I Was There at Gen Con

Sunday, August 11, 2013

This year marks my 30th Gen Con. As I sit back and think about my years going to the granddaddy of all gaming conventions, I am awed by the many big moments that I got to experience while attending the show, first as a fan and later as part of the adventure game publishing industry.

When I was a kid, there was a series of books for young readers, We Were There, with titles such as We Were There at the Battle of Gettysburg and We Were There at the Battle of the Bulge. Each book covered an important moment in world history from a child's point of view; you read a fun story but also learned a bit of history in the process. I ate these books up when I was in grade school. As I think across the 30 Gen Cons I have attended, I think about some of the important pieces of adventure game history that I have had the privilege of experiencing firsthand at Gen Con. I was there!

I was there to meet TSR's legendary artists

At my first Gen Con in 1984, TSR brought in the all-star cast of artists they had working full time on D&D: Clyde Caldwell, Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, and Keith Parkinson. Each took turns doing sketches of people's characters for $10 a sketch—a bargain even then—and answering questions. These four artists created the visuals for Dragonlance, the Forgotten Realms, and other settings, essentially defining the look of D&D for the future, and earning them places among the most famous artists in adventure gaming history. Not only did I get to meet them, but Clyde Caldwell drew a sketch of my character, Erwyle, that hangs on my office wall today.

I was there for the release of the AD&D Battlesystem

In 1985, the year Gen Con moved to Milwaukee, I was walking through the new convention center when my friend Rich and I were asked to play in one of the first public games of the new AD&D Battlesystem. As neophytes at Gen Con, we jumped at the chance to experience this important AD&D product first hand. But that wasn't what made this experience awesome: our two opponents in the battle were none other than Ed Greenwood (of Forgotten Realms fame) and Mike Nystul (of Nystul's Magic Aura fame). Where else but Gen Con could two young Minnesota gamers cross paths with two icons of D&D, and be the first to play a major new AD&D release?

I was there for the launch of Dungeon Magazine

One of the most seminal Gen Con moments in my mind is the launch of Dungeon in 1986. As a fan of D&D and TSR, I began every Gen Con by running to the TSR booth and buying whatever cool new D&D product was being launched at the show. In 1986, that product was Dungeon Magazine. I ran to the booth and eagerly filled out my subscription form and gave it to Kim Mohan. He informed me that I was the very first subscriber and handed me my copy of the first issue. I couldn't believe it, so I had him autograph it and inscribe "Congrats on being the first subscriber" on the title page. To think, twenty-one years later, my own company would release the last print issue of Dungeon at Gen Con 2007.

I was there for the launch of Magic: The Gathering

Probably one of the biggest events in the history of gaming happened at Gen Con 1993, and it was one that I had a big hand in. The introduction of Magic: The Gathering to the teeming crowds of gamers was a big part of my master plan for launching Magic into the marketplace. We didn't have much money at Wizards of the Coast. We didn't have many employees—and we couldn't afford to actually pay the few we did have. But Gen Con had the world's most dedicated gamers coming together for four days in Milwaukee, and I figured that if we couldn't convince them to play Magic, then the game probably didn't have a chance. I put my tiny marketing budget into making the biggest splash we could manage at Gen Con. We packed up every employee and volunteer we could find and headed from Seattle to Milwaukee. We were ready for the world to see our baby… but our baby almost didn't show up! Shenanigans in US Customs threatened to cause our shipment from our card printer in Belgium to miss the convention! Only after many phone calls and an overnight plane flight for our Magic boxes were we able to unleash Magic on the world as I had hoped. And boy, did my plan work! We sold decks and boosters and displays of Magic as fast as people could hand over their money. By the end of the show, we were out of cards, Magic was a phenomenon, and Wizards of the Coast had arrived!

I was there for the announcement of D&D Third Edition

Gen Con 1999 was a big one for us at Wizards. We had purchased TSR less than two years prior. And now we were going to announce that we were working on a new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and there was no better venue than at the "Best Four Days in Gaming!" We knew there would be a lot of consternation over the announcement, and if we didn't do it well, we would garner a lot of ill will. So we decided to make the announcement to a thousand hardcore gamers in the form of a talk show. The D&D team spent weeks plotting and planning, lining up special guests including Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and getting the design team geared up with such speakers as Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Bill Slavicsek, and others. The announcement went off without a hitch, and there were even several standing ovations. At the end of the event, we handed out T-shirts listing various things about Third Edition that we thought would tantalize the crowd:

