Gen Con Indy Improvements!

[beldar1215]

Now that there is no Gen Con SoCal, what improvements should they make to Gen Con Indy with the newly opened revenue?

The first thing that comes to mind for me would be to improve the registration system. I didn't go last year, but the year before it was awful.

Beldar

 

[Festivus]

Since I won't be attending this won't matter much, but at the last GenCon SoCal they had a demonstration gaming area, a four paneled open topped room that dampened the noise considerably from the hall so that you didn't have to yell just to game.

That would be a huge improvement in my opinion.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Although I have no basis for comparison, it looked like registration last year went pretty well. Don't know why all those people didn't pre-register, though. Seems to me if you think you're probably going to go, it's a no-brainer.

The only real gripe I have is that the game rooms were too crowded. It was darn near impossible to hear myself think during some sessions. Don't know how feasible it is, but cutting the number of tables per room by 1/3rd would make things a little more bearable, I think.

Opening the vendor hall earlier on Sunday would have been nice, too.

 

[DrNilesCrane]

I'd say fewer games per room and/or some way to deal with the high noise level. For some games this may not matter much, but it's sure hard to get into character (or a horror senario, for example) when everyone has to shout just to be heard.

The convention is generally well run, the location (Indy) is a huge step up over Wisconsin, and the pre-registration process seems to be improving.

 

[hexgrid]

The only real gripe I have is that the game rooms were too crowded. It was darn near impossible to hear myself think during some sessions.

Same here. The gaming rooms were so noisy in 2005 that I didn't bother to sign up for any RPG events in 2006.

 

[kenmarable]

I'm pretty sure we can expect the changes to the gaming rooms that they previewed at Gen Con Indy last year (and apparently at So Cal as well according to the message above). The plan shown then was to set up something resembling 6' (or so) cubicle walls isolating each room.

In fact, I think in the open letter about the end of Gen Con So Cal specifically mentioned these and even a whiteboard in each. Hopefully that should help the noise situation dramatically.

 

[kenobi65]

I'd say fewer games per room and/or some way to deal with the high noise level.

Fewer games per room may be hard to do, until they complete the expansion of the convention center in a couple of years. The con's bursting at the seams, and as attendance keeps growing, crowding is a real issue.

Glad to hear that the registration process seems to finally be getting better. I didn't go to GenCon last year (went to Origins instead), but my experiences in registration in the few previous years were pretty hideous.

 

[Nikroecyst]

The only problems I had at Gencon, other than the lame true dungeon crap, was the organization.

I would sign up for a game and when I got there I couldn't play it because I didnt' play the previous episode. Well there was no warning that you had to play the preivous episodes. So when I got there there were 20 other people who did the same and now three dms didn't know what to run cause they couldn't run the epeisode we signed up for, which by the way I think is a rip off. Why couldn't they just run what they had planned and we could just start there. That is why i dont' like living campaigns. I want to beable to just pick up a game and have fun.

If fact the whole time I was there the only things that wasn't disorganized was the Iron Dm tournament, which was unbelievable, and Richard Burlew's stand.
EVERYONE should go to the Iron DM tournament, if not to compete in, at least game it. It was a blast. Most fun I ever had and the only reason Im going back this year.

 

[Treebore]

I only have two reasons to go to GenCon.

1. Meet and game with people from the various boards I visit, especially the Necromancer, Goodman, and Castles and Crusades board members.

Except this year I am hoping to game with some ENWorlders. I am not much of an alcohol drinker, so the party, especially when everyone is getting wasted, isn't very appealing to me.

Plus at least one of my kids will be with me again this year, maybe all 3. I don't keep them blind to the realities of people drinking and getting drunk, but seeing people under those circumstances isn't why I, or my kids, are there.

2. To meet my favorite game company people and see the new product, and buy way too much of it.

So the only improvement I am looking for is for people to have "non sanctioned" areas to play their own games.

Maybe ENWorld could look into hosting official, clearly labeled, "open gaming" tables in nice quiet areas.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

Plus at least one of my kids will be with me again this year, maybe all 3. I don't keep them blind to the realities of people drinking and getting drunk, but seeing people under those circumstances isn't why I, or my kids, are there.

Ditto. I'll be bringing my son for the first time this year.

Maybe ENWorld could look into hosting official, clearly labeled, "open gaming" tables in nice quiet areas.

I'd love to see this.