Jarrah's uplink

Gen Con was awesome. I could wax lyrical on the depth of its awesomeness for an extended period... but I'm not going to.

Why? Because I'm making a comic about it, that's why

Oh, and if you like tea, rap songs, or both, check this out

John's Uplink

I think I echo the feelings of my learned comrade when I state: GenCon was AWESOME.

Sure, the near-lethal concentration of nerdity and insanity could sometimes be hard to deal with; but it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life...

We played games. Lots and lots of games. The best thing about GenCon, really, was the opportunity to try out different games we probably wouldn't have tried on our own time, and with people we wouldn't find in our own personal monkeysphere. I played indie games, crunchy games, traditional games, old games and new games. The one thing they all had in common was fun.

I suppose the only regret is that we didn't get to see all the things there were to see at GenCon: seminars, boardgames, movie screenings, etc. There simply weren't enough hours in each day.

I think the game that made the most impression on me at the con was Don't Rest Your Head, a sharp little indie game that was run by Andrew Smith of Tabletop Manifesto.

The game is built around a simple but powerful premise: each character has been driven to the edge of madness by insomnia, developed superpowers, and fallen deep into a crazy world called the Mad City. It's a fantastic example of what indie games can be: deeply simple with mechanics that tie perfectly into the premise. I'd reccomend it to anyone, and I plan on picking it up myself soon.

This isn't to say that I wasn't enthralled by the other games I played; which I'll list in some sort of chronological order:
Hunter Planet (playing aliens hunting humans in the streets of melbourne)
Shadowrun (starting the great broccoli fire of 2076)
Eighth Sea (chronopirates fighting their way through the lost city of Atlantis)
With Great Power (a smart indie superheroes RPG that really emulated the feel of traditional superhero comics)

Thanks to everyone who ran or participated in these games, and thanks to everyone who helped make the first GenCon Oz such a rollicking success!