If you met me at Gen Con and I seemed a little distant or somehow removed, that’s not because I’m arrogant or anti-social, it’s because I am actually painfully shy. People who listen to the podcast likely have a hard time believing that. Actually, most of my friends have a hard time believing it. It’s something I’ve known about for as long as I can remember, and something I’ve attempted to address in my own way—usually by overcompensating. This Gen Con, though, reminded me that in uncertain social scenarios or when dealing with people I don’t know, I tend to withdraw.

Take the Media Meet & Greet on Saturday night, hosted by the Pulp Gamer podcast. At first, I hung back, talking to only people I knew, hovering in a safe area away from the main crowd. I made myself complete a circuit of the venue once, but didn’t really connect or greet anyone I didn’t already know.

Why am I telling you this? Just in case we met at Gen Con and I came off as arrogant or anti-social. Others in social situations sometimes perceive shy people in these ways. Trust me, I’m not arrogant—though I can play up to that if it will get a laugh—and also trust me that I did not mean to offend.

A corollary to this is that I find it really hard to pimp my own stuff. I can pimp other people’s stuff all day long. I’ll tell you why you need to play Old School Hack or buy Warhammer Fantasy RPG 3e. But when it comes to getting you to put down money for Sword Noir or Kiss My Axe, I suck. It’s part shyness, sure, but it’s also overweening humility that I can’t tell you how awesome my stuff is, and I certainly can’t push it on you.

Why am I telling you this? I still have a few copies of Kiss My Axe: the Quick and Dirty Gen Con Edition lying around. Now, the actual product is going to be a few weeks at the very least coming out, and likely longer due to the print proofing process, so if you are interested in Kiss My Axe, and are willing to do a review for your podcast, site, or blog, let me know and I’ll see about getting a copy to you.

Gen Con was awesome. Everyone was great. And I learned that maybe I haven’t overcome my personal issues as well as I had hoped. Fun and self-knowledge: that’s a win.

This is as good as I can get at pimping: please buy Sword Noir here.

For those of you not in the know–and I have a hard time believing anyone who reads this blog is not in the know–Gen Con is a convention for role-playing, boardgames, and general geekery. I was lucky enough to attend in 2008 and will be doing so in 2011 as well.

One of the projects I was working on was the Quick and Dirty Gen Con Edition of Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death, a Viking role-playing game which uses a version of the Sword’s Edge System, also used for Sword Noir: a Role-Playing game of Hardboiled Sword & Sorcery. The other two projects are one-shot adventures to run at Gen Con.

Just in case you aren’t keeping up with my Gen Con 2011 schedule posted at Sword’s Edge Publishing, I plan to be at Games On Demand, which one can find at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Pennsylvania Station C (which is a ballroom set aside for Gen Con gaming). Look for me on Thursday August 4 at 10:00 to 14:00 and Saturday August 6 at 10:00 to 14:00. I’ll have one-shots for both Sword Noir and Kiss My Axe. If I get a couple of people, I’ll be running a game, but I max out at 6.

You can find more information about Gen Con here.

My Gen Con schedule is here.

You can find Sword Noir: a Role-playing Game of Hardboiled Sword & Sorcery here.

You can find the Sword’s Edge System and lots of other awesome products here.

Kiss My Axe: Thirteen Warriors and an Angel of Death will be debuting at Gen Con with print copies of the “Quick and Dirty Gen Con” edition.

This is from their about blurb:

This Just In…From GenCon! is a special podcast produced live at GenCon Indianapolis, sponsored by DriveThruRPG.com. Hosted by a bevy of your favorite podcasters, they work hard to capture the excitement and mania that is GenCon — both for listeners who can’t make it and for those who sync their MP3 players at the show!

If you’d like to come to the show live, you can find the TJI crew at the Caucus room in the Westin hotel, broadcasting 11am & 5pm Thursday through Saturday, and 11am Sunday. Find out more about the GenCon podcasting events by going to pulpgamer.com/gencon/.

