Last year I found out too late to do anything about it. So I'm starting earlier this year.
Now I heard that WotC pulled out all their D&D stuff from GenCon and that was always the main draw. I also heard there was lots of SJW stuff going on. Is GenCon a waste of time now?
I had an okay time at GenCon 2015, but I would've had a better time if I were younger and willing to use an IV full of Monster and beer. WotC wasn't there but there was D&D - both org-play stuff and independent stuff.
I think it all depends on what games you're into and how independently you function (ie are you content poking around on your own etc).
There are many reasons to consider Origins over GenCon (and vice versa). GenCon has its value (its Gamer Mecca), but it has its issues - many of which exist any year, and some issues which are more recent.
I feel like there are just more alternatives to Gen Con now and people are inclined to avoid the hassle and cost of getting nearby rooms.
Quote from: Spinachcat;873345There are many reasons to consider Origins over GenCon (and vice versa). GenCon has its value (its Gamer Mecca), but it has its issues - many of which exist any year, and some issues which are more recent.
What's Origins?
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;873399What's Origins?
The other big RPG/Gaming con. Its something I have allways wanted to go see. But never had the chance.
As for GenCon. Unless things have changed dramatically there will still be tons of people rinning adventures at the con for about any game out there if you hunt hard enough. Get the programm book and pour through it for things that might look interesting and then narrow down your time useage.
mAcular Chaotic, where are you located? There are some great regional conventions in different areas of the US that are also worth a look.
AKA, the best West Coast con (in my opinion) is KublaCon in the Bay Area, while others would vote for PAX Prime in Seattle instead.
KublaCon
http://www.kublacon.com/
PAX
http://www.paxsite.com/
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;873399What's Origins?
A convention that needs to advertise more!
ORIGINS 2016
http://originsgamefair.com/
Wiki page (Origins began in 1975)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_Game_Fair
In the past, I've heard the difference between Origins and GenCon described as this "If you want to buy stuff, go to GenCon. If you want to play stuff, go to Origins."
I do not know how accurate that description is for 2016 because I heard that chanted back in the 90s/early 00s.
THIS topic is actually one where the sheer number of posters on RPG.net is actually useful because there are certainly people who attend both cons (or who have) among the purple hordes.
Part of this depends on how much it is going to cost you in time and money to go. The more it costs, the greater the benefit needs to be to make going worthwhile.
I'd love the chance to go to Gencon. Because I never have, because its Gencon, and because of the Vapors it would induce in some people.
I'd like to see the new GenCon before the suits turn it into a mirror of GW's GameDemon con or whatever they call it now. Assuming they still run it.
I think the value of GenCon is really up to the gamer. Some folks dig the big tournaments that you can do there, the new game launches, the panels and stuff. Other folks are there to see friends, to hit the vendor hall, to do some big LARPs, to get in as many 'living campaign' type games as they can (I met a guy last year that played 36 hours of Shadowrun games, just 12 hour days all con, then Sunday doing other stuff, which is just fucking insane to me, but whatever).
Different strokes for different folks.
Why do you want to go?
Quote from: RPGPundit;874024I'd love the chance to go to Gencon. Because I never have, because its Gencon, and because of the Vapors it would induce in some people.
I think you should announce that you are going to attend, just to watch how many people start frothing and calling for boycotts.
Quote from: RPGPundit;874024I'd love the chance to go to Gencon. Because I never have, because its Gencon, and because of the Vapors it would induce in some people.
I was surprised you didn't go for the 5e launch considering your involvement. Should have asked WotC to fly you in as Special Guest.
When you finally decide to make the pilgrimage, please announce it months in advance of the GenCon deadlines because I am sure many of us would love to meet you.
It be a fun mix of free beer, handshakes and nut punches! :)
Quote from: Critias;874068(I met a guy last year that played 36 hours of Shadowrun games, just 12 hour days all con, then Sunday doing other stuff, which is just fucking insane to me, but whatever).
I am THAT dude, but as a GM.
I hit a con like a weedhead with a Christmas bong. I run 2-3 slots per day if I am not running something I am playing something. I almost always eat on the run or in the breaks between sessions.
It peeves my friends who are giving presentations and seminars, but FOR ME, the con is all about maximum-dice tossing.
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;873319Now I heard that WotC pulled out all their D&D stuff from GenCon and that was always the main draw. I also heard there was lots of SJW stuff going on. Is GenCon a waste of time now?
