I’m back. Back from the U.S.A and the best four days in gaming. Still trying to process it all. I have a d1000 yard stare and am feeling…otherwise. Had a great time. I write for a company called GCT Studios and was manning their booth at GenCon. They produce Bushido-the Game, ( a table-top miniature skirmish game of an Asian bent, as well as a board game called, Rise of the Kage) not to be confused with the 70’s RPG of the same name. Firstly, it’s a long way from Cape Town to Chicago. A long way indeed. Secondly, well, they say things are always bigger in America, but fuck me, you lot aren’t kidding, are you?
GenCon was mad. I won’t bang on about it, you lot know the
score. Met some really great people at the booth. Met some absolute twats.
Turned loads of people onto our product, pimped and pushed the GenCon specials
whenever possible, and did some great business. Our miniatures on display were
wildly successful and pulled hundreds of people into the booth to learn a
little more. I managed to network as planned, and have filled up my writing calendar
with enough paid work to keep me busy for the next twelve to fourteen months.
Because of the scarcity of RPG material in South Africa, I
had a shopping list the length of an elephant’s todger. Big thanks
to the lads at DCC for my purchases, and to Games Plus for seeing me right with
my collectibles. I have now plugged all the holes in my immediate collection... but I see more purchases on the horizon, regardless. I also picked up an
excellent copy of Outdoor Survival for my OD&D game from the lovely people
at Noble Knight.
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| Who ate all the pies? |
Once we finished the show, it was off on a road-trip to Ground
Zero. ‘Bloody hell,’ I thought, ‘this is Greyhawk…’, as we turned into the more
pastoral and bucolic lands of Lake Geneva. We parked the car and went
meandering around the town looking for the sites. We stopped at the
Horticultural Hall to see where GenCon 1 took place, back in 1968.
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| GenCon then. |
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| GenCon now |
Then it was
a short stroll to where it all began. It’s a modest house. White, wooden clad. I wanted to knock
on the door and see what was on the inside, but I thought that would just be
rude, not everyone shares my passion for D&D in all its many fashions. So I
took some snaps and tried to imagine what had gone on there, all those long
years ago. I’m glad I went to see the town and the little things that
mean so much to me.
I met a few people who used to game with him, and a few who
referred to him as, ‘Oh, Gary What’s-his-face’.
And so it goes. We spent the night drinking the King of Beers, listening
to the frogs and cicadas come up as the sun slowly went down. It was pleasant. I’ll be back next year at GenCon, just like the Pie-Man, selling
his wares. I don’t think I will return to Lake Geneva until the sculpture/statue
is up. Once was good enough. We headed up to Chicago and stayed in a place that looked like the Hotel from the Shining, and reminded us of the Bates Motel at its finest. Needless to say we escaped, unscathed. Then it was plane after plane, mile after mile, until the wholesome sight of Table Mountain appeared over the left-wing of the plane. A simple matter of touchdown and I was home. Knackered, but well worth it. See y'all, next year.
"Above there is no ending
For the Vodka spinning Mir
All that is is passing
And now is never here
So keep on raging
You frenzied pioneers
No time for the wringing of hands
Strange faced ambassadors, strike up the band
Bust out that Dom Perignon
Johnnie Walker Red on that fairway lawn
Remember tripping on the fourth of July?
Exploding octopuses in disguise?
They picked you up and they never let you down.
Everyone's forgiven in the land of Pleasant Living now.
Yuri Garagin sends
His kindest regards
How those Yankees doing?
Still Rock and Roll and Fancy cars?
But onto pressing matters
Such as the gluttony of the starving stars.
No time for the wringing of hands
Strange faced ambassadors, strike up the band
Bust out that Dom Perignon
Jonnie Walker Red on that fairway lawn
Remember tripping on the fourth of July?
Exploding octopuses in disguise?
They picked you up and they never let you down.
Everyone's forgiven in the land of Pleasant Living now." - Clutch.
