I thought of a few titles for the post: Get your new age gaming out of my Gen Con, etc. But decided that was not really fair.

I was able to attend the Acaeum dinner on Wednesday and the all day Thursday at this year's GC. I would have loved to stay longer, but work is work.

I attended every GC from 1981 through the last one in Milwaukee in 2002. This was my first return visit... Wow, how things have changed. Forget the city - Indy is just fine. I did the one day registration and was struck immediately by a couple things. Bear in mind, I always pre-reged so I never had to stand in line, but I had to this time - very shortly as it was.
1.  There were a ton of people in costume. And lots of freaking pirate guys and gals. Also, lots of what I assume computer game characters (Don't play them so I can be 100% sure). Now, I remember there being a costume contest on a specific day and therefore lots of costumes came out of the woodwork. But it was usually very limited to that specific day - Saturday I think. I am a pretty easy-going guy, but this is kind of weird.
2.  Many more females. This was trending even back in the late 90s early 2000s when I was there. But certainly the female percentage has increased greatly. I suppose it is because of the focus of the convention has changed (more on that later).
3.  Guys in kilts. And not just Scottish-looking things, but some sort of black combat kilt. One or two and maybe I don't notice. But there were way more than a few. This troubles me - I guess I am too old-fashioned in this brave new world.
These are just the three things I noticed while registering and it took me about 45 minutes...

The Gaming Halls
After registering, I had almost two hours to kill before the Auction and Exhibit Halls opened. I spent that time getting my phone fixed because it completely shut down    In that time I also walked around to get the lay of the land. There were several large ballrooms that housed the various gaming genres: boardgames, miniatures, etc. And then there were these sponsored halls that seemed to be operating by companies I have either never heard of or barely know.
Walking through these various areas I was shocked that I did not recognize most of the games being played. I know I am not current, but it was so startling I began searching for anyting recognizable. I did not find much. It seems that almost everything is some sort of game company-sponsored event or room. Be it Piazo or Fantasy Flight, it sure felt very corporate to me.
Gone were the huge naval battles, strategy wargeme events or anything close. Back in the day I was a big into Star Fleet Battles. SFB had major events at Gen Con. Huge four day elimnation tournaments, patrol tourny and much more. All gone.
On the other side there are lots of "learn to play" demos around now. Way more than in back in the day.

Exhibit Hall:
Well, the number of booths has always increased at each con. And it appears that trend has not ended. This is nice to see. Lots of varied dealers and companies.
I started walking through from one side to the other. About half way through I came the stark realization that something was very wrong. Where were the titans of gaming? ICE, FASA, Task Force, GDQ, West End Games, etc. Well, they are all gone. All of them.    
I know that most have gone away, but seeing it up close and personal was a real shock. I even miss that ridiculous TSR castle that used to dominate the hall. Slowly I realized that the entire face of gaming has seemingly changed while I have been gone.
The new companies are certainly glizy and have more "show." Plasma tvs are everywhere. The eye candy is simply spectacular.

The Auction:
Something never change. Much that is...
1.  Those Troll and Toad guys bid on everthing. That is somewhat strange as something corporate has been introduced in such a large way.
2.  The variety of stuff is too varied. Do we really need to bid on Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly. These things would never have made it to the auction floor back in the day. What a complete waste of time.

In General:
Gen Con has certainly grown up into a very well polished event. I know I used the word "corporate" often in my descriptions, but there is no denying it. At one time, Gen Con was a game convention filled with gamers. There was a certain spontaneous nature. People played all sorts of different games in every possible location. Walking down the hallways you would see a group playing D&D or Call of Cthulhu and on the next table were some guys playing Silent Death or WWII minis. It was everywhere. Gen Con was spontaneous and varied. But is was game convention filled with gaming.
But today it is different. Not entirely, but it is not the same. It seems that game companies dominate the scene. Everthing seems sponsored or canned...well, more corporate.
I am not saying it is a bad thing. The games are very cool to view. Everything seems to have a much larger visual component. Tons of playing pieces, large maps with stunning graphics, etc.
I know that CCGs had a huge impact and that is still very evident. I do not have an opinon on that either way.
So there is my not-so-short observation. Gen Con has become very modern - electronics, huge graphic displays, corporate domination, and costumes. Gone are the days of simplicity.
Good or bad, that is the way it is. And for a guy who grew up what now seems a different age, it is strange. But it is still Gen Con.
The old Gen Con is dead, long live the new Gen Con...

