Announcements - [GenCon] Roving Reporter

Posted by: Neil Gow On: Aug 1st 2010

So, GenCon beckons in a few days time.

Is there anything anyone wants me to keep an eye out for? Any game? Any happening? As one of the Collective Endeavour roving reporters on the spot, what do you want to know about?

I can't promise daily updates - indeed, I can't promise anything unless I can get an unsecure wifi connection, but I'll have a bash!

Neil

Posted by: Matt On: Aug 1st 2010

I seem to remember somebody had sponsored the open wifi this year? Could have imagined it.

I'd be interested to know how the various Indie stands look to a non-involved.

Posted by: Neil Gow On: Aug 1st 2010

Indeed! A smattering of google-fu tells me that Rio Grande Games are the fine fellows sponsoring the wi-fi. Excellent news. I'll see what I can do about some booth images.

Posted by: Matt On: Aug 1st 2010

Yeah, I'm interested in how divergent the various booths feel and people's reactions. In '08, they all still felt a bit "son of Forge"...

Posted by: Malcolm Craig On: Aug 2nd 2010

This is kind of a non-gaming thing, but something that personally interested me over the last couple of years I was there.

It seemed there was a marked increase in stalls selling fascist/Nazi themed memorabilia, e.g.: weapons stalls selling SS daggers, t-shirts with bomber nose art style Gestapo girls on them, etc. Is this kind of thing still prevalent, is it widespread, etc?

Cheers
Malc

Posted by: Neil Gow On: Aug 3rd 2010

OK, the cutting edge of stall style and the prevalence of nazi regalia. Anything else?

Posted by: Andrew Kenrick On: Aug 3rd 2010

The new hotness please. What is everyone raving is cool, and what is genuinely cool.

Posted by: Iain McAllister On: Aug 4th 2010

FFG stall photos, they have announced some pretty cool stuff very close to the time and I would be interested to know what actually makes it to the con.

Cheers

Iain

Posted by: Neil Gow On: Aug 11th 2010

OK, here's the answers to your questions:

Malcolm: There was one stall selling 'busty babes on missiles' stuff but I couldn't spot any really dodgy iconography amongst it or the other stuff. If anything, the thing that seemed more prevalent than my last visit was the amount of furry regalia...

Iain: I've got a load of photos of the FFG stall from a number of angles in my 'stall review' that I am going to write up, but it was fluffin' massive! It was really the retail enclosure of the event and was constantly busy. Images to come later.

Andy: The new hawtness? I didn't actually manage to see much of the action at the indie side of things, but the generic hawtness came from three areas: Pathfinder Advanced Players Guide, Deathwatch and the new DC Universe game. I think you only need to look at the impact Pathfinder had on the Ennies to see how popular it has become. If anything, the anti-hawtness was the low-key nature of the D&D presence on the convention floor.

Matt: Again, when I get my photos sorted I will add some commentary. Essentially, a lot of the indie booths were using the open-sided concept ala Design Matters and I think this worked really really well. Some pulled it off better than others - I didn't find the Adept Press stall particularly welcoming, for example - but they were far better than 'man behind wall of books' and it was a concept that was mirrored by a lot of the bigger companies. The best stall, IMO, was the White Wolf 'non-stall', which was a boudoir-style real bar, with vamped up booth babes and ropers, publicising a 'Grand Masquerade' event in New Orleans. An installation rather than a stall.

Posted by: Malcolm Craig On: Aug 11th 2010

Neil Gow:OK, here's the answers to your questions:

Malcolm: There was one stall selling 'busty babes on missiles' stuff but I couldn't spot any really dodgy iconography amongst it or the other stuff. If anything, the thing that seemed more prevalent than my last visit was the amount of furry regalia...

Well, on one hand that's a cheering report. The last two years I was there, items displaying fascist iconography were very much on the rise (I mean, replica SS daggers? Really?). The fact that it's much less apparent is good to hear.

Thanks for being our Roger Cook at Gen Con!

Cheers
Malcolm