Dexcon 2006

[Judd]

Just to be clear, Judd, are you asking that people put a notice about relevant posts/links here, so you can update that page? Or something else?

Nah, I'll track it down.

If I miss something and you feel inspired to PM or e-mail me, that'd be keen.

[Bret Gillan]

Anyone who did not go to Dexcon, I'll tell you what it and its evil twin Dreamation did for me: my love of gaming might be the fuel for my sputtering game design engine, but Double Exposure is dumping in a fat dose of rocket fuel. It's a crowd of great people, some fun-as-hell gaming, and a laid-back atmosphere that lets you sit back and shoot the shit and talk games and game design without any pressure. I walked into the con with two game ideas: one was mostly done but needed some oomph and the other was a half-baked concept that I'd done barely any thinking about. I walked out with two games ready to playtest. And I didn't even attend the roundtable, this was just from conversations with Tony, Bill, Shawn, and Brennan.

If Gencon is the furious sell-sell-sell, Dreamation and Dexcon are where I'm going to recharge my batteries.

[TonyLB]

I cannot say enough good things about DexCon.  Everyone knows I'm a fan, and many of the things that I would say have already been said by others.  They're all true.  I'm going to latch on to one thing I noticed that may have been overlooked:  the things that didn't happen, for which I credit the con staff.

The elevators did not break down.  The hotel staff wanted us to be there.  There was never an unmanageable line for anything, including registration.  The games ran on time, at the places they'd been scheduled, without interruption and with all the resources needed for the slot.  There was adequate margin for error in everything.  By taking advantage of the staff suite I was always nutritiously (if blandly) fed.  Information about every single event was centrally posted and unfailingly accurate.  Every time I wanted to know something from the staff I found out the definitive answer within five minutes.  I observed no fights, no confrontations, no gamers getting pissed at other gamers or calling people names (excepting always Jungle Speed).

This convention worked so well that you didn't even notice how well it was working.

Now, personally, this DexCon was a radical departure for me from my behavior at Double-Ex events in the past.  I made a conscious effort to avoid spending all my time at the booth.  I played in many game slots ... perhaps more than half of the slots, though I haven't toted up the numbers.  I wandered the halls.  I got pulled into a LARP.  I want to extend my heart-felt gratitude to the many folks who manned the booth and made that possible for me.

It was a hoot ... a little bit because of the sense of freedom, but a lot because it involved some really extremely good gaming.  Certainly far and away the best convention gaming of my life.  It's hard to say how it compares to the gaming I get at home, with people I know inside and out.  I haven't decided yet.

There will be AP posts, rest assured.  Most slots I gamed in raised important questions of theory that I fully intend to address.  I want some answers, and I'm gonna lean on all you big brains until you give 'em to me.

Oh, and I brought home hardware.  I qualified for and won the 2006 National Jungle Speed championship.  I have the trophy to prove it.  Those who protest that at the time I won it, the roleplaying room was rockin' to the skills of Luke Crane, Nathan Paoletta and other people who would have cleaned my clock had they been available ... well, those people are absolutely right, but I've still got the trophy, so NYAH!

[TonyLB]

Oh, and did I mention the attendance of our games?  Has anyone mentioned that?  They were freakin' packed.  I've never seen anything like it.

We had, what, seven indie games running on saturday night?  I'm pretty sure that most of them were at the point where they were turning away people.  Remember a year ago when we were carefully scheduling just a few tracks, because we were terrified that we only had a tiny pool of interested folks, and if we spread them too thin with too many games we'd run the well dry?  LOL.  Good times, good times.

I know that I was turning away people at my Wednesday night slot ... the night when people are classically not at the con yet, and I had so many people that I filled not one but two tables.

There's something happening at these Cons, year over year.  I don't know quite what it is, but I'm glad to be a witness.  Some day in the future I get to say "Man, yeah, I was there."

[Robert Bohl]

Yes, there is some incestuousness in terms of attendance but there were plenty of non-ringer-types too.  At least in mid-state New Jersey, the Indie word is spreading.  I think I only saw 3 games fold for lack of players and I saw plenty of games where people had to be turned away.  Even pickup games got lots of attendance.

[Andrew Morris]

I agree, Tony. The convention is well-run. I had a few logistical problems related to the Iron GM contest (I wasn't informed about a mandatory pre-meeting, and then our game was rescheduled twice), but these were relatively minor bumps in the road.

