Wednesday, August 22, 2012

I Am Not a Gamer-Thoughts on My First Gen Con

I am not a gamer.

Yes, I spent 80 bucks on a four-day pass for Gen Con Indy (the best four days in gaming!) this year (2012-the 45th anniversary). Yes, I was at the Indiana Convention Center all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday last weekend for said gaming convention (my first time!). That’s beside the point.

I didn’t go to Gen Con because I’m a gamer. I went to Gen Con because I’m a writer.

It turns out that there’s an entire writer’s track going on the whole time, with classes and workshops on various aspects of the art and craft of writing. I obviously did not know this, or I would have attended sooner. Having writing seminars at a gaming convention makes so much sense to me!

I went to Gen Con for writing, so obviously I attended no more than three writing sessions per day. I wouldn’t have been able to fully absorb all the information given had I attended more. And using the time outside of sessions to actually write would have been too taxing, so the only actual writing I did during the convention was taking notes (and drawing up one RPG {Role Playing Game} character sheet). Anything more would have been futile (I hope you can sense the humor in my logic here, or I’m going to looking like a terrible writer)!

I am not a gamer, so obviously I didn’t spend hours walking around the exhibit hall, browsing the vendors, eyeing unfamiliar games, and drooling over gorgeous costumes pieces that were for sale. I didn’t get coaxed into LARP-ing (Live Action Role Play) for the first time, and I certainly didn’t wear a costume while participating in said LARP. I didn’t spend two hours cracking up while listening to Mikey Mason (http://comedyrockstar.blogspot.com/) sing some ridiculously funny songs about gaming. I didn’t lose my table-top RPG gaming virginity at an uproariously hilarious and fun sci-fi QAGS (Quick A** Game System) RPG that several of my friends (including some that run a gaming podcast! http://www.theestablishedfacts.com/) threw together on Saturday night. And I most certainly did not buy my first set of dice (they weren’t a very pretty blue, either)!

Oh, wait… I did all those things. Maybe I’m a gamer after all!