Tag Archives: Conventions
MidAmeriCon II: the 74th World Science Fiction Convention
I’ll be in Kansas for the rest of the week. The World Science Fiction Convention is in Kansas City this year under the MidAmeriCon banner for the second time. Is this a weird way to name a thing? Maybe. Is it cool that the convention travels? Absolutely.
And Kansas City is awesome. I’ve been there before, and it’s definitely not a “flyover” location, though I’ll literally be flying over most of the state of Kansas in order to get there on Wednesday.
Potentially disappointing news for Schlock Mercenary shoppers: I am not exhibiting. No booth, no merch. Just me enjoying the show. We just finished our big show of the year, GenCon Indy, which is always a massive undertaking, and for which we have a team of six people. I’m way too tired to try to run a table with a team of just me.
I will, however, have a coupon code available. Catch up with me at one of my panels, or when I’m drawing comics in the hotel lobby (probably the Crowne Plaza) and I’ll teach you the magic word¹.
My Schedule
THURSDAY:
- 3:00pm, Room 3501b — Combining Artistic Passions, with Erin Wilcox and Bradley Denton
FRIDAY
- 11:00am, Room 2211 — Kaffeeklatsch: It’s an hour of unstructured discussion with me, you, and about 10 other people, possibly with beverages. You need to register for this one at the show. And you may need to bring your own beverage.
- 5:00pm, Room 3501d —The Art of Games²: I’m moderating this discussion with Tanglwyst de Holloway, John Picacio, Peter Tieryas, and Brianna Spacekat Wu.
SATURDAY
- 12:00pm — Autographs and Sketches: They’ve got me down for an hour in the Autograph Area. I will be very lonely. Come and get a sketch card from me (while supplies last.)
SUNDAY
- 11:00am, 2503b — Zen Scavenger Hunt, with Jack Campbell Jr., Gail Carriger, and Mark Oshiro. It’s a game show of sorts³.
The rest of my schedule is my own, and I’ll probably random-walk my way into good times with my extended Convention Family. I will also spend a lot of time drawing comics, and if I’m up for company while I draw I will tweet my location. It’s totally okay for you to talk to me while I draw. There’s a big chunk of my language-processing brain that just sits idle while I make pictures.
I love WorldCon. Twenty years ago, back when I was ‘just’ a fan, I was told “you should come to WorldCon” by none other than James P. Hogan during an email exchange about his website. Ten years after that I attended my first WorldCon, and stayed up until two in the morning talking comics with him. He is no longer with us, but his welcoming attitude has always stuck with me. It’s just one of the reasons I will always do everything I can to make fans, friends, and fellow creators feel welcome at this event.
¹Sandra will teach the magic word to Patreon supporters.
²I’m incredibly excited about this panel, and honored to be given the opportunity to moderate it. My plan is to pump these guests for all of the information, and if you’d like to join me as I learn from them, please do.
³Panelists bring seven items. The audience sends us scavenging, and then each of us must explain why the item we produce from our stash is exactly what they’re looking for. There will be some thick fiction there, I’m sure.
Ogre: Objective 218
I picked up Ogre: Objective 218 at GenCon Indy without having played it, or having seen it played. All I got was the sales pitch from a friend of mine who worked at their booth, and his pitch amounted to “fast-playing card game for two players. Build a supply line to the enemy base and capture it.”
Today I sat down with my 13yo son and played it. He had already consumed the instruction manual, and he taught me to play it in a single round, which lasted about ten minutes. Over the next half hour we played two more rounds, and at the end of the game session he’d beaten me two to one. It would have been two to zero, but I insisted upon a final game, which I think he may have thrown, because he got both his Ogres out early (read: “as close to simultaneously as the rules allow”) but didn’t press his advantage with cruise missiles.
If you want a tutorial, Steve Jackson and friends have provided one!
I didn’t think Steve Jackson Games could deliver something satisfying that played faster than Zombie Dice¹, but with the help of It’s Your Move Games² they totally did. Ogre: Objective 218 is fun for casual players, and is also good for folks who count cards and adapt their tactics in accordance with shifting statistical models.
It lists at $14.95, and is probably available at any store that carries Munchkin. It’s also available at Amazon, for folks like me who will probably stop leaving their homes once drone delivery of everything is a reality³.
¹
My Zombie Dice review is up at Steve Jackson’s site. It glows like the eyes of an irradiated feral ghoul.
²Ogre: Objective 218‘s game mechanics are based on the game Battle for Hill 218, copyright © 2007 by It’s Your Move Games, Inc. Used under license.
³It’s already begun. I move around so little that my FitBit stopped telling me about goals, and simply withered and died, like an unwatered philodendron.
GenCon Indy, Booth #1343
Sandra and I will join Jim Zub and the Hypernode Corps of Conventioneers at GenCon Indy this week. You can find all of us at Booth #1343, an endcap installation featuring two hundred square feet of pure¹ magic.
Magic², you say? Absolutely! I have so much work on my plate that I’ll be spending much of my booth time penciling and inking comics. I’ll happily set that aside to do sketches in your books, so if you’re attending GenCon this year, please stop by!
Here’s my schedule:
Thursday
- 10:00am, Causus: Writing What you Don’t Know
- 11:30am-6:00pm*: Booth 1343
Friday
- 10:00am-5:00pm*: Booth 1343
- 6:00pm, Chamber: Writing Excuses Podcast Recording
Saturday
- 10:00am-3:30pm*: Booth 1343
- 4:00pm, Capitol 1: Writers and Mental Health
- 6:00pm, Chamber: Comedy Gold (my solo presentation)
Sunday
- 10:00am-4:00pm*: Booth 1343
If you’re trying to decide which of my panels to attend, I suggest “Comedy Gold.” That’s my solo presentation for writers who want to learn to be funnier. It’s all about refining the joke, and the presentation itself will probably be pretty entertaining whether or not you write.
The Writing Excuses³ session is also going to be quite cool. Dan Wells and I (the only two WX cast members at GenCon this year) will have several different guests on during the two-hour block, and our interviews with them will range across several topics. What will it be about? We don’t actually know yet.
²Not “Magic: The Gathering.” I don’t play. Sorry.
*I do take breaks from time to time. Stop by during that block, and if I’ve gone for a walk, the folks there will let you know when I’ll be back.
³If you’re not yet familiar with Writing Excuses, it’s a podcast for Writers which we’ve been doing for just over eight years now.