Gen Con, a four-day gaming convention in Indianapolis, takes place August 4-7. This will be my third year attending and I am incredibly excited! I look forward to attending a handful of game studies panels, a couple storytelling workshops, some hobby workshops (chainmaille teddy bears!), and general entertainment. I do not get a lot of game play in at Gen Con – I typically focus on the workshops and the enormous exhibitor hall. (For convention game play, I LOVE Geekway to the West, a convention in St. Louis that I attended for the second time earlier this year.) If you are curious about the specific panels and workshops that I will check out, here is a list of events that I am signed up for:

GAME STUDIES PANELS

Psychology of Gaming: Are you interested in psychology? Are you looking for some insight into what makes gamers tick? Come join a talk on the interesting connections between psychology & gaming!
Queer as a Three-Sided Die: We need diverse games! Join our panel of game industry professionals to discuss & share experiences about sexual & gender identity in gaming. What have you seen? What would you like to see?
Are “Women In Gaming” Panels Serving Their Original Purpose? – A Round Table Discussion: Does our gender identity make difference in our gaming experience? What do we want when we attend a “Women In Gaming” panel? Are we getting it? Come join in on a round-table discussion exploring these questions and more led by Lone Shark’s CEO, Marie Poole, featuring game industry guests.
Diversity in Gaming: Everyone should feel welcome at the game table! Join Paizo’s staff in discussing how Pathfinder can be more inclusive and fun for people of all shapes, genders, sexual preferences, ages, ethnicities, and more—both in the books, and around your gaming table.
Video Game Writing: Representation in Games: The gaming demographic is significantly different than when the industry began, so we’ll look at ways writers can respectfully and intelligently represent and write for the modern gaming audience.
Women in Gaming Meet & Greet: A short Q&A followed by time to mingle with some of the women working in the gaming industry. A great way to have fun, gain some insider knowledge, & kick your con off right with some new friends!

STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS

Mythical Monsters and Folktale Fauna: Join us as we examine and dissect various cryptozoological mystery monsters from Bigfoot to Nessie and look at their plausibility and the evidence presented for their existence. We’ll delve into the methods used to search for them and look at some real animals who are way cooler than some pretend ones. We’ll even tell the story of a real-life Bigfoot hunt and an encounter with the Skunk Ape Sage of Southern Florida. Dress code: please wear your best gorilla costume.
Writer’s Workshop: Worldbuilding – Religion & Mythology: This panel discusses the creation and use of religions, gods, and mythic events in created worlds. With Steve’s guidance the audience will define the major religions of the Workshop world, their gods and goddesses, and how all those elements affect the world.

HOBBBY WORKSHOPS

Teddy Bear Chainmailleing: We invite you to come, select a teddy bear, & armor it up medieval style! LOANER tools provided.
Book Binding Without Tools: See how easy it is to make books using no tools or adhesives. We will make at least 3 books using different binding techniques.
Scalemail Bracers: Make a pair of amazing scalemail bracers! You will get to keep all of your supplies including your instructions & tools!
Celtic Knot Chainmail Pendant & Necklace: Make a gorgeous Celtic knot chainmail pendant & a matching chain using your choice of 2 different chainmail techniques!
Creature Felt Fun: Learn to make cute felt critters. I’ll walk you through each step so that by the end of the class you’ll have a soft 3D sculpture that you can proudly show off.

ENTERTAINMENT

The Bard LIVE in Concert!: Dan the Bard sings your favorite songs of general nerd culture. +1500 XP for attending. www.danthebard.com. Come hear Worst Rebel Ever, Klingons at Bristol, and The Blue Dragon Butt Song! 9 CD’s available on iTunes, cdbaby.com, amazon.com and spotify. Search Dan the Bard, Dan Marcotte and Daniel Marcotte.
 

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