The Triumphant Return of GEN CON!

 Dan Whorl  Comments Off on The Triumphant Return of GEN CON!
Sep 012021
 

GENCON 2021

The Titan Cometh!

This year, once again, the biggest and best tabletop gaming convention in the country is returning to Indianapolis September 16th-19th.  GEN CON is back and we’ll be there!  if you can’t or don’t want to come to the convention in person there are several ways to be involved this year, including GEN CON Indy, GEN CON Online, Pop-Up GEN CON, and GEN CON TV.

GEN CON Indy is the Superbowl for tabletop nerds!  

“Celebrating its 52nd year in 2019, Gen Con “The Best Four Days in Gaming!”(tm) has become the largest annual consumer fantasy, electronic, sci-fi, and adventure game convention in North America. Each year, gaming enthusiasts converge in Indianapolis to share their enthusiasm for all things gaming; whether its tournaments, celebrity appearances, exhibit hall booths, electronic games, workshops, seminars, anime, art shows, auctions, or countless other activities.

With an avid following of more than 140,000 consumer and professional attendees, Gen Con is THE destination for everyone from serious fans, to those simply interested in casual gaming. Many people ask “Gaming? What kind of Gaming?” Gen Con appeals to all hobby gaming enthusiasts, essentially all gaming except sports and gambling.

Game manufacturers and publishers consistently utilize Gen Con as the place to launch new games and new products, show off the latest and greatest game expansions and features, and host incredible tournaments. From world championships awarding thousands of dollars to non-professional games created by passionate enthusiasts, playing games is what it’s all about.”

GEN CON Online allows you to take part in the convention from the comfort of your living room…  or office…  or restroom… whatever.

After a successful first year in 2020, Gen Con Online will return in 2021, running concurrently with Gen Con Indy and Pop-Up Gen Con!

Gen Con Online is our online convention program featuring gaming, entertainment, and lots of other types of events, plus a packed schedule of livestreaming content on Twitch, a vibrant community on Discord, and more!

Pop-Up GEN CON brings little baby GEN CONs to your local game store!

“Gather with your local gaming community and try out hot new games before anyone else, all from the comfort of your friendly local game store. Each FLGS will determine how they want to host this event based on COVID-19 health and safety guidelines and conditions in their area. Check with the store for details on what they are planning.

Pop-Up Gen Con will take place on Saturday, September 18, 2021.

If you can’t make it to Gen Con Indy this year or can only come for a day, check out Pop-Up Gen Con at your local game store”

 

However you plan to experience GEN CON, be sure to let us know how it goes.

Also, if you‘re going to be in Indianapolis September 16th-19th be sure to connect With us.  We’ll have a meet up each night!

DM’s Log: Behind the Screens, Entry 4

 El Curto, Guest Authors  Comments Off on DM’s Log: Behind the Screens, Entry 4
Aug 082021
 

So here we are. Everyone has their mandatory one liter of Mountain Dew. Crown royal bags have all been relieved of the dice-hauling duties and you know everyone’s got their mechanical pencil. This can only mean one thing: It’s time for D and D.

Crown Royal Bag

Seriously, the CEO of Crown Royal MUST have played D and D.

Ah, yes, good ol’ D and D. For the DM, the days leading up to a session can be as excruciatingly long as the last days before Christmas are for kids. The anticipation is insufferable. The wait to see the fruits of your labor completely wracks your brain. Will they go into the cavern with the trolls? Will the even find the hidden passage? Did I really spend three days designing an elaborate system of traps that they by blind luck manage to completely bypass? These are my nightmares. These are the questions that keep me up at night. Okay, it’s probably the Mountain Dew that keeps me up at night.

I know its bad for ya but once it hits your lips its so good.

It is natural for the DM to fret over the details. However, it is important to not get too caught up in trying to micro-manage the campaign. No matter how much planning you do, your players will eventually and invariably totally derail your plot. Simply put, you can’t plan for everything. Through sheer brilliance or  simply dumb luck, at some point, your players will conjure something that you, the omnipotent DM, didn’t see coming. Before you let your ego get too bruised, just pick yourself up roll with the punches. live22

In previous articles I have advocated the importance in striking the right balance. This situation is no different. It is crucial to aspire to maintain the momentum that was established in the first few sessions of a campaign but not at the cost of character development.  The continual progression of a linear story arc is essential to keeping the group focused on the grander scheme, yet each player still needs a sense of freedom.

