Topic: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Started by: Technocrat13
Started on: 7/4/2005
Board: Conventions
On 7/4/2005 at 12:05am, Technocrat13 wrote:
[Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Too slow for this cat!
Okies. Lisa and I just got back from Origins and we're looking to jump right onto planning for GenCon. Apparenlty planning for one after the other means that we're too damned slow.
I downloaded the Excel formated event listing, and pretty much every single indie game I'm interested in is already filled up. If it's not filled up, then there are few seats available and I'm not sure we'll make it to payday before it does fill.
Soooo.... besides general griping that could better be logged onto my blog, my question here is this;
As far as anyone knows, is the event listing pretty well secure, or can one hold out any reasonalbe hope that there will be others prepared to run some indie games at a specified time and place?
Also...
Are there a sufficient number of other out there that were too slow like myself that would like to set a date & time at the Con for some indie gaming? A little co-op gaming would be great. I'd be pleased as punch to exercise my DitV GMing skills on fellow Forgites From Other Lands. I'd also love to try a little event I'd like to call "Things I've recently learned about gaming as applied to games that I used to love but now realize totally suck." Where, as the GM, I bring a system that dosen't get too much in the way and lots o' color, and you, the players get to bring a bucket of protagonism.
I'm gonna be back on later tonight or maybe tomorrow with some... er... lots... er... a heaping basket of actual play information from a tasty 3.5-day trip to Ohio. But right now I need to go burn some chicken on the grill.
-Eric
On 7/4/2005 at 4:32am, Matt Gwinn wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I am seriously looking for some pick-up indie games throughout the con. I'm obligated to work the booth at least 4 hours a day, but that still leaves plenty of time for a game a day. Sneaking in one after hours game a night simply isn't enough... there are just too many games to pick from to play just 1 game a day.
I'd love to play some DitV
,Matt Gwinn
On 7/4/2005 at 6:55am, Allan wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I've got nothing scheduled outside of my booth shifts, so I'm all over some indie pickups. I'd love to play some of these games and play styles I've been reading so much about, and DitV is high on that list.
I'm also all over running Sweet Dreams for anyone who's interested, although I suspect it's the sort of high point of contact deep sim dinosaur that a lot of Forgites are here specifically to escape.
Anyway, your things I've learned.... event sounds great. Count me in.
On 7/5/2005 at 6:31pm, Thor Olavsrud wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I too have not scheduled any games outside of booth shifts, so I'll be looking for pick-up games too. I especially want to play some more HeroQuest/QuestWorlds with Mike Holmes.
On 7/5/2005 at 10:07pm, Paka wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I'm running two pick-up games linked in my sig.
I have not worked out the times they will be played but hope to do that in the next 48 hours.
On 7/5/2005 at 10:14pm, Smithy wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Same thing happened to me Eric, which prompted me to bother Paka until he agreed to run an extra session or two. This will be my first Gen Con, and I'm eager to squeeze as much indie gaming goodness as possible into the experience.
Hmm, maybe I'll have to think up a game of my own to run on the fly--perhaps a noir-inspired amalgam of octaNe and Inspectres . . .
Cheers,
Another Eric
On 7/6/2005 at 12:01am, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Right on. Glad to see there's so many that are still looking for some indy gaming.
The Dictionary of Mu game sounds interesting. I'd like to throw mine and my wife's name in for it if there's still room.
I'd still like to run a 4-player DitV game and a 6-player What I Learned game. So, if there's anyone else interested, let me know. We'll get together by PM and figure out the best time for gaming. I'm thinking 2-3 hours per game and holding each on different days.
-Eric
On 7/6/2005 at 4:07am, Blankshield wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I'd love to get in some pickup gaming, but realistically, my schedule is packed. I'm probably only barely going to be at the Forge booth. If I do run or play in any pickups, it will be at the last minute.
That being said, I'd love to see what a different bunch of Dogs makes of some of my towns. So if you pester me enough, you could probably make me run Dogs. :)
James
On 7/6/2005 at 4:22am, Andrew Morris wrote:
Re: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Technocrat13 wrote: pretty much every single indie game I'm interested in is already filled up.
Man, you're not kidding. I finally decide to go to GenCon for the first time, and everything's already filled. Well, since my plans have already been made, I'll be going, so I'm up for this.
On 7/6/2005 at 9:07am, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
As posted on another thread, I'm up for running a game or two of a|state if anyone is at all interested. I'll try to keep my Scottish accent to a minimum whilst doing so!
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/6/2005 at 6:22pm, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Let us know ASAP when your A|State game will be. You've got two players ready to sign up to play.
-Eric (and Lisa)
On 7/6/2005 at 7:21pm, Andrew Morris wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I'd be interested in that game as well.
On 7/6/2005 at 9:48pm, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Technocrat13 wrote: Let us know ASAP when your A|State game will be. You've got two players ready to sign up to play.
