Jeff Hickman: Kickin' It at Gencon
Bioware Mythic Executive Producer, Jeff Hickman, is MMORPG.com's man on the floor at the 2010 Gencon in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jeff is keeping tabs on all that's happening at the annual convention and we've got his first blog report. Check it out and find out what's happening at GenCon!
Event Blog By Guest Writer on August 06, 2010
Well, here it is again; another year has passed and the time for Gencon is upon us.
I remember years ago (MANY years ago for some of you), when I was a kid playing D&D. I heard of this magical place where all the greatest role-play gamers went- a place where the greatest creators of fantasy lived - people like Gygax, Moore and others would gather to play their newest creations and stun onlookers with their gaming magic.
It was far away from where I grew up (in Spokane, Washington) and I always dreamed of going there. My gaming group would sometimes talk about how we were "going to get there next year", but most of those guys never did make it to that magical place. I am one of the lucky few who never fell away from role-play gaming, and who have been lucky enough to make a life out of making and playing RPGs. I am currently the Executive Producer at BioWare Mythic and am responsible for the ongoing operations of Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online. I get a chance every year to go there now, and while it has changed locations (it is in Indianapolis now) it still holds much of the magic that I always dreamed of.
Over the next several days, I have been given the privilege of sharing with all of you my thoughts and adventures at Gencon 2010. I hope it finds a place in your heart like it has in mine.
Today was short and sweet. My wife Raine and I flew in to Indianapolis in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. It was an especially cool year for me because it is the first time my wife has been to the Con (and lord is she excited). We got our badges and hit the show floor..... People everywhere... Stormtroopers, pirates, Drow, steam punk..... You name it, we saw it. The Con has always been a spectacle and this year did not disappoint.
We only had an hour or so at the show (before it closed today) so we both bought some cool new dice, and one new dragon sculpture, and headed out to meet our friends for dinner and a quick game.
We ended up playing Tunnels and Trolls (with Paul Barnett leading the way) until three in the morning with several good bottles of bourbon keeping us company. A solid, though short day, with several more to go. On the way back to the hotel at 3am, there were still gamers in the halls playing games. Awesome!
I have gone way past my allotted time and space, so I will sign off here and send another update tomorrow after another kick ass day at Gencon.