One thing I would really like to see is more vegetarian options in the staff suite. Maybe it was just that my timing was off, but all I could ever eat was a bannana here and there, coupled with some hummus and pita. I did once manage to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but that's it. I had to leave the con several times to get enough food. I don't know if there are enough vegetarian GMs and staff to make it worthwhile, but I'd certainly appreciate it. Next year, I'll bring a backup of foodstuffs for myself and my crazy eating habits.

The indie party did have some nice veggie foods, which probably saved me from passing out midway through the convention.

[Shawn De Arment]

I can't say enough good things about Dexcon. Last January, I realized that my "roleplaying" with my home group is actually just socializing. I go to Dexcon/Dreamation to really roleplay cool indie games with great people.

I went to this Dexcon with the added intention of playtesting my game, 1 Night (formally called CUP), with people other than my regular gaming group. I was blown away at how useful it was. I did a rewrite Friday night, only to have Rob and Fred [of Evil Hat] show me all sorts of new cool things in our Saturday morning game. I will put all the details in a playtest tread.

Of the 11 games I was in, only 2 were duds. One was one of my playtests, which was actually more useful than a successful game. The other one was a simulationist(?) railroady thing (not my favorite flavors), which Tony and I were freeform playing Breaking-the-Ice on top of. So, even the duds were good.

I am going to Gencon for the first time this year. I hope it will be as good as Dexcon and Dreamation have been.

[Andrew Morris]

I am going to Gencon for the first time this year. I hope it will be as good as Dexcon and Dreamation have been.

Depends on what you're looking to get out of a con. It seems to me that DexCon and Dreamation are great for gaming, while GenCon is good for meeting people and selling (though I have no experience yet with the selling).

[Andrew Cooper]

I am going to Gencon for the first time this year. I hope it will be as good as Dexcon and Dreamation have been.

Depends on what you're looking to get out of a con. It seems to me that DexCon and Dreamation are great for gaming, while GenCon is good for meeting people and selling (though I have no experience yet with the selling).

There's a Games on Demand table or two this year.  Gaming is gonna rock on toast!  Woot!

Shawn, come by and visit GoD.

[Thomas D]

It seems like only a few years after I leave the New York/New Jersey area, an explosion of gaming goodness springs up about fifteen miles from my old house.  Are there any gaming conventions in the Southwest U.S. similar to Dexcon and Dreamation that the indie-rpg crowd gets as enthusiastic about?

-Thomas

[Salvius]

It seems like only a few years after I leave the New York/New Jersey area, an explosion of gaming goodness springs up about fifteen miles from my old house.  Are there any gaming conventions in the Southwest U.S. similar to Dexcon and Dreamation that the indie-rpg crowd gets as enthusiastic about?

-Thomas

Thomas,

There is no convention in the world like DEXCON. You'll have to move back.

>>>Vinny

[DocMMedia]

My experience at Dexcon was awesome. This is the second time I've gone and I am just plain thrilled to death that I've found someplace to meet people that are as interested in gaming as I am. Bill White dragged me to Dreamation a couple of years ago to test Ganakagok, but I didn't really do much other than that. Then Dexcon last year and this year...it was totally different for me. I haven't designed games of my own yet, but I appreciate the Indie games tremendously. At this year's Dexcon I got to meet a lot more people and start to branch out and try new stuff and seriously think about the games I want to create. Even though I was sort of on the outside...and at times I felt a bit like Bill's Ganakagok sidekick...I felt welcome and excited to be part of everything. The gaming was some of the best I've ever experienced. I realize that quite a few folks hit the conventions to sell their games...so I can understand it when a small con like this one doesn't help with that goal. But for me...someone who is just getting involved and wants to be a part of this community...this was a priceless experience. I know I couldn't have had this experience at a big con. I appreciated that Dexcon was set up to be welcoming to someone that's new.

Tony's third Capes session was awesome. I agree with Bret who said it was one of the best Capes sessions ever. I had a blast. Rob ran a totally awesome PTA session (Precinct: Fantasyland) that just blew me away. I can't stop thinking about it. And then, of course, is Ganakagok...which I just plain adore. So for me...Dexcon was a tremendous experience. I just wish I didn't have to wait 'til next year for more. You can bet I'll be at Dreamation this year. Oh yes. That's for sure.

[Helvetian]

Now that I've pulled my head out of the sand from my post-con downpowering...  ;-)

As always, we loved having the Indie publishers so well represented.  To the many of you who participated and helped make DEXCON such a success, thank you so much.  You always add something to our events that makes them all that much more special, and I'm looking forward to Dreamation having our best Indie presence yet.  With it not being between Origins and GenCon, and therefore a little easier for some of you to manage, I'm hoping for quite the party.  With chili, of course.  :)

Becca