Andrew Seiple's Blog: Transmissions From the Teslaverse - Posts Tagged "gencon"

Good afternoon. My name is Andrew Seiple. If you're reading this blog for the first time, and seeing this now, it's likely that you either met me at the January 2016 book signing, or followed the link in the back of my e-book. However the circumstances, thank you and welcome!

This is an informal blog, where I put my thoughts on literary matters, my projects, and occasionally roleplaying games. I post about twice a week, and tend to ramble.

My current project is called "Tales from the Teslaverse." It's my attempt at building a superheroic universe book by book. I've spent a good amount of time mapping out characters, tropes, and setting, and now I'm revealing it bit by bit like the horrible tease I am.

I'm going to bounce around between protagonist and antagonist viewpoints for much of it. It'll take multiple series and standalone books to fully map out, and if I do my job right they should all be entertaining. You may already be acquainted with Doctor Dire from her novel Dire:Born, or a few other places around the internet. She's got a sequel coming, and another after that to make her first trilogy. After that you'll start seeing the stories of more heroes and villains, and a few types who are solid shades of gray.

The next Dire book, (working title Dire:Seed) is currently 46% written. Expect to see it in a few months, and if you've signed up for my nifty mailing list, you'll be among the first to know when it's available. :D

Aside from the Teslaverse Tales, I'm also working on a gritty fantasy book that may turn into a series if the muse permits, and writing stories for some small freelance RPG projects. One of them should get a Gencon Release this year, if all goes well!

At any rate, I hope that you enjoy my work, and feel free to visit this blog anytime. I aim to keep this place friendly and informal, so do as you will so long as you're cool to others. If you have questions or issues just comment here or message me through Goodreads, and I'll respond as I can. Thank you and good night.

So I'm writing a dime novel! Sort of. It's actually the narrative for an adventure game booklet. Not quite a novella, but bigger than a short story.

A friend of mine, the head of Mindworm Games, is putting the final touches of his Western RPG action game together. It's a labor of love, and gritty goodness. Also a lot of swearing. Sweet Jesus, the vulgarity.

Westerns aren't my usual style, but he's hit me up for some freelancing and I'm honored to be a part of it. We're finalizing the details now, and I'm typing like a madman to get things done in a few weeks so that we have the maximum time and editing passes available. Fortunately, it's not a long project. Dime novels are short, yo.

If all goes to plan, then come August (And Gencon), my work will be out and published by someone other than me. That'll make me a published author, and it'll be my first published venture into the world of RPG's...

I'll be at Gencon, helping him launch his game. It's going to rock! My friend is the sort who puts 100% into every damn thing he does. I'm honored to be a part of this, and I'm honored that he came to me, for this part of the freelance work.

Finishing up some final work on the dime novel today, after tag-teaming it with the creator of Exiles.

No matter how good you get at self-publishing, you're never too good to work with a skilled editor. Nobody gets here alone, or finishes the journey alone.

Remember that, no matter how big you get.

Next stop for me on the Exiles train? Gencon! More news as that develops.

Much to do, much to do! I've chosen a path that means my idle time must be parceled out carefully. No summer break here!

Well, except for Origins. And Gencon. But hell, I've got legitimate career-type business in both of those. At Origins I want to try to talk to the people running the author's alley and see how I can get in next year, and maybe some following years. At Gencon I'm gonna help launch the RPG that I had some small hand in, and support my friends. Maybe even run a few sessions, which means I'll need to digest the rules...

...all while writing DIRE:TIME which is about thirty percent done, but is still going to tie up most of my June evenings. Also off-and-on July and August evenings as betas and editors help me make it awesome and refine it properly.

On the plus side, the cover art is coming along nicely. I should have a rough to show you all in a few weeks or less.

In other news, the book sale went well. However, I didn't get the mailing list signup rush that I expected, so part 2 of "In the Fast Lane" is on the backburner until I get to a solid stopping point with DIRE:TIME.

The trick with maintaining this pace is simple, for me: Work hard/play hard. When I'm not working, I'm playing around with video games, tabletop RPG sessions with friends, playing with my daughter, hanging out with my wife, and various amusements. This is necessary to stay sane. It also lets me tolerate and do my day job... I've tried doing nothing but work. Good lord is it rough, and quality suffers on all sides.

Eventually the day job won't be an issue. Gods willing, by then the income from writing will be enough that I can make the Teslaverse and various minor projects my main job, and be much happier for it. Not sure how many years it'll take to get to that point, but until then, I'll always be busy. All the time.

I can live with this. Happy summer, folks! See you next week.

First draft of the third Dire book is roughly 90% complete. I just have a few more chapters to go...

