Hey, I wanted to say hi to all the great people I met at the Forge Booth this weekend. I felt welcome and felt that the weekend was at least a mild success (sold 15 copies total [4 to a guy in Norway] of The Swing in print form and 3 CD's of PDFs). Everyone was very helpful and the atmosphere was fun and light hearted.

I learned alot about the other games produced here at the Forge and the people behind them. Not only did I have a good time, but I came away with a better understanding of marketing and game theory. Hopefully next year (or next con) will be even bigger.



BTW, I will soon be posting my new game and see what everythinks - Eat Pussy for Christ, a light hearted card game of humorous propositions. Hopefully I will beat BOB to it.

On the behalf of the entire Behemoth3 crew, I also wanted to thank the Gen Con booth brigades. We really appreciated the support, advice, inspiration, and camraderie that we gained by being part of the Forge booth.

We sold one Masters and Minions book on Thursday, two on Friday, five on Saturday, and (if my math is correct) eight on Sunday, which I think reflects our growing savvy as well as the attendance patterns of the con. I should note that Brian's minotaur book outsold my stirges about 8 to 1, which is a good lesson in connecting with what people want (we're thinking about delaying my otyugh book in response & coming out with the medusa instead for Gen Con SoCal).

The really amazing thing, though, was the books we gave away. Having people like Ken Hite and Jonathan Tweet come by the booth to see what was new & exciting created a great opportunity for us. I would have hunted them down anyways to give them books -- the $5 or so it cost to create our deluxe set is miniscule in comparison to the intellectual debt I owe these guys -- but I think the fact that we were associated with the Forge meant that we would receive a different & better kind of attention than if we'd been there on our own with yet another d20ish line.

Sang & I spent the car ride back thinking about how we could use Robots & Rapiers / MLwM loss-of-player-control mechanics to handle classic D&D elements like barbarian rage and magic items with egos of their own; I'm looking forward to getting y'all's input & critique when that starts to bear fruit.

Mad props to the Bull Lord. Can not wait for it to come out in PDF format.

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I am quickly trying to work up Eat Kittens For Christ well before Keith (Taylor). Also, my second book for Conspiracy of Shadows (to be done by July) is going to have Luke Crane's name all over it. You are all going to think that it is a supplement for Burning Wheel.

Keith

Everyone there was fucking awesome. In fact, in just about every post I've posted on about GenCon at RPGNet, I've been swearing, a LOT, because there's really no better way to profoundly express the impact that the weekend, and the Forge folks, had on me.

I WILL be posting a Convention Review post, with pictures (getting them developed now, will have them tonight), about what I thought of the weekend (Forge Birthday Forum be damned!), inlcuding some advice for next year.

In a word, here's some quick posts on what I want:

1) I want to pay $50 for a Special Edition of Burning Wheel that comes shipped with one free Luke Crane to run it for me.

2) I want to see a No Press Anthology Zwei*. This item could be another "Cornerstone of Sales", like KPFS, Burning Wheel, TROS, etc.

3) I want to wish the TROS guys luck in the future, and I want them to clone Ben so that he can run like four demos at once. Oh, and I want to say that Ben looks much more respectable in a TROS T-Shirt than his tan slacks, leather belt, and tucked in shirt.

4) I want to come back to GenCon again. 2006 will, Eench Allah, be the next for me (next year is Japan again).

-Andy

* Or, alternately, "No Press Anthology Dva".

If you want Ben, don't you need to have Calder and the Mimbo too?

Hello!

I too am now back from GenCon and from delivering Ken and Julie back to their respective homes. I'm listening to Queen on the stereo and enjoying what feels like spring weather.

And posting at the Forge.

A full GenCon debriefing is probably too much to cover in one post or even a series, for one person. I'm glad this thread started; 'cause here we'll do a whole general spew and splatter of feedback, thanks, congratulations, complaints, comments, suggestions, and whatever.

You know how I'm always on about Social Context for play? The whole Infamous Five thing? That's what I love about the Forge booth experience at GenCon, because it's not just about the booth. It's about all of the following:

1. Successful commerce to the person who wants the games

2. Visitor fun and (for lack of a better word) education at the booth, through play and dialogue

3. Successful promotion at all levels, from customer to distributor

4. Meeting (and humanizing) any number of folks who've worked on games one likes

5. Meeting and humanizing one another! Through all of the above, through the shared work and organization and camaraderie (and occasional disgruntlements and negotiations about them)

6. As above, but with actual socializing with one another

7. And within #6, through actual play with one another

All of these start, develop, get re-arranged, reinforce one another, until by early Saturday, for many of us, the whole experience feels like a cross between a commercial juggernaut, an incredibly artsy performance theater piece, a blazing academic symposium, and an encounter group.

