Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: Sunday

So it goes without saying at this point that I need to do these updates in a more timely manner.  Work and personal life have been surprisingly busy, and I think I'm just now starting to recover.  Onto Sunday then.

The last day of the con is always the most tiring.  Everyone is burnt out, and everyone is preparing for their trip home.  I normally don't have much to do on Sunday, but this year I was able to get in on the first official Relic Knights tournament.  I had managed to get the last few pieces painted up the night before I was to come out to Gen Con, so here they are starting with Sebastian:




Sebastian wasn't actually that difficult, but he took a while due to his massive size and surface area.  His Relic stands astride an 80mm base, and for reference I haven't put a model on a base larger than 50mm.  I admit that he is a lot of fun to look at, but wherever Sebastian goes he is accompanied by his Cypher, Rook:




This little guy wasn't that hard to paint up actually.  Very straightforward and enjoyable, although I still felt the tension being so close to Gen Con when I painted him.  Up next is Navarre Hauer:




This is a model that turned out ok, but I'm not as happy with the sculpt.  It looks like there's lots of activity, but he just didn't appeal to me.  He was still a good model on the table.  The final miniature I painted up is Cordellia Clean, sort of:




Not bad looking right?  What isn't done you ask?  Well, when I originally assembled this model I left off the backpack with the intent of painting it separate before gluing it on...and I kinda forgot to do that.  Otherwise she looks pretty good to me.  I tried out a pink skin tone, and that required mixing up a pink wash.  While the result isn't bad, I think I need to try for some darker shardows in the recessed area.  I've also been getting a lot of comments on how much I've improved in a short time, and this makes me feel pretty good.  My goal currently is to improve my highlights and lighting technique.

Ok, so how'd the tournament go?  We started off with eight people, but people left after the first two (of three).  We had a three-way tie for first place, and the point spread landed me in third.  My painted miniatures won me a battlemat for Relic Knights, which was cool but I already had one.  The guys at SPM were cool enough to let me trade it in, and I used the credit towards my own copy of Super Dungeon Explore!  Expect a bunch of Super Dungeon Explore models in upcoming blog posts while I wait for Robotech miniatures to arrive for both myself and my friend (who is commissioning me to paint them).

Another successful Gen Con completed.  Much fun was had, reunited with many friends, and played many games.  Gen Con 2015 will you be as good?

Obligatory swag pic:

Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: Saturday

You may have noticed a bit of a delay between my last posts, and well, work has kind of exploded.  Not literally of course, but it's been so busy that I've barely gotten enough time to eat let alone blog.  So let's get my Gen Con Saturday under way shall we?

Saturday started off with me waking up at my own pace and deciding to casually head over to the exhibitor's hall with my buddy.  Before we even got out of the hotel we came across Luca from the RPG Classic, Chrono Trigger, just after she got her morning cup of coffee.



We get to the convention center, and we decide to cut through the events hall to get to the dealer's room.  On our way we come across a really awesome cosplay of the sisters Elsa and Anna from Disney's Frozen:



Today is my relaxed day, so I spend time wandering around the exhibitor's hall seeing what I can see.  One stop I made was by Palladium's booth to check out the sprues for the upcoming Robotech Tactics RPG miniatures game:



It was really nice to get a close-up look at these miniatures.  I can't wait to get my hands on my own copies.  The miniatures look pretty detailed and of high quality.

So I continued my journey and came across a Scout Trooper:



I stopped and got a picture as my friend had been disappointed that he hadn't encountered any Storm Troopers at the con so far.  I would later find out that he did indeed come across some Storm Troopers, but missed the Scout Trooper.

Time was ticking down to my 2pm Victoriana demo, but before I left the exhibitors/events hall I caught one of my friends in cosplay and was able to convince her to let me snap a photo:



It was a short rush to get to the demo area, but I arrived in time.  Victoriana is a fantasy setting in, shock, Victorian London/Europe, but it makes use of the traditional fantasy races.  It's a fun setting that I hope to run a game for some day.  I was in for a treat though as my demo was more gothic horror than high fantasy.  My group and I were trying to convince a landowner that our claim was legitimate (it wasn't), but it turns out that all the fuss over heritage was for a vampiric/Frankenstein-esq operation.

