Things to do at Gencon Options

[Doc Chase]

Budweiser is actually a German beer now.

I sit not a thousand feet away from where Budweiser is produced, and I can tell you I ain't in Germany.

The effects of the merger of InBev and Anheuser-Busch did not make it a 'German beer' as if by magic. Nothing has changed in regards to the production of the beer. Ther merger occurred so that imported InBev brands now have a robust distribution network in the U.S., and A-B products now have a distribution network across the pond to increase the brand's market share.

I should know, I export it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Semerkhet]

Further off-topic. In many states in the U.S. we are living in a golden age of beer. There are seventeen small-to-mid-size breweries within fifty miles of where I live. My local liquor store is an embarrassment of riches in regard to beer selection. I haven't tasted a beer made by one of the big American breweries in over a decade.

/end derailment

There is a good brewpub right by the convention center in Indy that heavily caters to the GenCon crowd. In fact, overall, Indy does a much better job catering to GenCon attendees than Milwaukee ever did.

[Doc Chase]

Further off-topic. In many states in the U.S. we are living in a golden age of beer. There are seventeen small-to-mid-size breweries within fifty miles of where I live. My local liquor store is an embarrassment of riches in regard to beer selection. I haven't tasted a beer made by one of the big American breweries in over a decade.

/end derailment

There is a good brewpub right by the convention center in Indy that heavily caters to the GenCon crowd. In fact, overall, Indy does a much better job catering to GenCon attendees than Milwaukee ever did.

/restart derailment

What's your favorite? I prefer ciders, but I don't turn down free beer (anymore).

I liked Indy last year. Liked it enough I've got a hotel room just off the convention center now. Being able to actually stay downtown for the duration is nice!

[Semerkhet]

/restart derailment

What's your favorite? I prefer ciders, but I don't turn down free beer (anymore).

I liked Indy last year. Liked it enough I've got a hotel room just off the convention center now. Being able to actually stay downtown for the duration is nice!

My two favorite breweries in southern Wisconsin are:
Furthermore Beer (http://www.furthermorebeer.com/)
and
New Glarus Brewing Co. (http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/)

New Glarus is getting bigger but they don't distribute outside Wisconsin, iirc. At any given time, New Glarus has one or two experimental, limited-run brews going on. Their standard brews are good but I'm almost always picking up one of the limited-run ones.

Furthermore was started a couple years ago by friends of friends out in Spring Green, WI. They have some great beers like the Oscura and Fatty Boombalatty.

As for GenCon, my co-conspirators and I are at the JW Marriott right next to the convention center. We'll likely be sampling local beers on Thursday and Friday night. Saturday night we're running our LARP, so no beer for me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[CanRay]

People, people, people, please... Let's get back to tying Bull up and forcing him to play.

That's at least on topic. And I want pics as I won't be there, damnit!

[Bull]

Bah, excuses excuses, CanRay. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And I do play occasionally, actually, but rarely. Last year I spent the better part of every day the dealer hall was open running demos. And this year I'll be organizing the events, so... Time is not my friend.

[Semerkhet]

Bah, excuses excuses, CanRay. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And I do play occasionally, actually, but rarely. Last year I spent the better part of every day the dealer hall was open running demos. And this year I'll be organizing the events, so... Time is not my friend.

I'd be curious to hear your anecdotal evidence on the demographics of your demo players. Age range? New to gaming? New to Shadowrun? New to GenCon? Et cetera.

[Lindt]

My list of things to do at Gencon involves 2 things.

1) Drink heavily with people I don't see very often.

God forbid I make it back out there after I graduate, that will be 1/2 of my total plan. I think Gm games again will be the other half.

[BookWyrm]

Things to do at GenCon;

Take plenty of digital pictures, escpecially of those in full costume. Make sure you have a back-up memory card for your camera & the batteries are fully charged (or you have replacements handy). Upload pics to your Photobucket for everyone to see.
Grab as much free swag as possible. Get at least 3 of everything (if you plan to keep one set; if not, sell/trade all of it).
Be respectful to the Guests. A little courtesy can go a long way.
Get plenty of pictures of the Catalyst wares at their booth.
Eat smart, but pace yourself. Make note of any & all restroom facilities.
Take enough time to get to the panels/shows/viewings/demos you want to see.
Get plenty of rest. GenCon is M A S S I V E.

When all is done & you're safely back home, do victory dance.

[Bull]

I'd be curious to hear your anecdotal evidence on the demographics of your demo players. Age range? New to gaming? New to Shadowrun? New to GenCon? Et cetera.

Really varied, for the most part. I didn't really keep track of these things, but...