GenCon 2016 – Overview

 Dan Whorl  Comments Off on GenCon 2016 – Overview
Aug 152016
 

GenCon2016-small

Indianapolis – The numbers are in…

Yet another record shredding year for GenCon 2016!

The “Best Four Days in Gaming” in the past few years. This year’s show featured more than 500 exhibitors, along with continued growth of turnstile attendance with more than 201,000 attendees, a sold out pre-show Trade Day program with more than 550 attendees, over 16,500 ticketed events, and more than $35,000 raised via on-site programming for their official charity partner:

The Pour House

The convention this year also just seemed to feel better.  There was a palpable excitement in the air that I didn’t even notice was missing from the past couple of years until I arrived. It was positively electric. Perhaps this was due to a few changes that the owners and organizers made in the hopes of enhancing the experience for the attendees.  Namely, the expansion into Lucas Oil Stadium and the conference spacing found therein, as well as, among other things, a rerouting of the Annual Cosplay Parade, and a new pricing structure allowing for better planning of events.  This added consideration created a much more inviting and less cloistered feel to the entire show.  Unique attendance was nearly the same as last year.  While that may not be another record shattered, it did serve to create a very clear dichotomy of the convention with and without the added space and considerations.

The owners and staff of GenCon were not the only ones on top of their game.  The vendors, exhibitors, and contributors hit it out of the park as well.  The convention is always a hotbed of gaming and geek pop culture with many events and releases that can only be found during the best four days in gaming.

Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
Indications for use https://canadiantoprx.com/buy-cytotec-online-cheap/
What kind of tablets – Amoxil K 625? Tablets are used in the treatment of infections that are caused by susceptible microorganisms:
ENT organs – otitis media, sinusitis, tonsillitis;
organs of the respiratory system – bronchopneumonia, pneumonia, bronchitis;
soft tissue infections – wounds, abscesses, burns;
dentoalveolar abscesses;
osteomyelitis;
urinary tract infections – pyelonephritis, cystitis, urethritis;
sepsis of various origin.

Along with a few of the show’s staples like True Dungeon (a live action dungeon crawl), the charity auction, a very nice costume contest, 24 hour gaming, and countless other reasons people come out to Indy in the middle of summer every year, there were some new goings on that caught my attention.  There was not one, but two, live action escape rooms.  One of which was right in the dealer hall!

(Interviews with representatives of both, Think Fun and Spin Master Games, as well as reviews of their room escape board games are forthcoming)

IceCool

Also to be found in the dealer hall, was the white-hot, penguin flicking, dexterity game, Ice Cool by Brain Games, as well as  the potato-weighing mayhem of UK game designers, Big Potato Games debuting their library of games in the USA.

bigpotatologo

(Interviews with both companies and reviews of their respective games, are also forthcoming)

In addition to games, some attendees may have wandered into the exhibitor section of the hall where you could find scores of authors, craftsmen, and art like the critters created by Creature Curator, Brian Colin.

Brian Colin

These are his aptly named Pocket Monsters!!

 

By all accounts, GenCon 2016 was a complete success. The convention will be returning to Indianapolis August 17-20, 2017 for the 50th anniversary of the show.  This is sure to be a fantastic spectacle. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

As the title states, this is just an overview of this year’s show.  Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll be seeing loads of GenCon content here including several interviews with some very innovative game designers, and LOTS of reviews of new titles and GenCon exclusives.  We’ll also be posting audio from some of the panels that we attended given by some very important individuals in the gaming community as well as written articles about some of the highlights of the show and our Convention Tradition where we scour the con for something old, something new, something redone, and something cool.

Lastly, The CarpeGM Gamecast will soon have a new show on the feed…

With a trial by fire, no safety net, live with random strangers, we’ve recorded the first episodes of a little show that we’re calling Geek 16.

 

Cheers!

