Gearing Up for Gencon
Hi all,
Just a quick post today to let you all know I’m still alive!
I’m getting totally geeked for GenCon. We’re less than 40 days, and this year could be awesome. Out of curiosity, who all is going? Also, if you’re going, did you sign up for one of my games? Let me know in the comments on either or both of these questions.
I’m thinking about some slight changes to the catalog description, and wondering if any of you are reading the blog these days. I’m curious if it’d be worth discussing those changes here.
Look for more posts soon!
Update on GenCon Bankruptcy - Letter from Peter
From The GenCon Community Forums:
Friends:
Today Gen Con is filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.
Essentially what happened is that we lost a lot of money this year running a licensed non-Gen Con event. We owe several companies money from this show and it’s going to take time to pay them off. To protect ourselves from the more aggressive companies we have been forced to seek protection from the courts.
While this is certainly an unfortunate development it will not impact our ability to operate Gen Con Indy, nor should it affect our licensed Gen Con events in the UK, Paris, and Australia.
The way a Chapter 11 works is that we negotiate a long-term payment plan with our creditors with the assistance of the US judicial system. The courts will closely oversee our business affairs to make sure we are running the company prudently and that we have a reasonable plan to pay everyone off. Which we do. The courts also protect us from aggressive creditors so that we can continue operating.
Gen Con LLC will get through this strong at the other end. Our fundamental revenue generating asset is our Indianapolis show, Gen Con Indy. This show is profitable enough to cover our direct costs, our overhead, and have some funds left over to pay off the debts from the licensed show. It will take some time, but this is one of those situations that the Chapter 11 filing was designed for, to help good companies get through a rough situation. Everyone will eventually get paid and business will return to normal. In the meantime, Gen Con Indy carries forward without interruption. Heck, if the airline companies can do it, why not us!
I’ve learned some hard lessons about the event business over the last few years. After trying to get Gen Con So Cal to work, and then losing money on this non-Gen Con event, I’ve learned how difficult it is to run a “big show” and make money. It’s a highly speculative affair where you’re never quite sure until the show’s over whether you made money or lost, mainly because you just don’t know how many people are going to come and for how long.
So, going forward our organization is going to focus on what we do best: managing Gen Con Indy, a healthy, vibrant show that has been growing nicely ever since moving to Indianapolis.
Here is a link to the press release we are issuing today describing this filing:
http://gencon.com/2008/corporate/news-pr/releases/2008/2008.02.15.Press.aspx
As you can probably guess, there’s not a lot I can say about this publicly, due to it being a sensitive legal matter and all. I’m traveling this coming week to New York Toy Fair, so my access with be spotty, but I’ll be sure and check in at least once a day to field questions best I can.
Peter D. Adkison
CEO, Gen Con LLC
Monday Morning in Iceland
Hey all!
Dang, it’s cold here. And icy.
I will admit it. I was a bit cranky last Wednesday. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the vodka. Either way, I’m over it. I think I’m ready to take this gamer contract thing seriously. The Philippine Gamer has done some excellent legwork on the question, looking at the social contract from the player perspective. While I’m going to take a day or to and work up my version of the DM’s commitments, why don’t you visit Philie G. and give him your thoughts on the social contract.
On another note, I don’t know what it is, but Yax seems to send his best stuff out on Sunday and Monday. This Sunday’s quiz was on gnomes “rarrr, I’m a monster” and hobbits halflings. I scored 60% - see if you can do better.
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At any rate, I’ve spent some time thinking this weekend about the whole GenCon situation. Something occurred to me: I’ve only been going to GenCon for six years. Yeah, I’ve been DMing for more than 20, but the Con is a fairly recent thing for me. So, why am I bothered by the hint that there might be trouble with GenCon? I feel like the experience has really enhanced my gaming, and my love for the game. It also broadened my horizons. For example:
- Prior to attending GenCon, I barely noticed the release of a new edition of D&D; I was a full year late to that dance. This time around, I was aware of the new edition announcement within hours, and have spent months researching it and planning for it.
- Prior to attending GenCon, I only ever played D&D with friends. Since then, I’ve found people to play D&D with that are, essentially, acquaintances that share a love of the game. To be sure, they almost always become friends, but this is a reversal - I used to have to introduce my friends to D&D, not be introduced to friends via D&D.
- GenCon provided me with the opportunity to explore other games. The short list of games I tried at GenCon that I never would have otherwise tried includes Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer, Heroscape, Axis & Allies, Vampire (tabletop and LARP), and even Are You a Werewolf.
- I’ve met people at GenCon who seemed larger than life in the past. Gary Gygax, for example. He’s just a regular dude. I’ve had a cigarette with him. Ed Greenwood. He’s a dirty old man. Not really. But he is funny as hell.