  • Half-orc barbarian sorcerer = Yes
  • Demihuman level limits = No
  • Monks & Assassins = Yes
  • Universal Skill System = Yes
  • Evil gnoll rangers = Yes
  • THAC0 = No
  • Rules you never used anyway = No
  • Demons & Devils = Yes
  • Critical Hits = Yes
  • 9th-level clerical spells = Yes
  • Ability score improvements = Yes
  • Strength 48 = Yes

I was there for the launch of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

As Gen Con 2009 approached, there was a lot of trepidation in my heart. Paizo would be launching the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and the reception would either save the company or doom it. I could see no other outcome. Wizards had launched 4th Edition at the previous Gen Con, and we had decided to forge our own path. The pile of Core Rulebooks sitting on the floor of our booth was our wager in this game; we'd put everything we had into making them. We were "all in." As the doors to the exhibit hall opened, we amazed by the waves of gamers that poured into our booth to buy the Core Rulebook. The crowd quickly overwhelmed our modest booth, and we had to route the line through the art show! That Gen Con launch fueled the growth of both Paizo and Pathfinder.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Every Gen Con, history is made somewhere. Events happen that will be fodder for stories for years to come. "The Best Four Days in Gaming" are the crucible where our hobby is forged and reforged, and when you go, you too will be able to say you were there! I look forward to seeing you all at Gen Con in just a few short weeks!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Conventions

1 person marked this as a favorite.

0_0

That seems like a little foreshadowing...

RAMPANT SPECULATION:

Artist+Battle System+New Editions = Pathfinder Miniature Game?

Paizo Employee CEO

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Broken wrote:

0_0

That seems like a little foreshadowing...

** spoiler omitted **

No foreshadowing. Just reminiscing! :)

Lisa


WOW to getting your character concept sketched by one of the main D&D designers! How long did each sketch take?

EDIT: Who authored this post? Was it Lisa?

Paizo Employee CEO

The Rot Grub wrote:

WOW to getting your character concept sketched by one of the main D&D designers! How long did each sketch take?

EDIT: Who authored this post? Was it Lisa?

Each sketch took 10 to 15 minutes IIRC. Those guys were good AND fast!

And, yes, I wrote this blog.

Lisa

Sovereign Court

1 person marked this as a favorite.

As a father of five kids and husband to one wife, I have neither the time nor the money to go to GenCon. Or even Paizo Con.... But I LOVE your stories, Lisa! Keep up the wonderful work in all you do.


Nice stories.

Is it wrong to look at the picture of all the core rulebooks sitting there and have a urge to build a fort out of all of them? ;)


That is pretty sweet. Hopefully next year I can get my group to go.

Paizo Employee

Thanks for sharing your memories! I'm looking forward to seeing the Paizo crew at GenCon this year.

Cheers!
Landon

Contributor

So you could almost say that some of your most Mythic Adventures happened at GenCon, hrm?

Spoiler:
Do you see what I did there? >:)

Liberty's Edge

Alexander Augunas wrote:

So you could almost say that some of your most Mythic Adventures happened at GenCon, hrm?

** spoiler omitted **

Though I bet some were Epic.

more:
See what I did there?.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Sounds like Lisa went to her first GenCon in 1980. Coincidentally, so did I. I can't believe my parents let me (and two friends) go so far unescorted by adults. It was so much smaller than now, but every bit as exciting. I got Gary Gygax to sign my DMG; I got Jeff Dee to draw a sketch for my little brother (who couldn't come); I played "Awful Green Things from Outer Space" with Tom Wham; I played Metamorphosis Alpha with Jim Ward and I got Dave Trampier to draw Wormy for me. I also got to play Slave Pits of the Undercity in the AD&D Tournament. Now that was a great GenCon!

All those other years were also always tons of fun! I'm sure this week will be, too!

Silver Crusade

Yay! Mini ep of Auntie Lisa's Storytime!

The Battlesystem and Artist sketch parts were new to me. I'm a huge ALStorytime groupie!


Lisa Stevens wrote:
The Rot Grub wrote:

WOW to getting your character concept sketched by one of the main D&D designers! How long did each sketch take?

EDIT: Who authored this post? Was it Lisa?

Each sketch took 10 to 15 minutes IIRC. Those guys were good AND fast!

And, yes, I wrote this blog.

Lisa

Awesome! I wonder if that still happens at Gen Con? I think some of the 10-13 year olds I GM for would want to go to Gen Con just for that alone!

I must say that out of everything on this blog I enjoy these more reflective and more personal-perspective posts the most.