As a side-note: this is a reason why I need to blog semi-real time.  I've forgotten most of the good details from that game.  All I remember is that fun was had, and that I make a bad solicitor.

After the demo I get back to the hotel and decide to grab dinner at The Ram.  On the way we encountered a robotic/moving Dalek:



It was a very impressive feet and a great way to build an appetite.  Once we hit The Ram we sat down in the general seating area and caught the end of Star Wars: A New Hope while waiting for our food.  Something must've gone wrong, and we ended up suspecting that our order hadn't gotten put in or some other glitch because we were halfway into The Empire Strikes Back by the time our food arrived.  We had been joined by two other travelers who had ordered their food and gotten it before we got our meal.

On our way back, our evening having been cancelled, we passed a guy who looked suspiciously like Nathan Rice (Lodge from the Gamers movies).  I commented as such and my friend asked me if I was sure followed by a suggestion that we find out.  A quick dash backwards followed by an awkward hello, and it turns out that yes indeed it was him!



It was a great way to top off our Saturday night, and made the events of our dinner even more worthwhile.

UPDATE:  Forgot to mention that I ran into Andy Dopieralsk, also of Dead Gentleman fame, on our way back to the hotel, but he was in a bit of a hurry to get to an event he was needed at.

I rounded out the evening by watching Dark Dungeons, which turned out to be hilarious enough to justify buying my own copy the next day.

Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: Friday

Continuing from Thursday, I managed to sleep very soundly.  I think that dialing back the AC had a significant impact.  First up was packing up the car and heading over to the con.  I had secured myself a parking pass for the IN Government parking garage the previous evening, and it probably saved me $15-$30.  Check-in wouldn't be till later that day and I had to do demos from 9am-2pm.  This would be my last stint doing demos for the weekend, and the rest of the con would be mine.  Got to see another really awesome Lady Justice cosplay during my shift as well:



I had a lot of fun demoing Malifaux for the last couple of my shift.  They were really picking it up, and we ended up going past my 2pm finish time.  This wasn't a big deal since it wasn't affecting my level of compensation.  After I finished up with the demo I went and checked in at the Wyrd booth in the exhibitor's hall, and ran into a really awesome War Machine cosplay of Menoth's Kreoss:

 

At the Wyrd booth I collected my rewards, and promptly purchased a bunch of Malifaux stuff for me and my friends.  I had some troubles with my credit card that I cleared up at the booth, which ate into my free time a bit.  I had been given the keys for the new hotel room, and did a quick dash back to meet up with my friend Thirdpower for his first Gen Con experience.  While I waited for him to make it the last few steps to the hotel I spent time taking in the view from our room:



After a bit of time to get my stuff transferred to the hotel room and a few minutes to breathe Thirdpower and I headed to the dealer's hall to browse a bit before it closed.  We hit up a few booths to just scratch the surface of the Exhibitor's Hall, but made a point of visiting Jen Page at her booth promoting Project London:



After that we made a quick jaunt over to Steve Jackson Games' booth where Thirdpower got to chat up OGRE stuff with some of the designers.

With the dealer's hall closing we decided to hit up the Munchkin Tavern which had occupied Tavern on South for a tasty dinner, and then back to the hotel to relax before the evenings event: Late Night Puppet Slam.

The Late Night Puppet Slam didn't start till 11pm at night, but the evening view from our room was just as cool as the daytime view:



When we got to the Puppet Show the question was asked as to recording policies.  After a few moments of confirming with the artists/puppeteers we were told that recording was fine with additional encouragement to upload the videos.  My companion took a short vid and some pics of the show, but I tried to capture as much of it as I could:





I had some technical difficulties with my camera towards the end.  My phone started to freeze up due to having no free space left to capture everything (that's why the camera starts swinging around at the end.  That's me trying to fix the darn thing).

Following the show we met up with friends and attempted to find a late night snack but turned into more a wandering around downtown Indy before heading back to the room to crash for the night.