I had to drive through Chicago traffic to get home, and it didn't diminish the "I'm flyin'" sensation one bit.

Anyone who was there! Booth member or not, even if you just visited, whatever ... post and speak.

Best,
Ron

My second year at the Forge Booth was no less inspiring than my first.

I was once again blown away by the generosity and kindness and completely energized by comraderie and support.

In-fucking-credible

I would like to publicly recognize that while we game designers did our little "By My Stuff" robot dance, 'twas the booth monkeys who made it all hum.

Daniel, Julie, Andy K, Ben, Dro, Calder and everyone else who's name my tired brain is forgetting. You guys really kicked ass.

Next year, I want a freaking booth monkey awards ceremony at the end of it all.

-L

PS I cannot express how profoundly sad I am that I will not get to hang out with Andy K again for two years! Gah!

Here's a slew of quick thoughts:

I had a rocking time once whatever-weird-virus-that-was gave up and left me alone. Anyone who saw me Wednesday night knows what I mean.

Cool to meet all the people who were once only mysterious monikers.

Andy K is the man. If any of us is ever big in Japan, it'll be because of him.

Selling something I made was a hell of a cool experience. Getting that first total stranger to say, "all right, I'll buy it" was friggin' awesome.

Playing each other's games in the hotel after the con is an amazing thing. I played Michael Miller's new game "With Great Power" and tried out Jeffrey Schecter's "Pagoda" from the NPA. Both awesome games.

Note to anyone who stayed in the room I was in: Conspiracy of Shadows is missing from my bag. Did anyone find a stray copy in the room somewhwere? I am very sad that I don't have it. It's very cool.

Ask Calder about location VI.

Conspiracy of Shadows was a cool game. Loved playing it in Luke's room. That is except when the guy running it kills you without rolling any dice.

You got a 14, thats not going to be enough.

I got yer Conspiracy of Shadows, Matt. Last night I discovered I mysteriously had two, and now I remember reading through your copy on Thursday night and packing it back with my stuff, thinking it was mine.

I have a lot of comments about this game, most especially about your comment, Keith (Taylor). Like Sorcerer and TROS, fights in Conspiracy of Shadows demos are really not going to show what the system can do unless you bring in the passions of the characters - which in Conspiracy of Shadows, are going to develop over time and require real play.

But that should be discussed in another thread.

By singling out any one person to praise at the moment, I feel as I'm doing a disservice to a dozen more. I am especially happy with a few people who felt a little out of place or uncertain at first, but then stepped up like no one's business, and also with some other booth-experienced people whose low-key but friendly presences were invaluable. One guy in the first group is our own Nev the Deranged, and a couple in the second group are Scott Knipe, Tom Fitch, and John Kolbe.

But let's talk Calder and Jasper, shall we? During Ben Lehman's astounding TROS demos, which are best described as "Luke Jr.," Calder was dressed up in a jumpsuit with all the TROS strike zones marked in tape. At every single weapon strike in the game, another person (usually Nev) would, according to the player's description, strike at the relevant zone, and when the location dice were rolled, complete the blow. When the actual damage value was announced, Calder would then do a Drama Queen enactment in slow-ish motion.

He did this for hours, people. Hours. And of course, outside of the demo situations, walkin' around wearin' this getup led to people asking him questions too, which was always a good thing.

And Jasper, um, well, I suppose I should start with all his togs for the Vampire LARPing events. These togs were actually not very White Wolfy because they were all, like, bare-army and leathery and designed to bring out the beefcake. And I suppose I should also point out that some might see him as pretty enough to punch in the face just on general principles. Or to beg for a scolding because you've been bad. According to one's personal taste, that is. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Oh yeah, and the gear included those big-ass black lenses that take up most of your eyes. Does anyone have a picture to post on-line somewhere? I don't think I'm conveying the impact Jasper had on anyone who walked by the booth, especially since he made it clear at every moment that he was spoofing the very image he presented and enjoying it all the way. He was a sales magnet, pure and simple - our booth mimbo.

I am deeply, deeply ashamed that we exploited the objectification of a fellow human being, not to mention perpetuating and validating almost-certainly harmful cultural stereotypes, in order to generate gross amounts of money. I wish to extend my sincere apologies for this crime to all real mimbos, leather boys, pretty people, and vampires (I suppose) who may have felt, rightly I say, the damage to their self-images and identities, as well as to their families and friends.

Best,
Ron

Sorry Ron, my comment was actually a joke for "Bob".

But seriously, I wish I would have played more of everyones games. I did get to try some of them; TROS, F*ck This, Conspiracy of Shadows and watched through several more. All were fun to play and oddly were fun to watch others play.


Location VI. That would make a cool name for a game, maybe a spy game. Your secret HQ is Location VI.

