#RPGaDAY 2016, Day 6: What am I missing at Gen Con this year?

by ThomasNo Comments

There’s a lot going on with the Gen Con experience. I am home, not attending this year, and I miss the show. I miss the experience.

Back in 2014, I almost went to Gen Con with my friends Ron and Vern as a revival of This Just In From Gen Con with the blessings ((There’s a pun there.)) of the TJI stakeholders. But things out of our control happened and, well. There it lies.

However, my goal with that year’s TJI would have been to bring the experience of the convention to the listeners. That list of experiences is a good place to start.

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#RPGaDAY 2016, Day 5: Not Gaming at the Gaming Convention

by ThomasNo Comments

Here’s the thing: When I’ve attended Gen Con, I haven’t gone for the games. Teenage me would be shocked. Teenage me always wanted to attend Gen Con ((Lake Geneva was just a three hour drive away!)), but I never made it out there. Four days of gaming goodness and I, at most, play three different games.

So these last times — and I’m not counting the time I was doing booth duty for a Mayfair Games offshoot project — what do you do at a gaming convention when you’re not gaming?

Mainly networking. Continue reading →

#RPGaDAY 2016, Day 4: Future Convention Plans

by ThomasNo Comments

In the past #RPGaDAY events, the four days of Gen Con had questions that revolved around game conventions. This year, there aren’t any. So for the next four days, I’ll be covering topics about gaming conventions. The one “official” prompt I’m interested in pursuing from this time frame will show up on the 8th.

Today, in question form: What are your plans for conventions in the future?

While I enjoy Gen Con, I don’t see me attending again unless I’m there as part of a company. It’s grown too large for me to handle. Last year on Day 14, where the topic was “Should I attend Gen Con?”, I wrote a bit about an episode of Ken Hite and Robin Laws’ podcast discussing that convention. The takeaway line from that was Ken saying, “I hate to say it, because Gen Con used to be great one-stop shopping for freelancers… I would find it amazing if a freelancer was able to get two words of quality time, edgewise, with a busy booth owner.”

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