My Weblog: Games and Stories

by Toni L.P. Kelner / Leigh Perry

In August, I attended Gen Con in Indianapolis, the granddaddy of tabletop gaming conventions, and though I've been meaning to write about it ever since, I don't think I can do it justice even now. I'm still in sensory overload.

The first thing to know is that Gen Con is HUGE.

This is just a small sample. We're talking 56,000 people converging on downtown. Events filled the convention center and spread throughout several connecting hotels. Even hotels with no official events hosted smaller groups of gamers and game professionals. So. Many. People. The program book was so heavy I started tearing out pages as the days went by so I wouldn't have so much weight in my bag.

Of course the main emphasis is games: Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, war games, board games, role-playing games, trading card games, dice games. Even a little bit of computer gaming, though that's not the focus. So games were run around the clock. I never went into the convention center at any time of day without seeing rooms filled with thoroughly focused gamers, and game designers trying to talk people into trying--and buying--their games. Plus there were parties, dances, costume contests, and even concerts. (If you ever have a chance to see the Doubleclicks perform, run, do not walk. In the meantime, check them out on YouTube.)

Though I was once a dedicated D&D player myself, my reason for going to Gen Con was the Gen Con Writer's Symposium, which is just one small programming track for Gen Con. But with a con as enormous as Gen Con, even this tiny subset is a twenty-year-old tradition with 60 program participants and 2,000 attendees. There were four tracks of programming for the first three days of the convention with critique sessions on the fourth. Audiences ranged from just a handful to standing room only, but the average was well-attended.

Most of my fellow panelists write speculative fiction. The guests of honor were Jim Butcher and Bill Willingham, with Larry Correia as a special guest--all three of these are known for fantasy. So honestly, I was kind of surprised that organizer Marc Tassin invited a mystery gal like me. The other writers didn't seem to mind, though. They were welcoming, and as interested to learn about the mystery side of the world as I was to learn about their experiences. I do know some about the science fiction and fantasy field because of the anthologies I've co-edited with Femme Charlaine, but a lot of this stuff was new to me.

The market for game-based fiction is huge. Many of the other writers had written books set in various game worlds, and had done very well with them.
There's also a lot of writing in games themselves. Not just the rules, but also "fluff," which is supplemental material about a world in which a game is based. It's not the rules per se, but descriptions and explanations that add richness and context. (Game-based fiction can be fluff, too, I understand.)
There are a lot more small SF publishers than I see in mystery, but many of them are very small indeed.
The anthology market is quite active in SF but the pay is, for the most part, very low. Some anthologies pay nothing in advance, just a share of royalties that may never appear. And while the writers aren't happy about that, they're still practicing their craft and producing amazing work for anthologies, which I have to admire.

One thing I'd concluded before going to Gen Con, but certainly had it reinforced: the storytelling skill used in creating games is just as elaborate and well-thought out as in traditional fiction. Characterization, pacing, world-building, exposition--it's all there. And gamers talk about the same kinds of things that readers do, as in, "I liked the action, but the motivation wasn't there," and "The character just wasn't well fleshed-out." There's a good reason there's a writer's symposium included with Gen Con. Good game designers are good writers!

So if you like tabletop gaming and good writing--and don't mind crowds--you might want to check out Gen Con one year. You just might see me there again.

Comments

Toni, thanks for the great post. And I wanted to thank you for coming over and talking with me at Marc's "Elbow Rubbing" event Saturday Night. You broke right through my I'M NOT WORTHY body language and we had a great chat. I truly enjoyed the time with you and your lovely family. :)

PS Just bought "Down Home Murders" - Thanks GenCon

Posted by: Helen_schmelen | September 16, 2014 at 06:37 PM