Hey,

I'd like to thank everyone who helped me sell and bought my game. I hope you enjoy it. It really doesn't kill people like some people think. Only those few who dare laugh at my serious demo...

If you want to see a little bit about how the game is supposed to run, check out my Actual Play posts.

Dog Day Afternoon
Liars, Swords & Money

By the way, I've come up with some rules and a theme for Kill Kittens for Khrist. I'll post them when I get a chance in the Design forum.

Once again thanks for a great experience everyone and I hope to see you at next GenCon if not sooner.

Keith

Thank You all I had a great time.

Note to anyone who stayed in the room I was in: Conspiracy of Shadows is missing from my bag. Did anyone find a stray copy in the room somewhwere? I am very sad that I don't have it. It's very cool.

Though I was a returning monkey, I was still overwhelmed by just how frickin' awesome everyone is, was and (I'm certain) will always be. It was great seeing folks who I'd seen in past years, and great meeting some new people, and great playing new games (PTA rocks so much and kicks various relatives with such force that we'd have to invent a new language to even remotely capture the extent of it! "Moose in the City" would be the greatest kids TV show ever!), and great playing some slightly less-new ones (Burning Wheel! "The Gift"! Ralph, you do realize the coming extermination of the Idendri(sp?) Dwarves is all your fault, don't you?) .

Not having my game ready for the booth coulda made the whole experience a drag, but the Forge crew wouldn't let that happen. Words fail. You're all great. 'Nuff said, for now . . .

Gordon

Had a great time at the booth, many thanks to all. Wish I could have played more games--PTA and Conspiracy of Shadows, particularly. I greatly appreciate all the validation, support, and good word-of-mouth everyone provided about With Great Power. The game sold better when I wasn't at the booth than when I was. Heck, Andy Kitowski was pitching it in a thread on RPG.net before I even left Indiana! Any and all criticisms, comments and suggestions are invited. The preview edition is a good start, but I want the full edition to blow the doors off!

Many extra thanks to the Michigan folks--Paul, Danielle, Scott & Tom--for a great game on Saturday and generosity above & beyond the call of duty. Anyone who talks about wanting to make games that are more "mainstream" or that appeal to nongamers needs to play with Danielle Hall. One scene set up by her showed me more about what games can be than a dozen theory posts. Thanks, Danielle.

Lots of goodness went on, too much to thank or remember at the moment.

Ron, you're right about Jasper. If I end up writing that romance novel RPG, he needs to pose for the cover. With the contacts.

Hey folks,

I just wanted to say thanks and great job to everyone at the Forge booth this year. It was great to meet folks in-person and experience some great games. We've got lots of reviews to write and several interviews to do over at Flames Rising.

We ran out of Obsidian LARP Quickstarts on Saturday, and we'll have a downloadable version up on the Twilight Games website this weekend. Let us know what you think, we have an Obsidian forum on the TG site.

Regards,

Matt M McElroy
http://www.flamesrising.com
http://www.twilight-games.com

Hi all.

Calder and Jasper would probably be replying to this, but they are stuck in infinite holding trying to get to our small, fog-bound, NoCal town. In short: I agree. They were awesome.

It was an amazing thrill to be part of the ritual environment/gaming therapy group/sales team that is the Forge booth. It was amazing to meet all of my favorite game designers (yes, including Jon Tweet, who I gave a free copy of the No-Press, so sorry Ron.) It was amazing to make more money on my writing than I have in many years.

Oh and, by the way, you'll be hearing more out of Calder, Jasper and I very soon. We sort of accidentally started a gaming company on the way home.

yrs--
--Ben

Hi, My name is Gary Pratt and I visited your booth three time during the show. Met some very nice people. Your booth was very well organized and run, even with all the different creators exhibiting. Good job.

I stopped by and bought Burning Wheel and My Life With Master. Got through My Life on the airplane and got some very funny looks and snickers from the people sitting beside me (all good.)

It was my first time as a vendor at the con (sold Code of Unaris - Chat Roleplaying) and was astounded at the number of people who came by to look at and buy an unknown game. I wanted to thank you all on the Forge for the past year and a half or so, as many of your thread discussions helped me refine my own game.

Gary
www.goldleafgames.com

GaryTP wrote: It was my first time as a vendor at the con (sold Code of Unaris - Chat Roleplaying) and was astounded at the number of people who came by to look at and buy an unknown game. I wanted to thank you all on the Forge for the past year and a half or so, as many of your thread discussions helped me refine my own game.

I have just two things:

1- Michael, I was suprised and flattered by your very nice comment about out game of With Great Power. Perhaps in another forum you could say exactly what it was that I did? Cause I'm not really sure myself... Much thanks anyway, and your game was great.