-Eric (and Lisa)
Andrew Morris wrote: I'd be interested in that game as well.
Wow. Thanks for the interest. I'll need to make this a good one. For running at the booth, I'm going to have a half hour demo of a|state but for longer games I'll have something that should fit into about 3 hours. Would a few hours one evening be suitable for you guys or would another time be preferable?
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/6/2005 at 10:04pm, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Evenings are gonna be precious like gold, Malcom. So, we're gonna need you to sell us your game. Tell us it's worth an evening. I've checked out your website and all I can glean is the setting. Give us some hint as to what the game's really like and we can tell you if we're willing to risk an evening on it.
-Eric & Lisa
On 7/6/2005 at 10:09pm, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Oh! NM! We found your 'lite' version. We'll check it out and let you know if an evening is kewl.
-Eric & Lisa
On 7/6/2005 at 10:43pm, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Technocrat13 wrote: Evenings are gonna be precious like gold, Malcom. So, we're gonna need you to sell us your game. Tell us it's worth an evening. I've checked out your website and all I can glean is the setting. Give us some hint as to what the game's really like and we can tell you if we're willing to risk an evening on it.
-Eric & Lisa
An evening isn't essential, afternoons/mornings are equally viable. And I see your point: evenings are important social time as well.
Anyhow, what is a|state about? I'll try and briefly summarise:
The themes of hope and community are essential, core elemnts of the game. Hope stems from the fact that in such a grim, seemingly hopeless setting, an absence of 'hope' (in any form) would simply mean an endless round of toil and struggle, with no positive objective. 'Hope' as a concrete 'thing' is tied into character development by means of the experience system, which encourages actions, reactions and undertakings which inspire this nebulous commodity.
A/State is intended to be flexible. You can run a huge variety of games in The City, with any theme and flavour you can imagine. Some narratives that are particularly central to the game are:
- Protect the Corner: This narrative focuses on a 'patch' that gets caught up in trouble, and casts the characters as its defenders. Foci: different kinds of patch, ways to give characters and players a stake in its protection, ways in which the struggle over this can take unexpected twists and turns, endgames, relationship to the theme of hope.
- Climb to Power: This narrative focuses on a group of characters with a positive agenda to go out and make changes to the setting, and face down all the opposition waiting to rain down upon their heads. Foci: different kinds of character motivation, motivation and selfishness, heroism and anti-heroism, how to track the changes in power structures in a game, endgames, relationship to the theme of hope.
- Mercenary Life: This narrative focuses on a group of characters working together to perform a series of missions. Foci: strengths of a mission-based game, ways of establishing mysteries and behind the scenes plots, setting up moral conflicts, developing story arcs, endgames, relationship to the theme of hope.
Characters are strongly discouraged from being 'Man With No Name' style outsiders. The defined setting means characters can't come from an unidentified 'town beyond the mountains', but have necessarily come from a specific place within the confines of the City. People identify strongly with the burgh or area they come from and this influences character development, interactions with others and social and cultural attitudes.
The a|stateLite download will, I think, give you a flavour of the setting itself. Hopefully any game which I could run for you would give a fuller, more rounded flavour of the game as a whole.
Apologies if I appear to be hijacking this thread a little.
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/6/2005 at 10:44pm, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Technocrat13 wrote: Oh! NM! We found your 'lite' version. We'll check it out and let you know if an evening is kewl.
-Eric & Lisa
Eeeek! This reminds me, must make a mental note to update our preview download!
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/6/2005 at 11:04pm, Dave Panchyk wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Malcolm wrote: As posted on another thread, I'm up for running a game or two of a|state if anyone is at all interested. I'll try to keep my Scottish accent to a minimum whilst doing so!
Cheers
Malcolm
[Unless you're from the very sewers of Glasgow, your accent shouldn't be a problem.)
Digressive historical sidenote: it's been 10 years since the last great Scottish Invasion, when several Scottish goths lurched through Milwaukee supporting SLA Industries, and the American thralls of another outfit ran demos of Tales of Gargentihr.
The stars are right!
On 7/6/2005 at 11:10pm, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Dave Panchyk wrote:Malcolm wrote: As posted on another thread, I'm up for running a game or two of a|state if anyone is at all interested. I'll try to keep my Scottish accent to a minimum whilst doing so!
Cheers
Malcolm
[Unless you're from the very sewers of Glasgow, your accent shouldn't be a problem.)
Digressive historical sidenote: it's been 10 years since the last great Scottish Invasion, when several Scottish goths lurched through Milwaukee supporting SLA Industries, and the American thralls of another outfit ran demos of Tales of Gargentihr.
The stars are right!
Nah, no sewers. Well Falkirk (where I come from) has often been described a such, but it's not that bad. Heavens, treading in the footsteps of the SLA boys! They wore much bigger boots than me.
Hopefully the stars will be right! I'm becoming increasingly excited about attending GenCon this year.
