The Guys, The Girls, The Games, The Gear.
The Guys: The guys, well, were the guys. They are pretty much what you would expect from a bunch of gamer guys. There were the true gamer geeks that look like they have not had an ounce of exercise in years, no exposure to the sun, and poor grooming habits. But there were just as many guys who if you were to pass them on the street, you could not tell that they have role played for years, or that their favorite game is about killer zombies. I now longer associate the term gamer geek with my former description of a gamer. Because for every greasy haired, smelly, anti-social, flabby gamer, there is a well groomed, well dressed, in a relationship (possibly a father!)guy that probably is a CEO of a company. One thing they all have in common, is that they all love gaming, and they were all a bunch of fun to be around. Some of the guys at GenCon looked like real fools, dressed in funny costumes emulating heros that they could never physically be like, but it was Gen Con! Where else can you dress up like that if not at Gen Con!? They were probably in the costume contest and proud of their efforts. Heck, there was another gamer convention going on across the street at the football stadium at the same time, and those attendees were also dressed up like their heros that they could never be like, but for some reason, no one ever laughed at them on the street. (Indiana Colts Football Fans) Same love of gaming, just a different mindset in society toward them. I met some real gamer nerds, one of which really ruined the opportunity to enjoy a new game, but they were all good guys, something I could not say for the Colt fans I met on the street. We did a haunted historical walking tour, which was for the most part, more walking tour than it was haunted or historical, but along the way, we were interupted a number of times by drunk Colt fans who tried to make fun of some of the costumes worn, or simply because we were going on the same path as they were. No big deal, but annoying. Anyway, this is not a comment on the Colt fans, but on the gamer guys. They are a amazingly different group of guys that were a bunch of fun to hang out with and be associated with.
The Girls:
What can I say about the girls? Gamer girls are cool. Just like the guys, they come in all shapes and sizes, and all kinds of differnet models. Kids, high schoolers, college students, moms, and I am sure, grandmas. They are all cool. Some may be true nerds, but I like seeing gamer girls, just like I like to see girls who shoot and hunt. I just think it is cool. Now, if I was a teenage boy, (like my son) then Gen Con is a place of dreams! There are a large number of gals dressed up in fantasy type costumes that are just down right HOT! And those girls that are dressed up like Japanese Anime school girls are definately making some young boys dreams come true!! As my buddy Dave said, he doesn't know who created that look, but he wants to thank them! And corsets... Corsets were big this year, and well, I just really like what corsets do to the look of a woman's body. I did not get to game with any girls other than my own two, but I have in the past and I find it refreshing. It is one thing to game with a bunch of guys, but to game with a couple of gals brings a new level to the game. Women think differently than guys while gaming, and depending on the game, are often more of a challenge to play against than a guy. I like that my wife and daughter enjoy Gen Con. It makes it more fun for me, and it can be a fun family event for us all! They are gamer girls and that is ok with me!!
The Games:
I signed up for a couple of games, some of which I dropped or skipped, but the ones I did play were fun. I really enjoyed my game of Memior '44 which I got to play with my son, and my gaming buddies, Dave and Henry. We were playing the game as a team and on a game that was scheduled for 3 hours, we blew them away in less than 1.5!! We rocked and had a great time! It was not that the other team was bad, it was that we were pretty good and had some luck on our side. I think that to their disadvantage, was that they might have underestimated my son's ability to play this game and he kind of rocked them back on their heels when he started hitting them hard on his side of the board. WE even got to play with the creator of the game as our judge! Cool guy that Richard Borg. I got his autograph, being the gamer geek that I am. I also got to play Tide of Iron, a WWII simulation game that is a simpler version of the original version of the game Squad Leader. (Advanced Squad Leader now requires you give up your day job to learn it..) I was really looking forward to learning this game and I did enjoy playing it, but I was partnered up with a guy that tried way to hard to make it more like Squad Leader. Don't get me wrong, Squad Leader is a great game, but I did not have 6 hours to play this game and it was not supposed to be so complicated! It is an abstract game, but he tried really hard to make it something else. It kind of took the fun out of it for me. At least I got to play it and can play it when it avaialble, but I won't be buying it. The rest of my family was off to play Settlers of Catan, which my wife won. (yay for gamer girl!) Apparently they had a good time too. We also spent some time in the Training Grounds with the kids learning a new game or two and we demoed some games in the Expo Center. (BattleStar Galactica is the game of the convention this year. I would have had a copy if it had not sold out in the first day) If you come to Gen Con and don't play games, then why the hell are you there? One thing I did not do was any D&D. I felt kind of like a traitor to the game, but I had other things to do and so I quashed my guilty feelings on good food, drink, friends, and buying a few new games.
The Gear:
How many games do you know of? How many do you play? Well, there are so many games at Gen Con, it boggles the mind and intimidates the weak by walking through the Expo Center to look at them all. Never mind the t-shirts, the artists, the video games, the furries accessories, or the leather and swords. There are games frickin everywhere. And they are all for sale! Some cheap, some very expensive. It all depends on what you want. But the one thing that was the best thing of them all was not a game, but a gaming table by the Geek Chic company. (see photo below) For a mere $10,000 you can have a solid walnut, twelve person table, complete with writing pullouts, dice holders, cup holders, pen/pencil holders, dry erase top, velvet card top, book racks, walnut table top for eating on (if you were to use it as such) and complete shipping and set up. Oh my gosh was this cool. Words are not enough. Suffice it to say that this company is living up to it's motto and promise to gamers... "Come out of the basement!" This game table is a centerpeice. It was pretty neat and made many a gamer drool.
So that is about it for my reflections on Gen Con. It was a great time. You should go if you are a gamer, regardless of your intensity of gaming. It is way cool. I got to be a out and out geek for a weekend, and nobody cared. It did do one really cool thing for me... it really recharged my desire to game some more.. even RPG's which took a hit over the last year... Go get your gaming hat on!
Later!
This is my son's effort at the Miniature Painting Contest for ages 14 and under. It is WWII M-4 Hellcat coming out of cover of a forest. He worked really hard on this painting and diorama for the Gen Con contest.
Here is some of the competition that my son was up against. I know it is kind of hard to see, but the other two figures, which took first and second, do not look like a kid worked on them, unless the kids were painting savants! Either way we were proud of him. Oh, and the diarama base had to be removed because unbeknownst to us, it could only be a single figure for the 14 and under category. That was disappointing.
My absolute favorite miniature painting of the show. The reflection of the light through the stained glass window is painted on the floor and on the leg of the Lady Knight's armor. It was just the best painting I have seen in a while. The photo does not do it justice.
OOHH... the Geek Chic gamer table... if only I had the money. It was THE item of reknown at the con. I don't think they sold many though. If I were a rich man...
Here we are at the Memoir' 44 game. My son on the left and Henry on the right. The Panzer Lehr division mopped up at the Hedgerow Hell game! We were not supposed to win, especially since the game was balanced more to the Allied side in terms of numbers and such. But, sometimes, skill... and luck, win out over superior numbers!
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