Is GenCon still worth it?

[Ralif Redhammer]

You make a good point. Being surrounded by that much unapologetic, enthusiastic nerd culture is an experience in and of itself. Especially, as you said, for those of us that grew up never mentioning gaming outside of a small handful of close friends (how things have changed!).

The con is enormous, but that's part of why it moved to Indianapolis. Indy has a lot of space and is relatively easy to reach travel-wise. And especially for those of us who came up in the 80s and 90s when we had to hide our hobby from basically everyone, it's incredibly empowering to be among such an enormous mass of people who all love the same stuff we do.

 

[Retreater]

Well, I'm getting dragged there by my friend. Guilt trip experience for me, even worse than the time my friends pulled me to watch Clooney's "Batman & Robin" (for a second time) [cue the "Family Guy" irrelevant pop culture shout-out.]
If you've read my previous comments, you'd know how "done with" GenCon I am. This is something I'm not looking forward to.

 

[Hex08]

I've never gone but wish I did... years ago. Now it seems like a crowded mess.

 

[Retreater]

I've never gone but wish I did... years ago. Now it seems like a crowded mess.

The dream of GenCon 2007 is alive at Origins.
Seriously, it feels like the "good old days" of GenCon from 15 years ago.

 

[ART!]

I've never gone but wish I did... years ago. Now it seems like a crowded mess.

It's not a mess at all, I don't think - just heavily populated.

 

[Hand of Evil]

It is what you make of it, if you go with a poor attitude, odds are you are going come away with a bad Gen Con experience.

 

[Thunderfoot]

I went in 2005 as a 'once in a lifetime experience' and birthday present. I did True Dungeon (back when they still had woodies) and volunteered to play the music for the winners for some award show or other. lol (ENnies)

That became a yearly pilgrimage until 2017 where I became the audio producer of the ENnies and eventually worked as a full time volunteer/dungeon engineer (prop, monster and puzzle designer/builder) for True Dungeon when I moved home to Southern Illinois(who knew?).

Is it worth it, at least once, yes. It's like a pilgrimage to a holy shrine but for gamers. But eventually the cost and time outweighed the fun. THAT'S when I said I was finished. Maybe someday again, but not right now.