2- Since everyone else is saying it, it was a great year, congrats to all the sellers on record setting sales (yeah I know its only the second time, but it still set records), and to have that many guys in a relatively small area that produces such positive vibes is fantastic! The aggression must have been let out every night where the foam swords were being swong around.

-Danielle

I just thought I would add, as a consumer, that the energy surrounding the booth was remarkable. I'm just a humble gamer who happens to lurk here on the forums. I'll say as I said on another board, it's always great to meet the people you whom you know their online person but not their real person. The Forge can be awful intimidating to people, but in person everyone in the booth was incredibly easy going and approachable. The love of gaming just came off everyone in waves.

My friends and I likely had our best 15 minutes of Gen Con sitting at a kpfs demo. That's saying a lot when I think about where we were as a group about a year or so ago. They may not want to read or talk GNS but they could see the energy and love of gaming. So kudos to everyone involved.

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the help given to Don, Allan, and myself throughout Gen Con. It been a whirlwind the last month with the purchase of Driftwood Publishing and getting ready to go to the Con on about three weeks notice, and we COULD NOT OF DONE IT WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT!

A special shout out needs to go out to Ben, Jasper and Calder. Ben ran demo after demo for us at the booth and really generated a lot of interest in the game, with Calder as a living "Hit Location Man", allowing complete strangers to hit him time and time again (not the six!), with boffer weapons to demonstrate the way different zones of the body were targeted. The three of you really really went above and beyond the call of duty, and everyone here at Driftwood really appreciated it.

First I'd like to give a public apology to all those who shared a room with me and my freakish snoring, which is NOT a part of my standard repertoire of quirks. Luke, Drozdal, Vincent, Drew, Matt and Toby, thanks for dealing with it. I blame the congestion that seemed to dog me all weekend. I'm glad it wasn't bad enough to drive any of you away from possibly rooming with me next year (or so I hope!)

Second - my unofficial count seems to suggest 15 copies of Fastlane sold to individuals, plus two sold to that game store that came on by to snatch things up, for 17 total. A small number in the larger scheme of things, I believe, but I generally consider it my lucky number, so rather auspicious. Then six to Eero (yay for European distribution!) brings it to 23, another auspicious number, as all those Discordians out there know.

I brought 80 copies of Fastlane to the convention, but that's only 'cause I was too lazy to open up a box of games and bring less. As I've put it before, I sold more than I expected, and less than I hoped, and I've walked out of it feeling proud (and with a backache from carrying the other books - next time, I will be lazy enough to open the box of games). Even more copies of the NPA sold (40!!), many at least in part on the merits of Snowball, which was a blast to sell.

Selling to total strangers was very nice, and a great buzz (especially in light of Fastlane's dismal sales prior - I released it in April, and sold more during the con than I did before it). I'm hoping more might come by the site and buy later on. But I got more of a buzz from people like Ron and Paul and Andy, who'd played (and in some cases created) all these cool games that I adore, going "dude, Fastlane's tight. That's one pimpin' game you got there!" (Obviously, a paraphrase) Ron enjoying my teensy demo enough to insist on sitting in the sequel was just too cool. So, thanks for all y'all who felt that my game was more than just a gimmick (even if it started as one). Nobody walked away from a Fastlane demo saying "you know, that game sucked", which was really cool, and hopefully that buzz will help sell more copies down the line.

It was great, meeting all of you that I haven't met before, and meeting again those of you that I have met before. It was really good meeting people whose names I'd seen on the boards, but who I didn't know had a game attached (93 games' Swing, for instance). Next year I'm going to try to stay for both wednesday AND sunday nights (that Buca di Beppo palaver was mind-blowing). I get the feeling that's gonna zonk me right out of the day job, though.

This is really the first time I've felt anything that could be classified as work (that is, the booth) was fun. I have no illusions that Twisted Confessions will let me quit my day job, but it's definitely more promising than it was before. As last year, GenCon has spurred me to try harder, and I'd love to have another game (or two) ready for next year. But I'll yammer about that more in my own forum. Either way, the atmosphere of the booth - the attitude created by the rest of y'all - I think is one of the big reasons it was as fun and good as it was.

Thanks again to Ralph for simply supplying the cash register. I never got the chance to sit down and use it, even though I wanted to - was too busy running around trying to get people to play Fastlane. Maybe next year I will, although by then I'll probably be bullying people into buying even more of my own games (not to mention others). Also thanks to Ralph for letting me sit in that Shrek-Universalis demo that I hope you write up really soon.

