August 24, 2008: What We Saw

GenCon's a big place, and our team didn't cover all of it. But we did spot a few things we found notable. Yesterday Phil mentioned his "pick of the show;" here's what others saw:

• Randy discovered shirts featuring pinup art, perfect for an old sea dog like himself. A bit risque, but nothing you'd worry about wearing around town. I might not wear it into the office . . . well, actually, I could, but our office is exceptionally cool.
• My primary purchase of the show: Starblazer Adventures. I've been following the development since Angus mentioned it to me two GTS shows ago, and it does not dissappoint. It may, in fact, be too much of a good thing -- included in its 600+ pages are everything from character, alien, and spaceship creation to plot synopses of the comic series the book is based on, with plenty of stops in the realm of examples.
• Steven Marsh seemed to violate the rules of "industry pro at GenCon" and actually played in a game -- or several, if he's to be believed. He's writing up his experience with the new Dr. Who RPG for Pyramid, so maybe it actually happened.
• Will went absolutely insane for Monsterpocalypse. Raving, talking in his sleep, making repeat trips to buy more -- the guy's got it bad.
• While Kromm didn't get out of the booth much -- he signed a small mountain of GURPS books! -- he was impressed by the diversity he saw in the crowds. More women, more kids, more folks from places other than the States . . . it's always good to get more gamers, and the more varied the view points, the better the gaming. Oh, and he saw enough zombies that whenever he tried to eat people's brains, no one commented. Not sure if that's a good thing . . .

-- Paul Chapman