- I’ve learned a lot about my fellow gamers. Not all of it has been good; hygiene, for example. But overall, its been a positive experience, and I believe today that gamers are, on average, more polite than the common populace. They are also more annoying, on average.
So, what’s my point here? GenCon has been a fabulous experience for me. If you can wing it, you should go at least once. Your game will never be the same.
OOH! Before I forget. I put up an article with some ideas for traps to use in your D&D game. It’ll get buried soon with the GenCon posts, so check it out before you miss it!
GenCon Web Site Back Up
Here is the link to the press release.
Chapter 11 doesn’t mean they are going under for certain, like I said before. But it does make them rather vulnerable in some respects.
Someone on one of the links I sent you earlier made the point that Peter could reach into his back pocket and settle the Lucasfilm on his own. That may or may not be true, but the reason that you form an LLC in the first place is so that you don’t have to do that.
I guess we have, at this point, to have some faith in the man that gave us Magic as well as 3E D&D, and our courts.
I’m gonna be pissed if it winds up affecting this summer’s con, though.
GenCon Goes Bankrupt
NOT good news.
I discovered this, literally, 2 minutes after I finished my new Squidoo Lens on GenCon.
Friday, Peter announced that GenCon LLC is filing chapter 11 bankruptcy.
It’s chapter 11, which means restructuring, as opposed to going out of business. Still, it doesn’t bode well when it happens the same week that Lucasfilm sues GenCon for around a million bucks.
Another link.
And Another.
Gencon.com seems to be down today.
More updates (in the comments section) as they become available.
Friday Fantasy Fun - D&D Links to Finish the Work Week: February 8, 2008
I’ve got several things today that I’ve been meaning to send your way over the last several weeks, just haven’t taken the time to do so yet. So, here’s a brain dump for ya ‘all:
Just found this at StupidRanger.com, though it’s been there for a while. Funny stuff.
Amy over at Geek Parenting has some cool stuff if you’re a gamer with kids like me. I especially enjoy the Lil Geek of the week.
Last time I’ll mention Squidoo for a while, but I’m interested in what you think about my take on Kirk vs. Picard. Let me know how it looks, or what you think of the concept.
Kam (Can I call him “Kam”? I hope so) has some interesting thoughts on the 4E Death & Dying teaser. If you haven’t read Maiden of Pain, Kam’s FR novel, get over to his site and buy it from his Amazon link. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.
Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer is a good read, and an interesting perspective on the availability of D&D products in a different part of the world.
I’ve submitted my Events for GenCon. I won’t go into all of the details here, because there will be more to come as the months go on, but I’m going to run the first sessions of my Lenryn setting at Gencon. Assuming the registration goes through, I hope to be able to play with, or at least meet, as many of you as I can in person. If response is overwhelming, I may try to add some extra sessions, or some ad-hoc sessions. We’ll see as time goes on.
It’s looking like there will not be a Campaign Diary update this afternoon. I may try to get one up over the weekend, but if not, it will be Monday.
Have a good weekend Y’all!
The Superbowl of D&D
It’s no coincidence that tickets went on sale for Gencon yesterday.
Now, I’m not one for conspiracy theories. For example, I think that “media bias” has little do do with conspiracy, or from people at the top with specific agendas trying to force those things on the common person. I think it is more the result of an “old boy’s club” sort of thing, where people in media tend to hire people like themselves, and so you wind up with something of a common approach to things like politics.
Anyways, now that I’ve alienated and/or bored half of my readers, let’s get back to Gencon.
You see, I’m guessing that yesterday was something big in the world of sports. I know because I tried to order some wings for carry out at about 6:30, and the order taker just laughed at me.
I’ve made it known before that I’m not big into sports. I don’t have anything against sports, or sports fans. It’s just not what I’m into. Heck, I had a blast at last year’s Superbowl party. But I was more excited about registration opening up for Gencon than I was for this big football game. I’ve been planning, for days, to log in at exactly 3 PM EST, and buy my badge, and get the info I’d need to reserve my hotel room. By 3:05, I’d accomplished my mission.
So, back to conspiracy. I think it’s no accident that badges for the Superbowl of D&D went on sale the same day that the NFL played their big game thingy. Maybe Peter Atkinson is trying to capitalize on the hype, or to offer the portion of gaming geeks who aren’t that into sports something to do on Superbowl Sunday. Maybe the all-powerful moneybags in the NFL thought that they could strong-arm Gencon into opening registration on Superbowl Sunday so that their fan base would miss out, and therefore not switch interests from sports to D&D.
Maybe both Superbowl and Gencon registration were planned for the same day in order to detract from Lois Lane’s birthday. Just maybe, Lex Luthor is behind this.
Have a good one, all y’all. Look for a surprise on the blog later this evening.
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