-Dan

 

GenCon2016-logo big

-About Gen Con

 

Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction and adventure game convention in North America. Gen Con, The Best Four Days in Gaming!™. Acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Gen Con 2016 was sponsored by Mayfair Games, Paizo, Inc., and Rio Grande Games.

Extra Lives Play – Far Cry 4

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives Play – Far Cry 4
Feb 182015
 

Kyle & Kyle sit down and dig into Far Cry 4. Traveling the Kyrat countryside, meeting the locals, fighting wolves, eating crab rangoon, and surviving avalanches. It’s a weird place.

Note: This video was almost scrapped due to an user audio issue. Sorry if the commentary is a little sub par. That person has been sacked.

far_cry_4

 

Far Cry 4
Hidden in the towering Himalayas lies Kyrat, a country steeped in tradition and violence. You are Ajay Ghale. Traveling to Kyrat to fulfill your mother’s dying wish, you find yourself caught up in a civil war to overthrow the oppressive regime of dictator Pagan Min. Explore and navigate this vast open world, where danger and unpredictability lurk around every corner. Here, every decision counts, and every second is a story. Welcome to Kyrat.

Extra Lives – Ep. 12: Going Down to South Park

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives – Ep. 12: Going Down to South Park
Feb 042015
 

XLS Logo

Tonight we laugh at South Park, go fast with Forza, auto aim with Titanfall, stream out with Playstation Now, and… do whatever it is you do in Minecraft.

Theme Music:
“RetroFuture Dirty” by Kevin MacLeod

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @eroe_vigoroso

Extra Lives – Ep. 11: What If You Miss?

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives – Ep. 11: What If You Miss?
Dec 272014
 

XLS Logo

It’s Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4 this week!! It’s a Halo Extravaganza! Also there’s Titanfall and the return of the League of Legends Hour.

Theme Music:
“RetroFuture Dirty” by Kevin MacLeod

Additional Music:
“Braum’s Theme” by Moisés Nieto
from the League of Legends OST

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @eroe_vigoroso

Extra Lives – Ep. 10: Let Me “Preface” This

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives – Ep. 10: Let Me “Preface” This
Dec 132014
 

XLS Logo

Mobile games, Freemium, Pay to win, MMO, and the dreaded Xbox One! Join Kyle & Kyle for all that and more on this week’s episode!

Theme Music:
“RetroFuture Dirty” by Kevin MacLeod

Additional Music:
“Halo” by Martin O’Donnell & Michael Salvatori
from the Halo: Combat Evolved OST

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @eroe_vigoroso

Extra Lives – Ep. 9: No Gods or Kings

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives – Ep. 9: No Gods or Kings
Nov 302014
 

XLS Logo

Join Kyle & Kyle this week as we look back on one of the defining series of last generation with Bioshock (2007), Bioshock 2 (2010), and Bioshock: Infinite (2013)

Theme Music:
“RetroFuture Dirty” by Kevin MacLeod

Additional Music:
Beyond The Sea from the Bioshock OST
20th Century Blues from the Bioshock 2 OST
Welcome to Columbia & Everybody Wants To Rule The World
from the BioShock Infinite OST

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @eroe_vigoroso

Extra Lives – Ep. 8: Humble Bumble

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives – Ep. 8: Humble Bumble
Nov 162014
 

XLS Logo

Kyle & Kyle talk games from the Humble Indie Bundle 13 including Tower of Guns, Jazzpunk, Teleglitch, and more!

Theme Music:
“RetroFuture Dirty” by Kevin MacLeod

Additional Music:
“Competition” by Mike Mirabello
from the “Tower of Guns” Original Soundtrack

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @eroe_vigoroso

Extra Lives – Ep. 7: Victory Fanfare

 Extra Lives Show  Comments Off on Extra Lives – Ep. 7: Victory Fanfare
Nov 012014
 

XLS Logo

The clown show is back folks and it’s a Final Fantasy bonanza tonight! HA! Just kidding… It’s a JRPG extravaganza!!! Plus maybe some talk on Jamestown, Luftrausers, Risk of Rain, and Paranautical Activity.

Theme Music:
“RetroFuture Dirty” by Kevin MacLeod

Additional Music:
“Swing De Chocobo” by Nobuo Uematsu
from “Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy”