So I figured I'd take arenson9's suggestions and make a GenCon thread. This is for everyone who plans on attending/voulenteering, exciting news about the event, and a place for afterwards to show pictures. I know GenCon is in august but as finals approach a close its all I can think about! 
I'm a local and will be working with >G, along with my boyfriend Nick, during GenCon. We're usually pretty open to do whatever, but I know gaming is at the top of the list.
Also local, but we're likely having friends staying with us during the con, so I don't know what my availability will be. Definitely hope to be able to do more than just hit the Wed dinner, but won't know until we get closer.
Like, probably Wed of the con. 
Same here with the above local and working with >G at GenCon. Excited for second year and to be helping out yet again.
Very much not local. But I'll be there!
You're not as unlocal as me! ;)
I would love to be there, but sadly you'll just have to pretend I am. Pretend I'm being cool, right?
I'm a local and will be around.
We have a guest coming in from Houston and I expect to have a lot of both local and non-local people I want to catch up with (including you guys!), so I'm not sure if that's going to translate into frantically running out of time or not. I suspect that any hours that aren't otherwise accounted for will find me hanging out at the GtG booth. Spouse and I will be attending a wedding Sat night.
I do very much like the idea of having some sort of a warmup event on Wed night that we can invite the GtG to for a relatively low-key get-together with fans, but as Brock said, Arsenal's demise makes that a bit more challenging.
I'll be there. I'm coming up from Bloomington, and I do know people in town, but I expect to be around a bunch.
I will be there on Saturday and Sunday, running demos of my own game!
I'll be there starting some time on Wednesday, presumably with much time spent hanging out at the >G booth. I'm totally up for hanging out and games whenever they're going down.
Not local, but I'm hoping to be there Saturday and Sunday. My Wraith costume wont fit me this year unfortunately, but I'll probably end up at the >G booth more than I planned (as usual - it's just too fun to stay away). :) I'm looking forward to seeing folks!
Ohhh! I want to see! Can I come see before convention hours start? I'll be sidekicking again fulltime at the >G booth
I will hopefully be there. I was recently offered a paid position on a film set in Louisville that may overlap with Gen Con. If I am accepted onto the set and it overlaps with Gen Con, I will not be able to attend. Best case scenario, I can do both. I'll let the important parties know once I have a final answer.
As the most important party, of course, would you like me to have a word with your employer?
Just remember to wear the pinstripes and bring your Violin.
"Look here see, you're going to let my well dressed friend over there come to Gen-Con or the cement they fit you for won't be on Hollywood Blvd."
If you get the position, allow me to offer a few pieces of advice (though you may not need it)
C-47's. If someone asks you to get them C-47's, they mean clothes pins. If its your first time on a set, someone will do this to you, and usually in front of all the electricians and gaffers to have a good laugh.
Even if its not your job, carry 2 rolls of gaff tape with you at all times. One black and one orange or green or something. Someone at somepoint will be very glad you did.
Be nice to the sound guy. No one else will be.
I do have an evening game (7pm) on Saturday, if you're interested. But, I'll also be around the dealer hall and such in between sessions, and I plan on stopping by the >G booth at least once. If the book is printed by that point–my publisher has promised in time for Origins, but he's going through a lot of life-stress right now–I had planned on dropping off a copy for the >G crew.
GenCon event numbers are: RPG1454306, and RPG1454309 through 312. The Saturday night game is RPG 1454312.
@Foote:
1) Don't worry, I'm well aware of the (in my opinion) foolish "proper" name for clothespins. I've been on a few sets before. I was just on one Monday!
2) Way ahead of you.
3) Do you know the average height of a sound technician? No one does--they never stand up for themselves. (BAM! A joke only funny to filmmakers!)
Thanks for advice, though. You have a demo reel I can take a look at just out of curiosity?
My wife and I are far away but are coming to Gen Con. We'll be there Wednesday if anyone wants to Sentinel up. I am not working for GtG though... too much fun stuff to do :)
Unfortunately, if I can come (too early to tell), it will only be on Sunday. If I do manage to make it, my goal will be to have Foote show me how to play GSf without knowing it's me. Any tips?
Come find me. I'll make sure it happens.
Fantastic! From how far away?
Get there early while I still have a voice haha. Please make this happen.
I'm pretty sure we can make it happen, if Pydro shows up early enough and you're there when he does. 
