Intercon H wrapup!
Intercon H was a lot of fun, though it tired me out much more than expected.
The drive there was okay - a bit of snow and the standard Boston traffic made the last 45 minutes or so a bit tough. I'll cover the games in the order played, as well as other happenings (nonspoilery, of course):
Friday night
And Thunder Shall Roll - Although there were some difficulties with this game and character sheets, the game itself was still fun - and I did enjoy my character. It was the most in-character internal roleplaying I think I've ever done, and that was an interesting way to start off the weekend. Plus, I got to shoot Nerf guns - always a plus. I did notice that this game tired me out in a big way, although I think that has to do with the fact that it was a 40-person game in two rooms, so I had to focus harder on filtering out background noise. People were great about repeating themselves as needed, a trend that continued over the whole convention. Muchly appreciated. The biggest complaint I have is that the game wrap, which was meant to be dramatic, was handled a bit chaotically for my taste, and so ended up being on the confusing side.
That night, I didn't get very much sleep, mostly thanks to a Denny's run that ended up going later than anticipated. Unfortunate, as I had a very busy Saturday planned.
Saturday
Mystery at Hart Manor (GM) - This game is one of my favorites, as well as a creation of one of my friends - a fellow resident of my dorm. The game went quite well, with the players seeming to really enjoy themselves. From the GM point of view, there were no major technical hitches - just a few paper mishaps that resulted in handwritten signs and cards.
Skid Row - I'll be honest, this game had me pretty apprehensive before the convention, as the tone seemed pretty jarringly different from the stuff I was used to. Much grittier and cruder, really. But the game itself ended up being awesome - mostly thanks to fantastic roleplaying on the part of pretty much everyone there. I Succeeded At My Goals, despite going in there thinking myself to be doomed, and now have a pretty damn hilarious war story to tell. Plus, my character was awesome - if not for the roleplaying reasons, for the motivations. And it's really kind of hilarious when the most difficult non-Plot item to get for you is a pencil...
Miskatonic Class Reunion (GM) - A classic game, this was my second time running it. (Previously at Festival of the LARP at Brandeis) The game went off well, despite the space being a little wonky (two rooms, on opposite sides of the hotel lobby) - the players didn't seem to mind it, so that was good. I really, really like this game, so I was happy to see it run. What really made the game for me was two players spending pretty much the whole game arguing over a specific plot point - but doing it in such a way that they had a great time and didn't upset anyone. Plus, it was hilarious! Also, Mike Young himself made time to come help us run parts of the game - thanks for that!
After all was said and done, I was frigging exhausted, and had nothing planned for the Sunday morning slot but sleep. Of course, one of my roommates decided to wake me up in his rush to get to his game, thinking I was going with him. :P After all was said and done, I got enough sleep, and had a nice ride back.
Overall, this was an excellent experience for my very first Intercon - the con suite food was INCREDIBLE, and really made the convention for me. Many, many, many thanks to Renee for doing a fantastic job there. Beyond that, the hotel itself was quite nice, and the atmosphere was great. I'm a bit sad I didn't get to hang out with some of the people I was hoping to, but that can hopefully be remedied in the near future. :)
This is getting a bit wordy, so I'll wrap it up. If there's anywhere else I can/should post this to thank the appropriate people, would the people in the know about that sort of thing let me know? Thanks!
The drive there was okay - a bit of snow and the standard Boston traffic made the last 45 minutes or so a bit tough. I'll cover the games in the order played, as well as other happenings (nonspoilery, of course):
Friday night
And Thunder Shall Roll - Although there were some difficulties with this game and character sheets, the game itself was still fun - and I did enjoy my character. It was the most in-character internal roleplaying I think I've ever done, and that was an interesting way to start off the weekend. Plus, I got to shoot Nerf guns - always a plus. I did notice that this game tired me out in a big way, although I think that has to do with the fact that it was a 40-person game in two rooms, so I had to focus harder on filtering out background noise. People were great about repeating themselves as needed, a trend that continued over the whole convention. Muchly appreciated. The biggest complaint I have is that the game wrap, which was meant to be dramatic, was handled a bit chaotically for my taste, and so ended up being on the confusing side.
That night, I didn't get very much sleep, mostly thanks to a Denny's run that ended up going later than anticipated. Unfortunate, as I had a very busy Saturday planned.
Saturday
Mystery at Hart Manor (GM) - This game is one of my favorites, as well as a creation of one of my friends - a fellow resident of my dorm. The game went quite well, with the players seeming to really enjoy themselves. From the GM point of view, there were no major technical hitches - just a few paper mishaps that resulted in handwritten signs and cards.
Skid Row - I'll be honest, this game had me pretty apprehensive before the convention, as the tone seemed pretty jarringly different from the stuff I was used to. Much grittier and cruder, really. But the game itself ended up being awesome - mostly thanks to fantastic roleplaying on the part of pretty much everyone there. I Succeeded At My Goals, despite going in there thinking myself to be doomed, and now have a pretty damn hilarious war story to tell. Plus, my character was awesome - if not for the roleplaying reasons, for the motivations. And it's really kind of hilarious when the most difficult non-Plot item to get for you is a pencil...
Miskatonic Class Reunion (GM) - A classic game, this was my second time running it. (Previously at Festival of the LARP at Brandeis) The game went off well, despite the space being a little wonky (two rooms, on opposite sides of the hotel lobby) - the players didn't seem to mind it, so that was good. I really, really like this game, so I was happy to see it run. What really made the game for me was two players spending pretty much the whole game arguing over a specific plot point - but doing it in such a way that they had a great time and didn't upset anyone. Plus, it was hilarious! Also, Mike Young himself made time to come help us run parts of the game - thanks for that!
After all was said and done, I was frigging exhausted, and had nothing planned for the Sunday morning slot but sleep. Of course, one of my roommates decided to wake me up in his rush to get to his game, thinking I was going with him. :P After all was said and done, I got enough sleep, and had a nice ride back.
Overall, this was an excellent experience for my very first Intercon - the con suite food was INCREDIBLE, and really made the convention for me. Many, many, many thanks to Renee for doing a fantastic job there. Beyond that, the hotel itself was quite nice, and the atmosphere was great. I'm a bit sad I didn't get to hang out with some of the people I was hoping to, but that can hopefully be remedied in the near future. :)
This is getting a bit wordy, so I'll wrap it up. If there's anywhere else I can/should post this to thank the appropriate people, would the people in the know about that sort of thing let me know? Thanks!