Unfortunately, this does mean that we won't see a July release for this one. Even feeding it to my editor piecemeal, chapter by chapter, it's still going to take time for her to work her magic.

And that's not even counting the beta readers... no, this is going to be an August release, and probably not before Gencon.

Sorry guys, I was trying to get it to you as early as possible, but real life's a pain at times. Hang in there, and we'll wrap up Dire's first trilogy with a bang!

In other news, it looks like I won't be stuck working the booth all the time I'm at Gencon. But if you'd like to know when I'm around, feel free to stop by the Mindworm Games booth and ask for me by name. The owner will be happy to tell you when I'm available, and happier to tell you all about Exiles, the RPG...

Ah, Gencon. There's nothing quite like it!

Gencon is the big summer convention in my neck of the woods. Like Origins, it's a gaming convention, but it is bigger and full of much more content than Origins.

Maybe too big, but I'll get to that later on in this post.

Gencon is pretty much North America's premiere industry show for the Roleplaying Game industry, and for no small amount of board game companies as well. Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Mayfair, and many others strive to unveil new products at Gencon, announce major initiatives there, and go to wave the flag among the teeming hordes of gamer geeks that descend upon Indianapolis every summer to party like they rolled a critical ninety-nine.

I'm not exaggerating about the teeming hordes. The con's gotten huge over the years. Something like sixty thousand people attended last year, filling up the downtown hotels, pumping money into the economy hand over fist, and filling the streets around the convention center with a sea of happy faces. And therein lies the problem...

Gencon's a little too successful.

As big as Indy's downtown is, it's struggling to cope with the influx of people. Hotel rooms sell out years in advance, at inflated prices that people pay without batting an eye because they're worth it. The convention's online room lottery system is a joke that hasn't made it through a single opening day without crashing. And sweet Jesus, the crowds.

It's not undoable, mind you. Even crowded, it's still an awesome experience. But there's a lot of little tricks that you need to learn if you want to do Gencon without bleeding money or getting yourself in a pickle. Here, let me share some tips that I've learned over a decade or so of journeying to the big G.

LOGISTICS

1. Buy your badge ahead of time and get it mailed to you. This will save you having to stand in the will-call lines to pick it up later. Those lines get pretty big.

2. Downtown lodging is best but costly, and you'll need roommates to defray them. The advantage of being able to walk back and forth from the con to your room cannot be understated.

3. Hotels out near the beltway are much cheaper, but will require transportation back and forth. They've tried shuttles before with hit or miss effects, so I don't know if they'll do that again. So either plan to drive yourself or get an Uber or a bus or something.

5. Parking is a pain. A lot of Downtown Indy is devoted to parking, and most of it fills up stupid quick when Gencon starts rolling. Don't expect to get a close parking spot, and if you do, seriously consider leaving your car there through the convention. If you move it you'll probably lose the spot. Also expect to pay a lot for parking, $20-$40 per day at minimum depending on where you go.

6. Driving is also a pain. Indy is crowded even without Gencon. The streets aren't horrible, but August is right in the middle of roadwork season, so usually there's at least one or two locations shut down. Try to avoid driving as much as possible. Most of what you want is within walking distance, or Uber distance, or even by a bus if need be.

7. Go to Indy on Wednesday if you can. Assuming you can handle the expense, book your hotels for Wednesday night too, and get up bright and early on Thursday. Sure, the con proper doesn't start until Thursday, but there's actually a lot of fun stuff going on Wednesday, and even if it's not to your liking then you can always take in a zoo or a museum or a show. Turns out there's a lot of stuff to do in downtown Indy.

8. Most of Downtown Indy's pretty safe during Gencon, but as always, common sense rules for big cities apply. Travel in groups, or stay within sight of passers-by when possible, keep your wallet and valuables in a safe location, and don't loan anybody your phone unless you know them. Lots of bars around the convention center, so be prepared to give people a little leeway if they're drunk. Oh, and you'll run into homeless people. Indy's got a forgiving policy towards the homeless, so you'll usually see at least one person panhandling every couple of blocks. Don't be afraid of them, be polite and pleasant if they talk to you, and if you don't want to give them money tell them "sorry, I can't." By the city rules, they get one attempt to ask, and then they have to back off if you refuse.

At the same time, it's up to you if you want to spare a buck or two. I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life. And if you need directions to a landmark, these guys usually know the streets pretty well; a couple dollars worth of a tip is usually appreciated when they help you get un-lost.