Special props to Calder (or as he should now be known forever to a small group of us, MOOOOOOOSE) for his duty as whipping boy, to Ben (the Omega to my Alpha) for his TRoS (and more general) enthusiasm, to Andy Kitkowski for so many things, and to the booth monkeys in general (names are dribbling through my brain like swiss cheese). Thanks to Mike Miller for running a very cool With Great Power game, and to Ron for running Prime Time Adventures while exhausted (and to Jasper for supplying the materials for that excellent F*ck This game that I so rocked at - not to mention his duty as booth Mimbo). More than that, I wish I could've cloned myself for all that after-hours gaming goodness (not to mention to sit in the demos being run).

Thanks also to, well, everyone else I haven't mentioned yet. I mean, wow. And, well, wow. Booth monkeys, other salesfolk, and just everyone else who stopped by.

My plane landed yesterday after quite a delay and being switched between airlines due to a cancellation, but I'm still flyin'. And it's all your fault. All of you!

So, one big fat "thanks!" Now I'm off to read all the games I bought that I didn't play, and to start scheming for the stuff I want ready for next year.

Whew. Sorry for anyone or anything I missed.

Big thanks to everyone at the Forge Booth for giving me a chance to finally PLAY some of the games that have been sitting on my shelf for a while (Riddle of Steel, specifically). I've never experienced a more welcoming atmosphere at any con booth. Played in some great demos, my girlfriend seemed to have decent luck shopping her art around, and I managed to fill some holes in my collection (MLWM, finally) as well as pick up some ones that were entirely new to me (Nine Worlds, and F*ck This, which turned into the party hit of the con among my friends). Great job everyone, I had a fantastic time, and I hope to see you all next year.

and just because it has not explicitly been said by me: THANKS, RON!

Thanks for getting this all started, and keeping it going.

-L

I am sitting here reading all of the posts regarding GenCon and the Forge booth. At first, after I left I was tired and worn out. It had been along time since I had spent that much energy on one project. By Sunday I was ready for a long winters nap. I think I only spoke to one or two customers that day. Mostly I spent the day talking with Bob and the guys from B3. However, it wasn't until now that I realized what happened at GenCon. Especially from my view point.

Nobody knew who I was. Nobody knew anything about me or my game. Ron knew my name but only from the posts and emails regarding the GenCon trip. I literally came out of the woodwork at the last second. I had been lurking around for the last 4 or 5 months but even my involvment with the Forge was as limited as everyone's knowledge of me.

Did that mean anything? Appearantly not. Not once did I felt like an outsider. By Friday I felt like I had been a Forgite all along. My buddy and me were made to feel welcome from the moment we showed up. Whether it was the night playing in Luke's room (which we wish we had done more of) or the fact that people who did not know anything about the Swing took the time to learn it and try to sell it (hell I even started to use Greg's pitch, it was better than the one I was using), we were included.

I guess because of all the hussle and bussle I didn't notice it then, but I see it now. And I can read it through the number of posts from both the rest of you guys and from the customers that are posting too. There really is something here. I am sorry I haven't had the opportunity to be part of it until now, but I am here. No matter how exhausted I felt Sunday, that feeling of community made everything worthwhile.

The only regret is that I didn't get the chance to really get to know everyone like I was able to for some. No matter how corny it may sound, I have taken something away from GenCon that I can not even begin to describe. Like finding a lighthouse or something. Thanks everyone, everyone of you made me feel comfortable and no one treated me as an anything but a friend.

Hey all,

I discovered this site shortly before GenCon, but hadn't really had a chance to check it out. Then I saw the booth in the exhibitor's hall and was simply amazed by the energy of all you guys. My friend and I went all four days and spent at least an hour in your booth each day, sometimes considerably more. The sense of community you guys (and gals) exude is simply amazing. By the third day I was answering questions for visitors and feeling pretty goofy about it, but I couldn't help it.

Anyway, enough of the mindless praise and on to the actual people I met, and why they are great people.

Ron Edwards. His enthusiasm and innovative design made me seriously regret I hadn't found this community sooner. I also regret that I ran out of money before I got a chance to pick up a copy of Elfs (I will soon, I promise!). I did get a copy of Sorcerer however, and have enjoyed it thoroughly. I've already found about six people that are interested in playing it, and half of them aren't really into rpgs in the first place, so I'm very excited to try it out.

Andy K. Again, very cool and very helpful. Played in a demo of Elfs with him, which I thought was very neat. Seeing how supportive everyone was of each other's product was very cool.

Luke. I didn't actually get a chance to meet him, but simply being within about a 15' radius of the booth you couldn't help but notice him. Really wanted to get in on a demo of Burning Wheel, but sadly I ran out of time. Maybe next year.

Julie. She ran a demo of Kill Puppies for Satan for a few friends of mine which was also very cool. Everyone's enthusiasm all around was just amazing.

Anyway, enough ranting. I'm still new here and don't want to come off sounding all stary-eyed, but I have been thoroughly impressed by the community you guys have going. It's also very encouraging for anyone hoping to publish their own RPG, which hopefully I can pull off.