Gen Con is large enough that you can pretty much define your own experience. Four years ago I spent most of the con playing Games on Demand whenever the whim struck me between attending panel discussions; three years ago it was all about the Dealer's Hall and Eclipse Phase games; two years ago I binged on Cthulhu gaming and GMed games for MCG for a couple dozen hours; last year I made a point of sampling a lot of different RPGs I had been wanting to try.
Simultaneously, I know there are people who spend their entire convention in the boardgame hall. Or playing in a weekend long run of
Horror on the Orient Express. Or LARPing. Or doing the various craft activities.
If you're looking for events with direct WotC involvement, Gen Con is no longer the place to go. Very few places are, of course: I think it's basically just PAX East now. OTOH, if you're primarily interested in playing D&D (including Adventurer's Guild stuff) then you're still going to find more options at Gen Con than at least 99.9% of the other conventions (including PAX East based on the convention catalogs from last year).
Quote from: Spinachcat;874122I am THAT dude, but as a GM.
I hit a con like a weedhead with a Christmas bong. I run 2-3 slots per day if I am not running something I am playing something. I almost always eat on the run or in the breaks between sessions.
It peeves my friends who are giving presentations and seminars, but FOR ME, the con is all about maximum-dice tossing.
For me, the con is about socializing as much as anything else. I try new games, I do demos in the vendor hall, I chat up folks I know, talk to, or even work with all year (but that I only see face to face in Indy for a few days), I catch up with buddies from gaming groups I moved away from after college (we meet up at GenCon every year), etc, etc.
Gaming is one thing I do while I'm there, but I can't imagine it being like that, the
only thing I did. I'm too old for 12-hour marathons, shouting over the background noise of a crowded game hall, playing games with strangers instead of as part of an actual campaign, all that sort of thing. I get in about one good sit-down game session a day, one good wargame a day, one LARP some time during GenCon (it's fun to ham it up and fake accents and stuff with a bunch of strangers I'll never see again)...and that's really about it.
You psychos that run games or work booths for 30-40 hours a con, man, y'all get me lifting a glass your way, but it's just not for me. That all feels too much like work.
What does Origins have that GenCon doesn't?
I went to GenCon to game, and to wander the dealers area mostly. And to get pics of interesting costumers, a few I know from several cons. Also the occasional room LARPs. Some of which are really fun.
For me, Gen Con is the "I can't play it/run it anywhere else" convention. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a con with Pathfinder events or D&D 5e events or FATE events. But only at Gen Con can you find games of Floating Vagabond or Bunnies and Burrows or Price of Freedom or whatever. If I want to run an obscure RPG from back in the day, Gen Con is where I'm guaranteed to have a table of players showing up.
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;874244What does Origins have that GenCon doesn't?
Origins is pretty big-huge, I'll admit. But signing up to attend/play in events is an ordeal through their website. Gen Con is better run and smoother to get involved with, in my opinion. Origins is priced better, I guess, and is easier to score rooms on site.
From what I hear PAX is pretty nice, both east and west versions. Your best bet is to hit up the event forums/boards and ask around what games are going to be hosted and get with like minded gamers going and plan out some sanctioned and non sanctioned games.
Dragon Con's open play room was MORE fun for me than the organized play. Just sitting down and offering folks up M&M 2E games back in the day was great.
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;873319I also heard there was lots of SJW stuff going on. Is GenCon a waste of time now?
I was the one who posted the last thread about SJW stuff at Gen Con, specifically at one fan-organized Forgotten Realms meetup/panel, and aside from aberrations such as that, there's really not that much SJW stuff per se.
The vast majority of that particular unpleasantness is found - as it always is - among the internet commentariat, such as that ridiculous article about how Gen Con has a race problem because most of its attendees were white, or tumblr pages hand-wringing about posters displaying sexy women.
If you're looking at the actual con experience itself, it's largely devoid of that kind of nonsense. The worst you're likely to run into is a seminar where somebody talks about the lack of [insert demographic here] in gaming; and even those are a tiny minority of all the panels that are there.
Quote from: sniderman;874285For me, Gen Con is the "I can't play it/run it anywhere else" convention. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a con with Pathfinder events or D&D 5e events or FATE events. But only at Gen Con can you find games of Floating Vagabond or Bunnies and Burrows or Price of Freedom or whatever. If I want to run an obscure RPG from back in the day, Gen Con is where I'm guaranteed to have a table of players showing up.
Origins is pretty big-huge, I'll admit. But signing up to attend/play in events is an ordeal through their website. Gen Con is better run and smoother to get involved with, in my opinion. Origins is priced better, I guess, and is easier to score rooms on site.
