all. But when she showed up in Iceland, she was rocking what I can only describe as "awesome hipster mom gear" like a sassy tam o'shanter and swank jackets and these cool pants and basically even my wife was like "wow, Mrs. Quarex's Mom, you look awesome!" The last day of the trip I was in my parents' room and saw the garbage overflowing with clothes. I asked what was going on, and she said she had brought clothes she didn't care about to wear so she could throw them away and bring back lots of souvenirs. And so that is how I have now forever linked Pez with the story of my mother only wearing nice clothes if she thinks they are awful disposable clothes. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Jan 26, 2015 |
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Jan 26, 2015 04:25
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nesbit37 posted:I think for future years I am seriously considering just booking out the block a year ahead of time, probably at a hotel on the shuttle route since I can't afford the rack rates at the downtown hotels, just to make the whole hotel experience less nerve wracking. I am glad the convention is growing so much but this stuff does really suck for attendees. Soon we will have people sleeping in vans and hallways like Milwaukee all over again. nesbit37 posted:The official gen con forums is making me kind of hate humanity. People quoting atlas shrugged and claiming the system shouldn't be fair but skewed so those able to either game the system or who have the most money deserve the best shots at rooms. Ugh, gamers sometimes. The V.I.G. arguments every year are beautiful. "IT IS 100% UNACCEPTABLE AND MUST BE CHANGED AND THERE MUST BE NO SUCH THING AS THE ABILITY TO KEEP THE BADGE YEAR-TO-YEAR" "Would you pay for a V.I.G. badge if you could only get it once?" "NO BUT THIS IS THE ONLY FAIR WAY" I also love that no matter what is suggested as a solution to any problem, someone will appear in the thread and literally post that this solution is so bad that (s)he will never come back to the convention again if it is implemented. But then, the attendance figures to me suggest they could do pretty much anything short of tripling the prices of hotels and badges and still get the masses to appear. Until 2020 when Gen-Con relocates to Lowtax's spare bedroom. Len posted:One memory that stands out from my first year at gencon in 2011 was seeing convention center staff waking people up when they slept in the hallways. After coming from Origins in Columbus where sleeping in the convention center was acceptable that was a nice change. Texibus posted:Welp, me and my bros are attending for the second time this year after having the most fun I've had as an adult last year. Texibus posted:I'm coming for your room man, know that I'm vigilant and will swoop in on any mistakes. Though Kaddish if you asked someone with a lovely reservation nicely maybe they would be willing to check if clicking "modify" somehow instantly says OK YOU WANT TO ABANDON YOUR ROOM?! GOTCHA! Somehow I doubt it though.
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Jan 26, 2015 21:58
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Lawen posted:Are they just impossible to get because people who already have them, keep them? Did they increase the number of available VIG this year? And yeah V.I.G. is primarily awesome for the hotel privileges, as far as I am concerned. And as evidenced by Sigma-X's experience. Particularly since it started becoming ridiculously hard to get a good room in the last few years.
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Jan 26, 2015 23:04
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Oh, so anyone who wants to take their chances at being a Very Important Gamer still has time to buy a badge and send the e-mail to the address mentioned in that linked post. You have until EASTERN TIME AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! GOOD LUCK, VERY IMPORTANT GOONS Edit: Oh right and 8one6 posted:It feels like this year they were trying to seem more fair since they can't wave their hands and make another half dozen downtown hotels appear. I hate to suggest it, but it might be time to revisit the Gen Con west idea, especially now that they aren't shackled to the Star Wars convention.
