Gen Con Indy 2012 -- Part V of Five

Sunday already? Bummer.  After checking out, Janet and I paid a last visit to the dealers' room. The balloon dragon was finally complete. Somehow, it looked a little sad.  It was to be the prize for the winner of a certain contest, who would then slay the puffed up thing with a mighty sword. The dragon would go with many a hearty pop when its time would come. We'd be well underway by then.

The crowd was already building up twenty minutes before the dealers' room opening. Gen Con staffers did their best to make room for exhibitors trying to get in. Costumed visitors were having fun as usual, getting their last bit of attention from bleary-eyed gamers. The ubiquitous CCG fans found some space here and there to run a last-minute round or two.

Once again, the gates were flung open, and the crowd rushed in. We followed. First stop was Inkwell Ideas' booth (Hexographer, Coat of Arms, and loads of other stuff.) Said hi to Joe Wetzel and his staff. By the time I came around to snapping a picture, two had already wandered away.

Joe Wetzel & colleague

Not very far from there stood Margaret Weis's booth. I noticed the large poster behind her about the Dragon Brigade series (see Shadow Raiders on Amazon.) That's something I'd love to be involved with in a creative sense, especially as regards its world's development. I could do well with it.  I picked up this line from a review on Amazon:  "On the world of Aeronne, the Kingdoms of Rosia and Freya have been enemies for centuries. Both nations have engaged in an arms race as each tries to produce a more powerful weapon to topple their adversary."  The reviewer goes on to mention the setting reminded her of the English-French war period.  Right up my alley. The crowd thickened while Janet and I headed toward our next stop. 

Margaret Weis

Along the way, we bumped into Marc Tassin. He carried a big shopping bag with, among other things inside, the new Star Wars combat game X-Wings. He was very excited. Not that he played a whole lot of miniatures games, but as he put it: “It's Star Wars! I couldn't resist!” I couldn't agree more. I'd been tempted to get the game too, but I still hesitated between that and Wings of Glory. At that point, Marc mentioned a discount reseller just a few aisles from our spot, who offered a bunch of WoG miniatures (not World of Greyhawk, sorry) at less than half the normal price. That was all I needed to hear.

Janet and I hurried back to that booth, which was unbelievably crowded. I located the miniatures. Rats! None of them bore German markings. No wonder they were discounted. Nonetheless I grabbed two French Dewoitines, plotting to get some Me-109s later for a 1940's scenario. There were Stukas, but they all bore Italian markings. . . Not what I wanted. For good measure I snagged a Japanese Val and a Wildcat for a future Pacific scenario. I've got a long way to go. I saved my next purchases for my buddy at the Lake Geneva Game Shop.

Larry Elmore

That taken care of, we turned around and headed to Larry Elmore's booth. He looked really happy. It had been a good convention for him. He mentioned an interest for next year's Gary Con, and I strongly encouraged him to attend. A lot of us TSR old timers will be very happy to see him there, not to mention local fans who didn't make it to Gen Con.

Janet with Ed Greewood

While looking for Tracy Hickman, we found our good friend Ed Greenwood. With the convention's hustle-bustle, neither of us had caught up with him at his book signings. A few pictures later, we were on our way to find Tracy. We'd met with him briefly the day before, but I'd managed not to take pictures for whatever reason. Alas, we were told he never came down to the booth on Sundays.

We did have a chat with Laura who told us about their book Eventide and how tough it had been to get publishers interested in anything besides epic wars, blood and guts, and general mayhem. I told her they were all lemmings striving to jump off the same cliff and that electronic self-publishing was fast becoming the way to go. I wasn't sure she agreed with me entirely, but there was no doubt we all sorely missed earlier days of publishing. In this day and age, just wait another week, and the whole industry may be turned on its head once more. Maybe it is a good thing. Time will tell. Meanwhile, just don't sneeze: it might cause your publisher to fall off the edge of your desk.

Time was up too. Reluctantly, we left the convention hall and made our way back to the car. Four hours later, or five, we'd back home with good memories and the eager expectation to show up again next year. Why don't you?  Perhaps the next few pictures will convince you.

Gen Con's Grand Bazaar!

For those who need to recover!

Under construction

The dragon's maker hard at work.

Nichelle Nichols says Hi!

Yes, there's life outside

Miniatures painting workshop

Another very popular game at the convention: Leviathans!

CHARGE!

Well, it sure was a whole lot of fun.  So long, folks!  See you next year.