Geeky Grandma goes to Gen Con!

Post date: Aug 13, 2016 5:36:10 PM

Last week I drove to Indianapolis with my son Jon and his wife Alicia and two children, and my daughter in law’s sister Noelle and husband Alex to attend GEN CON, a huge gaming convention. At least 60,000 people bought four-day passes, and numbers totaled 200,000. It was an amazing experience. The downtown of Indianapolis seemed filled with Gen Con attendees. I jokingly referred to the crowd as a “nerd herd,” but we saw young and old and all races: young families pushed strollers or had babies strapped to their backs while others pushed wheelchairs or used walkers, canes, and crutches.

Our group included my daughter Mikki and her boyfriend, Sean. I was the only one who had met him prior to Gen Con, so part of the fun was getting to know Sean and spending time together at Mikki’s house, which looked like a college dorm, with people sleeping everywhere. She did a great job of hosting us and finding great restaurants.

Unfortunately, Alicia’s sister got ill the second day of our trip and Noelle ended up having surgery the first day of Gen Con. However, she and Alex were ready to go the following day, and we were able to borrow a wheelchair for her. Imagine a man pushing his wife in a wheelchair, followed by a mom pushing a child in a stroller, and a grandma pushing the younger child on top of her rollator (the rolling walkers with seats), plus several people bringing up the rear and leading the parade!

Each day a number of food trucks pulled up outside of the convention center, offering an assortment of delicious aromas and tastes. The sidewalks were full of people walking to the convention, chatting, eating, and exploring downtown. Inside, we saw people dressed up in costumes ranging from Star Trek to Star Wars to Spiderman and Superheroes. Others were dressed in Medieval garb or Japanese manga characters.

My son dressed up as the tenth Dr. Who (played by David Tennant) and his wife dressed up like Rose, one of Dr. Who’s companions. One of the highlights of the week was a group photo by the Dr. Who booth, with a dozen people dressed up as various Doctors. Every day several dozen people in costumes hung out in the lobby, behind yellow taped lines, available for photos and conversation. This is called cosplay. They take it seriously! I also saw several people walking around with signs, advertising their readiness to assist with repairs to costumes.

I tried to get into the spirit of cosplay myself by ordering a long black dress with a Star Trek image on the lower portion of the skirt: thanks to Thinkgeek.com, I got to experience a little of the fun. I had half a dozen people recognize the image and compliment me: I also got to pose with a man dressed up like Spock and a Star Trek crew who welcomed me into their group for a quick picture or two.

Some of the people made their costumes and some were very elaborate: we saw a woman dressed up like a Victorian Captain America, with hoop skirt and parasol! We saw small groups with a theme, such as Star Trek or Star Wars, or the characters from a movie. Some of the cosplayers were at the professional level and I saw several photographers following them. Many of them had several action poses and often they would interact with another cosplayer. They were exceptionally kind when asked for pictures, especially with children. We ran into a Lego Batman on the street, and he quickly kneeled down beside Corbin for a photo.

Several large exhibit halls were filled with merchandise: board games, jewelry, costumes, art, books, and almost anything else you might imagine. You could stop at a booth and sample a game before buying it, or simply watch someone else playing the game to get a feel for it. Numerous rooms were filled with people playing board games: I had only heard of a small fraction of the titles and was amazed at the variety of games and the gusto with which they were played.

While we saw a handful of computer games, the emphasis was on social, interactive gaming. I played a handful of such games with my daughter in law and grandsons: we played a Cat and Mouse game, a Penguin games, a Chicken game, and others. We found several areas dedicated to families, with spaces for children to play with foam noodles in a castle area created with boxes, or to play board games or do simple crafts. My role in going along was to help entertain the children, and we had a lot of fun together.

Everywhere you looked, people used their smartphones to text, check email, take and post pictures to social media, or find Pokémon characters. People also used their phones to follow the Gen Con Facebook page. My son did a series of Facebook Live videos and spent time each day talking to others in the cosplay area. However, the focus was on face-to-face gaming, interacting with others, and it was an amazing experience.

Growing up, about the only experience I had with playing board games was an occasional round of Candy Land, Monopoly, or Twister. My father didn’t like games using cards or dice because they were associated with gambling. Then I met and married a man whose family was crazy about board games—and loudly competitive. While we divorced, both of my children grew up playing—and loving—board games. Over the last couple of years, both children have gotten me to sit down and play a few games, and I am slowly overcoming my previous hang-ups about gaming. I’m even thinking about offering my “grandma” services for next year’s Gen Con!

http://www.gencon.com/

Gen Con 2016’s website

https://www.facebook.com/genconindy/

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