My badge just arrived for Gen Con, which makes the fact that I'm going for the first time since 2018 real. It's my first gaming convention since Origins 2019. While it's not my first convention as an industry writer, it will be my first one since I left Geek & Sundry and started working for E.N. World.
Since my badge arrived, it's now time for me to start the yearly look over the lists of what new hotness is coming out in the gaming industry. This year is going to be a bit different than past conventions. In the past, I would only look at the new board games and leave the RPGs for my buddy, Rob. Well, he's not going and the website I write for is primarily RPG focused.
That opens up a whole new world of games to look forward to. I have my schedule of events already locked (let's be honest, I'm mostly going to spend my time at the Writer's Symposium), so now I need to work in my plan of attack for the exhibit hall and any interviews I schedule.
This gets me excited, but also a bit nervous. I'm an introvert, but during convention season, I have to push myself outside of my comfort zone to talk to people I've never met before. I'm thinking this year that I may even need to plot out a real schedule on my Google calendar just so I can see where I can schedule stuff in.
But more than the seminars and professional nerd, I do need to schedule in some time for fun. To just enjoy the show as a whole and not get overwhelmed with having to be "on" all the time. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be digging into the lists of games and letting myself get excited to just see and experience the convention with new eyes.
What's your favorite part of convention season? Are you going to Gen Con? What games do I need to try out?
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