And I'll be the bald guy that looks like an Imprisoned Rogue out of costume. I'll also have a name tag with my real name and "Rabit".
I'll be there with Kevin and John from Houston, Maniacally Gloating at as many heroes as can be done in four days.
Shiny! Looking forward to seeing you guys, again. 
Looking forward to hanging out with you guys again. Take better care of your voice this year. 
My carry on will be entirely filled with cough drops.
Same. I really learned my lesson at PAX.
It's amazing how much of a difference they make...
The cough drops allow you to get through the event, but don't fool yourself into thinking that you're not still hurting your throat.
Agreed.
Drink lots of water (preferably warm, even though it's disgusting), breathe in steam as often as you can (the shower works well for this), don't shout, and don't whisper. And rest your voice as much as you can. Avoid the "numbing" throat sweets like the plague, since you'll do far more damage if you don't realise how much your voice hurts, like injecting anaesthetic into a broken ankle and then walking on it. Alcohol, spicy foods, and (for some people) dairy products are also probably best avoided if you have a sore throat, but that's probably asking too much at a convention, right?
As a singer I'm mad paranoid about losing my voice or doing permanent damage to it - my choir's been raising money for a charity for vocal injuries for the last two years so we've learned a lot about vocal health. Risking losing your voice long-term just isn't worth it.
Not shouting, unfortunately, is nearly impossible when demoing in a large hall
Anyone who was in the GTG booth at the end of PAX East this year can tell you just how much voice I had left by the time I had to do the shoutiest auction I'd ever run.
Spoiler alert: not much.
Then learn to project, and engage muscles in the back, neck and head to support the sound and make it louder without the vocal fold-damaging turbulence caused by shouting. When you shout you usually make yourself more indistinct anyway.
My favourite trick is to imagine I'm creating a heavy bag of groceries in each hand, using the appropriate back and shoulder muscles (you can also try putting your hands in a prayer position and pushing them together to "feel" your back muscles working). It's amazing what difference things like that make to your volume - it's how opera singers can project over a full orchestra and/or choir without a microphone.
Another thing to consider is that if it's loud enough that you have to shout, you're also damaging your hearing at the same time if you're there for any length of time.
Not a local, but I'll be there for the full run of the convention. I'd love to volunteer for >G! Is there an official sign-up?
I believe it involves sending Paul a message at Paul@GreaterThanGames.com.
Mind you, I have no idea if they still need folks - that's just my understanding of the process.
Any chance I could convince someone that is planning on going to get and send me a copy of any promos they have there for SotM and GSF? I already know I can't attend this. If they were at Origins I could've done that but they've already said they won't be going.
Edit: you can PM me if you are able to do this.
Who is in-charge of taking photos and posting them in here?
I'll take a camera and inevitably forget to take any pictures.
This.
Let me rephrase it then: who is in-charge of bringing a camera and forgetting to take pictures?
Wasn’t there something for volunteers tonight? How did it go? Where are the pics?
I brought a camera and then forgot to take pictures tonight, at the volunteer dinner and games afterwards. Who's in charge of that tomorrow?
The volunteer dinner was pretty low key, though well attended and lots of fun. We were at the Rock Bottom Brewery and there must have been about 30 people there. I didn't even manage to say hello to everyone. Paul handed out exhibitor badges. Craig came around to each of the tables to check in with the volunteers and make sure everyone knew what was going on. There is a meetup planned tomorrow morning before the show opens where volunteers will get their t-shirts and Kevin and Luther will be showing people how to play/demo Sentinel Tactics.
I'm not working at the booth during the con itself, but helped a bit with setup on Tuesday. The booth is 20 feet by 40 feet. A storage room has been formed on one end using shelves. Black fabric is draped around the outside of the shelves and then banners are draped over the fabric announcing Sentinels, GSF, Tactics, Sidekick, and the coming digital version of Sentinels. There are also various price lists, including a few games that GtGs sells on behalf of other publishers. In front of one side of the storage room two long, tall trunks form an ordering counter that holds two cash registers. The storage room is absolutely packed with boxes, about eight feet high. On Tuesday my contribution to setup was helping Christopher hang the fabric and the banners around the shelves to form the storage room. While Christopher perched on top of the shelves, I brought him the fabric and banners. He then used a staple gun to put everything in place. During that time Paul, Adam, and Matt were unloading boxes and organizing them on the shelves. It took a few hours to do all that. They had mostly completed putting together the shelves before I arrived.
