RIP Gencon
So on Saturday Matt, Trina, and I went to Gencon SoCal in Anaheim. For those who read this who don't know what that is (basically...none of you) Gencon is/was/should be the biggest gaming convention (board games, card games, RPGs) on the planet.
I used to go to it (3 times I think) when it was done in Milwaukee (and only in Milwaukee) before it got moved to Indianapolis and Anaheim. It was great. 10s of thousands of gaming geeks. Truly inventive games. Art show and exhibit halls that each took up monsterous rooms that took 10 minutes to walk across if not impeded. Tracy Hickmans Killer Breakfast.
Anyway we pull up to the Anaheim convention center, a bit late because Caltrans had decided to close the connector for the 10 to the 5 without telling anyone. Matt and I are dressed normally, Trina (who likes ot cosplay) is in a pretty EGL outfit that looks vaguely like a french maid (but not quite and she doesn't like that characterization).
We rush in since Killer Breakfast is supposed to start at 9 and it was 8:52. Get to the room...which is empty. Apparently Tracy had cancelled. What bothered me later (besides missing my favorite event) was Gencon had notified me 2 weeks earlier that another Hickamn event was cancelled - so they knew he wouldn't be there but didn't cancel his other 2 events in advance.
Ok...so not most auspicious start. We each have 3 or so other events for the day and time built in to view the exhibit hall, which we wander off to find since we now have extra free time. First off though I decide to register for the Magic tournament Matt was in since we now ahd added free time. 2 registration screwups and people who didn't know how to work their computers later I am all set, so we enter The Hall.
I really shouldn't capitalize 'The Hall'. I would have in previous years, but for any true Gencon attendee of ages past what we found would have you hanging your head in dispair (which Matt and I did for a littlw while). Somehow the entire vendor exhibit hall, art show, and tables for every card tournament and miniatures event AND PC/console game expo all fit into one room that was already smaller than just the exhibition hall at Gencon Milwaukee. Matt and I stood aghast. You literally could see everything (every vendor plus the art gallery) in about 20 minutes. There wasn't a single seller of traditional RPG books there - it was entirely CCG's, dice sellers, and trinkets. No TSR. No White Wolf. No GamesWorkshop. Nothing.
While waiting for the excuse for an exhibit/vendor section to open wee played some City of Villains at the NCSOFT area. If you've played or seen City of Heroes...it's the same game with different costumes. Literally.
Matt and I proceeded to get our asses beat in the Magic Ravinica Booster Draft tournament. Knowing a bit more aobut the rules beforehand may have helped, but oh well. We did get some spiffy new cards out of it though.
At this point having thoroughly exhausted seeing everything short of going to the anime screening rooms we went over to registration to cancel our tickets to the 7th Sea LARP Matt and Trina were scheduled for and my Mage and Battletech games and headed out since we didn't want to stay there bored for hours waiting for them to start.
Maybe it hasn't been here long enough yet. Maybe I am being overly oldschool thinking Gencon shouldn't be about being a stadium of CCG tournys. Or maybe, just maybe, Wizards of the Coast has eviscerated what used to be a good con and remarketed it to teens who will buy the latest Yu-Gi-Oh deck...
I used to go to it (3 times I think) when it was done in Milwaukee (and only in Milwaukee) before it got moved to Indianapolis and Anaheim. It was great. 10s of thousands of gaming geeks. Truly inventive games. Art show and exhibit halls that each took up monsterous rooms that took 10 minutes to walk across if not impeded. Tracy Hickmans Killer Breakfast.
Anyway we pull up to the Anaheim convention center, a bit late because Caltrans had decided to close the connector for the 10 to the 5 without telling anyone. Matt and I are dressed normally, Trina (who likes ot cosplay) is in a pretty EGL outfit that looks vaguely like a french maid (but not quite and she doesn't like that characterization).
We rush in since Killer Breakfast is supposed to start at 9 and it was 8:52. Get to the room...which is empty. Apparently Tracy had cancelled. What bothered me later (besides missing my favorite event) was Gencon had notified me 2 weeks earlier that another Hickamn event was cancelled - so they knew he wouldn't be there but didn't cancel his other 2 events in advance.
Ok...so not most auspicious start. We each have 3 or so other events for the day and time built in to view the exhibit hall, which we wander off to find since we now have extra free time. First off though I decide to register for the Magic tournament Matt was in since we now ahd added free time. 2 registration screwups and people who didn't know how to work their computers later I am all set, so we enter The Hall.
I really shouldn't capitalize 'The Hall'. I would have in previous years, but for any true Gencon attendee of ages past what we found would have you hanging your head in dispair (which Matt and I did for a littlw while). Somehow the entire vendor exhibit hall, art show, and tables for every card tournament and miniatures event AND PC/console game expo all fit into one room that was already smaller than just the exhibition hall at Gencon Milwaukee. Matt and I stood aghast. You literally could see everything (every vendor plus the art gallery) in about 20 minutes. There wasn't a single seller of traditional RPG books there - it was entirely CCG's, dice sellers, and trinkets. No TSR. No White Wolf. No GamesWorkshop. Nothing.
While waiting for the excuse for an exhibit/vendor section to open wee played some City of Villains at the NCSOFT area. If you've played or seen City of Heroes...it's the same game with different costumes. Literally.
Matt and I proceeded to get our asses beat in the Magic Ravinica Booster Draft tournament. Knowing a bit more aobut the rules beforehand may have helped, but oh well. We did get some spiffy new cards out of it though.
At this point having thoroughly exhausted seeing everything short of going to the anime screening rooms we went over to registration to cancel our tickets to the 7th Sea LARP Matt and Trina were scheduled for and my Mage and Battletech games and headed out since we didn't want to stay there bored for hours waiting for them to start.
Maybe it hasn't been here long enough yet. Maybe I am being overly oldschool thinking Gencon shouldn't be about being a stadium of CCG tournys. Or maybe, just maybe, Wizards of the Coast has eviscerated what used to be a good con and remarketed it to teens who will buy the latest Yu-Gi-Oh deck...