(Continued from Part 1).
One of my rules during the exhibitor hall hours is that I won’t be away from my table for more than two hours (and I must have someone at the table at all times). This is so I can slip away and go to one or two events during the day with minimal damage to sales.
I say this because on day two of Gen-Con, I attended the Christianity and Media Panel, an annual event held by the Christian Gamers Guild and Fans For Christ (two ministries Eric and I are part of). I’d always been curious about this panel. The organizers and attendees always spoke highly of it. Heck, in 2008, one panelist was Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons (it may shock many Christians to learn he was a man of faith). I was told I’d have a chance to do a short plug for one of my newest books, 42: Discovering Faith Through Fandom. The panelists this year—whose names suddenly escape me, sadly—were representatives from Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, a Christian-run independent film studio, and Geekdom House, a “church” for geeks. It was a wonderful discussion moderated by Derek White (aka the Geek Preacher). Even a Captain America cosplayer I met on my way there attended. Ironically, as a joke, one of the panelists answered their last question by saying, “Forty-two,” since it that covered everything, to which Derek said something like that was coming up. Then I stepped up and gave a short spiel about the book.
That pitch worked. Eric and I donated ten copies of 42 to the CGG/FFC table, half of which they sold on day one. The rest flew off the shelves after the panel, so people had to come see me to buy them. Then they flew off my shelf! Seriously, this book was my hot seller for the weekend. If I include the donated books, Eric and I brought 30 copies of 42 with us. By the end of the weekend, I only had one left! (In which case, you should definitely buy yourself a copy on Amazon). 😉 😛
As the day came to a close, Eric joined me at the table, which was good because I needed someone to attend to customers while I had one of my most interesting and profound experiences at the convention. A young man who described himself as an “accidental hipster” came to my table and asked me to pitch one of his books. I told him about Ninjas and Talking Trees (which you should also buy on Amazon. Hehe!) Since I mentioned it was largely about subverting tropes, he started talking about a fantasy world he had been building for two months. We spent at least 45 minutes talking. This dude told me he’d been going around to all the writers and talking with them, but none of them gave him this much time. He wanted to become a writer, but he spent so much effort world-building, he didn’t know where to start. While he’d never read Tolkien (accidental hipster, remember?), I could tell this guy’s mind worked like his. He struggled with depression and wanted to use writing as an outlet for it. My prayers go out to him. He has loads of potential.
As the place closed down, I went over to the author signing area next door where I met Trace Beaulieu, a puppeteer who operated and voiced the original Crow T. Robot and played Dr. Forrester on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. He even had the original Crow puppet with him! I only got to see him for a few minutes since it was closing time, but it was worth it. I’d hoped to see him again later in the con at his booth, but I was super-busy on Saturday and he left Sunday morning. 🙁 At least I had this time with him.
After dropping stuff off at the hotel, I returned to Nexus Gaming to participate in another fighting game tourney. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me pay the admission fee with cash. I had to get tickets. The problem was the line was so long, I wouldn’t be able to get them in time. I was upset. So, I ended up spectating. I was annoyed because, once again, I think I could’ve won if not for bad luck. This was the “Obscure Fighter Challenge.” Despite the name, Nexus made players play what they considered to be some of the worst fighting games ever—one of which I owned and had played since childhood! The first was Karate Champ, followed by Sonic Fighters (they played it on a PS3, but I’m sure it’s older than that), and finally Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters on the NES. The last one is the one I own. Argh. Lesson learned.
After perusing the program again, I decided to go demo Villains of the Multiverse again. It wasn’t quite as exciting as the night before, but I did learn that unlike in previous versions of the game, the villains were controlled by players, which took it from a cooperative game to a competitive game. I thought about playing a villain, but settled on playing Legacy, who’s my mainstay. He makes everything better. And we heroes did win. Huzzah!
I forgot to mention that the night before, Eric and I met Adam Rebottaro, the lead artist for the game, and took a photo with him. He even signed my copy of Sentinels!
Finally, Jarod and I went to the Circle Center Mall theatre to see their annual Throwback Feature. This year is was Mad Max 2 (better known as The Road Warrior). I hadn’t seen the film in its entirety for years, so I jumped at the opportunity. What’s crazy is it was only $5.50 a ticket (normally $12.50) and I got to pick our seats. I’d heard of theatres like that but had never been to one, even in Fort Wayne (which is “big city” to me). But then this theatre blew my mind—all the seats were recliners! As in full-sized La-Z-Boys! Complete with a button-operated footrest, a cup holder, and swiveling tray.
Best. Theatre. Ever!
Oh yeah, and the film was still great. In fact, it looked even better on the big screen.
Next Time in Part 3:
Summer Glau, my cosplay, and Five Year Mission!