I understand you, I have the same feeling at Lucca Games in Italy: it started as a gamers convention and now it's a very sleekly produced professional event with a lot of 'corporate' presence. Being a professional, I prefer it this way - from a professional point of view. As a games fan, I prefer by far the first events of one decade ago.  

About companies being no more with us, that's really really sad    but in business that can happen: I still miss a lot old TSR, West End Games and various others I read in the magazines I collect and read. I guess we all see the games and companies of old with the eyes of our youth and we have a hard time adjusting to the present   . But there are a lot of young fans discovering games now and perhaps, ten or twenty years in the future, will feel the same way  

Origins is definitely the place to go for board games.  It's an overall nice convention too.  Almost like a mini-GenCon  

He pretty much nailed it.

I was looking at the con from the standpoint of yesterday vs. today.

The infiltration of the video gamers, ccgs and other nutjobs has really made things strange.

Back in the 80s you had your geeks and they pretty much looked the part...nerdy, but at least they dressed themselves.

GC has gone to the darkside on this one for sure.

I love the comment on the utilikilt. I wish I had come up with name.

Xaxaxe wrote:Here's a fantastic GenCon rant:

http://drakesflames.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... encon.html

(Be aware: some mild NSFW or children references)

The easily offended are sure to be ... well, offended ... but so much of it is so, so very true. And the comments are spot-on, too, especially the first one.

+++++

Not that I don't wish I was there, of course. I'd go in a heartbeat ...  

interesting rant, but did anyone read the comments down below?  i found this nice little gem:

"Anonymous said...
What's worse is when they make their own web sites. Check out www.acaeum.com for an eclectic collection of nerds, whales, whiners, liars, and child rapists."

dsaunders wrote:"Anonymous said...

Wow, some things will never, ever change. Once a gutless coward, always a gutless coward.

It's also a bit scary — well, kind of funny, too — how obsessed some idiots are with this site.

Hi,

I'm here at the Con.

Picked up the 10th anniversary chess set last nite

Auction prices are odd - some lower-priced stuff is going for more than it should, as t&T are bidding on it. At the rpg auction yesterday they bid on nearly every single item. Isnt this really bid shilling, as they take a cut of every sale?

Its crazy egors last year at gencon - I believe he's doing 2-for 1 on his stuff.

Defintely a bit of a Manga infiltration, tho not as much as at europeans cons.

Numbers appear down over all.

Cheers,
Malc

Badmike wrote:BC do you remember Nick's last name?  I can't find it in my files here.

Too long ago now, that brain cell must have died. IIRC, he had a very Greek sounding last name, but I can't remember what it was for sure.  I'll see if I have anything stored away on it, but I probably don't.

lawrenson wrote:Hi,

I'm here at the Con.

Picked up the 10th anniversary chess set last nite

Auction prices are odd - some lower-priced stuff is going for more than it should, as t&T are bidding on it. At the rpg auction yesterday they bid on nearly every single item. Isnt this really bid shilling, as they take a cut of every sale?

Its crazy egors last year at gencon - I believe he's doing 2-for 1 on his stuff.

Defintely a bit of a Manga infiltration, tho not as much as at europeans cons.

Numbers appear down over all.

Cheers,
Malc

Yeh, I was proxy bidding on that set darnit!  Little too much for me but at least it went to a good chap!  I have a image in my mind of you leaning over the board and saying "Checkmate!"