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Jan 26, 2015 23:43
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Did your friend give up his Elite Status(tm) because he could not go? If not, it might still not be too late for him to book a better room for you, given that as I understand it the V.I.G. block is separate from the general block. If he DID give it up...well, glory to all gamedom for its availability, but if I were you I would have taken up a collection to get him to renew anyway  Edit: Why do I keep forgetting to do full responses Haystack posted:Well, the problem with having a second show is that Gencon's appeal is that it's the industry show, attended by everyone who's anyone. I'm not certain that the exhibitors want, need, or could even handle another Gencon. 8one6 posted:Speaking of cons in Vegas (I'm going to run my own Gen Con! With Blackjack! And hookers!) does anybody know what happened to NeonCon? Not to mention that it is explicitly billed as a family convention, and good luck keeping that reputation alive in Las Vegas. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Jan 27, 2015 |
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Jan 27, 2015 05:02
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RocknRollaAyatollah posted:Yes, he didn't buy one because if he buys a badge he's going to do everything he can to go even if it's just for this purpose. We'll just rent a car or take the shuttle. I sort of understand. But I still think you should try to convince him to hold his place in the V.I.G. line for all eternity, as I imagine the odds of getting back in are not exactly very good (not that they are any different than anyone else's odds now, I realize).Still, I do not mean to suggest you are going to have a bad time. As I mentioned before I was a half hour away in 2003 and we still had a great time, and we were actually more like an hour away in 1997, and though that was kind of lame, Milwaukee itself had a lot more to do with it than the distance. The drive from suburban Indianapolis into the city is basically cake compared to the Hell Commute into downtown Milwaukee. Syntaxed posted:The best posts are the ones on the Gen Con community forum where people lay out how this was unfair but then give the solution being a way in which they would have prefferred access. "I've been going for 15 years. I'm not SAYING they should JUST reward ME, but here is my plan where that happens:" Syntaxed posted:Hell, you could probably hire some weird people off Craiglist to drive you around for the day on your whim
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Jan 27, 2015 05:32
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RocknRollaAyatollah posted:He's a VIG companion and the VIG is still going, I think he's going to die at Gencon, so shouldn't he be able to just get another companion badge? RocknRollaAyatollah posted:Gencon seems to be a con all about entitlement. I must get that thing that at retail price that is going to be in stores in two weeks, I must get the penthouse suite at the JW, and I must be able to touch those costumed titties. I am sure the Cosplay Deviants have some magnificent stories about the last one. Well, I know they do, as I heard some of them last year, but I am sure I have not heard a tiny fraction of the creepy male entitlement stories. I DO, however, hear that Gen-Con is their overall favorite because it has the fewest harassment issues, I believe by a significant amount even. Go us! The guy posting everywhere on Facebook that everyone should boycott Gen-Con now that there is a hotel lottery is magnificent though.
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Jan 27, 2015 05:49
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8one6 posted:The thing about companion badges is they're not guaranteed. While each VIG can upgrade up to three people to companion status there were only 350 available this year, and to my knowledge they are close to sold out already. Though considering my Auction Volunteer mandatory meeting overlaps with the early exhibit hall access anyway, I always thought it was dumb for me to keep paying for it. nesbit37 posted:If anyone has a link to that I would love to see it. Excited to bring my girlfriend to her first gencon this year and that's one thing she is concerned about. Also trying to talk another couple into coming and sharing the room we got with us and it would be good for them as well. SirPhoebos posted:I've always wanted to go to Gen Con. My brother and I already go to a few comic conventions here in Chicago, so I think I can get him interested in going to this. We already make an annual trip down to Indianapolis for the Indy 500, and we camp out next to the Lucas Oil Speedway on the night before. That's always been a good accommodation that's inexpensive as well. nesbit37 posted:They might have had the nazi stuff in the booth last year, but they were definitely there. The both is large, has quasi walls, and is always playing war movies with war paraphernalia all over it with a bunch of their stock on the outside of their walls so the isles clog with people trying to look at what DVDs they have. Nazi stuff or not its an obnoxious booth. Rhandhali posted:I think it was 2004 but they had guys in actual SS and Wehrmacht uniforms, swastikas and all, to promote one of the failed games mentioned in the OP. It was kind of cool to see the vehicles and all that they brought I guess.
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Feb 1, 2015 04:52
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BlackIronHeart posted:Welp, I got my time off confirmed so this'll be my first GenCon. I'm super excited! BlackIronHeart posted:What sort of times do things usually kick off? When should I plan on waking up each day? I work nights and I know my standard sleep schedule is going to get shot to hell so I'm trying to plan ahead. I do honestly feel like any time spent between 10 and 6 not in the exhibit hall is basically a tragedy, but an entirely avoidable one--just bring some non-perishable food as a snack for lunch after eating a colossal breakfast and POWER THROUGH; you will never see this again! Well, granted, some people do get dealer's-halled-out by like Day Two, but YOU NEVER KNOW when you might want to suddenly go buy a thousand dice. I grant that this may be a particular delusion to me, but the less time you spend outside the convention center and its surrounding environs the better. Within reason. I have always been a fan of sleeping, and I know if I sleep like 5-6 hours a night at least I will have way more fun than if I try to game until 4 and still get up in time for the exhibit hall to open. nesbit37 posted:I don't know if this is useful for you first timers or not, but when it comes to event I (or me and my group if it is a year I am not attending by myself) use this spreadsheet format to plan out our weekends. It gives you an idea of how busy we like to be, and note that there is time built in there for the vendor hall, etc. This was our schedule for last year, I am the one listed as "Matt", and the only event I skipped is the Sunday Monster Mash events.
