Gen Con Indy 2011

“The Best Four Days in Gaming” took place at Gen Con 2011 in Indianapolis on August 4th-7th.  I was able to attend and cover the con this year for Fist Full of Comics and Games.  Look beyond the jump to see my thoughts about this years convention

Over the last couple of years the city of Indianapolis has been expanding the Indiana Convention Center.  The expansion is complete.  The dealer hall was moved to the new section of the center.  The added space is going to help keep Gen Con in Indianapolis for many years to come.  Many of the seminars were still held in attached hotels which are connected by skywalks, but I expect some changes to that over the next couple of years.

This was the first year I was able to stay in Indy for the entire convention.  I live about an hour north of downtown Indianapolis so I usually drive downtown each day.  This year I decided to join the rest of the crew from the Vorpal Network and got a room at the Courtyard by Marriott.  The hotel was connected to the Indiana Convention Center by a series of skywalks.  There was a lot of walking between the hotel room and the convention hall.  It is definitely a workout each day.

The convention officially began on Thursday.  I took a short video of the convention hall opening.  It is quite a sight to see that many people being let into the dealer room.  With that many people from so many parts of the world in one place, the one thing that is inevitable is the sickness known as “con crud.”    I began to feel run down with a sore throat and sinus infection beginning of Friday night.  Even though I was starting to get run down physically I was still able to attend several seminars, game demos, and interviews.  It took several days following the convention to recover.  That is why I have taken a week to get the first of my posts up for your consumption.  I will have several more posts of the next few days.

In general, the convention was another success.  Games were played.  Fun was had.  Announcements were made.  Friendships rekindled.  That is the point of a gaming convention. I hope more of you will be able to be there next year.  I will give more specific coverage in the posts to come.