BTW, folks, here's Droz's pictures from the Con and the Booth. My pics will be up around Fri-Sat or so (tho Droz' are far, far better than mine turned out):

http://www.robo-christ.com/gallery

-Andy

Thanx Andy. You're da man :)

Radek

I'm finally home.

There's an intensity to our GenCon friendships that's hard to match out here in the day-to-day world. I hope that the people there for the first time felt it too.

I missed Jake.

-Vincent

Dang, I didn't even make it to GenCon, and I'm already wishing I had something to sell, so that I could maybe join you guys next year. :D

Then again, if Hans ever gets me the materials to put together Musketeers!, and I ever figure out how to get a handle on that Japanese mythology game I'd love to write (or some other inspiration), I suppose it doesn't seem too far out that "Grim Brothers Andersen Games" might want to put in an appearence at Indy '05!

Coming back to work yesterday after 5 days of saturated GenCon goodness was such a surreal experience that I had little time to dwell on the events of the last week. I'll join in the chorus and express my appreciation to everyone for making the booth such a huge success. I'm not even a designer and I still find it such a thrill to be involved.

It was also wonderful to see all the friends I met last year and meet new ones. I am so happy that I had a chance to talk and eat and game with all of you. It amazes me that so much can be packed into such a short span of time. Special thanks to Vincent for running Dogs in the Vineyard, Ben for running Pagoda, Andy for describing Japanese role-playing materials, and to everyone (what was it, 8 of us?) who participated in the Sunday night F*ck This game.

And I ran a demo. I ran a demo. Let me explain, up until very recently, I may play in a demo, I may set one up, I may talk up a game and even sell them. Run a demo? Uh-uh, not me. Well, it was a blast! I had such fun and I'm sitting here grinning with the memory of it.

Julie

Whew. Glad I had that extra day off work to unwind, or I would be running on nothing but brain-pate right now.

Lots to say, but to sum up in three words: Best Con Ever!

I get to game maybe once every six months, if I'm lucky. Over the weekend, I got in about five years worth. I got to be a chubby kung-fu practitioner and learned the Path of the Cart. I got to be a disgraced knight and bash my Master's head in with his own marble bust. I got to beat the crap out of Calder. I got to be a mercenary supernatural investigator who got torn apart by cultists (dude, your game sucks! (you know I'm kidding, we may not have taken it seriously, but I've never had such a blast roleplaying)). I got to be Lothar the cross-dressing wannabe satanist. I got to help kill Kieth Taylor (did you survive even one demo, man?) I got to beat the crap out of Calder some more. I got to help write the pilot for a series where Shrek and Fiona's kids chew up every available inch of fairy tale real estate.

Did I mention I got to beat the crap out of Calder?

I'm loathe to even mention names for fear I'll slight someone, suffice to say everyone was awesome, special thanks to anyone who ran a game I played in. Luke was amazing, every time I saw him he was on FIRE with enthusiasm. Andy's otakujitsu was phenomenal. Thanks to Julie for not eating my spleen. Danielle- we NEED Angry Mob T-Shirts on Cafepress!! And of course "Location Six" Calder and Jasper the Mimbo (I know I took a pic of him with my friend Shannon, which I will try to get ahold of and post). I should note that Jasper, even though we all agree he was beefcake, was SO not about being beefcake. He was about selling the games, just like everyone else there. Sure, he got to talk to the cute women more than the rest of us, but he was still trying to sell them games. And he kept them around long enough for the rest of us to ogle, so no harm there, right? ^_^

I've read through the NPA now, and every game in it looks intriguing... I'm just pissed that I read Cell Gamma, because it means I can't PLAY it now... unless someone has some of that amnesia drug available?

Working the booth was way more fun than I expected. I figured on a lot more grunt work, but since all of you guys are used to doing your own grunt work, I ended up stuck with being Tall And Loud, pretty much the only things besides grunt work I'm good at. Speaking of which, thanks to the guys across from us who tried to give me advice, most of it was more or less good advice... unfortunately, being Tall And Loud is pretty much my schtick, so the advice wasn't all that useful to me personally. *shrug*

One of my favorite lines was overhearing a random passerby turn to his friend and point, saying "hey, that guy's wearing a t-shirt from Bob Goat Press!" to which I had the pleasure of adding "No, that guy IS Bob Goat Press." But my favorite of all was when I was talking to a couple who were interested in MLwM. I told them I was trying to get a game going in Chitown. They said they knew someone else was trying to get a game going in Chitown as well, and I said "oh yeah?" and they said "Yes, some guy named Nev the Deranged posted a 'Minions Wanted' ad at Games Plus." So after two months of getting no play from that ad, I now have players for my game ^_^ That was worth attending the Con all by itself.

