Like the target at a snipers’ competition, Gary Con is an
event viewed through many lenses. As a gamer, I experienced the con through the
fun and camaraderie I had at the tables, but as a designer, it was interpreted
by who I met and spoke to in the publishing industry. And lastly, as someone
with a background in history and archiving, Gary Con was a place filled with
those whose roots extend back to the long-ago days when this was all new and wondrous.
No matter which lens I viewed the weekend, however, it was an outstanding
experience.
Unfortunately, the four-day weekend began on a down-note
when I received a phone alert that my first flight of the day was suffering
from an hour-and-a-half delay. This alert came ten minutes before I was set to
depart for the airport and threw all my travel plans askew. Forty-five minutes
of trying to contact the airline on the phone without success eventually drove
me to abandon my efforts and drive to the airport anyway. The clerk there
managed to get me on another flight, but from another airport, making a $100
cab ride necessary to make my flight. Further complications at O’Hare delayed
me again and I finally arrived in Milwaukee four hours behind schedule.
Luckily, the Lodge at Lake Geneva was kind enough to dispatch a shuttle to
convey me from General Mitchell to the hotel. A very big thanks to Larry the
Night Security man at the Lodge for coming to my rescue!
After finally arriving five hours later than I intended, I
discovered I had missed the meet-n-greet entirely, as well as the majority of
games. Dropping off my bags in my room, I wandered down to the hotel bar
looking for something to eat (and was again foiled since the restaurant had
long-ago closed). I did spot someone in a tied-dyed shirt playing the
Battlestar Galactica board game and soon found myself talking with Allan “Grodog”
Grohe and Mark CMG of Creative Mountain Games. Alas, last call followed all too
soon and a Diaspora of gamers was sent into the desert of the Lodge’s hallways.
A brief snack from a vending machine and a long discussion with fellow gamer
David(?) from Stone Mountain, GA closed an overlong travel day.
Friday arrived in much better shape. Determined to remain on
New York time, and anticipating a diet of completely fattening meals during the
weekend, I was up at 6 AM to take a walk around the Lodge’s grounds. Back at
the hotel, I finally managed to acquire breakfast and to meet Tim Snyder of The
Savage Afterworld at the concession table. Soon thereafter, the Vendors’ Hall
opened and I stepped inside to discover Dan Proctor behind the Goblinoid Games’
table, which was situated next to Black Blade Publishing’s wares. I spent a
good hour inside there talking with Dan and Alan, as well as meeting John Adams
of Brave Halfling (who had his game boxes for sale nearby), Jeffrey Talanian
(of
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea), and Jon Hershberger
of Black Blade. Across from the Goblinoid Games table was the Artists’ Nook.
There sat Jeff Easley, who was kind enough to sign one of his illos in my copy
of the
Dungeon Alphabet, and Jim Wampler, creator of “
Marvin the Mage.” I can’t
say enough nice things about Jim, both as an artist and a person. He’s an
old-school
Gamma World fan to boot and did me a solid during the course of the
con. Stop reading this right now and go to
Mudpuppy Comics and check out a free issue
of
Marvin. I’ll be here waiting.
With time to kill before my first game, I wandered the
rooms, snapping pictures. There, I ran into Frank Mentzer, who I met last year
at I-Con. I was pleased that Frank not only remembered me, but went out of his
way to welcome me into the ranks of professional game designers. (I’ll let the “Stonehell
Outhouse” comment slide, Frank.) Frank’s always a pleasure to talk to and is
generally interested in my own efforts to till a row in the field of game
design. That means a lot to me.
As I was wearing my Stonehell T-shirt the first day, it wasn’t
long before I had my first fan approach me to say how much he enjoyed my work.
I’d see Zach (a.k.a. Nogrod from Dragonsfoot) several more times during the con
and he’s another great gamer, one I’d share the experience of Tim Kask’s
OD&D game with later in the day.
When 2 PM rolled around, it was off to the wargaming room
for a game of Dungeon!, an activity I last enjoyed when Reagan was in the White
House. Running the game(s) was Dave Megarry, the original designer of Dungeon!
Dave took the time to explain the origins of the game, as well as bring the original
Dungeon! prototype board for us to “ooh and ahh” over, but the real bomb shell
was yet to come. I had encountered Dave and his wife upstairs an hour earlier
as they unloaded a large table from the back of their car. I gave them a hand
wrestling the dark green table through the front doors of the hotel, not
thinking much of the activity other than I was giving a fellow gamer a hand.
Only during the event was the identity of that table revealed: it was Dave
Arneson’s ping pong table, the same one where he played the original Blackmoor
campaign on decades ago! Having never met Dave in person, this was the closest
I’d ever get to him and it was an incredibly cool experience. I could see that
the opportunity was not overlooked by fellow Dungeon! player, Tavis Allison of
the Mule Abides and Adventurer, Conqueror, King. I’ve met Tavis before and, knowing
his interest in the history of our hobby, was certain he was just as floored by
playing at Dave’s table as I was.
After finishing the Guinness Book of World Records’ Longest
Game of Dungeon Ever (the other game’s players packed up, departed, and went on
to marry and see their children graduate from college before we finally
completed our game), it was back into the Vendors’ Hall to hang around the
Goblinoid Games table. There, I met Jeff “bighara” Sparks and his wife (who is
not at all still angry about a game Jeff ran 10 years ago), and signed a few
more copies of Stonehell Dungeon.
At 6 PM, I got to play OD&D with Tim Kask. The adventure
saw us exploring a frigid glacier and the mysterious Tower of the Phoenix
located within it. I had a blast, even though we lost a few party members
before we actually got inside the place, and, in true old school fashion,
forged the legend of Sigurd Bear-Breaker. Facing down a certain TPK, my dwarf
drank a potion of giant strength and challenged two giant polar bears to a
wrestling match. He broke both their spines and allowed us to continue the
adventure to its completion.
Tim was another pleasure to finally meet, especially since
he was one of the judges on last year’s "Three Castles Award." During a break in
the game, Tim invited me to the VIP Smoking Lounge (otherwise known as the
patio off Tim and Frank’s room where they had stashed one of those big standing
ashtrays they had somehow “acquired” the days before) and we talked about the
old days of Dragon, the Dungeon Alphabet, and artists. Like his partner in
crime, Frank Mentzer, Tim was very gracious, kind, and encouraging in regard to
my design efforts. It was great getting to talk with him outside of the game.
The game ended around 10 PM and I had the chance to talk
with some more fellow gamers (both newly met and by this time old friends) up
at the bar. Eventually, the day’s events began to take their toll and I excused
myself to grab a few hours’ rest before starting in all over again the next
day.
