I-CON, short for Island CONvention, has been a staple of geek culture on Long Island for decades. I-CON disappeared for five years, but it returned this year with I-CON 32 to a new venue. I had the pleasure of being a guest last weekend once more and I'm happy to report the con is back on its feet.
[h=3]An Iconic Con[/h]I-CON has always been a diverse convention. Although nominally covering science fiction, it features everything from science tracks to sci-fi authors, gaming to anime, furry to comics fandom, movie showings to medieval reenactments and live performances.
I-CON's history goes all the way back to 1982. My first I-CON was I-CON 8 in 1990. I graduated from attendee to panelist and guest over time, returning again and again even when I moved to Connecticut. I-CON was where I had my first LARP experience, where I first played Traveller, where I made many friends and colleagues and spoke on some amazing panels. It's also where I met Gary Gygax and, much later, Frank Mentzer. Then in 2009, I-CON moved out of its home on Stony Brook's campus due to construction. The con relocated to Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. That's when I fell out of touch with the organizers.
When the con couldn't return to Stony Brook in 2013, the convention went into decline. I-CON 32 was delayed until 2014...and then was forced to launch a series of smaller cons until it could gather enough funds, volunteers, and resources to return. Five years later, it's back!
I was on four panels on Saturday and Sunday. The first was "Better Learning Through Minecraft" with my co-panelist and video game designer, George Berger. I referenced much of the content shared in "Minecraft: The Gateway to D&D". We discussed everything from emergent gameplay to how Minecraft reinvigorated my Cub Scout troops' interest in minerals.
After the Minecraft panel, I took my son to see Rikki Simons, the voice behind GIR on the short-lived cartoon series Invader Zim. He was very gracious and signed two autographs for us as well as a comic. My kids enjoyed the "Kids Track" of activities and then my wife took them to a planetarium show while I hosted another panel.
The second panel was "Off the Rails: When Players Don't Follow the Gamemaster's Plan." My co-panelist, Jason Macagnone, is a LARPer for Middlehaven and he came in a full suit of armor. We talked at length about how the definition of rails have changed from literal dungeon walls to story constraints. We also discussed the case of irritating players who simply don't want to play nice with others -- a particular challenge in some LARPs where death isn't always final and thus not a deterrent.
On Sunday I had two panels, one at 10 a.m. (traditionally poorly attended) and 3 p.m. Both were surprisingly full. My third panel was again with George to discuss "The State of the Gaming Industry." George spoke about the indy development scene and I covered how tabletop games are doing better than ever (article forthcoming).
We took time out between panels to attend the Padawan Training Institute hosted by the Endor Temple of the Saber Guild. My son got a personal training session, which paid off later when he encountered Kylo Ren on the dealer room floor. You can see how it went in the photo above!
My last panel was "A Younger Audience: Running RPGs for Kids" with my co-panelist Matt McFarland, co-owner of Growling Dog Games and prolific contributor to White Wolf products who also works with children in his day job as a speech-language pathologist. My contribution was my two role-playing game campaigns with kids: My Little Pony vs. Princes of the Apocalypse game and Star Wars/D&D Dawn of Defiance campaign.
Overall, I-CON was less crowded than previous years, but that's to be expected from a con that's relaunching. Despite the reduced attendance, every panel was full and the dealer's room was busy. The space handled the population well and the programming was excellent. Here's hoping that I-CON can return stronger than ever next year.
You can learn more information about I-CON on the web, Facebook, and Twitter.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
[h=3]An Iconic Con[/h]I-CON has always been a diverse convention. Although nominally covering science fiction, it features everything from science tracks to sci-fi authors, gaming to anime, furry to comics fandom, movie showings to medieval reenactments and live performances.
I-CON's history goes all the way back to 1982. My first I-CON was I-CON 8 in 1990. I graduated from attendee to panelist and guest over time, returning again and again even when I moved to Connecticut. I-CON was where I had my first LARP experience, where I first played Traveller, where I made many friends and colleagues and spoke on some amazing panels. It's also where I met Gary Gygax and, much later, Frank Mentzer. Then in 2009, I-CON moved out of its home on Stony Brook's campus due to construction. The con relocated to Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. That's when I fell out of touch with the organizers.
When the con couldn't return to Stony Brook in 2013, the convention went into decline. I-CON 32 was delayed until 2014...and then was forced to launch a series of smaller cons until it could gather enough funds, volunteers, and resources to return. Five years later, it's back!
I was on four panels on Saturday and Sunday. The first was "Better Learning Through Minecraft" with my co-panelist and video game designer, George Berger. I referenced much of the content shared in "Minecraft: The Gateway to D&D". We discussed everything from emergent gameplay to how Minecraft reinvigorated my Cub Scout troops' interest in minerals.
After the Minecraft panel, I took my son to see Rikki Simons, the voice behind GIR on the short-lived cartoon series Invader Zim. He was very gracious and signed two autographs for us as well as a comic. My kids enjoyed the "Kids Track" of activities and then my wife took them to a planetarium show while I hosted another panel.
The second panel was "Off the Rails: When Players Don't Follow the Gamemaster's Plan." My co-panelist, Jason Macagnone, is a LARPer for Middlehaven and he came in a full suit of armor. We talked at length about how the definition of rails have changed from literal dungeon walls to story constraints. We also discussed the case of irritating players who simply don't want to play nice with others -- a particular challenge in some LARPs where death isn't always final and thus not a deterrent.
On Sunday I had two panels, one at 10 a.m. (traditionally poorly attended) and 3 p.m. Both were surprisingly full. My third panel was again with George to discuss "The State of the Gaming Industry." George spoke about the indy development scene and I covered how tabletop games are doing better than ever (article forthcoming).
We took time out between panels to attend the Padawan Training Institute hosted by the Endor Temple of the Saber Guild. My son got a personal training session, which paid off later when he encountered Kylo Ren on the dealer room floor. You can see how it went in the photo above!
My last panel was "A Younger Audience: Running RPGs for Kids" with my co-panelist Matt McFarland, co-owner of Growling Dog Games and prolific contributor to White Wolf products who also works with children in his day job as a speech-language pathologist. My contribution was my two role-playing game campaigns with kids: My Little Pony vs. Princes of the Apocalypse game and Star Wars/D&D Dawn of Defiance campaign.
Overall, I-CON was less crowded than previous years, but that's to be expected from a con that's relaunching. Despite the reduced attendance, every panel was full and the dealer's room was busy. The space handled the population well and the programming was excellent. Here's hoping that I-CON can return stronger than ever next year.
You can learn more information about I-CON on the web, Facebook, and Twitter.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