Pretty much this. There's a bunch of interesting games to check out. I'm a GM so have used at least one slot a day to run one of my favorite games. The last time I attended was at GenCon 2011 and over the course of four days, ran 0D&D, Spycraft d20, a Starsiege Battlestar Galactica RPG, and a 3e Eberron game for guests, and hosted one workshop on fantasy worldbuilding.
I always saved plenty of time to check out the dealer hall and new games, and will usually sit in on two or three other games as a player to check them out.
I never was much of a geek "social" person, so have never attended the dances, the night clubbing events, and the late night rock star parties hosted by individuals and gaming companies (and yes, there are alot more of these events than most people would readily believe).
Social clubbing like that, I just don't do at gaming conventions, preferring instead,
Miami Beach,
Fort Lauderdale,
Dallas,
Boston, New York, or
Vail, or some other real world location where the rich and famous also gather to have fun and be ridiculous.
The biggest downside to me for Gen Con is how fucking HUGE it is. The idea of that many people in one place makes me start to shiver.
I prefer smaller cons; GaryCon with 1000 people is about my top limit.
Quote from: sniderman;874285If I want to run an obscure RPG from back in the day, Gen Con is where I'm guaranteed to have a table of players showing up.
100% agree!
I once ran a Stormbringer game and my writeup said "only experienced players who have read the Moorcock novels" and I had a full table.
I ran Waste World at GenCon twice and each time I had a full table with mostly players who either played this obscure RPG, or had always wanted to play it.
I played a L5R / Paranoia crossover and the GM requested that players be familiar with both L5R and Paranoia before signing up.
I have no doubt I could run a full table of Mechanoids or Recon or Chaos Earth or any of Palladium's lesser known RPGs and I'd have a full table.
That's probably never going to happen outside GenCon.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;874812The idea of that many people in one place makes me start to shiver.
That's because THEY are looking for YOU and your tasty pee hole!
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;874812I prefer smaller cons; GaryCon with 1000 people is about my top limit.
I love small cons too. My favorite convention is PolyCon in Central California that has been hosting 250-400 people for the past 30+ years. Small con on the college campus that's run by great people.
I really enjoyed the Palladium Open House, and my friends have raved about ReaperCon and PaizoCon. There's something extra cool about very focused cons.
Quote from: Mostlyjoe;874705From what I hear PAX is pretty nice, both east and west versions. Your best bet is to hit up the event forums/boards and ask around what games are going to be hosted and get with like minded gamers going and plan out some sanctioned and non sanctioned games.
Dragon Con's open play room was MORE fun for me than the organized play. Just sitting down and offering folks up M&M 2E games back in the day was great.
PAX a year or two back I heard some pretty bad things of from attendees. Wether or not thats changed I dont know.
Open Ganing at any con tends to be great if you can find the right host. Personally I am now intensely wary of any sessions that have an RPGA style "guild" attatched to them. To date every single one I have attended has failed on some level. RPGA, Stormriders, Dream Pod 9, etc.
Quote from: sniderman;874285For me, Gen Con is the "I can't play it/run it anywhere else" convention. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a con with Pathfinder events or D&D 5e events or FATE events. But only at Gen Con can you find games of Floating Vagabond or Bunnies and Burrows or Price of Freedom or whatever. If I want to run an obscure RPG from back in the day, Gen Con is where I'm guaranteed to have a table of players showing up.
You can get that at other cons too. Just usually not in the high numbers of the big cons. AndCon, MiniCon, NeoVention, NovaCon, ConFurrence, Jafax, and DuckCon even. Just depends on who brings what.
Volume of attendees and availible tables can be a factor too. Big cons usually have more space to devote and so attract more. Little starter cons tend to field fewer obscure games for the same reason. But ever its luck of the draw in who is hosting what.
Quote from: Omega;875363Open Ganing at any con tends to be great if you can find the right host. Personally I am now intensely wary of any sessions that have an RPGA style "guild" attatched to them.
My track record with Open Gaming has been oddly excellent because on the face of it, it should be hit and miss. My best Open Gaming has been at DunDraCon in the Bay Area (President's Day Weekend in February).
I think Open Gaming works because its GMs who are running stuff with no strings attached. GM get free (or reduced) badges for running scheduled games so there is sometimes that element who are just running stuff so they can play for free. The Open Gaming GMs are there because they have the need to run a game. As one of the crazies, I get this.
RPGA / Organized Play (Living Forgotten Realms, D&D Encounters, Pathfinder Society, etc) supports a particular playstyle - its about playing through pre-approved, balanced scenarios in 4 hours to get XP to level up. Many people LOVE this, but if you are not one of them, this style won't work for you.
