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August 2003
August is now upon us, which can only mean one
thing: Comic Con is now over and done for this year.
If you missed it, then I have to tell you this: Nyah,
nyah! I got to go and you didn't! Hah hah! If you did
go, then you'll already know what a blast Comic Con
can be.
For those who have been there before, you'll know that
Comic Con is more than just Comic Books. It's also
gaming, television, movies, collectibles, web comics,
and role playing. It's also one of the closest things
to an alternate reality you'll ever experience without
subjecting yourself to illegal and dangerous
chemicals. Since this column is primarily about
gaming, however, I'll stick to the gaming aspect of
Comic Con for this installment.
If you find yourself drooling and overwhelmed when you
visit your local game store, you'll likely end up
comatose at Comic Con. Unlike your local game store,
which carries a limited stock of whatever has been
recently released, Comic Con has an incredible
selection of stuff that not only has been released,
but that is awaiting release. Wonder what's coming up
in your favorite game? Most likely you'll find the
newest revisions at Comic Con long before they make it
to your local store, and sometimes for sale, even.
For example, Wiz Kids is releasing a new expansion for
Mage Knight called "Dragon's Gate". The Dragon's Gate
Booster Packs cannot be found in your local store yet
(as of this writing), but they were available for
purchase at Comic Con. Pre-release version of
Playstation 2 games were on display for playing and
evaluation, although you might wait in line for quite
a while to get your hands on one of the demo
controllers. Note: If you cannot stand waiting in
lines, Comic Con is not for you. If the stuff or
people you're interested in are popular, expect to
wait in line to see them.
Comic Con is also a terrific place to try out games
before you decide to buy them. Most of the game
companies had demos set up for Con Attendees to play,
along with volunteers to teach the uninitiated the
basic ropes of playing their games. For some games,
scheduled tourneys were set up that attendees could
sign up for and participate in. Sometimes, playing
against a different group of opponents will give you a
new perspective on the game. ("Wow, these guys are
even lamer than I am!") Even if the volunteer running
the game isn't the most "up to date" on the rules,
you'll typically find a devotee to the game hanging
around close by who is more than happy to step in and
answer questions about subtle nuances of the game. For
such people, Comic Con may be the only time anyone
actually appreciates that they know every rule on page
79 of the Player's Manual. The rest of the year they
might be just a geek, but during Comic Con, they're a
god.
Comic Con is also a great opportunity to meet the
people behind the games. Coming soon to an issue of
Collector Times will be yours truly's interview with
Steve Jackson, the man behind such games as "Munchkin"
and "Chez Geek. I have it on good authority that
Munchkin is a very fun and highly addictive game, and
meeting the guys behind it, it's easy to understand
how it got to be that way. Now all we have to do is
find a good time for Chris and AJ to bring it over so
we can learn how to play it, too.
The flip side of meeting the folks behind the games is
that you can give them direct feedback on their games.
In most cases, the designers enjoy getting feedback on
their games, provided the feedback isn't limited to
"Your game sucks!" Good feedback is when you tell the
designer such things as "house rules" you tried which
made the game more fun, or a difficulty you
encountered with interpreting a certain rule for a
situation. Even in play testing, it's nearly
impossible to cover every possible scenario, and good
player feedback can help the designers refine the game
and make it better still.
If you're a fan of gaming, then I heartily suggest you
attend Comic Con, or another Con near you. It's an
excellent experience, and well worth the investment it
takes. Maybe next year, I'll actually take the time to
try playing a game or two while I'm there.
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