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Feb 5, 2015 02:26
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Rhandhali posted:They were some reenactment outfit. They had a working MP44 too apparently, I've got a picture posing with it somewhere. Finding the abject failures is indeed a good time, though only when they are going all-out to show you how awesome they are. When there is some unassuming company peddling a boring-looking product or service or something, that is what makes me sad. And makes me walk faster and hope the salesperson does not notice me. Every year it seems to get harder to do a Google look-and-laugh for Battle T.A.G.S. At this point I can barely even find the cancelled trademark filing. Oh there we go, looking through that helped me discover the company that made it was called "Timestream Games" and that led me to a few more results. Oh, and then I found that I joined BoardGameGeek in 2006 just so I could post about this very subject. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/123322/battle-tgs-world-war-ii Apparently it never actually came out. That makes it even worse than BreaKey! Or better? Deathlove posted:Has anyone actually run an event? I'm thinking I might run a cribbage thing or something, but I don't know! Just bring some cribbage boards and play some cribbage with what will likely be the oldest people at GenCon. Rhandhali posted:Well, I'm roomless now. The Conrad charged me an 750 dollar room deposit, well over the cost of one night's stay. Not a pre-authorization, a full on charge that I have to pay off or pay interest on. I reserved through Hilton Honors and there are no mentions of deposits in the reservation paperwork I made. They refused to refund it so I canceled the room. Maybe it wasn't supposed to happen this year.  Well now. Yeah. That is interesting, particularly as I booked the Conrad myself for my emergency reservation that I assumed I would not actually need. As far as I know I was never charged $750, but then I also booked it in August last year before Gen-Con even started and maybe they are trying to screw over people who do exactly what I am doing? Seems like it goes against Hilton's terms of service, honestly. Is it possible that the only room types they kept listed were the """discounted""" kind you have to pay up front? I kind of assume you would have noticed if that were the case but I have had nothing but good experiences with Hilton Honors for years so I am intrigued. I even got them to cancel two reservations after the cancellation deadline just by calling and asking nicely (admittedly one was to attend a funeral). Which makes me wonder what kind of jerks might be running this particular Conrad. nesbit37 posted:I hope the Gary Con event registration today wasn't a preview of Gen Con event registration. It went up at 4pm, was up for less than 5 minutes and then their ISP took the site down and blocked everyone's IPs because they thought they were under a DDOS attack. They worked for like an hour with the host to fix it, got it back up, people registered for a minute before they took it down again and now event registration isn't starting back up again until Tuesday night.
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Feb 9, 2015 03:50
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Lawen posted:The past couple years I've mostly stuck to Games on Demand, the open boardgaming library, and pick up games with goons or IRL friends. This year I actually want to put a few formal events on my schedule but I'm kinda worried about a) wasting 6 hours to get one turn of play (ShadowRun clusterfuck discussed above) b) ending up in a game with half-cat wizards who use rape magic (or something equally ludicrous/repulsive) c) no-fun rules lawyers who are going to be antagonistic because I haven't memorized the underwater light radius table from page 443 of the out of print Atlantis supplement or whatever. I have only been in hmm maybe 20 games or so in all my years at Gen-Con (and many of those my first three years), but the only bad memories are the NASCRAG tournament (and it was not bad like I hated the people involved, just bad like I could not hear the GM and it relied a bit too much on LOL purple monkey cheese) and my then-girlfriend leaving a different game in tears because...nope I do not remember or care why, her crying at Gen-Con was not exactly uncommon. OH, SO I am going to return to my threat from last year of telling random stories from previous conventions. After my amazing 1997 experience, I somehow did not go again until 2002, and only then because it was leaving Milwaukee and I was like NO I NEED TO SEE IT THERE AGAIN I NEVER WENT TO THE SAFE HOUSE so away we went. That reminds me, Torrent, CaptainRat, and Chilly Bear; I apologize for having not gotten around to editing the our two group pictures together yet. I have been really busy since August 2002, but I am sure I will find time any day now.  