9. Eating during Gencon isn't too hard, actually. For those on the cheap end, the Circle Center mall's just across the way, and the food court there is both inexpensive and fast. Going up the budget scale a bit, the convention center food isn't horrible, and it's right there by your events. There are lines, so try to go during off hours. Head out of the convention center after ten AM or so and you'll find an entire street worth of food trucks over in one corner of Downtown. Lots of good stuff, but again, plan to deal with lines and a bit of a wait. For those who have more time and a bit of a budget, there are lots of good sit-down restaurants throughout Downtown. Some of them are in the hotel complexes too, don't forget. If there's one weakness in the area I've found it's that there aren't too many good dedicated breakfast places, but any one of a myriad of Starbucks shops will be happy to throw something your way there.

On the high end, you've got solid four-star experiences like Fogo De Chao and the high-quality brewhouse and pub food goodness that is a visit to Scotty's. The Ram's also a favorite place, with generous portions and seriously good beer. Just look around, and try different things.

10. Shower. Sweet Jesus, love of god, SHOWER. It's the midwest in August, so it'll be hot, sticky, and you'll be walking all over creation to get to your events. One or two showers a day, minimum, please. Even if you're indoors most of the time there will be crowds, and it will get warm. Everyone will appreciate it, trust me on that.

THE CONVENTION ITSELF

1. You can try to register for the events you want in advance, but this is tricky with the more popular games. Buy about $12 of generic tokens per day you plan to be there, and use them to get into interesting things. True, that means that you may not get into some of the events if everyone who has a ticket shows up, but... well, 75% of the time, when I try to get into an event with generics, it usually works. And if it doesn't, then I'm out nothing but time. Before you leave the convention you can get unused tickets converted back into convention credit for next year, which'll knock dollars off your badge or events, so as long as you're planning to come back then you're not really out anything.

2. The exhibit hall is big. Stupid big, and stupid crowded. Don't plan to see it all in one trip, unless you've got strong legs. Also realize that anything you buy in there, you'll be carrying until you get a chance to get it back to your room or car or wherever. Plan your purchases. Plan your trips to drop stuff off. Don't be the guy hauling around a hundred and twenty pounds of books and games, and hating life. Or worse, the guy taking up the whole aisle with his backpack and bags or carryalls or whatever.

3. Stuff gets moved. Tables get shifted. Events get cancelled. Try to show up early for your planned events, because sometimes you'll have to go through unexpected hoops to get to them, or the GM will be a no-show, and you'll have to fall back to your secondary planned event.

4. Be cool. Everyone's there to have fun, so relax. You're on vacation! The more fun you're having, the more fun people around you will have.

5. Read the convention book, and build yourself a schedule. Then go through it again, and have fallback plans for most major timeslots. Then when you try to implement the schedule, expect to chuck most of it out the window. Don't forget to allow yourself time to eat and tour the exhibit hall, and get from place to place. Maybe some time in there to rest, too.

6. The closer you get to the center of the convention hall, the grosser and more crowded the bathrooms will be. If you can hold it, hop across one of the skyways to one of the downtown hotels. Their bathrooms are much cleaner, and much less crowded.

7. Pickup games are a thing! If you see some people playing something interesting in one of the lounges or in one of the hotel sitting areas, ask to join in! Odds are good they'll be happy for another player.

8. (This one might not apply to some of you) People are there to game, and usually not to flirt. Assume that everyone you meet has a boyfriend, girlfriend, or a spouse. Very few people go to Gencon looking specifically to hook-up. Now, that might not apply so much in the bars late at night or the nightclubs, but assume that anyone wearing a con badge probably ain't into you. If you find an exception, cool. Have fun.

9. Cosplay is both a frequent sight and freaking awesome. Always ask before you take pictures, and try to stand in a way that doesn't block the surrounding traffic. Be polite to all cosplayers, and if you see someone harassing them, go tell security. There's a zero-tolerance policy for that sort of thing.

10. Nothing will go exactly to plan. Maybe you'll find a game is more awesome than you thought, and shift plans to hit two more sessions of it. Maybe you'll try a demo of a board game, get hooked, and two hours will be gone before you know it. Maybe you end up with the bargain of a lifetime from the auction, and you have to spend a couple of hours getting it secured. Maybe a friend says "Hey, let's go have dinner!" and you miss a game to go have dinner at a place you've never been, with a friend you don't see often enough.

What I'm trying to say, is that you won't be able to do everything you want to do, but if you stay flexible and willing to try new things, then you'll probably have a good convention. Go in, have fun, relax and enjoy one of the best North American gaming conventions like the thousands of people all around you who are doing the same thing. Make friends, try stuff you wouldn't at home, and laugh long and loud when things are awesome.

Enjoy Gencon, friends. That's what it's there for.

Gencon Memories, Part I

I remember it pretty well. Summer of 2003, a hot August in Indianapolis. First time I'd been in the city, and I was here for one reason and one reason alone; Gencon had moved to Indianapolis, and I wanted to see it for myself.

