How It Became A Seminar Convention For Me
I wanted to get into a game or two. I'll be honest. Gencon is gaming. How do you go there and NOT partake in at least one game. Well, let me tell you how. You procrastinate. That's how. Gencon was on my radar for several months before I decided to go. Fear of flying held me back until it very nearly kept me from going. I happen to have a good friend, a best friend, actually. Like a brother to me. We did our share of good in the sport of auto racing once upon a time, and he and his wife offered the plane tickets and a place to stay. And you didn't jump on it immediately? You suck. Like I said, fear of flying.
Had I made the decision to go just two weeks earlier, I could have caught the tail end of prereg and signed up for a game. Had I done it even sooner, I could have had my pick of anything. Up until my arrival at The Convention Center on Wednesday, I had hopes of gaming, most of it old school stuff. Ken St. Andre himself was listed as Game master of some Beginner's Tunnels & Trolls sessions (it's been a while for me). Problem was I could find them on the web on Tuesday night, but not in the book on Wednesday.
I had brought a my copy of the Dungeon Board Game rules as a session was scheduled for what I thought was Thursday. It was Wednesday. Well, I was with my friend, he's not into the whole gaming thing and I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to sign up. He didn't mind, but I had made up my mind to try and make things as convenient for him as possible. After all, I'm here because of him, and I didn't want to be too greedy. Looking at the book on Wednesday, I decided to make this convention about the Exhibit Hall and Seminars. There were some entertainment ones I wanted to see and some writing and publishing ones. Gaming would have to wait til next time.
I believe there was gaming happening in places from 7 AM to 12 AM, so it could have been an option if I had stayed on site or nearby. That is a rather costly proposition for me, but had I made that investment, it would have enhanced the Gencon experience. My friend is graciously driving me back and forth, about a 30-40 minute drive, all four days. And, he's not a gamer, he's doing this for a friend. I'm getting there at about 10 AM and leaving at my self imposed curfew of 9 PM. Again, he wanted me to enjoy whatever I wanted to do there, but I could not see asking for more time considering how much he had already done.
I had considered the Motel 6 option, some 6 or 7 miles down the road, but even at that cheaper cost, it's gonna be another $200 or more easily. I wish I had the money, but I don't, not without spending money I really didn't have to spend. I'm sure there are plenty of Gencon goers who crossed that line. I sort of walked up to it on Sunday, but I didn't get carried away. But, I'm drifting a bit here.
If you are on staying on site or nearby, you have the option of using the early morning hours or the late evening hours to get a game in. There's not much else going on by then as the Exhibit Hall is closed and there are no Seminars happening. When I'm planning the next time and considering what I can and can't do, I will have to consider the place to stay option. This would make it so that my friend wouldn't have to do all of that driving back and forth, and it would also allow maximum Gencon time for gaming.
And believe me, it's never too early to start planning for the next Gencon. Registration will not open until April or May 2008 (I'd have to look), but there is a LOT to consider if you want to take it all in. Really, I'm not unhappy with the way this one went down. I made it an Exhibition Hall & Seminar Convention and learned, laughed and had fun. I bought some of my event tickets on Wednesday, along with a few Generic Gaming Tickets (which didn't get used).
After reading the event book more closely (it was a bit overwhelming on Wednesday), I thought I might have a chance on Thursday to get a game or two. Coupled with the fact that the Exhibition Hall wasn't opening until a 11 AM, I figured I'd take a shot at it. Well, I managed to get into the seminars, but Hackmaster For Beginners and Beginners D&D weren't gonna happen. The guy at the desk told me that before he even saw my slip. So, gaming was just not in the cards.
I did try one more time (as mentioned in another post), but no success. The wish list for next time is some D&D, Hackmaster, old Basic D&D, T&T, HeroQuest, Dungeon and Decent. That's right off the top of my head. I walked past the open gaining area several times during my frustrating attempts to get from the Hyatt to the Embassy, but the seminars were booked too close together to find time to make an attempt at the open gaming.
All through the weekend, I walked past areas that had games happening. The D&D room was busy all the time. There were lots of card games set up. There were many board games. Miniatures set in several different types of games, from fantasy to war to science fiction. But, alas, I never had a chance to do more than walk by the rooms and look inside.
It mirrors my frustration with the way things are here. The people I have gamed with are all gone, moved away. The game has changed, and I'm unable to find something I can fit into. My game local store is moving closer and will have open game rooms available, but alas, I don't think he would want any of the games I'd like to play to happen there. Labyrinth Lord is new and on sale, but the community seems to have a problem with the OSRIC document. I haven't discussed anything to do with HotDC with him as I'm still not where I would like it to be. This is one reason I'm looking at 4th Edition D&D. It will be a new edition, and perhaps a new chance to find a game. I still prefer the old school basic stuff though.
So, for seminars, I lined up several very informative ones about writing, a few on game design, one on card games that I mistakenly walked in on and stayed for, a couple from KenzerCo., one on DragonLance, Forgotten Realms, one on 40 Years of Gencon that had Dave Arneson, a Blackmoor seminar Dave Arneson called in sick for, a screening of The Gamers movie and a bit of Hickman's Killer Breakfast.
As we wrap up this seven part feature, I will cover a little bit of what was discussed at the Seminars I was at.
Next
Seminars, Games And Other Fun Stuff Part 2 - What I Learned At Gencon
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