GEN-CON 2002: ONE MORE TIME AROUND IN MILWAUKEE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5FT3IGXtAk&t=58s I finally visited the legendary Safe House in 2002--probably about the time they last refreshed their webpage design--and it was aesthetically and atmospherically well worth the visit and then some. Epicureanistically (not a word on at least two levels), not so much. That is one of only two times in my life I have had chicken with obviously undercooked sections. And while they did not make me pay for that dish, they did make me pay for whatever it was I ordered to replace it, which seemed a little odd to me. I definitely recommend only drinking if you go there. You know. For Gen-Con. Just take a little 4-hour detour for drinks. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTION CITIES THOUGH FOR REAL For those of you who are Indianapolis-only attendees, it can be a little challenging to explain just how much better we are treated in Indianapolis than we were in Milwaukee. You know how pretty much no matter where you go, the waitstaff is excited to see you, and talks about how you are no bother at all if you apologize for the huge numbers of rowdy nerds, or says they wish every convention in town were like Gen-Con, or how you basically feel like the whole downtown area is Gamer Utopia? Well, the Milwaukee experience was roughly the opposite. Open scowls from the mall food court workers, only the base level acknowledgement or politeness from the staff at many restaurants (though the Safe House understood us it seemed), people getting yelled at by hotel employees for gaming in public areas (stay at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis sometime if you want a hint at the level of elitist-sneering involved all around)... and to top it all off, elated opinion pieces in the local newspapers once we moved to Indianapolis, laughing about how it was "their" problem now. Yes, I am sure Indianapolis is very sad that they have had this terrible problem foisted on them. O.K. BUT DID YOU ACTUALLY HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT THE CONVENTION TO TELL US the best story from 2002 is one I likely also already told like eighty times here (and mentioned on the Team Übermensch show I linked earlier) meeting both Traci Lords and Sid Meier in the span of about a half hour. The take-away message from this encounter was that Traci Lords actually seemed far more interested in having a conversation with me. Though it could just be that Sid Meier did not expect random fans to pop up and be like OMG I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED ...COVERT ACTION Speaking of stories I already mentioned elsewhere, 2002 was also the year I had the good fortune to randomly meet Gary Gygax, though as this subforum generally seems to treat him as an unfortunate accident rather than someone worth appreciating that is probably not that exciting. One of my buddies was on the Dangerous Journeys STREET TEAM back in the early 1990s since Game Designers' Workshop was somehow a fixture of our hometown, and as a result he instantly recognized Gary (this being an era before every Google search was guaranteed to pull up a picture of the subject, I had probably never really seen a picture of him) and got us some autographs. Extremely polite man. I will always be happy that my 2002 badge has Sid Meier's signature on the front and Gary Gygax's on the back. Even if that means Traci Lords' signature is relegated to her WONDERFUL ELECTRONIC MUSIC COMPACT DISC Probably the best thing about Gen-Con 2002 was that if you were a D20 player, and it seemed 99% of the RPG fans in attendance were, the tipping point where "everything your heart can desire to make your game more fun" leading to "literally every idea ever has been made into a D20 book and most are terrible" had not yet really struck. I think that was 2003. And uh ... the Simpsons card game that never actually came out was demoed? Holy poo poo, apparently it came out ONE YEAR LATER but was evidently so incredibly unpopular that we never found it despite fairly serious efforts to do so. Well, you learn something new all the time in this hobby I guess. All in all, 2002 would have to rank near the bottom of my Gens-Con if I were ranking them, as since the city was glad to see us leave it is not like it had a "grand send-off" feel so much as a "drat, I hope it is not even worse in Indianapolis" feel. Were any of you there in 2002!? I WANT YOUR STORIES TOOOOO O KKKKKKKKKK
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Feb 9, 2015 19:40
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nesbit37 posted:I was there, but don't remember anything specific from that Gen Con. As someone who lived in a Milwaukee suburb at the time, I was very sad to see the convention go. I went with my family so we could all soak up as much Gen Con as we could before it left the land of beer and cheese, possibly forever. Since I was a local I didn't experience any grumpy hotel staff, and in those days I just brought food for lunch so generally didn't interact with any vendors that were not in the Gen Con vendor hall. Also man I totally wanted to get into Spellfire but between the cards feeling like cheap crap and the game seeming fairly boring (if I recall) compared to Magic: The Gathering, not even the allure of All That Artwork I Already Liked! could keep me interested. Haystack posted:To be fair, the Columbia Club is less elitist-sneering, and more... elitist LARPing. They like dressing up and