Gen Con 2012 is coming up on the horizon and we have big things in store for that weekend! In addition to our annual tournament, we will be having two panels (times and locations will be posted once final approval is made by the convention organizers). If you are planning on going to Gen Con 2012 however, now is the time that you need to plan for it! Take it from someone who has worked the convention circuit for a living: The sooner you make your plans not only makes the trip cheaper (flights, hotel and badges are all available at reduced cost when made well in advance), but more enjoyable since you can get your badge in the mail (avoiding a 3+ hour line) and you have a better shot at getting a hotel closer to the convention center.
Gen Con has ACTION...
One thing that I’ve been seeing though that bothers me a bit is how many people have been making the decision to go or not based on what format we use, rules changes we adopt, allowing proxies, creating virtual cards, etc… To me, this is missing the point of Gen Con entirely. For four days, the entire downtown of Indianapolis is taken over by gamers, the environment is essentially spring break for gamers, and the hang-up for going is one event?
I’m writing this article to break it down for people who have never gone before or those who have always gone to play a live game with prizes worth vying for, and I have a message for you: there’s so much more to Gen Con than one event. Heck, there’s more than what goes on at the con itself!
...POLITICAL INTRIGUE...
Take last year for instance. Several of us started to take up Bandai’s Resident Evil Deck Building game. They were running events for about $3 almost hourly and several Retro Z players actually qualified for and played in the World Championships for that game. Some of us also got to take a sneak peak at their Star Trek game and Cryptozoic’s Walking Dead Board Game. Wizards of the Coast had their usual scavenger hunt with giant size replicas of in-game creatures scattered about the con.
The real fun is outside the con, with numerous parties and events going on in the downtown area. All are open and cater to gamers (of a certain age). Every night, there were at least three different groups of Retro Z players enjoying different aspects of the nightlife until well past 4 A.M. What I’m saying is that Gen Con is about more than just the tournament.
...and ROMANCE!
If you want to come out and have a good time with people who share the same interests, than Gen Con is the place for you. If all you care about is winning the event, then please stay home. We by no means hold the monopoly on DBZ events, and anyone is welcome to schedule their own events at Gen Con if you want an event with GT cards or played with different rules or to be completely proxy free. Likewise, you can bring those decks and would likely find someone else who has brought the same. The name of the game is having a fun, safe, time with the community at one of the only places that we can all gather in number. I wouldn’t give that up because I can’t play with the Super 17 Saga, would you?
just wait, blue yamcha triple victory is taking it this year (enegy,ball, carpet…beware)
I will personally be performing some enegy attacks.
For those of you who haven’t gotten to experience Gen-Con its an experience in itself.
Within walking distance of the convention center is: a great sushi restaurant, Dave and Busters, Steak and Shake ( home of Mr Pibb Challenge ) a bar which brews its own beer, which made me a very happy person.
Another location which creates a good story every year is The Classy Chassy.
So regardless of how well or horrible you do in an event don’t worry about it, because there are always those players who play for fun and have fun doing it regardless if they are X-Y or 0-X in an event.
In closing words don’t let jdicarlo buy you an amazon for 10 minutes….she will try to give you whiplash.
This year, we should all get tattoos that say “BroZ”!
I would be the first person up for that tattoo idea. Get the “Z” logo as a background piece and incorporate Bro in front of it