Adkison's Gen Con report

[Lurch]

I don't think that this can be overstated. Indy seem to really be please that we were there. Our hotel really was concerned with how we liked the city and thier service. Big thumbs up.

BTW. Did any one go out walking around the government buildings? There is a canal that has been converted into public space. WOW, very pretty. Nice to see a large water feature that didn't have garish safety rails to protect me from my own stupidity. Really bravo to the city planners.

Hear, hear! I don't know about anyone else, but IMO Indy gave us a big ol' "welcome to our town" hug the likes of which I (sadly) hadn't felt from Milwaukee for a number of years. Add to that the fact that downtown Indy doesn't seem to roll up the sidewalks when the sun goes down like Milwaukee always did (personally, I love the nightlife. I like to boogie. )

The convention center itself was a dream of well-ventilated open spaces (I was actually chilly at times!) that really kept the hygiene-challenged from affecting me much at all.

A few negatives, though:

1. The city's sewer system picked a hell of a time to go all funky;

2. Con food: overpriced as always, though the clean, breezy cafe-style setups were a nice change from the dingy ratwurst vendors under the Arena in Milwaukee. A friend was charged $2.50 for a cup of water to go with his aspirin, though ("we still gotta charge for the cup");

3. All the hotels initially included by Con Housing were the seven walkway-connected hotels, ignoring the more affordable lodgings a few blocks away. I don't know about anyone else, but I see no reason to spend $140+ per night on a room I'm just going to shower & sleep in when I can get the same accommodations for $70/night a few short blocks away. (Incidentally, the room at the Westin I shared with friends Thu.-Sat. nights was no bigger or better than the one at the Days Inn I stayed at on Wed. night -- and the Days Inn TV got more channels!).

Finally, my 2 cents on the registration lines: Not to be too harsh, but IMO anyone who still waits to register & pick events on-site after their first visit (when they may not know better) is foolish. Even if you only plan on attending one or two days, it's well worth the additional cost of pre-registering for even a 4-day badge in the time & aggravation you'll save yourself. Admittedly, I'm a trifle obsessive on the subject at times, but my policy of pre-registering within the first few days of availability has never disappointed me: not only do I typically get all the events I want, but by arriving a day early I'm able to zip in on Wed. to pick up my event tickets and/or badge, leaving me plenty of time to relax before things start up the next day. Even on Sat. the line at Will Call was infinitely shorter than the one for those who had yet to register. If all you want to do is grab a pick-up game here & there you could do without event registration, but getting your badge in advance should be an obvious choice.

 

[CaptainCalico]

New letter

Peter Adkison posted this letter on another forum (see my sig), detailing how folks stuck in the lines on Saturday can get a partial refund. The same letter is posted on the GC Indy website.

 

[Sidereal Knight]

The city's sewer system picked a hell of a time to go all funky

I didn't notice this too much, but then I've lived in Indy for the last 13 years. Maybe I'm used to it. I also wasn't walking around downtown too much other than between the parking garage and the convention center.

I do know that there is some kind of a factory or incinerator that occasionally is "up-wind" of downtown... could that have been responsible?

 

[MojoGM]

Well, I have to say it was good of him to offer partial refunds. And it seems he is aware of the problems, has taken ultimate responsibility for them, and intends to correct them.

That's worth a certain degree of respect at least.

Now, I did not attend Gen Con this year, but I'm planning on next year, and reading this makes me more excited about going...

 

[Henry]

I didn't notice this too much, but then I've lived in Indy for the last 13 years. Maybe I'm used to it. I also wasn't walking around downtown too much other than between the parking garage and the convention center.

I do know that there is some kind of a factory or incinerator that occasionally is "up-wind" of downtown... could that have been responsible?

SSSSSNNNNIFFF!

AAAAHH! The smell of civilization!

On West Street (the street to the west of the RCA Dome Parking Lot, in any event), I saw what looked like paper mill of some sort? Any time you are near a paper mill in full production, expect the overpowering aroma of rotten eggs (sulfur) for miles around.

 

[Dinkeldog]

That would be part of it. Not the urine or pesticide odors, though.

 

[woodelf]

On West Street (the street to the west of the RCA Dome Parking Lot, in any event), I saw what looked like paper mill of some sort? Any time you are near a paper mill in full production, expect the overpowering aroma of rotten eggs (sulfur) for miles around.

Nope--steam-generation plant. (the sign faced our hotel.)

Anyway, what i smelled seemed more like garbage than sewage--and since i only smelled it on the W-SW side of the convention center, i'm wondering if that's simply where the dumpsters were (but inside, so i couldn't see them)? Anyway, i wandered the downtown a fair bit, for at least several blocks N and/or E, and never smelled anything anywhere else (except for baking bread and motor vehicle exhaust). Did someone else smell stinkiness somewhere else?

Oh, and i've been in paper mill country. It wouln't matter if we were upwind in a hurricane, we'd have all smelled a paper plant that close by.

 

[der_kluge]

I agree with that.

When I first went to GenCon in 1989, there were a ton of different games to play. GMs with no connection to the publishers just ran games that they liked. I ran an Ars Magica tournament for four years straight because I liked the game. Over the past ten years the number of games seems to have dropped, and its become more and more incumbent on publishers to organize things. However, publishers often concentrate on demo games, in the hopes of acquiring new players. I'd like to see more GMs step up and run cool games for experienced players. Some of my best GenCon memories are games of this kind and I'd hate to see them go by the wayside.

The one "official" game I ran for Mystic Eye Games had nothing at all to do with Mystic Eye Games or any of their products. It was a killfest "let's see how far the PCs can get in 4 hours" nightmare I'd written up for a con a couple of years ago. I had a blast running it, too.
Next year I'd like to run more games for the general populace of GenCon, or maybe ENWorlders. All the other games I played were with MEG folk. Which isn't bad, but diversity is a good thing, too.

 

[der_kluge]

Are we actually collecting comments and suggestions to send back to Peter, or are we just venting here?

 

[kkoie]

that smell you noticed is the unfortunate smell of the Big City. I noticed that smell right away when I moved to Indy (5 years ago or so) and started visiting the downtown area. I've also noticed a similar aroma when visiting downtown Chicago or New York City. Also, the smell tends to be worse in the less Flashy areas of Chicago, and specially when the summer heat is high.

Not a whole lot they can do about it, unless they decide to pull a Hercules and send the White River rushing through the downtown area.