Or email us! You can reach us at ThisJustInFromGenCon@gmail.com

So even if you are at Gen Con, check it out and maybe go see a ‘cast.

Oh, and for those of you going to Gen Con this year: I hate you. I hate you all.

Greetings Gamers!

As you probably know this weekend is the beginning of badge registration. We are excited for you to check out the new website and registration system! Please review all of the information below.

Badge Registration – Goes live on Sunday, February 15th
VIG Packages – Are available
Housing – Opens on Tuesday, February 17th

Regards,
The Gen Con Team

-Badge Registration opens this Sunday, February 15th, at Noon (Eastern)
If you haven’t already, be sure to create your new RUBI account by going to registration.gencon.com. Everyone will need to create a new account in RUBI in order to purchase a badge.Badge Prices:
4-Day Badge – $68
1-Day Badge (Thurs-Sat) – $38
Sunday Badge – will be available for purchase onsite
VIG Package – $500

-VIG Packages available
If you’re interested in becoming a VIG Member, there are over 100 slots available. The package is only $500 and includes merchandise, a VIG Lounge, a separate hotel block, and much more!

-Housing opens Tuesday, February 17th, at Noon (Eastern)
When you purchase a badge, you will see your housing code on the screen and receive a confirmation email with additional housing information. Be sure to keep this code handy! You will need it to reserve a hotel room when housing opens on Tuesday. If you have any trouble finding a hotel room, be sure to put your name on the waiting list, and we will let you know when more rooms become available.

For more information about RUBI, our new registration system, go to our RUBI Updates page at RUBI Updates

SEATTLE, WA (February 10, 2009) For the 42nd year, gamers are eagerly anticipating the best four days in gaming as they lay out their plans to attend Gen Con Indy 2009 in August.  After much feedback from attendees, Gen Con LLC is excited to announce the implementation of a new registration system. The new, adaptable system promises to be flexible and agile enough to accommodate the growing number of attendees. Gone are the days of the system crashing, difficulty searching events and slow performance.

“We are really excited about the new registration system. We took input from everyone over the years, and incorporated everything that was possible into the new system to make it that much better,” said Adrian Swartout, CEO of Gen Con.

The announcement of a new registration system is evidence of the company’s commitment toward building a stronger, more focused company. In January, the US Bankruptcy court of Western Washington confirmed Gen Con’s plan of
reorganization and approved the company’s rejection of a hostile takeover bid.  With its emergence from Chapter 11, Gen Con has significantly reduced its expenses and increased its cash position. Under the confirmed plan, Gen Con will pay all of it creditors in full over time and will continue to operate. A three-member Advisory Committee will assist the company and its board with Peter Adkison retaining ownership.

Gen Con Indy 2009, which will be held August 13-16 in Indianapolis, will prove to be one of the best shows yet with thousands of events and hundreds of exhibitors. To register, attendees will need to create a new account in the system by going to www.registration.gencon.com .  Badge pre-registration will begin on Sunday, February 15th at 12noon (ET).  Housing registration opens on Tuesday, February 17th at 12noon (ET). Event pre-registration begins on Sunday, April 19 at 12noon (EST).  Both badge and event pre-registration will close at 11:59pm (ET) on June 27th.

Pre-registration will only be available online through the registration system. A four-day badge is $68 with pre-registration or $78 onsite.  A 1-day badge is $35 with pre-registration or $45 onsite. The VIG (Very Important Guest package) is only available online with pre-registration for $500.

About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Its operations include Gen Con Indy and licensees for European and Asia Pacific Gen Con shows. It was acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast Peter Adkison, who solely owns the company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Gen Con is a consumer and trade experience dedicated to gaming culture and community. For more information visit the website at www.gencon.com.

Possibly forever.

Now that’s frightening to consider.

There is the possibility that Sword’s Edge will have someone at Gencon doing some reporting for us. Fingers crossed that things go through. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.