being fancy, and get a bit scowly when people don't play along in their big fancy playhouse. I mean, they enthusiastically host the local steampunk masquerade ball/con thing (which is this weekend, actually), so they can't be that nerd unfriendly. Sloober posted:Only time I was at GC Milwaukee was 97/98. I don't recall much about the experience beyond it was a fun way to spend a Saturday. I was still dumb and ate crappy food from vendors in the building so no commentary there, except the local mall has gone even more downhill and is sort of a ghost town these days. There's another game/larp convention starting up in the area though, Midwinter - which is in January. Still very small and having a lot of growing pains. It's located in the hotel right next to the Midwest Center where Gencon moved to in '98. Though I did not attend in 1996*, my friend won the national Quake tournament they had there, which probably would have led to a lifetime of trying to actually be a competitive gamer had he not decided that drugs and rock'n'roll sounded more appealing. Probably sex, too, but being a Gen-Con thread starter I know nothing about that. Rhandhali posted:I spoke with the sales manager whose only offer was to refund the deposit by cancelling the reservation; she specifically cited Gencon as the reason they were taking deposits for people who made direct bookings. I'd keep an eye out on your credit card statement for sure. I have never had a direct booking through Hilton Honors take a deposit before and every reservation I've made says "no deposit required" at the bottom when you complete the booking. I'll call corporate at some point and complain. Mudcrab Merchant posted:You guys are all talking about gaming and I am always working! I wish I had the time to go do cool poo poo with you without the looming presence of my events and booth hanging over my head! It's so depressing! Though as CountBlanc says and BlackIronHeart seconds, clearly you can figure it out. Maybe. Maybe once. A half-time. Never. Oh, I mean, once. I am notoriously elusive at Gen-Con but every year I claim THIS IS THE YEAR I DO NOT JUST AUCTIONEER AND HIDE IN THE EXHIBIT HALL and maybe this is the year I will follow through??? Also this year's t-shirt will do BUT what is WAY MORE EXCITING is that they are re-releasing the awesome Deluxe Messenger Bag but in black** this time, which makes me wonder if they will just keep changing the color so that they artificially create collector value over the years It just might work particularly as I kind of want to buy a second one now since that one looks great *Edited months later to fix this typo that I am pretty sure nobody could possibly ever have cared about but that I NOTICED O.K. **Is that really black? They said black, but it looks navy to me? Is it this monitor? Probably. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 00:34 on May 16, 2015 |
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Feb 23, 2015 00:14
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I guess I will add the dress-in-layers thing, since I have heard it before, though I kind of assumed it was a joke the first few times it was suggested. I have definitely never been cold in the convention center, but I also go out in -10 weather in the morning to wipe snow off my car without gloves or a coat on.Len posted:I hate to be That Guy but does anyone know the dimensions of that bag? I've been looking for a new one and that looks pretty. Oh no the cat is sleeping in front of the linen closet with the measurement tools There we go, I waited a day and he moved. Mudcrab Merchant posted:I... my events make me a lot of money, and they ARE the late night events. I don't normally set foot to freedom until about 3-4AM and then I just keep thinking how I have to be the next morning to open my booth in the exhibitor hall, and stay up AGAIN for my next event. Plus I'm a girl so add in make-up, hair, and all that stupid poo poo that makes people take me seriously in a professional setting. Also who was the Goon who popped up seemingly out of nowhere to hang out with you and Captain Rat and me in the Exhibit Hall the second time we hung out? Was that this mysterious "Ricky?" All I remember about him was that he talked really fast and apparently was addicted to one of the two seemingly identical games League of Legends/Defense of the Ancients 2. Nemesis Of Moles posted:You could always do what my friend does and sleep in your car every night! (do not do this) LuiCypher posted:The other being, of course, to not shower. Although if you're sleeping in your car, I think you are also probably not going to shower either (but not for a lack of trying, I hope). No indeed I do not recommend doing this, just saying that if you are going to live in your car, you have to go all out. Mad Fnorder posted:I knew VIG itself had long sailed- I just heard they were waiting until a certain date to let VIG have their pick of the reserved housing pool and then release the rest back into the shark tank. Rumors, I guess. Also the joke was on me this year, the companion badges sold out before my lackadaisicass got in gear to say "oh hey grab me one of those" about a week after they were on sale. Truly, we live in the End Times.
