Indianapolis - August 19-22, 2004

This year was a big year for GenCon with events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, a special preview event for Star Wars, and the usual jam-packed schedule of demos and tournaments. Indianapolis is still adjusting to GenCon since the annual event moved there last year, but the new location suits me fine. Indy is a great town with lots to do.

The event always has its share of odd moments, but I think nothing topped the rally for fictional presidential candidiate, Cthulhu. How this all I got started, I'm not sure, but Chaosium is fully behind it, since they are the producers of the RPG game and licensors of the CCG game that is based on H.P. Lovecraft's mythology centered around Cthulhu. I didn't have my camera with me when the rally was going on, but this guy managed to capture it on video. Why vote for the lesser evil, indeed.

Some of the best video games I checked out were MechAssault 2 and Tribes: Vengeance, but the Vampire: Bloodlines game is looking really sweet. The graphics are among the best I've seen and seeing how it is built on the HL2 engine, when Halflife 2 finally comes out, it's going to be an unstoppable behemoth game. I finally broke down and picked up Titans of Steel, a mecha turn-based game (an unabashed ripoff of BattleTech). I've put a little time on it, but it still needs a full workout before I make up my mind.

The costume contest Saturday provided some great entertainment as well. People spent the weekend showing off their costumes in the dealer hall until the actual event on Saturday night. From the Stormtrooper babe to Captain Jack Sparrow to the duct tape girl (doing a Leeloo outfit), this year topped last year, which was pretty lame with nothing but Sailor Moon outfits.

Of course, if you were holed up in the Sangamore Ballroom all weekend playing BattleTech, Dark Age, or whatever your addiction, you didn't see much of anything. My primary reason for going to GenCon every year is to attend the BattleTech seminar, check out the new video games, and get in a mini game or two. But there are a lot of games out there and it's always good to check out something new. I remember playing three CCGs (VS., Call of Cthulhu, Lunch Money), but I lost count of the miniature games I tried. Highlights include Warmachine (Privateer Press) and Warband (Black Orc Games).

Intro : GenCon 2004
Part 1: Classic BattleTech
Part 2: MechWarrior: Dark Age
Part 3: Armorcast
Part 4: MechAssault 2
Part 5: Warmachine