The Demo was a quick and dirty game, played on a small table. We had a handful of old Ral Partha mini's (Some painted, some not, the mini's were a last minute plan) and a small building we were using as a Stuffer Shack. You can see the set up Here. The demos were very short, maybe 10-20 minutes long. I gave a very brief overview of the SR world and what Shadowruns were, then ran a quick "Stuffer Shack" scenario, with a handful of gangers attacking the PCs, keeping it as simple as possible.

A lot of the folks who stopped by were younger, probably early 20's (I'm 36, so... Younger is subjective (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ). I'd say that probably 60-70% of those who stopped by were in that age range.

I had a surprising amount of kids. I personally demoed for probably a half dozen kids I'd guess were in the 10-year old range, all of them accompanied by a parent (For which I was very glad, both because Shadowrun is a little more a mature themed game, and because it was good to see a parent being hands on. I would have been completely unsurprised to see parents using demos as brief "babysitter" sessions).

A large percent were new to Shadowrun, though maybe 1/4 of the demos I ran were for older players who'd played earlier editions, hadn't played in years, and wanted to check out 4th ed.

A few were newbies, but were dragged over by experienced players to get an introduction to the game. A couple of these were for newbies that had signed up for ticketed Shadowrun events with their friends, and wanted to get the basics of the game rules before they got to the table. I applauded these players, because despite the games being listed as "Some Experience expected" in the reg books, we frequently get complete newbies that sit down at a game and have to be taught the system, which really slows things down for the others at the table (And sometimes makes it very difficult to get through an entire Missions game in that 3.75 hour block).

At least three times that I know of, someone went right from the demo table to the sales table and bought the SR4A main book. One of those also bought all the core books we had in stock (I think we were out of Street Magic by that time).

A few times I just gave folks an overview. They didn't have teh time (or want to spend the time) bellying up to the table for 15-20 minutes, but were willing to spend 5 minutes listening to the basics and asking questions.

The miniatures helped. I had a few people stop by just to check out the minis, and I suspect that Iron Wind Metals got a few sales out of the deal as people were asking where tehy could find SR minis. Since Mike at IWM and Brent, CGL's art director (Not to mention me and Jason) have been trying to get a new mini's line going, I'm sure the interest helped that along a little. If you're at GC this year, be sure to ask at the booth about Miniatures. Show interest, and maybe we can finally get the process rolling.

We had a fairly constant stream of players for the demos. I ran mostly nonstop (With short breaks here and there) all day Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. ABout 22 hours of Demos all told (And standing the whole time. Lemme tell you, whoever had the bright idea to do standing demos needs to be shot. My knees ached for a week after the con). During that time, there were only a couple instances where I went longer than 5 minutes without someone at the table. Friday I had off to see the dealer hall and be at the CGL seminar, but the demo table looked pretty full all day there as well.

All in all, they were a big success. Simple, quick demos were enough to give folks a taste for things, at the least. This year we're supplementing the booth demos with full fledged 4 hour Introductory games you can register for, something to give anyone interested a way to sit down and really learn teh game a bit more in depth than a 15 minute demo can provide.

Bull

[nezumi]

I suspect my wife will be bringing her camera. She's a professional photographer (http://landmhewitt.com/ ) so, assuming I can convince her to lug along her heavy camera, expect some very awesome pictures.

[CanRay]

I suspect my wife will be bringing her camera. She's a professional photographer (http://landmhewitt.com/ ) so, assuming I can convince her to lug along her heavy camera, expect some very awesome pictures.

Or a slightly lighter camera, which might be easier to convince, and there would be only excellent pictures. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Bigity]

That's because "Beer" in the US is better called "Sex in a Canoe". I mean, even Canadian light beer (*Spits*) would be considered "Malt Liquor" in the US. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

This. Don't drink crap US beer.

[Wesley Street]

There is a good brewpub right by the convention center in Indy that heavily caters to the GenCon crowd. In fact, overall, Indy does a much better job catering to GenCon attendees than Milwaukee ever did.

If you walk over to New York St. and N. Delaware St. and hit Massachusetts Ave. (it's within walking distance of the Convention Center) there are lots of great local pubs. The ones near the Con are upscale chains.

[Tyro]

crap US beer.

Kinda redundant, no?

[CanRay]

This. Don't drink crap US beer.

Kinda redundant, no?

Apparently, there are some good US Beers.

'Course, I'm a heathen as a beer drinker anyhow. So what do I know?

[Tyro]

Apparently, there are some good US Beers.

'Course, I'm a heathen as a beer drinker anyhow. So what do I know?

