INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA -- Suffice it to say that I walked away from Gen Con 2013 with mixed feelings. This, however, is actually much more positive than it might sound at first, because by the time the convention ended in 2011 I was so unhappy with it that I had pretty much decided to never again attend it. Following is an overview of what I experienced and accomplished during the three days I spent, Thursday through Saturday, at the most recent Gen Con and my impressions of it in my capacity as the publisher for Skirmisher Publishing LLC and editor-in-chief of d-Infinity. 

* One thing I missed about Gen Con when I skipped it in 2012 was seeing people who I often work with on a regular basis but generally only get to see in person once a year at the convention. It was thus good to be able to spend some time visiting with Steve Chenault and Jason Vey of Troll Lord Games; Jarred Wray Wallace of Dagon Industries Inc.; Rico Nardini of Play Unplugged; d-Infinity Wartime Consiglieri Jonathan Reichman; Scott Glancy of Pagan Publishing; programmer Jasen Ward; Steve Strnad and Michael Olenik of Armorcast Battlefield Scenery (whose booth is shown below); Rick Loomis and Ken St. Andre of Flying Buffalo Inc.; Jolly Blackburn of Knights of the Dinner Table; Andy Hopp of Mutha Oith Creations; Jason Aarons, B.J. Petrie, Michelle Zuck, and Will Thrasher of Kettle of Fish Productions; and Ed Greenwood (via a wave from across the room at Rockbottom Brewery). 

* My sense that this convention is, in fact, a graveyard for small publishers and a stop along the road to bankruptcy was confirmed by some chats I had with a number of exhibiting companies. One, an RPG company that is somewhat larger and more prosperous than my own Skirmisher Publishing LLC, confided that they had spent a striking $4,200 for their 10 x 20 booth space! Another company, a manufacturer of miniatures and battlefield terrain that in previous years has occupied up to three 10 x 10 booth spaces, cut back their presence to just one such area this year. Knowing that I would have spent around $2,000 to exhibit at the convention and likely been jammed into a corner or other low-traffic area and been unable to recoup the investment associated with having this sort of a presence at Gen Con reinforced my belief that we will never again want to exhibit at it. 

* While the presence of RPG publishers continues to decline at Gen Con, board game and miniatures/models companies were among those that dominated the floor of the exhibit hall. Foremost among these was Mayfair Games, publishers of the popular Catan franchise of games (a giant version of which appears below). While this might help to fulfill Gen Con's promise of being the "Best Four Days in Gaming," for better or worse it would seem to reinforce the impression that the convention has dramatically moved away from its origins as a role-playing game event. 

* My unhappiness with Gen Con's corporate attitude of indifference toward RPG publishing companies notwithstanding, it bears mentioning that all the convention personnel I dealt with were markedly friendly and helpful, particularly the staff of the press room. 

* It also bears mentioning that the attitude of local businesses and their employees seemed to have improved from what it was a couple of years ago. I am not sure what the reason for that might be but it certainly bodes well for the future of Gen Con in Indianapolis and the experiences of its attendees. 

* One of the main reasons I was at Gen Con 2013 was to run a series of paranormal seminars on behalf of both the America's Haunted Road Trip series of books and event organizer Kettle of Fish Productions. We ran three panels, "Ghosthunting Indiana," "Ghosthunting 101: Introduction to Ghosthunting," and "Ghosthunting 102: Equipment and Investigative Techniques." I was joined by some great co-panelists, including filmmaker Dan T. Hall, psychic Marilene Isaacs of the Center of Peace, investigator Michelle Zuck, and equipment developers Roger Pingleton and Jill Beitz. Roger was also kind enough to film our sessions and anyone who is interested can watch "Ghosthunting Indiana" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWF06Wbqcn4&feature=youtu.be  (Shown below are me at center; to left are Roger and Marilene and to right are Dan and Jill.)

* My dissatisfaction with Gen Con as a suitable venue for small publishers should not be misinterpreted as an unhappiness with conventions in general! Another one of my missions while at Gen Con was, in fact, to help get out the word about two Texas conventions with which Skirmisher Publishing LLC, d-Infinity, and me as an individual are involved with, Comicpalooza and Dallas Comic & Pop Expo. I was also fortunate to be able to meet with Comicpalooza Gaming Coordinator Joe Charles to continue planning for what Skirmisher will be doing at his convention in 2014. (Shown here is the corner of the table in the press room that I co-opted for promoting the latter convention and other projects I am involved with.) 

* We also took the opportunity while at Gen Con to announce the imminent release by Skirmisher Publishing of Lloyd Brown III's terrific Game Retailer Guide! This is the company's first business-to-business publication and tells reader everything they need to start and run their own successful game-selling business. We will be releasing it in PDF and ePub for within the next week. 

* Another important item of business I conducted at the convention was meeting with friend and distributor-consolidator Aldo Ghiozzi of Impressions Game Distribution Services. Among other things we discussed retail store distribution for d-Infinity and a number of upcoming Skirmisher Publishing print publications, including the Game Retailer Guide and the ambitious Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting. 

* In that I almost never get to play games at Gen Con I was pleased to be able to participate in a demo session of "D&D Next" in the Wizards of the Coast gaming area. I had heard from a number of people that this area was pretty desolate but both times I visited it, first to chat with WotC project manager Mike Mearls and then for the afore-mentioned game, I was impressed with how active it was. I was also impressed with what I saw of "D&D Next" in our two-hour session and am looking forward to seeing more of it, and will say more about it in a separate post. (Shown here is the entrance to the WotC gaming area and the life-sized statue of Lolth, Dark Elf Queen of the Demonweb Pits.) 

* Although I accomplished a lot during my three days on the ground at Gen Con, I was regrettably unable to see everyone I wanted to while I was there! People I would like to have seen in person while in Indianapolis include artist Larry Elmore, Lee Garvin of Reality Cheque Games, Matt Beman of Armorcast, author Wanda Lou Willis, Darrell Hardy of Dark Skull Studios, Kirk Stephens and Parry Solomon of the Miniature Building Authority, and friends John Arcadian and Al Griego.