Gen Con 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana (August 1st to 4th) has come and gone. I had an amazing experience there and I’m eager to return in 2020. During the largest and longest-running tabletop game convention in North America, I ran into a number of friends and missed more. I asked those friends if they’d share a special moment from the show. A lot responded, so I decided to run their answers as two articles with a few anecdotes of my own.
Will Sobel of Green Ronin Publishing: “Threefold was a success. Malcolm, the developer, was on hand talking up his new setting and the reaction was wonderful. At the end of the first day, our team had to come together to decide how much more to order since we were already running out of what we had brought for the full weekend. Watching Malcolm’s face light up to that news was the highlight of my convention.”
Egg’s Note: The day after Green Ronin announced they were bringing N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy to RPG, I spoke with Will about that and the books that they debuted at Gen Con. He was generous with his time and eager to talk about their new projects including some hints about Green Ronin’s upcoming 20th anniversary.
You can read my review of Green Ronin’s World of Lazarus for Modern AGE here.
Wen Reischl of Tabletop Gaymers: “As a director for Tabletop Gaymers (the charity group that provides Gaymer and Ally ribbons) this Gen Con was special for me. I came out as a transgender man just before Gen Con 2018 and was honored to hear directly from Peter Adkison that “all shades of gender and [sexual] orientation are welcome at [his] show” and that he doesn’t mind firing customers who oppose that.
“This year I got to contribute to Gen Con’s culture of visibility and inclusion by helping to normalize the conversation around offering and asking for pronouns by adding He, She, They, and <blank> ribbons to our offerings. I heard time and again that people were so thankful that we were at the convention giving away the ribbons.
“My favorite moment happened many times as I watched cisgender allies (including straight and LGBT people) have a moment of understanding that by offering their pronouns they were actively being good allies to transgender people. Each of these people helped to make space for all people to offer pronouns which means transgender people won’t be outing ourselves by offering our pronouns. I’m glad to report that we were running low on all pronoun ribbons by the end of the convention. My gratitude to all who stopped by and to all of our volunteers who were there to make these moments happen!”
Egg’s Note: Every convention, there are friends I fail to connect with because I booked way too many games and interviews. Wen was one of them. He invited me to a party, but I skipped it in favor of dinner (that’s on me and my gut). Regardless of my lack of prioritizing, Wen does not slack off. His work helps gaming reach new players and levels of acceptance and I’m constantly amazed by the dedication Wen has toward making this planet a better world.
Alex Flagg of Crafty Games: “This was my 17th Gen Con in a row, and I keep coming back for the same reason: the people. Gen Con is a chance for me to celebrate the successes of colleagues and fans that make our hobby and industry great. The games may change, and the events come and go, but it’s the people that make Gen Con one of a kind.”
Egg’s Note: Alex made time for me to interview him about their games including Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn Adventure Game and more. I snagged a copy of said RPG to review in my RPG Adaptations column.
Charlie Dunwoody of EN World: “I ran Basic D&D: The Lost City twice (one time for 11 people!), the ALIEN RPG: Last Days of Hadley’s Hope twice, and Savage Worlds: Trailer Park Shark Attack. As always, it was the people I gamed with and talked to that made the Con great. In addition to friends and around 30 newly met players, I also got to talk to Bastien Lecouffe Deharme, a famous artist and creator of the upcoming Gods RPG as well as a couple of people from Free League Publishing. Rich Baker, one of the authors of Alternity and Alternity 2E, ran the Dark Nebula adventure I played.”
Egg’s Note: I’ve never met Charlie despite the fact that we both freelance for EN World and that statement remains true as I missed him this year. Along with Andy Peregrine, we’ve got to make the EN World Summit and LARP happen!
Barak Blackburn of Density Media: “As a proud micropublisher, Gen Con is about games for me. I tend to run a couple games, and try and play as many awesome games as I can. In a stroke of fevered genius or foolishness, I ran a Kickstarter that ended the week prior to Gen Con, and offered up the chance for Gen Con delivery for those interested. What this meant that I communicated with several backers and made plans to meet them at the Con and personally thank them for their patronage and put a copy of my latest game in their hands. So, I was proud to deliver copies to an Ennie Award winning designer, a never tiring reporter of RPG news and notes, and the founder of a group dedicated to spreading awareness and education about therapeutic gaming. I really enjoyed the chance to express my gratitude, and may try some sort of similar stunt for next year.
“Saturday morning, I ran a 13th Age game based on the D&D cartoon. When I run Saturday morning games, I bring milk and cereal to recapture that vibe of Saturday Morning Cartoons. The player playing Bobby decided that he would go after Dungeon Master for keeping them trapped here all these years. Things escalated from there.
“However, what made Gen Con simply amazing for me was a game I ran. I created and publish a storytelling game that uses music as an integral part of the game and narrative mechanics. What this means is that music plays in the background during play, and seeks to drive and inspire the game play. This is not a humblebrag about my game though, this was about how honored I was to be be part of something special. A father and teenaged daughter showed up to play. While chatting prior to the game, as I tend to do, I learned this was their first Gen Con. Not only that, the father explained that for all 4 of his children, he plans a trip with them before they graduate high school, to any destination they desire. She wanted to go to Gen Con. This was her first major con, and first exposure to many games and gaming. Given the game was Thursday night and her badge holder was already full of ribbon, I would safely say that she had no trouble finding her people. I was humbled and honored to have been part of this experience. Stan Lee is famously attributed to saying that a writer of comic books should always keep in mind that every single issue might be a person’s first issue. Is the same potentially true for games? I like to think so.
“Gaming is such an important part of my life, and I always hope to be able to meet new people and engage in new experiences through gaming. Gaming is built upon intimacy and trust, gathering with a group of strangers to engage in a social activity. When we game at a convention, we all have the opportunity to raise each other up and create lasting memories. What could be more amazing than that?”
Egg’s Note: Nothing ‘s like a creator hand delivering your Kickstarter reward at the con (Ekphrasis). I appeared in one of Barak’s zines (Strings) which was an honor. Because of zines, he and I know each other and I wanted to meet him. Being able to chat for a few minutes while being handed the latest zine was a great memory.
Chris Tang of DriveThruRPG: “I was at the Diana Jones awards chatting with Travis Legge and he mentioned that I looked like I had lost some weight. High point of my Con.”
Egg’s Note: Last I saw of Chris at his After the End LARP, he *had* lost weight. Mr. Tang is winning at life!
PS, Chris, your memory made me laugh. Your son knows that statement is true!
In “Gen Con Reflections Part 2“, I’ll share thoughts from Andy Peregrine, Jamie Wood, Danny O’Neill, Craig Campbell, Justin Isaac, Allan Carey, Patrick Kapera, and Dedren Snead.
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