The other 2/3rds or so of the booth has ten tables crammed on it. That part of the booth is along an aisle on the long side and then the end abuts the back aisle of the exhibit center, so there is lots of room for people to line up and/or watch over the games in progress, as need be.
I've managed to get three games of Tactics in the last two days. The convention hasn't even officially started and I'm already going brain dead from the overload of things to do and people to see.
I… got sick and am staying at home today. 
I did take a couple picks. I was at the table with the Team Fancy, Adam, and Paul. We did have a good time. Afterwards, I was already feeling pretty bad so I headed home.
I hope everyone has a great con - and that I'm doing better quickly enough to make it back before it wraps.
Can someone PLEASE pick up a copy of the Super Scientific Tachyon for me? I NEED IT.
As do I. I will even walk the 3 blocks from work to pick it up…
Reminder (this was posted elsewhere): The shipment didn't come in, so the cards aren't at Gen Con. 
Only until tomorrow. Or has it been stated they aren't coming at all now?
Was at the booth a bit today. It was completely packed -- all tables full just about all the time. There are three tables each dedicated to Sentinels, GSF, and Tactics. The tenth table is for Christopher's use for various things including occassional games of Spirit Island. I was pleased to play and enjoyed it a great deal.
There was a line to purchase items the entire time I was at the booth. I'm not sure it's my place to give details, but my understanding is that sales have been extremely good. I think more than a quarter of the Tactics stock had been sold by mid afternoon.
After attending many years in a row, I missed the last two GenCons. I do not remember the crowds being this packed on a Thursday. I believe attendance has increased by more than 50% in the last few years.
Another fun item at the booth is a screen showing the Insula Primalis background from the pending digital version of Sentinels, from Handelabra. It's the same video that can be found online, but it was still very cool to see it on a loop at the booth.
Heard from someone that there are about 90,000 people attending Gen Con this year, and heard it was about 70,000 last year.
I can believe attendance was way up. The shuttles provided were over capacity, causing long delays
The promo cards (and Jeremy) are there today. If you talk to him he can give you a gameplay demo!
Im offering a crocheted Sentinels doll to the person who gets one for me (and posts it)!
I'll offer eternal friendship and gratitude!
And maybe a small bit of money, as well!
Hey Migrant, any plans for these to be available at PAX South in Jan? Or just the cons in the Fall? Thanks!
I'm not sure, we haven't made our con plans past Australia yet. The game will be out well before then, so your best chance is to get it that way.
Sadly, no tablet and no plans to get one soon (not needed and not in the budget). I'll guess it'll be proxy for me
Make friends with someone who has a tablet? =)
I think you might be able to buy games on iTunes on your PC. Without the correct device you can't play it but you would still have bought the game.
Which I would gladly do, but the Press Release says the first 5000 people to play the game, not buy it. Unless they are using the terms interchangebly.
You can’t play the game without buying it, and there would be no way to tell if someone had 4 people playing or just himself 4times. It will possibly be a combo
Get an android emulator (the kinds the programmers use to test) and you could do it too
You will need to be able to run the game to redeem the promo card.
Will Jeremy be at the booth Sat or Sun?
I was at the booth briefly today. The tables were full and there was a line for purchases. I was pleased to pick up a copy of the new promo card. I don't see a way for someone to pick up more than one copy.
I was busy all day doing other things, but did happen across a group playing Sentinel Tactics. They were struggling through learning the rules a bit while fighting Baron Blade in his first scenario and didn't quite understand how any team that had Bunker could lose, but seemed to be enjoying the game.
One of my highlights for today was running in to Daniel and Antje who I'd met when they voluteered in the booth at Essen! Those crazy kids are on a North American adventure for a few weeks and, of course, have come to Gen Con as part of it. So great to see them.
It's been lots of fun to meet folks from the forums. Sadly, there is SO MUCH GOING ON at GenCon, that my brain is basically locked up so I frequently feel like I can barely make full sentences, much less get to know someone. So anyone who's seen me and felt like I was only half there, I'm sorry!
I have to say I've always felt that promos you can only get by being at a convention are unfair on people who don't live close enough to attend. It's rewarding people because of where they live, or because they have the money and free time to travel.
Those of us who can't get to GenCon or Pax or whatever are just as much fans as some random guy who can get a promo by stopping at a booth and trying out an app for a bit.
