FREE Vol 2 Issue 5 * Gaming Articles, Monthly Editorials & Remarkable Stories
May/June 2008
Marcon: Alternative Realities Convention Ben Chronister OGO Publications
The Multiple Alternative Realities Convention, otherwise known as MARCON, took place over Memorial Day weekend at the Columbus Convention center here in Ohio. I had originally hoped to be able to provide an un-biased, non-editorialized piece on the event, dry and unyielding in the face of plain truth. Unfortunately, I had too good a time to be able to do so. Marcon is not your standard gathering of nerds. Taking place about a month before Origins, and in the same location, Marcon carries with it a certain sense of expectancy and defiance. It is a much smaller convention, more tightly knit, comfortable, and laid back than Origins. It
feels in many ways like Origins’ younger, smarter cousin. The focus of Marcon is on literature, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Adventure, and just about anything else that can be written about and have a nerdy sort of following. Sure there are stormtroopers and anime characters walking around, and yes a certain amount of gaming goes on, but the primary focus of the convention is on panels of (mostly) knowledgeable people expounding upon theories they’ve devised or their own areas of expertise. Panels and presentations were available involving an incredible range of subjects. Available for all attendees were heated debates of Sci-Fi television’s future, to discussions on how best to be published, to a demonstration of great skill with Whips and the history thereof.
But down to the nitty gritty. Was the con fun? My God, YES! In only two days I saw and spoke with more people about more interesting subjects than I had for the preceding year. Time travel, literature, a short but enlightening conversation about corsets, all of these and more were the topics of my random conversations, not to mention the great interviews I conducted with several different people, all of which will be elaborated upon in further articles in the next month. But perhaps the most telling aspect of the convention came at the very beginning. I’d shown up a bit late and had yet to obtain my registration badge. I was escorted to the registration area and asked to produce my driver’s license for date entry purposes. I did so and waited for a moment before being asked
“What name would you like on your badge?” I stuttered for a moment, unsure of what was being asked. “You have my license right there don’t you?” “Yes, and your real name will appear on the back, but what name do you want on the front?” I giggled for the next hour, unable to keep from staring at my badge, perhaps unreasonably tickled by being able to plaster the name of my favorite former Dungeons and Dragons character on the front of my badge for all to see. Marcon, my fellow gamers, is not a convention for the weak of imagination. It is a playground for ideas, where they may come out to play and grow and thrive in an encouraging and pleasant environment.
WotC to Co-Sponsor GenCon ICV2.com Copyright 2008 GCO, LLC. Reprinted with permission
Quashing weeks of rumors, Gen Con announced today that Wizards of the Coast will be a co-sponsor of Gen Con Indy this August. ICv2 has confirmed that this cosponsorship will include Wizards of the Coast as an exhibitor at the show. The Wizards of the Coast relationship with the show goes back 41 years,
to when the show was founded by TSR Games (later acquired by WotC). This is an
4th Edition in June. It will be premiering the new Living Forgotten Realms campaign at the show, as well as
important year at GenCon for WotC, which is launching D&D
20 years of the Legend of Drizzt. Bestselling author R.A.
Salvatore will appear at the show to sign sample chapters of The Pirate King and The Stowaway. Rumors that WotC would not be exhibiting at Gen Con had been sparked in part by the presence of Hasbro in the creditor list that was filed in conjunction with Gen Con’s chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Gen Con owed Hasbro over $400,000 at the time of the filing, and it was the third largest creditor.