Scarab Sages

I've only had the opportunity to attend GenCon two times in my life so far. It took me awhile to get there, but I was present for 2010 and 2011. I always looked at the convention as if it were the "Mecca of Gaming" (which I can say is a pretty apt description for the hobby). Each year had unforgettable memories and great gaming experiences. Cannot recommend this convention enough.

Now that my life has settled down (over the last two years, major changes to my life prevented me from attending), I'm already making plans to attend in 2014. See you all there.


Great blog post.
Makes me ponder my far too many years at Dragon*Con.

-TimD

The Exchange

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Wow, Lisa, I had no idea you had had anything to do with magic the gathering...

So I want to use the opportunity to thank you. Apparently, you are a huge reason to the existence of my two greatest gaming passions! I am dumbfounded to find that a single person can be behind two so incredibly awesome and different things like D&D and Magic.

So thank you. You have a huge impact on my life and the life of many of my friends. I guess maybe some of the more public figures in Paizo held my attention until now, like the Jameses, but this blog post just reminded me that there are even more people behind the curtains, working hard at making Pathfinder the best roleplaying game in the world.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Lisa also has had a hand in Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade!

The Exchange

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Gorbacz wrote:
Lisa also has had a hand in Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade!

Is it only a matter of time before I hear she had a hand in the big bang, too?


Have a great time Lisa, I have still yet to attend my first GENCON but it's on my list of things to accomplish. Have to admire her passion for the games and a drive to give gamers what they want.

The Exchange

Lord Snow wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
Lisa also has had a hand in Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade!
Is it only a matter of time before I hear she had a hand in the big bang, too?

It's likely that parts of both her hands were in the big bang.

Paizo Employee Developer

Drock11 wrote:
Is it wrong to look at the picture of all the core rulebooks sitting there and have a urge to build a fort out of all of them? ;)

What do you think all those Core Rulebooks are sitting on top of? Yeah, a fort of Core Rulebooks. Turns out, a stack of your stock serves as a great way to both store and display books at Gen Con.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Lord Snow wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
Lisa also has had a hand in Ars Magica and Vampire: The Masquerade!
Is it only a matter of time before I hear she had a hand in the big bang, too?

Pokemon, close enough.

And have fun at Gen Con, folks. Wish I could go this year, but I had a choice between Gen Con and my parents' 50th anniversary. I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.

Paizo Employee CEO

Tarondor wrote:
Sounds like Lisa went to her first GenCon in 1980.

Actually, it was 1984. Which is why this is my 30th straight GenCon!

Looking at my tattered and worn copies of the Player's Handbook and Unearthed Arcana, I see autographs from the following luminaries:

Gary Gygax, Larry Elmore, Kim Mohan, Roger Moore, Doug Niles, Darlene, Ed Greenwood, Clyde Caldwell, Harold Johnson, Keith Parkinson, Penny Petticord, Frank Mentzer.

Those were the folks I looked up to as a young neophyte gamer. Meeting them and getting their autographs was amazing.

-Lisa

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Ah! You got me by 1 year. My first was 1985 when they first moved to Milwaukee. Unfortunately, since I live in Columbus, Ohio, I've been to a lot more Origins than Gen Con. Still this will be my 6th.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Lisa Stevens wrote:
Tarondor wrote:
Sounds like Lisa went to her first GenCon in 1980.
Actually, it was 1984. Which is why this is my 30th straight GenCon!

:-) Math is clearly not Tarondor's long suit.

Grand Lodge

I was lucky enough to run a short-lived game company in the early 90s and we made two consecutive appearances at GenCon is 1993 and 1994, so we were there when Magic made its big splash. While our very fun PBM game (Realms of the Unknown) fell victim to the Internet and, well, life, I continue to attend GenCon each year with a special eye for the small start up gaming companies. But nothing will ever replace my memories or excitement of setting up that booth, talking with other game designers before the doors opened, and the exhaustion of standing on my feet for 7 hours straight!

Good luck to all of you at Paizo this week! Keep smiling! And we'll all stop by to say thanks, buy a few new items, and let you know how much we appreciate what you do for all of us!

Liberty's Edge

Lisa, thanks for the memories. I have been to several Gen Cons, including where 3rd Edition was announced. (Yes, I still have the T-shirt.)

Good luck to everyone at Paizo this week. I can't make it, but maybe next year.

Grand Lodge

I know this is a couple years old now, buy I was just looking through the net at GenCon stuff and saw the image and the post. I am kinda excited that one of those books on that big pile of Pathfinder core rule books is mine.

Community / Forums / Paizo / General Discussion / Paizo Blog: I Was There at Gen Con All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.