They called it the Mecca of RPG conventions... not least because back in Wisconsin, it used to be held in a place called the Mecca convention center. The acronym didn't mean the same thing but the saying stuck; it was something you had to see at least once in your life.

Hitherto, Milwaukee had always been out of my reach. Never had the money before, or the time to trek halfway across the country. Not at the same time. But here? Two hours from Dayton? Yeah, I could do that.

The Indianapolis convention center was huge. It put the one in Columbus to shame, and positively dwarfed the one in Dayton. It's only expanded since then, but at the time it had ample room for the events. And the dealer's hall was a decent size, comparable to the one at my old favorite gaming con, Origins. Again, this is something that expanded over the years, the dealer hall now could probably engulf the entire gaming area of the first Indy Gencon and have room left over for a few anime rooms. But at the time it seemed impressive.

That first year? Lots of good gaming, lots of shopping. I didn't know many locals yet, and most of my gaming friends had declined to join me for the trip, so I was on my own and felt it. Stranger in a Strange Land, with apologies to Heinlein.

I wasn't the only stranger. There was a football game going on at the same time, and we had face-painted fans staring at us, with that wrinkled eye look that said their 'weirdo radar' had been triggered. But whatever, we didn't care about stares from randos. Our cosplayers cosplayed, the rest of us slung dice or shuffled cards, and life was good.

Indy really didn't know what to make of us. They'd learn. Oh yeah, they'd learn.

I went home satisfied, resolving to return next year. Seemed like a good supplement to my summer cons, a season that started with Origins and would now end with Gencon.

I had no idea just how much Gencon would grow, shed of its old Milwaukee shell and transplanted to spacious Indy...

Cardhalla. That was the name of the thing. Just some random thing that con staff had come up with.

It was pretty much a roped off area, five foot by ten or so. And there were stacks upon stacks of old collectible card game cards lying around, donations from people who didn't want them, factory excess stock, or games long dead and of no use to anyone.

The instructions were simple. Come in and build. And build the Gencon attendees DID. They folded, stacked, and crimped cards, making towers and castles and buildings and dragons and all sorts of structures, from cards that would never see play.

They called it Cardhalla.

And it had a further purpose, than just being awesome.

On Saturday night, we came with change in our pockets. The rules here were simple.

You threw change, and knocked down the towers, and at the end of it all coins inside the area went to charity.

And as fascinating and awesome as it had been to see those towers rise, it was satisfying as hell to pitch quarters or handfuls of dimes and blow them away, watch them crumble under the bombardment.

Cardhalla's still around today. It's about four times the original size. And the crowd on ending night is usually big enough that I don't attend anymore. But oh, it's still a sight, and one any first-time Gencon goer should experience in its entirety.

It's rare that you get an event that satisfies both creators and destroyers. Cardhalla manages.

Geeze, time got away from me...

That's fine. Packing's done, and we're prepped for tomorrow. Through an unlikely series of events I secured a room for the Tuesday before Gencon this year, and I'm spending the day with my family in Indy, taking my daughter to the Children's museum, and treating them to a Brazilian steakhouse dinner.

Now where was I?

Indianapolis was a good fit for Gencon. The downtown core around the convention center was packed full of hotels, restaurants, and bars, and as I went back again and again over the years I watched the numbers grow.

I laughed to see things the second year around, because the local businesses realized "Hey waitaminute, these weirdos have money!" Soon restaurants started having theme menus, calling Reubens things like "The Dark Wizard," or showing scifi movies on the nearby TV screens. Various companies donated banners to hang over their favorite eateries... to this day, Privateer Press is pretty much an unofficial sponsor of the Ram brewery while Gencon's going on.

The cops love us. We come to game and don't cause trouble. Eventually the other events in Indy in August started scheduling around Gencon, either avoiding it because of the lack of space, or catering to it, with concerts, art shows, even plays. We boost the local economy by millions, whenever we go.

It's been good there... not all fun times, mind. The last few years' bouts of political stupidity caused a lot of ire. And Gencon, thankfully, stood up for its diverse attendees. That show of solidarity secured my loyalty. I may not know how long the con will remain in Indiana, but I will not hesitate to attend whenever I can.

And now here we are, at Gencon's fiftieth anniversary. Badges are sold out, and so are the city's hotels. I have no schedule, I have no plan, I just have a few ambitions and minor goals.

And yeah, I'm bringing my laptop. Got lots of writing to do. No idea if I'll have time to use it, but we'll see.

Be well, friends. I'll let you know how awesome it was when I return.

Back from Gencon. Would've checked in earlier, but it's been a hectic week.

Long story short? It was glorious.

Ah well, back to writing. Got some goodies for my mailing list that I have to finish, before I can move on to the heavy stuff.