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/7/2005 at 4:08am, Andrew Morris wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
How about Wednesday evening? I'm assuming most people are checking in the night before the convention actually starts.
On 7/7/2005 at 10:30am, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Andrew Morris wrote: How about Wednesday evening? I'm assuming most people are checking in the night before the convention actually starts.
Not too sure about Wednesday night. I'm getting up at some hideous hour of the morning, travelling to Edinburgh airport, flight to Brussels, flight from Brussels to Chicago, then travelling down from Chicago to Indianapolis. Not sure what time I'll be arriving.
However, not wishing to be disruptive, if people would liek to state a time that is suitable for them during the con, I shall try my very best to be available.
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/7/2005 at 12:22pm, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Wednesday night might be just great for Lisa and I. We'll be flying in from RDU sometime that day, and I don't expect we'll have to be up all that early. If no one else wants to run something that night but we've got potential players for either of my games I'd be glad to GM that night.
-Eric
On 7/7/2005 at 6:39pm, Andrew Morris wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Eric, I'm definitely up for some gaming on Wednesday night, because otherwise I'll just be sitting around watching TV, waiting for the con to start. I'd also be happy to run a game. Alternately, we could do something GM-less, like Capes or Universalis.
Malcolm, how about an a|state game on Sunday? I'm not doing anything before 11 a.m. or after noon.
On 7/7/2005 at 7:38pm, Mike Holmes wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Thor Olavsrud wrote: I too have not scheduled any games outside of booth shifts, so I'll be looking for pick-up games too. I especially want to play some more HeroQuest/QuestWorlds with Mike Holmes.
And I want some more Burning Wheel in return, too! I will run HQ until I drop, for anyone interested.
I think that the planning in this thread is all well and good, but here's an easier plan. Come to the Forge booth (are the indie games all in one room - that might end up being a congregation location, too). Grab extra Forgies like me hanging out and crowding the space, and play games with them.
I haven't actually scheduled an event to play in about eight years. If you can't find good gaming at GenCon, you ain't trying. :-)
Mike
On 7/7/2005 at 11:57pm, Matt Gwinn wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
I believe the Indie RPG Explosion games are all being played in room 207 which is near the front doors of the convention center.
,Matt
On 7/8/2005 at 1:01am, Mike Holmes wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Matt Gwinn wrote: I believe the Indie RPG Explosion games are all being played in room 207 which is near the front doors of the convention center.Thank's Matt, that's what I was looking for.
,Matt
Mike
On 7/8/2005 at 5:26am, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Oh, we're certainly gonna be a couple of the flys buzzing around the Forge booth. I've got some Fanboy Gawking & Slavering already inked into my schedule. :D
But I'm also a bit on the paranoid side. I didn't get nearly as much RPGing as I wanted at Origins (mostly due to those damned pirates...), so I wanna make sure that I know that my cravings will be fulfilled at GenCon.
So who else is up for Wednesday evening?
-Eric
On 7/8/2005 at 10:41am, Malcolm wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Andrew Morris wrote: Eric, I'm definitely up for some gaming on Wednesday night, because otherwise I'll just be sitting around watching TV, waiting for the con to start. I'd also be happy to run a game. Alternately, we could do something GM-less, like Capes or Universalis.
Malcolm, how about an a|state game on Sunday? I'm not doing anything before 11 a.m. or after noon.
That would be grand, I'd be up for that on Sunday. Wednesday night is a possibility, just depends when we get to Indy after the trek over from Scotland.
Cheers
Malcolm
On 7/9/2005 at 12:39am, urbanpagan wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Technocrat13 wrote: Oh, we're certainly gonna be a couple of the flys buzzing around the Forge booth. I've got some Fanboy Gawking & Slavering already inked into my schedule. :D
But I'm also a bit on the paranoid side. I didn't get nearly as much RPGing as I wanted at Origins (mostly due to those damned pirates...), so I wanna make sure that I know that my cravings will be fulfilled at GenCon.
So who else is up for Wednesday evening?
-Eric
I'm up for Wednesday. ;) I've got to book our flights but I was hoping to get early flights so we can be there by the early afternoon.
Lisa (of Eric and Lisa)
On 7/9/2005 at 1:17pm, Ron Edwards wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Hi guys,
Tell you what. The booth is a wonderful center for meeting up and setting up play of all kinds. If you are posting to say "Sure, I'd love to," then let's save the public arrangements for then. If you want to make more concrete arrangements before the con, then take it to private messages or email.
Best,
Ron
On 7/9/2005 at 5:52pm, Technocrat13 wrote:
RE: [Indy GenCon '05] Too slow chicken marango!
Allllriiiiight...
Well, being as I have no idea when exactly I'll be standing directly in front of the booth and I don't want to stand there all day pestering people to play with me, drop me a PM or email me to chat directly about hooking up to play.
-Eric