Ep4: 3EG GenCon 2011 Report (Rolling 20s)

If you want to hear me talk about it instead of reading, go the bottom of the post!

So, first of all, let me start by saying - it was amazingly fun, but that i am super super tired out by the whole experience. My internal clock was still set to “get up early to make sure my kids don’t trash the house” and so my hours were wonky. I went to bed at about 2am every morning while gone, meaning i was running mostly on adrenalin.

That adrenalin came from the fact that this was the first year that Third Eye Games had its own booth! In previous years, I’ve just hung around the Studio2 booth. I considered that my scouting time, going by as many booth as I could and seeing how they did things: how their books were displayed, what their banners looked like, etc. I paid special attention to what they did right AND wrong, and always had in mind how I wanted 3EG’s booth to look.

I was lucky this year to have a set of guys to help me run my booth and make it the best ever. So, i want to take this opportunity to thank Jay P, Ben G. and Corey K. for being my core crew. As well as John K, Mario G. and Melissa G. for helping up in the cracks that were present from time to time. All the great that things we did weren’t possible without you guys!

So, I’m going to give a quick day-by-day rundown of my experiences. If i forget anyone, i am eternally sorry, but the weekend was mostly a blur. lol.

Wednesday

My wednesday was mostly uneventful. The flight in was fast and easy, with only a few stares since i was silly enough to wear a t-shirt with the word “apocalypse” in it. After spending 2 hours setting up the booth to make it look perfect, Ben and I ate some dinner at Scotty’s Brewhouse. I was hoping for a big meet and greet, since one was scheduled and whatnot, but it was basically a bust. Did get to say hi to Sean Patrick Fannon and the beautiful Carinn Seabolt, but otherwise it was Ben and I catching up after not hanging for almost a year. Jay flew in later in the night and we went to pick him up. Otherwise, the day was more setup for an amazing weekend!

Thursday, Day 1

We arranged and separated t-shirts first thing and then got ready for the rush. And the rush began quickly. I was proud that there were a few people whose very first purchases were Part-Time Gods. Makes me proud. Jeff from the Gaming Gang came over and interviewed me as well, cemented the excitement of the first day quite well. Ben went to find party provision so the morning was just Jay and I, but then it came time for when Jay and Ben went to go run our API and WX games for the day (respectively).

With them gone, i was kind of stuck, since Corey’s flight didn’t come in until late in the day. I spent the entire day at the booth on Thursday. Not just casually either. I hadn’t eaten any breakfast or lunch and didn’t get a bathroom or drink break. How’d I do it? Pure adrenalin. We had so many demoes to run and people to talk to that the excitement of the day was enough to keep me going.

Then, after an awesome Hard Rock dinner with the crew, it was time for a game. I ran a session of Part-Time Gods for a few of the great backers that were able to make it to GenCon. I want to thank the backers, Nathaniel G, Mario G. and Michael B. who came to play and make that night hilarious, as well as David and Daniel who brought their own flavor to the game with their unique play styles. Want an actual play report? They caused the rapture like a boss. Nuff said.

Friday, Day 2

Friday began with a sore throat, headache and achey joints from all the standing and talking i did before. But after a good breakfast, with refreshing mint tea and some Advil (plug!) i was ok. The booth traffic just kept going, though. Corey and I were great at the helm and he started taking over like a pro. I even got to walk around a bit and see the hall.

Lots of sales and new fans and then it was time for my panel. I called it Demon Ninja Gods Panel, as a joke about my 3 gamelines. It was a small collection of fans, but i knew it would be. John D. Kennedy joined me to keep the conversation on track and I was able to give some good info from some big fans. Next year will no doubt be even bigger.

Afterward it was back to the booth for a bit and that’s when Melissa Gay showed up. Oh my was she the biggest ball of excitement and energy I’ve ever met. It not only was awesome, but it also spread to the rest of the crew and to the fans. She got to sign some posters and books along with me and the fans enjoyed that, i think.

Then, my Dream Date came to pick me up. The ENnies were that night and Jason Pitre paid for my company for the award ceremony. It was pretty spectacular. We were able to hand with Mark Truman and Marissa Kelley of Magpie Games, talk some with my friend Fred Hicks and finally meet Ryan Macklin, and I even got to exchange words with one of my favorite guys in the industry, Eddy Webb. The ENnies themselves were a lot more fun than I thought it would be from watching the video from the previous year. The pure energy in the room made it a blast.

After a great dinner with Sean Patrick Fannon, the Magpie crew and Mark Kinney from All Games Considered, Jason and I found a table for use to play of his new game, the Spark RPG. In short, it was pretty darn awesome. I can’t wait to see this guy’s game when it’s done.

Saturday, Day 3

The day started off slowly, which was good since i was still recovering from the late night. Though, at the same time, my body was starting to grow a resistance. I wasn’t as sore, my voice wasn’t as messed up. Saturday was also the day when the freelancers started coming over. Met a lot of great people that may potentially be working with me. Who knows?

I then went to a fun lunch at Champions with Mark “Mike” Kinney from All Games Considered. Not only was it a great interview for me and my games (yay!), but it was fun chatting with Mark about writing in general. He also has turned me on to the game Hellas and i can’t wait to try that out.

Shortly after that, an interview with PlayUnplugged. It’s not up yet, but i’ll link everyone when it is. thanks Enrico!

Also, i got to sit in on a spontaneous and slightly uncomfortable business meeting. Not naming any names, but afterword got to hang with the GamerChick crew. They premiered the first episode of Season 2 of their awesome show and they are a blast to chill with. Hey Sarah and Jeff!

Then came Savage Saturday Night. The game went amazingly, run by my guy Jay Peters. I finally got to play in a game with the esteemed Kurt Weigel. Sir, i would play in any game with you if the chance ever comes up again! Everyone seemed to enjoy the changes we made to SW to fit Apocalypse Prevention, Inc. too, which was completely awesome!

Sunday, Day 4

Sunday was a good day. First thing i saw was Eddy Webb walking by with an API shirt on, so that was cool. As a matter of fact, we had a lot of people wearing the shirts that we were giving away and it was awesome to see how many people were really behind what we were doing.

I decided to run the last API game of the Con and even though all 6 slots were sold out a month ago, only two players showed. It was probably one of my favorite games i’ve run of Seafood Chowder though. It was a short game, but super focused and uber-fun!

After that, I had a second Interview with All Games Considered. Well it was “supposed” to be a group interview, but i was the only one to show up. Whatever though. I love those guys and could talk to Mags and Carol all day if I needed to.

The last bit of the show was slow and then came the breaking down of the booth. We then had a 3.5 hr dinner at T.G.I.Friday’s with the Magpie crew again and spirited discussions about game design. Fun stuff!

Mario suggested that I run a game of Wu Xing… and so i did. The adventure went well and I stepped up the enemies to make it challenging. Another 2am pass out, but it all was great.

Monday

Got up, ate breakfast, flew home, easy peasy.

I’m already coming up with way to make next year better and you bet your ass i’ll have a booth again!

Until next time!

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