And now I'm feeling for those who don't have an appropriate device and so can't earn one that way either. I like everyone to have the nice things.
I'm actually worried that I'll miss out too, despite the fact that I'm intending to buy the app ASAP. :/
Jeremy will be there Saturday and Sunday, and there's also a dedicated volunteer to handle it if he's not around. There are a limited number of cards available; if someone was to take more than one copy, that would mean fewer people have a chance for one.
This new promo sounds amazing and I'd love to get my hands on it. If anyone has an extra they'd be willing to part with I'd love a chance at it. That being said I'll definitely be buying the game for my tablet. I'm just paranoid that I'll miss it by a day or two and won't be one of the first 5,000!
I'd be surprised if anyone on this forum who intends to buy the app didn't get the promo. I just don't think 5,000 people are going to buy the app in the first couple of days.
No, my difficulty with the promo is that I don't have a tablet, and don't want an app.
Me too, if anyone has an extra copy.
Hopeful.
Was very glad I recovered enough to make it, yesterday. The con is insanely busy this year! It does seem like they widened the aisles a tiny bit, but it's still packed.
I spent the morning under Foote's excellent tutelage, learning how to demo GSF and then actually running demos. It was really interesting to see folks’ interactions with the game.
Out of time… Off to hit the final day of Gen Con!
Please get me one of the promos!
Indeed, I'd cover time + shipping if there are any extras floating around after today
It was amazing to meet everyone today! Hopefully, it won’t take another year.
You didn't meet me!
I always meet you!
Just arrived home after an excellent time at GenCon. It was great to see some familiar faces at the >G booth (and meet a few folks that I hadn't met yet). I'm constantly impressed by how intense Sentinels fans get. The booth was constantly packed (all ten tables with people waiting to get in on the action). And what other board/card game has as much awesome cosplay as we saw on Saturday's costume contest? I know several people took pictures - I hope everyone gets to see them. I worked diligently, all four days, bringing my camera along and forgetting to take pictures.
I talked to Jeremy from Handelabra for a while. It looks like the tablet version of Sentinels is coming along nicely. They have a 9-minute video demo running on a loop, showing off some of the things that we've already seen on the forum as well as a demonstration of how gameplay might function. I'm hoping they release a PC version at some point in the future, since I don't have the right device for it now (he said that's on their radar).
Playing Spirit Island with Christopher ruined most other games for me. It's so good. I'm already wringing my hands, eager for this thing to go to production, but I think I'll have to wait a bit.
Now I will go sleep for 48 hours.
I'm glad to hear things went well!
Didn't get to try out Spirit Island, wasn't set up the first time I went to the booth and the other times I wanted to play some SotM or GSF for some points. Have 1400 Sentinel Points so far, 3600 more to go til I can get a free Playmat. Didn't go today, tend not to go on the final day very often, usually too tired and also out of money to buy anything else. Hopefully won't have to wait too long to print out and playtest Spirit Island with my group. I did see it while there but was never open when I was passing by.
I did get to demo a lot of games this year though and bought ones I really liked. My bags that I takes to Gamer's Guild are really packed full now. The free GenCon bag this year was great, actually get a real bag. It's currently the only bag I have that can fit my Pathfinder Adventure Card Game box, the box is massive. I'll be trying to get my sister's free bag as well for the other box.
Maybe I'll bring my 2nd set of Dark Watch promos with me next year and try to trade them for some points.
I loved meeting every one of you guys at GenCon. Seriously, I love putting faces to names and met near half of the forum it felt like. You guys really made my trip worth it. I look forward to the next time we all get together.
What a weekend! My voice is about at 30% power which means I totally improved from Pax East (having more volunteers helped out tremendously as they could take some of the demo load off of me). But I love teaching games and interacting with new people and I'm glad I still got to do a lot of it.
That gameplay video should be available for everyone to watch this week (possibly tomorrow). And if you can make it to PAX, you'll be able to actually play it there! Speaking of which… runs back to the code mines
Wish I could have stayed longer at the >G booth, but running 16 hours of events in 2 days kept me from doing much more than swinging by, saying hi to Adam, and dropping off a present for the crew.
Awesome display, BTW, for those of you who dressed. ChronoRanger, Expatriette, Rule 63 Tachyon, and Grandpa Legacy all looked epic!
Did I meet you? I'll be sad if I didn't.