Gen Con 2013 part 3

The final post about my Gen Con experience this year is a special one.  Since I was only going to have one day to get in the same amount of fun as I would normally do across four days my Gen Con would have to focus on a specific thing.  The big reason I went this year was to reconnect with friends from across the country.  I got to see my friends from Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, and Athena Hollow:






I also got to meet a bunch of new friends like Sarah Moore and Amanda Maul of Gamer Chick, and Lola Hart:




Being around other gamers is probably the biggest highlight for me each year at Gen Con.  So many gamers of so many different styles coming together for four days of camaraderie and having a great time.  That's why I made the drive out to Indianapolis Indiana, and spent an incredible day running all over the convention center.  The people.  My friends.  I'm already looking forward to seeing them all again next year!

Gen Con 2013 Part 2

Continuing from my last post I plan to reveal more of my Gen Con adventures.  This post WAS supposed to go up last week, but in an attempt to feed my narcissism (and that it was free), I snagged a free hair transplant to try and ward off my thinning hair.  The result looks like it'll be good, but has left me feeling kinda of out of it in the head.  Ok, enough of that and onto the costumes!



The above pic is a group of friends dressed up as the main characters from Journey Quest.  You've probably heard me talk about it before, and I still recommend giving it a watch!  I took that pic when the group arrived at the Zombie Orpheus Entertainment booth.  Christian Doyle, the actor who plays Perf, was a bit incredulous at this would-be imposter:



Which one is which I couldn't say.  I actually caught two of them earlier one while I was standing in line for my Robotech exclusives.



Speaking of line shots I snagged a great pic of a Stormtrooper who looks like he had been pulled from Tattooine in order to do some line/aisle control.



I was stuck in line and didn't get a chance to ask him questions, but I'm betting he belongs to the 501st.

I was pretty zonked out on Saturday.  There was so much to do, and looking back I don't think I was fully aware of how overwhelmed I was.  For example this Little Bo Peep costume:



Was not actually Little Bo Peep, but Kaylee from the series Firefly in her dress from the episode, "Shindig."  I felt so bad at having missed the obvious reference, and the dress was so very well put together.

In my wanderings I headed over to the Cool Mini Or Not booth, because if I go to a gaming con I have to spend time with/around miniatures.  Word on the floor had it that there were three cosplayers for their Relic Knights line, which I helped kickstart the plastics for, but only one was there.



While I was there I decided to snap some pics of their studio paint jobs starting with the Shattered Swords faction:


Doctrine:
 

and Cercei Speed Circuit:


While wandering around the event hall I came across a terrific pair of cosplayers sporting costumes from the War Machine miniatures game!



That would be Grand Scrutator Severius and Taryn di la Rovissi you see standing there.  They were very nice, but Severius got upset when I told him that I played Khador.



I managed to flee far enough away from certain doom and damnation that I encountered a Game of Thrones cosplay for Melisandre, priestess of light:



This was a great looking costume!  All red velvet/crushed velvet, and very regal looking.  You can't see it as well in the picture because of the raised hood, but the hair was also a wine-burgundy.  I was assured that this is the book version and not the TV version.  Gotta love attention to detail.

The last costume pic I have for today is of a fierce barbarian!



I really liked this costume, and I'm glad I stopped to take a picture.  It's a cosplay of the person's barbarian character which is always awesome to see!  People put a lot of love and life into their tabletop characters, and seeing them come to life is pretty exciting.  Nearly the entire costume was homemade, and the little accents like the face paint, hair coloring, and feathered jewelry really made this one stand out.  I even managed to get a random passerby to stand still long enough to capture all that fierceness together with me.



After all that I was out of juice, and this had only been about three and a half hours!  I think that next year when I go I need to set a day aside where I can go around and take pictures, talk to the cosplayers, and learn so much more about them!

Gen Con 2013 part 1

My original intent had been to make a post shortly after getting back from Gen Con, but it turns out I needed a little more time to recuperate.

I left Friday after getting off of work, and got to Gen Con about 9pm.  Throw in getting parked and to my hotel room, and I didn't find food until 10pm.  Got to try the Steel Soul Red at the Ram, but otherwise I hadn't really broken into Gen Con by this point.

