Tag Archives: GenCon

GenCon 2011: Restless in Indy

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I’m attending my first GenCon this year, and since my company has some offices in Indianapolis (I live near Denver), I managed to convince them to buy me a plane ticket to come out here to work for a few days before the convention.

I arrived Monday afternoon and spent today (Tuesday) working. I’ll be working Wednesday through lunch time, and then I’ll be in full-on Con Mode!

For now, I’m antsy. I have this evening totally free, and I just can’t wait for the Con! I’ll be spending some time working on my next MyRealms adventure here on the computer in the hotel room, and I’m going to try to do some grocery shopping in advance of my wife’s arrival on Thursday (yay for wives who game!).

But I really wish I were surrounded by fellow gamers right now. I’m not even near the convention center – work is on the north side of town. Argh, the waiting!

At least I’m staying abreast of GenCon prep around the internet; I finally joined Twitter, largely so I could follow all of the cool GenCon info as it comes out. Sadly, the OnlineDM handle was already taken by a German tweeter who put up two posts a couple of years ago and seems to have not touched Twitter since. But if you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m @OnlineDM1.

OnlineDM’s GenCon agenda

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I will be attending my first GenCon next week, and naturally I’m quite excited! I don’t qualify as a well-known RPG blogger, but since some people do read my blog and I’m sure some of them will be at GenCon, I thought I’d share my GenCon itinerary in case there was a chance to meet any readers in person. It’s a long shot, but I think it would be incredibly cool.

First, I should mention that my name is Michael (though I’m considering wearing some kind of badge identifying myself as OnlineDM, just in case there’s a chance of meeting anyone who might know me from my blog). I look like this:

Michael - AKA OnlineDM

I’ll be arriving in Indianapolis on Monday, then spending Tuesday and Wednesday working (yes, I managed to get my employer to buy me a plane ticket to go to GenCon). I’ve kept my organized schedule at GenCon pretty light; I plan to play whatever seems interesting.

Thursday 4:00 PM: The Art of Adventure Design seminar (Indiana Ballroom G)

Friday 10:00 AM – Noon: Manning the ENnies booth as a volunteer

Friday 3:14 PM: True Dungeon: Dragon’s Redoubt (Marriott Ballroom)

Saturday 10:00 AM – Noon: Wizards of the Coast new products presentation (Indiana Ballroom G)

Saturday 4:00 PM: DM Round Table podcast taping (Westin: Chamber)

Monday afternoon: Head home

 

I aim to try out at least three games I’ve never played before, and I’d naturally like to find time to play some D&D 4th Edition (probably checking out the Neverwinter Game Day if I get the chance). Any suggestions? Any must-see things while I’m there? Anyone want to meet up for particular games?

Out of the gaming closet

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I put up a post a few months back that talked about the gaming closet – the fact that I didn’t really talk to my co-workers about my gaming hobby. I felt a little bad being closeted like that, but working in finance in a somewhat senior position, I was worried that being known as a D&D player might hurt my reputation.

I’ve since decided that I’m comfortable with who I am, and I’ve started letting people know that I’m a gamer when it’s appropriate. I first mentioned it to a co-worker who knew that I used to play Magic: The Gathering. He asked if I still played, and I told him that I had moved on to D&D. No bad reaction from him – that’s one good sign.

Next, a co-worker of mine who works in another state was visiting Colorado for work and I invited him over for dinner. He already knew that I liked board games, so I talked about D&D (and we ended up playing Castle Ravenloft). It turns out that he used to be a big D&D player several years ago, and he asked to be included the next time I start up an online game. Cool! The fact that I’m his boss probably means that the DM-player relationship would be too awkward, but still, it’s nice that he was enthusiastic about it.

Now we come to today. I’m excited about my plans to attend GenCon for the first time this summer. I work in Colorado, but my company also has offices in Indianapolis (home of GenCon). I travel for work from time to time, and I asked my boss about maybe making a business trip out of a personal vacation that I wanted to take to Indianapolis in early August (okay, so I haven’t told my boss about my gaming yet). He put me in touch with a co-worker in Indianapolis who could coordinate my business trip.

When I called that guy on the phone and explained that I was trying to schedule some work either before or after my personal trip, he asked about the dates and then what I was in town for. I said that my wife and I were going to a gaming convention, and he said, “You mean GenCon? I’ll be there, too!”

It turns out that he, too, is a gamer, as are some of the people he works with in Indianapolis. He invited me and my wife to join him for a game while we’re in town. How cool is that?

So, to sum up, I’m taking some confident strides out of the gaming closet now, and I’m glad for it. The air smells sweeter out here!