I was only there for about 10 minutes total--sorry!
Now I'm sad. I was the redhead in the green kilt who constantly looked like he was trying to herd cats. Because, unbeknownst to me, Paul replaced all of the volunteers I was in charge of with cats.
So the hazing has begun...
This year's GenCon was a whirlwind for me and, despite running some awesome CSW demos, I didn't get a lot of time to relax and actually enjoy the show.
I'm hoping that next year, I can enjoy it a bit more. Jules and I will likely be doing GenCon, rather than origins, as our "big convention" so I'll definitely be there for 5 days rather than 2.5. Plus, I can better space out my events so that I can actually play a few things rather than just run all day.
For the next convention, you shold have a life-sized board for Tactics, and you can only play if you cosplay.
Whew. GenCon is finally done and I have survived, mostly.
My attention can only be split so many ways and GenCon keeps coming up with new ways to split it. Before Greater Than Games existed I was already trying to do way too much all at once and now I want to go by that booth all the time. Oh, and GenCon's ramping up their music track, so I went to three awesome concerts this year. And my good friend had never been to GenCon, so I wanted to go and do all the cool things that he'd never had a chance to do before. And I have a big group of friends that have decided in just the last couple years that GenCon is the place they want to meet up for a convention. We took over the hallway in the basement of one of the hotels until the wee hours on Sat.
Early in the week I was still reasonably cogent and able to make conversation. By the end of the week, I'm afraid I was pretty much just grunting while whirling maniacally from event to event. Pydro, next time let's plan in advance and carve out a time away from the exhibit hall to talk for at least five minutes.
I didn't work in the booth at all during the show itself, but did lend a hand a bit during setup and teardown. It was a really surreal experience, in fact, to sit down a couple of times as just a player in the GtG booth rather than being the person running the game. My thanks to Nick and Tara for an excellent demo of GSF (as well as my thanks to Kyle for creating that demo). My thanks, of course, to Christopher for the demo of Spirit Island.
GenCon is billed as the best four days in gaming, but my GenCon started three days early, meeting up with people who came in Monday in preparation for two days of booth building. By Wednesday I'd already essentially been at the con for three days, talked to a ton of people, and gotten in three games of Sentinel Tactics. With booth teardown, hanging out with friends Sunday night, and a close friend staying with us for GenCon who flew out this afternoon, it only really feels like GenCon ended tonight -- a full week after it started for me.
I saw SO MANY PEOPLE -- forumgoers and people I'd met at other conventions. We had Germans! That was very special for me, seeing Daniel and Antje who'd worked in the booth at Essen.
For those who haven't already seen it, the charity auction garnered more than $1100. Christopher auctioned off fifteen promos: Each of the Freedom 6, Eternal Haka, Dark Visionary, Mad Bomber Blade, Cosmic Omnitron, Horus of two Horizons, Reedemer Fanatic, Rook City Wraith, and _TWO_ copies of Young Legacy.
My thanks to all of the people who helped me have such a wonderful time. I'm not going to name names, so as not to risk missing someone, but if we even said hello at some point in passing, I'm appreciative.
Did you get me a tachyon promo?
Absolutely.
Yeah, that would be a good idea, in general…
That would mean that if they had it this year I would be the only one who could play. Since I was the only person who did an actual tactics cosplay. Hopefully we will see more next year. 
Which reminds me. Did anyone get a picture of me in my Citizen outfit or Sejixs in her Unity outfit on Friday? No one in team fancy seemed to have taken one.
This might have been my favourite GenCon out of the handful I have attended. Though I had to divide my time heavily between Con, friendlies, and Lafayette work, something about it just left a freeing feeling with me, and I had a hoot (and a half)! So...thanks, team!
I'm sure it's because I greeted you with a hug.
I thought I took a picture of all the team fancy folks on saturday with their costumes. Can't remember whos phone it was though. (btw, you guys were great. nice meeting you all!)
There's a group shot on >G twitter, are you in there? ( I spot Evan Dan55)
https://twitter.com/GTGamesLLC/status/500679840358744064/photo/1
defeateddust is The Patriarch in that picture. On Friday, however, he was sporting the crimson and gold.
I wasn't cool enough to get a Tachyon card. Actually, my friend told me about the Tachyon card at 4:30. On Sunday. So yeah.
I got one. Eventually I'll move the current set of photos off my camera and post to FB and tag you.