Got up early and out the door, and ended up getting to the dealers room early.  There was a set of exclusive Robotech miniatures that were being sold at the Palladium booth in limited quantities, and since people hadn't started lining up yet I decided to snag a good position.  By the time the dealers room was ready to open things had gotten pretty crowded:



From there it was a mad dash to get my exclusives.  Which I did.  I then spent the day shopping for myself and friends who couldn't attend, meeting up with friends from across the nation, and getting a look at some awesome costumes!

Here's a few highlights from the show.  The biggest one is the reaction I got from Scott C. Brown, the actor who played Flynn the Fine on The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, when I gave him the painted Pile of Dead Bards:



There is something wonderful about getting such a strong reaction from such a simple gift.  The rest of the ZOE crew were also rather impressed with the piece, and I received much glowing praise.  It was both humbly and inspiring.

I ended up meeting with Howard Taylor, author and artist for Schlock Mercenary.  It's been one of my favorite webcomics for years, and Howard has been attending Gen Con for quite some time.  Over the past several years I've gone by to pick up his latest print collection, and to get a sketch in the back.  This year I asked to be drawn in the Schlock-verse.



I was asked how I wanted him to approach the subject of my hairline, and I replied that he should be as generous or harsh as he sees fit.  While I look much older in the pic I think he made up for it by giving me a better weight profile:



There was so much to do at Gen Con that this year's priority was on friends.  As a result I didn't really get any gaming in, except for a bit of a life-sized version of Elk Fest. 



It was a fun shuffle-board romp.  The idea was to use the discs to make a path for your elk to cross, but you could also use them to knock your opponents disk (and their elk) out of place.  I didn't do very well, and my Elk got splooshed:



I had a lot of fun for the short time that I was there, and I've already started looking forward to next year!

The Gamers: Hands of Fate (Review!)

So being a backer to the latest Gamers movie means I got a chance to see the film a day early!  Woot!  Short version:  The movie is great.  Go watch it.  It's free for a couple of weeks!  Go here: http://watchthegamers.com/

If you're having trouble with the above link try it on Vimeo



Ok extended review time.  After watching this movie I've found myself invested on two different levels. There's the level of the plot itself, which is fun and whimsy, and then there's the subplot of women in gaming, which has become a larger issue in the gaming community.

If you liked The Gamers: Dorkness Rising then you're going to love The Gamers: Hands of Fate.  Matt Vancil weaves another wonderful plot involving the world of gamers and their struggles.  This time around the focus is on the realm of Collectible Card Game (CCG) players, and the fictional game of Romance of the 9 Empires.  The movie makes use of some scenes in green-screen to help create a representation of the fictional world of Countermay, which is the setting of R9E.  Rather than use the world of Countermay for gags and jokes it actually gives the fictional characters their own subplot.  It delivers exposition in the form of a small vignette that gives the audience a deeper connection to the setting of the game, and helps them to understand the level of passion the players for R9E feel.


Half of the movie occurs at Gen Con, the best four days in gaming!  Most of these scenes were filmed at Gen Con 2012, and for me it was quite a rush to see a place that I am quite familiar with as I have been attending Gen Con since it came to Indianapolis in 2003.  A film about gamers that goes to the biggest convention for gamers, and uses the environment to its advantage?  Brilliant!  It really blends the background into the movie seamlessly.  Steven Wolbrecht's music helps to add a layer of emotion to the plot and subplots as they unfold around the characters.  Overall it doesn't dominate, but you would notice if it was missing; which to me is the sign of a great score.

The acting was beautiful.  Each of the actors did an amazing job bringing their characters to life, and you can see the story/struggle being told in their expressions and body language just as much as the dialog and setting.  To my personal delight there were several crossovers and allusions to other productions from Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, including a couple of very hardcore cosplayers speaking in Orcish!  There is so much fun in this movie that it's another must-see for all gamers!

