Are you guys going to have a presence at GenCon 2021 ONLINE?
Or is there some place I could go to learn about the history of Atlas Games and Gencon.
I ask because I could have SWORN they sent me a notice saying you had to have a physical presence at the con as well to run an online game but when I checked the policy didn't say what I remembered it saying (and I foolishly didn't save a copy.)
Oh never mind. This is the response from another gaming company's forum:
Wait, so "run by a group that can manage their own dedicated space" just means "if you're doing events, you have to be able to manage yourself in the space we give you", correct?
Still... I'm cross. And not happy with the tons of grimdark they've got this year. I haven't seen gaming this bleak since the 90s.
Still, I was hoping for a Feng Shui or a UA that I didn't have to run. SIGH
Grimdark is what is trendy nowadays. It is a reaction to how soft and easy the latest edition of D&D is perceived. As a result, OSR and grimdark are popular amongst younger gamers.
We're having an actual physical booth at GenCon, but we're scaling back for a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with Covid. No scheduled events there, but one Magical Kitties game online.
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Not all younger gamers, surely. Otherwise things like Wanderhome wouldn't have got so popular?
And thanks for the booth notice!
Grimdark troubles me because I was a geek in the 80s and 90s and I know how quickly visceral nihilism for the sake of visceral nihilism can grow dull.
I've been thinking about this for a bit.
It's clear that society has moods (which are exploited and promulgated by political factions and corporate interests), but as we grow older, we realize that you don't have to identify with any of them.
So maybe one day I just feel like blowing up some Inquisitors with Da Boyz and one day I feel like transcending the horrors of reality by clinging to my Noble Stimulus. Or maybe I want some magical kittens (I'm not a cat person, you never know.)
But if I just identify myself as Grimdark or Fluffy Bunny or an Adventurous Moralist, I'll get bored.
The important thing about genre labels is just being able to use them to buy the product you're in the mood for... and companies never, ever respect that.
So everyone gets confused.
I think that's why I'm not particularly vibing on Gencon online this year. Last year was a breath of fresh air, though.