Which leads me to another thing I wanted to mention. I had plenty of time to wander the con floor and check out everything there was to check out. And I can say with 100% conviction that NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY, had a booth with near the energy, comeraderie, and just plain kickass vibes, that the Forge booth had. 20+ companies crammed into one spot, it was like a mini-con within the con, and I know I'm not the only one who spent nearly all my cash right friggin' there. It was awesome to be able to tell people they could get a demo run BY THE AUTHOR of whatever game they were interested in. More than that, to tell them about the Forge and that they could get support from said authors ALL THE TIME. Nobody else even comes close, and I've been a part of playtesting and demo teams before. The Forge is something unique and something special. Not only were the gamers impressed, but other independent publishers I talked to were amazed to find that they weren't alone. I suspect and hope we will be seeing at least a small swell in the ranks of publishing members here in the coming months. I also tried to direct press people over as much as possible, I hope that worked out well.

On a few final notes, I heard Ron played in his first G rated game, Congratulations! This news may not bode well for the rest of us, however, as I understand that the Celestine Prophecies regard this event as one of the signs of Armageddon.

And lastly, I'm still trying to find people to play F*ck This! with who won't cut my throat in my sleep and burn my house down afterwards. Way to go, Greg ^_^

Thanks EVERYONE, I had the BEST time and I will be back next year if I have to perform human sacrifice to attend.

No I did not survive a single game. I even played in one Spycraft game, I did live during it, but got an email from the GC and he said I tripped on the way to the car after the mission was over. I fell down and smashed my skull in.

10 deaths by shotguns to the chest in The Swing
1 death from terror in Conspiracy of Shadows
1 death from head bash in Riddle of Steel
and 1 death from clumsiness in Spycraft

I even lost a game of F*ck This

**LATE EDIT**

How could I forget? I also got to be a schizoid class-2 robot musketeer turbocharging a hovercarriage drawn by equine automatons. How cool is that? Ralph, you realize you never have to come up with game ideas from scratch again, right? You can make the rest of your career just spinning Universalis sessions into new game concepts. You da man! Now get those con-writeups on the Uni site so I can show off! ^_^

**/EDIT (stupid 60 minute limit)**

Posted my own topic on this by accident. It's called Thanks from the pretty maps guy, if you want to read it.

I just wanted to thank everybody who was helping out at the Forge booth. It was an educational and warm experience for me and the rest of the Behemoth3 crew.

It was great meeting everyone and getting to see all the great, inventive stuff they brought along. I hope to get to know all of you better through this site and, of course, future cons.

Congrats to Paul on the Diana Jones award! Don't remember doing it in person at the booth -- I was a bit too busy trying to duck Erin Grey. I think the she was stalking me!

Sang

smokewolf wrote:
1 death from terror in Conspiracy of Shadows

The Flames Rising folks have posted a bunch of GenCon pictures!

In case anyone's interested, I'm fifth from the left in the top row of pics in a slightly disturbing moment. Keith Senkowski and Scott Knipe are second from the right in that row. And just for educational purposes, Matt Forbeck is in the rightmost picture in that row, with Matt McElroy (I think) - if you don't know who Matt Forbeck is, then find out soon. He's a very significant person, of the highest integrity, and all role-players owe him a serious debt.

In the bottom section, don't miss the Wicked Dead crowd (John Wick, Annie Rush, Jared A. Sorensen), far left in bottom row.

Best,
Ron

The Mimbo speaks:

Holy Shit!! I might be speaking but I don't think I can put into words how much fun I had! I don't think I've ever felt so welcomed or appriciated. Wow. I still can't believe I let Ron convince me to wear that rediculous LARP getup for two extra days. (You bastard :) I really had no idea that other people thought It was that impressive until I had been standing around for a while and could judge people's reactions. Selling stuff is fun! At first I was embarrased and a little taken aback, but once I got used to the idea it was a lot of fun, and a great way to meet girls. Heh heh.
As great as the booth was the best part of the Con for me was the stuff that happened after the hall had closed in the evenings. Dinner with everybody at that italian place was great, and the game of Fuck This afterward was out of control. My entire face and chest hurt, and I had a headache by the time it was over, from laughing so hard for so long!
Special thanks to Ron for putting me on display like a piece of meat, and to Andy for being the medium through which I could break a bat over Ben's head.
I'll be back next year.
One last thing. I wasn't even in the Moose game, but hearing the part about the unicorn ripped my heart out of my chest. That game needs it's own post.
You all Rock!
- Jasper

**transplanted from the "pretty map guy" thread at Ron's behest**

.... crap, my bad. I saw "pretty map guy" and didn't think any further. I do sincerely apologize. There were so many people there I had fun chattin with but didn't really get to know, and my face/name memory is blowtastic at best, so no hard feelings I hope.