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Feb 25, 2015 03:01
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My walks after my events are quiet ones, normally only one werewolf circle is left!
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Grinspork posted:Wow, harsh Quarex, it was I. I was that goon who popped up after figuring out how GroupMe worked. And it was DOTA2, jeez. This year, my new conversation topics will go from Monster Hunter 4 right back to DOTA2 to Temporum. This year you will have no conversation topics because I will sever your vocal cords. See, THAT was harsh. No we should definitely talk about Monster Hunter 4, so I can fulfill my yearly quota of having absolutely no idea what is going on while someone talks about a game. Mudcrab Merchant posted:So yes, I got all the rooms I 'need' in the hotel I wanted (the JW) but I don't have enough beds. Doubles were not even available to us. We're uhh.. still trying to sort that one out. Edit: Oh and the cat is not in front of the closet anymore, the Gen-Con deluxe messenger bag is 12" tall by 17" wide by 6" deep, that is the bag itself--the flap certainly accommodates another few vertical inches easily, the bag expands side-to-side a bit (I have indeed put my 17" laptop inside successfully). There is a pouch on one side with a snap that can fit uhh Stuff(tm) (I have my dice bag with a couple dozen dice in it, and it fits despite half the dice being the largest size ever used for non-comedy dice). Most importantly, there is a divider inside for ease of keeping your gohan (rice) from touching your other things. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Feb 26, 2015 |
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Feb 26, 2015 01:46
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Sigma-X posted:What events are you running that make a lot of money? My buddy ran an RPG last year and it basically paid for his (1-off, not rules/etc) materials, although granted his game includes soda / candy for standins for B3 and happiness officer pills (he runs Paranoia). 
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Feb 26, 2015 02:15
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It is, though, pretty family-friendly. And this actually plays into why it is the best convention, as much as it always surprises me to be celebrating this particular aspect. The kind of shitlords (I only swear online when it is fully deserved) who make concepts like "cosplay is not consent" necessary are on some level discouraged from attending because they know this is not The Debauchery Convention (that is Dragon Con, apparently), and from an anecdotal perspective, those that do attend and try to get creepy are seemingly fairly likely to get shut down, as I have never seen anyone get out of line without being immediately told off (and I have only seen maybe two incidents in all the years I have been attending), and none of the cosplayer horror stories I have read online have ever been at Our Beloved Gen-Con. And of course this aligns with Mudcrab Merchant's post earlier about how this is everyone's favorite convention because the ladies do not need to be escorted around to ensure their safety.
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Feb 26, 2015 04:36
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Len posted:I'm glad to hear that Gencon is a friendly con. I was always afraid the cosplay deviants were setting themselves up for a weekend of hell. Nerds can be pretty creepy and entitled and I just imagine a lot of them go "I can buy sexy pictures of you? That gives me right to be ultra creepy." Good to hear I can have faith in Gencon. Sorry you got drunkshamed, Sloober. Though you may have seemed like the drunkest person ever to a Latter Day Saintgamer. nesbit37 posted:This isn't about Gen Con specifically, but things like this certainly aren't going to make attendance issues at these cons any better: Still kind of amazing that we reached a point in pop culture where a Gary Gygax tribute convention can get a serious mention on something that popular. Now we wait for the hilarious nerd fallout, whichever direction it goes.
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Feb 28, 2015 00:39
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Unsurprised and yet still stoked that of course this thread is basically in complete agreement that leaving Indianapolis if this bullshit stands is the right decision. I try not to swear in text unless it is important, but gently caress Indiana if this actually goes down. I would have told you last week that literally nothing could get me to support moving Gen-Con elsewhere, but apparently I was not thinking about politics. SILLY ME It would be pretty awesome if Indianapolis passed a "we no longer recognize state authority in these matters" bill, haha. I would say "not that they can do that" but this whole thing seems custom-built to violate the 14th Amendment anyway so I really do not think these bills are long for this world. Ego Trip posted:We're already considering doing that. RocknRollaAyatollah posted:My guess is that the bill is a way for the governor to claim he's a true conservative but he'll have the bill silently killed so he doesn't catch the blow back from it. Pence has been around for a while so it's not like he's one of the Tea Party newcomers who have no idea what they're doing and burn everything resembling a bridge to the ground. I could be wrong on this but a bill like that is even a big deal in the South and that's Middle Earth if Sauron had won in terms of politics most of the time. Seems like something used as a publicity stunt, not something that they really believed in. Mudcrab Merchant posted:I really love what GenCon has done, standing up to this bill. My company does too, as we have several trans people in our ranks. It just gives me even more to say when people ask me why I think GenCon is so much better than any other convention! GEN-CON 2016 NOW HAS A DUAL MEANING And to think two days ago I was writing up a big exposé on what has happened on the official forums since last year in lieu of anything else going on in the thread.