The main plot of the movie could best be described as: Cas (Brian Lewis) attempting to earn the attention of Natalie (Trin Miller) who has zero interest in just another gamer guy.  This might seem like a classic love story at first glance, but the reality is much different.  Cas seems to be completely unaware of the conflict that Natalie faces as a gamer.  Through the events in the movie he gains an understanding of a different group of gamers as well as being a vehicle for showcasing the conflicts that all female gamers face.  The dialog is very natural, but a bit harsh at points.  Matt Vancil and Nathan Rice chose to tackle the issue of women in gaming head on rather than tiptoe around it, and the entirety of the film is stronger because of it.  There may be some parts that are uncomfortable to watch, but it shines a light into a darker area of the gaming culture that needs to be looked at.  There is a lot to take away from this film, and it is definitely worth your time to watch whether you are a gamer or know gamers.

There's a lot more I'd like to address, but I'd like to wait a few weeks before doing a more in-depth look in order to give others time to explore it and discover what lies within.  I head out for Gen Con soon, and my next post will have more pics from me onsite.

Gen Con 2012 Part 2!

Ok, so with Friday over I'm staring down the barrel of the Master of Malifaux tournament on Saturday.  I'm at the event hall at 9am roughly, and I'm stressing out a little.  I had been asked to help judge Malifaux tournaments for Wyrd at Gen Con, and this was my primary reason for being there.  I had been going over rules, rulings, errata, clarifications, and tactica all summer.  I was definitely prepared.



As it turns out I didn't get anywhere near the amount of rules questions I thought I would.  Many of the players were very experienced, and I found myself with more time to sit and recover in between the occasional rules call and wandering the tables.  It felt kind of satisfying to know that the community is really in touch with the game as well as being good sports.  While wandering I actually saw some cool setups and paintjobs that I want to share.  First up is the model Snowstorm for the Arcanists faction



I really love how the blue turned out very frosty looking.  The white is very well done, with hints of blue for the shadows.



That's the Pig-a-pult, which is as awesome as it sounds.  What caught my eye about this piece is that the main attraction, the pig, is painted in green.  I thought it was an odd choice, but it gave the model some character.  Maybe the painter was inspired by Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham."



Last up for Saturday is the Rail Golem.  This model was pre-released at Gen Con and doesn't come out for a few months still.  The painter had rigged up everything the base would need, grabbed the model from the dealer's room on Thursday, painted it up, and even rigged an LED in the chest to give the glowing effect you see.  It was very cool to look at.

Miniatures weren't the only thing dressed to impress.  A pair of Malifaux players decided to cosplay as Ramos and Collette from the Arcanist faction.



From what the gentleman said he actually had more to the costume, but had left it as he had been wearing it for most of the day by the time I took the picture.  Both costumes looked amazing, and it was a real treat to capture them on film.  At this point I was about ready to give in to exhaustion, and once the tournament was over I grabbed food with friends and sought refuge in my hotel room to recover from the day and the night before.

Onto Sunday, the final day.  This is the day where a majority of attendees spend a few hours in the dealers hall looking to get some deals, and then heading home.  I had the finals for Malifaux to judge.  It was an invitation only with spots being given to tournament winners from the previous three days. 



The tournament was about half the size of the others, and again the participants were really capable of handling the rules.  I had a half dozen rules calls if that.  So I spent my time going back and forth between the tables, and after the tournament wrapped up I found myself in the dealers hall picking up some last minute swag.  I also ran into one of the most amazing costumes I've seen.



The costume was of a Malifaux miniature called Collodi who is based off of the tale of Pinocchio.  The hands and face were made of real wood, and the guy behind the mask kept moving his mouth periodically which kept making a wood clacking sound.  Very creepy to hear and see.  It was incredible!  I just had to get a shot of myself with him, and he was happy to oblige.



That was probably the last pic I took at the con.  Following that I gathered up my things and headed for home.  The ride back from Gen Con is always a long one.  All the fun and excitement starts to leak out leaving you with a groggy and satisfied feeling.  It's kinda like that time after Thanksgiving dinner.  I always make sure to drive carefully, and I arrived home safe and sound.  Things were unpacked, swag sorted and piled, and then I sat down to relax and prepare for work the next day.