*sheepish grin*

Oh yeah, and I found the pic of Jasper in full regalia I took... give me a while to figure out how to post it. Brr... those contacts creepy even in photographs.

Hey, folks! Glad to hear everybody made home safe and more or less sound. GenCon was an incredible experience. So many of you I consider good friends now. And being part of the Forge crew gave a clarity of purpose that would have been totally lacking otherwise. Thanks. I wish all of you the the best, and much success in the coming year. Oh, and feel free to beat the crap out of me anytime.

Just....um...not in the VI...? please...

I want to add - I am not at ALL thankful for the miserable cold I (like Paul, from the sound of it) picked up at GenCon.

But if that's the price I have to pay for such a wonderful experience, so be it.

Gordon

Gordon C. Landis wrote: I want to add - I am not at ALL thankful for the miserable cold I (like Paul, from the sound of it) picked up at GenCon.


Gordon

Thanks for all the fun at GenCon! You all rock!

Here are my pictures: http://www.disastermachine.com/en_gallery_gencon2004.html

Jurgen takes the best pictures.

James, however, who took the booth photo at the end, IIRC, does not. Well, I'm just petulant because I'm out of the picture to the right (the pictured people's left). Sigh.


I'm not a modest person, but I am restraining myself from posting just what I think about the Forge booth. Because if I did, I'd sound like an amazing braggart spewing rampant fanboy propaganda (OK, I wrote it out once, and had to erase it). Because I can only use superlatives to describe what I see going on at The Forge booth with any accuracy.

Last year was great. This year was spectacular. I can't imagine what next year holds in store.

Thanks to Ron as always for being the source of this all, and thanks to Ralph, Luke, and George for making the big investments neccessary to make it happen. I agree with Vincent, I miss Jake, too - but if we have to replace him then I think we did as well as can be expected with the new TROS crew.

Special thanks to Andy for being so cool. Someone pointed to him at one point, selling games in Japanese with his hands up over his head and said, that he must be saying "Godzilla!" Nothing as cool as seeing somebody sell RPGs at the Forge booth in Japanese. More importantly, he was a great announcer for the Indy Awards, which he needs to be congratulated for repeatedly all on their own.

And overall, thanks to anyone who listened. No surprise to anyone that I really like to hear myself talk, so thanks for putting up with me. If y'all didn't give me an outlet, I'd probably explode. :-)

Thanks to absolutely everyone I met for making the experience beyond enjoyable once again. I could mention something special about each and every person, probably, but it's mostly been covered already - just know that I appreciate each one of you for your own special contributions. Not a leaker in the bunch, and this includes every customer I talked to. Which I think is saying something.

Mike

Hey guys, I finally got around to scanning in my pictures today. They turned out, for the most part, fucking horrible. That's the last time I carry around disposable cameras. I've always been a bit of a shutterbug, it's time to either fix up my "face cannon" pro camera, or get a decent high shutter speed digicam.

Anyway, here they are, with little captions about. I also am hosting Droz' pics and some pics I store from other sites, particularly regarding the Indie RPG Awards.

http://www.robo-christ.com/gallery

-Andy

Sounds like great fun was had by all.

Did you have any kind of schedule to make sure the booth wasn't overcrowded or under-staffed at any point?

I know there were times when our booth was so crowded, it was hard to reach passersby and at other times, there weren't enough people that nobody could go to the restroom.

Andy Kitkowski wrote: Hey guys, I finally got around to scanning in my pictures today. They turned out, for the most part, fucking horrible. That's the last time I carry around disposable cameras. I've always been a bit of a shutterbug, it's time to either fix up my "face cannon" pro camera, or get a decent high shutter speed digicam.

Anyway, here they are, with little captions about. I also am hosting Droz' pics and some pics I store from other sites, particularly regarding the Indie RPG Awards.

http://www.robo-christ.com/gallery

-Andy

BTW, I've been doing a lot of thinkin', and I'm probably going to revisit the whole "GenCon once every two years" thing. This year was far more exciting, fun and interesting than I ever expected it to be, and I'd be remiss if I didn't rethink that policy a little.

It's more of an economic thing: I go back home to Japan once every two years, and I don't want to blow a lot of money. But considering that it only costs working an easy three weekend days to make the lucre to fly to, stay at and blow massive cash at GenCon, I'll probably reconsider. If I do, though, my wallet will be tighter, and I'll probably try to publish something small and fun early next year to help cover the costs of my trip even a little.

But after meeting a lot of you - and Oh, the Gaming - I'm gonna see what I can do to make it there next year, too.

Thanks for a great time.

-Andy

Rock