Gen Con 2009: Recap and additional information

by Steve Ragan - Aug 17 2009, 15:00

Last week, from Thursday until Sunday, The Tech Herald spent time with the gamers attending Gen Con 2009. It was a pleasure to meet some of the attendees this year, and we look forward to Gen Con 2010. Here is our recap of the weekend, and a round of up related news and images.

The tagline for Gen Con is “the best four days in gaming”. It’s true, if you can name the type of game, either console, card, or table based, you will find it here. However, after talking to the attendees, we’ve learned that there is more to Gen Con than games. 

Gen Con is where people who share a common passion can meet for the first time and act as if they have known one another all their life. They share gaming tips, tricks, and strategy. They talk about life in general and current events, about family, and more. The typical stereotype of a gamer, as someone that hides from human interaction and lives in a dark dungeon of a basement, is missing. While some people “looked the part” a simple conversation with them removed the stereotype completely.

If you were to break down the attendees at Gen Con that we met, there are table gamers who use miniaturized figures to play, while other table gamers will use pen and paper. There are gamers who use cards and others who would rather bypass all of that and hold PS3 or 360 controllers. Moreover, some revel in doing all of the above.

While at the show, we also noticed that Gen Con was a family event. There were countless moms and dads, passing on their passion for gaming to their children, many of whom were just as interested in the show as their parents. For the family where only some of the members were gamers, there were other events to entertain.

There was never a lack of things to do either. Over the weekend, well over 6,000 events were scheduled to be held. These events were a mix of things, from tournaments to simple open games where people could play. These events were outside of the demos and other events in the expo area where games were aplenty, and everyone was welcome if there was room at the table.

The images below are a mix of things to round out the Gen Con coverage from last weekend. Some of the images were used in the updates, others were held until now. The images in third collection are from Dwarven Forge, LLC. We spent some time learning the process, and there is a lot that goes into them. For example, the models are all sculpted and painted by hand, and for the quality and detail, worth the price.

Overall, the weekend at Gen Con was a good one. It can be safely assumed that good portions of the gamers still in Indianapolis are happy to be getting some sleep. Some of those we spoke to said they planned to game first and sleep later. Next year, they plan to do it all again, and we’ll be there to watch.

The Tech Herald's coverage is here and here.

For some further reading, the following links offer additional insight and coverage for Gen Con 2009. In addition, we have some video for you as well.

The Indianapolis Star ran blog coverage. You can view Erica Smith’s coverage here, and Amanda Hamon's coverage here.

WISH TV had some Day 1 video coverage, which offers a good deal of information for those not familiar with Gen Con. We have embedded the footage below.

 

One of the things about Gen Con that is so important for Indianapolis, is the revenue generated for the city. As the Gen Con contract has been extended until 2015, the city can expect $20 to $30 million annually from this single event. While the money is important, local business owners actually enjoy the gamers themselves. You really cannot find a friendlier bunch.

The following video is from OboeCop, and shows a pickup game of BattleTech.

The next video, again from OboeCop, shows the crowds on Day 1.

 

The Clan of the Grey Wolf had some interesting video as well. You can check those out on their YouTube page.

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