I enjoyed LFR for 4e, but all my other Organize Play experiences haven't been worth the time or effort and mostly involved being dragged in by friends who love that style.
I have NOT played Shadowrun Missions yet, so I don't know if their Org Play is different than WotC/Paizo.
Quote from: Spinachcat;875401I think Open Gaming works because its GMs who are running stuff with no strings attached. GM get free (or reduced) badges for running scheduled games so there is sometimes that element who are just running stuff so they can play for free. The Open Gaming GMs are there because they have the need to run a game. As one of the crazies, I get this.
RPGA / Organized Play (Living Forgotten Realms, D&D Encounters, Pathfinder Society, etc) supports a particular playstyle - its about playing through pre-approved, balanced scenarios in 4 hours to get XP to level up. Many people LOVE this, but if you are not one of them, this style won't work for you.
1: Thats been my experience too. The only restraint being time.
2: Org play on the other hand the recurring problem was that the DMs were in it for the points and only marginally in it to run the session. I had one where the DM rushed the end then stopped and handed out a report paper to fill out. This was apparently such a common problem others started fighting it.
Getting to Gencon would probably cost about $1500 just for the plane ticket, never mind accomodations or anything else. I never actually thought of making it a condition of my salary that WoTC fly me out, and I don't really think they would have accepted that in addition to what I was already paid and given as swag.
I'm pretty sure that if I went to Gencon I'd be doing very little actual gaming there, except maybe in the late off-hours. Mainly I'd be invoking adoration and scandal. Probably having my picture taken with a lot of people.
Quote from: RPGPundit;875908Getting to Gencon would probably cost about $1500 just for the plane ticket, never mind accomodations or anything else. I never actually thought of making it a condition of my salary that WoTC fly me out, and I don't really think they would have accepted that in addition to what I was already paid and given as swag.
I'm pretty sure that if I went to Gencon I'd be doing very little actual gaming there, except maybe in the late off-hours. Mainly I'd be invoking adoration and scandal. Probably having my picture taken with a lot of people.
850$ round trip from Asuncion to Michigoom was the lowest I priced on a quick test check. So assume getting to GenCon could be priced in the same ballpark. I usually set up my flights several months in advance to get the lowest rates. Same for the hotel rooms.
Thats still a heck of alot and if were me I'd be making sure I made the most of it. Either there to splurge in the dealers area. Or game like theres no tomorrow. Or both.
Quote from: Omega;875450I had one where the DM rushed the end then stopped and handed out a report paper to fill out. This was apparently such a common problem others started fighting it.
We had that problem at the LA Cons in the 3e era and we had to dickstomp that nonsense hard. Fortunately, the RPGA team was on board to police their DMs.
We had a similar problem with boardgames. People would set up a boardgame, walk away and demand their free badge for "running a game" - that got dickstomped too, but not as hard.
Quote from: RPGPundit;875908Mainly I'd be invoking adoration and scandal. Probably having my picture taken with a lot of people.
Exactly why I'm stunned you haven't been there yet. Expensive? Yeah, but totally worth it and you could combine it with heading up to Canuckistan to engage maple syrup Pon Farr.
I've been wanting to go to GenCon for a long time, and finally could afford to go this year. I went to Origins twice, and had a lot of fun both times. Looking to meet up with some people I've known online for a very long time while I'm there, as well as getting in some good gaming
Quote from: RPGPundit;875908Getting to Gencon would probably cost about $1500 just for the plane ticket, never mind accomodations or anything else. I never actually thought of making it a condition of my salary that WoTC fly me out, and I don't really think they would have accepted that in addition to what I was already paid and given as swag.
I'm pretty sure that if I went to Gencon I'd be doing very little actual gaming there, except maybe in the late off-hours. Mainly I'd be invoking adoration and scandal. Probably having my picture taken with a lot of people.
and id go just to get your auto graph
Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;874244What does Origins have that GenCon doesn't?
Personal opinions:
Easier time getting in and out of the convention hall.
Better food in and around the convention hall.
Layout is better.
The asshole versus pleasant ratio is way better.
Quote from: Sommerjon;876319Personal opinions:
snip
The asshole versus pleasant ratio is way better.
in my experience this is true of small cons regardless of subject
Quote from: kosmos1214;876945in my experience this is true of small cons regardless of subject
Small cons have been more miss for me.
The local cons here in Uruguay rarely have more than 100 people participating, but they're always great. At least they have been the last two years or so, when they started to make RPG-specific cons. Back when they were one part of the big 'sci-fi/comics' con, RPGs would usually get the shittiest location and times.