I've heard some American microbrews are good, but I don't drink beer as a general rule, so I'm just working from hearsay.

[Doc Chase]

Apparently, there are some good US Beers.

'Course, I'm a heathen as a beer drinker anyhow. So what do I know?

Oh aye, there are plenty. But I won't let that get in the way of beer elitism. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Critias]

I'm a wine and liquor drinker anyway. 12 year old Scottish whiskey *drool*

I once had a sip of 19 year old single malt. Heaven.

I'm studying abroad in Edinburgh this summer. I plan on leaving all my clothes there, so I can bring home my suitcase stuffed full of liquor. I've got a half-assed plan to maybe keep some of it long enough to bring to Gencon with me.

[nezumi]

How common is steampunk cosplay (wife asks)? Will she stand out among crowds of geeks in black?

[JM Hardy]

How common is steampunk cosplay (wife asks)? Will she stand out among crowds of geeks in black?

Plenty common. There are more people out of costume than in costume, but there are enough costumes so that I'd imagine anyone wearing one wouldn't feel overly out of place. And steampunk has certainly become more common at the con in recent years.

Jason H.

[Semerkhet]

How common is steampunk cosplay (wife asks)? Will she stand out among crowds of geeks in black?

/start shameless self-promotion

Speaking of steampunk cosplay:

I and my co-conspirators at the newly formed Pamean Games LLC are introducing our new steampunk role-playing game, Brass & Steel, at this year's GenCon. We'll be running six connected tabletop sessions, on Thursday and Friday afternoon, whose characters and plots all feed into a 40 person steampunk LARP on Saturday evening. One of our features is seamless transition between tabletop and LARP gameplay. A webpage and facebook page are near to publishing.

We highly encourage costumes for the LARP event. We'll have a photographer taking pictures of participants in costume, the best of which we plan on integrating into our hardcover rulebook (with their permission, of course).

Meanwhile the Gencon Events are:
Tabletop:
RPG1120121 Life in the Clouds – The RMS Aethersprite Thu @ 1:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza :: Pennsylvania Stn A Cost: $4
RPG1120122 The Bosporus Six Thu @ 1:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza :: Pennsylvania Stn A Cost: $4
RPG1120124 Dreamers in the Queen of Cities Thu @ 1:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza :: Pennsylvania Stn A Cost: $4
RPG1120123 Her Majesty's Most Special Constables Fri @ 1:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza :: Pennsylvania Stn A Cost: $4
RPG1120125 Circle of the Silver Crescent Fri @ 1:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza :: Pennsylvania Stn A Cost: $4
RPG1120126 The Sacred Conclave Fri @ 1:00 PM Location: Crowne Plaza :: Pennsylvania Stn A Cost: $4

LARP:
LRP1120127 The Consular Ball Sat @ 6:00 PM 5 hrs Location: Union Station :: Southern & Erie Cost: $6

/end shameless self-promotion
I won't re-post this in its own topic because this is a Shadowrun board. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Semerkhet]

Really varied, for the most part. I didn't really keep track of these things, but...
<snip>
Bull

Thanks for posting your experiences, Bull. I'm glad to hear there were many young people participating in the demos. I'd also love to see a new miniatures line for Shadowrun.

[capt.pantsless]

How common is steampunk cosplay (wife asks)? Will she stand out among crowds of geeks in black?

There were plenty of folks who's total costume effort was: black top-hat + goggles, which doesn't really say steampunk to me.

That said, there were lots of costumes of all different makes and models, if her costume is GOOD she'll get plenty of attention and requests for pictures, but it's not like she's going to stick-out like a sore-thumb.

[Bull]

There were plenty of folks who's total costume effort was: black top-hat + goggles, which doesn't really say steampunk to me.

That said, there were lots of costumes of all different makes and models, if her costume is GOOD she'll get plenty of attention and requests for pictures, but it's not like she's going to stick-out like a sore-thumb.

Yeah. The one thing about "Steam Punk" is tat, somehow, plain Victorian-era clothing is suddenly a Steampunk costume. It's annoying, because that's a zero-effort costume, really.

The other common thing, besides goggles (Which you can find at about a dozen booths at the con) are Nerf Guns painted brass. Usually the Nerf Maverick.

Last year though, there was someone who was Wheelchair bound (at least, I assume so, as they were in it all weekend long). They decorated their chair up into a steampunk looking chair that was halfway well done.

Anyway, like all costume efforts, results will vary. Some are very well done. Some (like my own efforts) are completely half-assed and lame. And a few are Top-hats and goggles, or cat-ears, or a simple pair of vamp fangs. And they are beyond lame (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bull