Well another Gencon has come and gone... I hope every one had a blast. I did for the most part, however this year seemed a bit different for me. I'm sure this being my first year going solo instead of having some one else come along with me had a lot to do with that feeling.. but I also think I had some bad luck this year. I joined several different RPG events and sadly most (not all) of the GMs that ran the events were either complete assholes or totally inept.
Did a Pathfinder event and the GM was very unfriendly, no laughs, no smiling, nothing. Every time I asked a question he gave me this look, like I was a total idiot or some thing. WELL the event said rules will be taught and i was told by others that it was fine being new player, so I guess I got the jack ass just out of luck. Also, had one of those players in a RPG event I was in that loved to talk nonstop and pretty much took over the game. Myself and the others who were in the party could barely talk at all or play their characters cause this guy had to do EVERYTHING. Of course I sat there and just bit my tongue HARD cause I didn't wanna come off as a dick, but seriously, that shit annoys me.
OH, those 10 dollar Nachos, that one really made me laugh.
Anyway other than that I had fun. Seeya next year! ^.^
Ranting over.
Just finished my 3rd Gencon and it was great. I went with my son and grandson; nerd runs deep in our family. Every year, my favorite part is the Exhibit Hall. Unfortunately, every game I wanted to buy sold out by the time I found the right vendor. I wish the Exhibit Hall could be expanded because it is so difficult to get around with the massive crowds. Even on Sunday it was packed. Also, I wish the vendor list in the map had it arranged both alphabetically and by booth number. It would have made it easier to find my preferred vendors. I had to switch back and forth between my Ipad and the catalog to find the vendors.
I had one really negative experience that had nothing to do with Gencon. When we came back to our car, some moron had placed a card on it informing me we were going to hell because we like to play games. Then presumably this person has never played tic tac toe, Old Maid, or Crazy 8s, nor watched the Wizard of Oz. If this is not true, then we will see each other in hell.
The parking this year was a GREAT improvement over Go Express. I loved it. Please keep doing it. The parking was a reasonable cost, and they did not park cars where we couldn't leave when we wanted to.
The folks who run Gencon do a great job every year and I appreciate all they do. Costs are low ($90 versus more than $1800 for Comic Con). I cannot imagine what it takes to put on an event of this magnitude. Please keep up the good work.
I cannot wait for Gencon 2017.
Having grown up near MSU during the whole James Dallas Egbert/Satanic Panic of the '70's and '80's, I'm used to ignoring that kind of ignorance as I've been dealing with it my whole life, but the claims by that person (and others) have been thoroughly debunked by the Christian Gamers Guild and the research could easily be read on their website by anyone who cared enough to seek the truth. To not do so is just embarrassing to themselves and the rest of us.
On behalf of the rest of the faith, I apologize for you having that experience. That is NOT what Christianity is about and the person who left that card on your car is clearly in the wrong, be it theologically or otherwise.
@ Akaru Well sorry you had some bad experiences... I actually look for games I have no idea about and there's a lot of games people probably haven't heard of. I played a game called World of Dew (No reference to Mountain Dew btw) and it was pretty cool I thought from setting to game mechanics. I went last year solo and had fun (no one from my local group could go). This year I was talking with people about Pokémon Go when I saw something I'd let them know and talk for a few minutes while waiting in lines (food, coffee, dealer's hall, take your pick)
@ Ironsphinx I tried out TorahLine the Card Game Wednesday and although I wasn't probably the target audience I thought it was an interesting way to learn about the Exodus from Egypt.
@remnant Thanks for the suggestion. My best friend is jewish so might be a fun game for us to play. :)
Anyway besides this, I had a blast on my first ever Gen Con, and will do my best effort to be there on 2017!
I'd had a blast!
And would like to thank Gen Con for FINALLY pushing the booths back a bit so when you walked into the exhibit hall you didn't slam into fantasy flight lines.
My 6th GenCon this year, and I loved it! Best moment of the con had to be the "Windy City Chaos" Shadowrun Missions game I played Sunday - rarely have I left a game session with such an incredible sense of accomplishment, feeling like my character and everyone else's were absolute badasses :)
What was he doing out there on Sunday?! Shouldn't he have been at church observing the Sabbath?! ;)
He was out Saturday afternoon/evening and my wife wouldn't let me go near him, lol. Other than being loud I don't know if he was being verbally abusive in his spiel as we kept going.
As long as we don't end up with the WBC protesting (which I would love to counter protest at Gen Con, can yo imagine the signs...lol) these guys are just doing what they think is right. Ignore and avoid when possible and all is well.
Heh. That's pretty clever. Y'know, I looked over at that 'Gamers for Jesus' booth and just from the looks of it couldn't tell if they were serious or not. It looked like their banner was the 'buddy Christ' from Dogma.