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Mar 25, 2015 23:46
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Len posted:Pubbie drama is always fun to read about. Anything fun? But! The conversations about where to move the convention are always amazing, given the level of arrogance involved when people post multiple-paragraph explanations of how moving Gen-Con to Las Vegas/New York/Vancouver/Los Angeles/whatever is "objectively" a better idea and it is only the arbitrary Midwest stubbornness that keeps Gen-Con from being in a "real" city. Strangely these people seem disinterested in the fact that Indianapolis, as I understand it, literally has the most "hotel rooms connected to a convention center" of any city in the USA. Not to mention it is one of the only big-time convention cities small enough to BECOME A GAMER WORLD for the time Gen-Con is in town. But to be fair, a lot of the people posting these things are like independently wealthy West/East-Coast folks who are just like "yawn, you bore me with your 'gamer culture,' I am just trying to find the best boardgame tournaments to enter and am irritated that Indianapolis' airport sucks." I certainly hear it does suck. So there is that. The most predictably new dramatic thing since last Gen-Con was (also unsurprisingly involving arbitrary arrogance) a post explaining how "anyone with business sense" could tell it would be a good idea to split the program guide into two books, one for the splashy pictures and text stuff at the front and one for the actual events at the back. The main reason this is dramatic is because there had already been I think three other threads earlier that year proposing the same thing, each ultimately stopped by one of the admins discussing how Gen-Con LLC had spent years trying to decide whether it made economic sense to split the program guide into two books only to decide it was an economic gamble they were not about to take when printing on a scale of, you know, now 60,000+ books at once. The cutting rejoinder was that "ORIGINS DOES IT THIS WAY" "So the convention legendary for being a second-rate knockoff does it this way, which is why we should do it that way? Got it."
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Mar 26, 2015 00:11
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I am excited that my guess about how long convention hosting negotiations take was, if anything, too conservative; I do not think we should take lightly the statement that they want to hear about our experiences. If poo poo goes down, I am pretty sure that plans to move will already be underway by next year. That said, I still do not think the law will last the year. Maybe this is the part of Mike Pence's master plan we do not see, he feels it is win/win (except now his name will go down alongside George Wallace's in history; good job, bro)
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Mar 27, 2015 02:28
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You just made me think about how someone is absolutely going to try swatting a political figure at some point. Also there is no perfect thing for Gen-Con to do here. It would not surprise me if they would functionally self-destruct if they tried to break their contract, and oddly I do not think losing our convention will teach Mike Pence a lesson. But I bet the law will be gone by 2017 or Gen-Con will move in 2021. I wonder if any political action groups are going to be smart enough to solicit donations nearby? I would be flush with cash and looking for justice! Edit: Importing Clockworkjoe because these things are also true clockworkjoe posted:A Gen Con boycott accomplishes nothing. Salesforce, a multi billion dollar already canceled expansion plans as a result of this law. They have a larger economic impact than Gen Con ever could. Destroying Gen Con is not going to change their minds. These are the kind of republicans that thrive on martyrdom and conflict and this just feeds their persecution complex. Support legal challenges to the law and donate to politicians that will run against Mike Pence et all in the next election cycle. Support Indy businesses that oppose the law. Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 05:44 on Mar 28, 2015 |
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Mar 28, 2015 04:02
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Look at you, Nesbit37, all hobnobbing with gaming royalty and all. That is pretty great that Peter Adkison is an even bigger Gen-Con fanboy than I am. But I mean, for him to have been into it enough to buy it in the first place sort of indicated that. Also the newest update in THE GEN-CON SAGA is that the planned expansion into the Lucas Oil Stadium and other nearby hotels is officially indefinitely on hold awaiting the fallout of the law. So they even managed to find something tangible to do to be like "hey, yep, we can take money away from you ALREADY;" more power to them. Even though I was looking forward to seeing what the hell we needed the stadium for. Regardless, I gotta get this other post written already
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Mar 31, 2015 00:36
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