I had a great year at GenCon this past week. Friday, especially, was a good day. In the afternoon, the new Star Wars RPG Edge of the Empire was announced. I'm one of the writer/developers. See my Star Wars Wednesday post for the rundown on it and how it upped the excitement level for the entire show.
On top of that, the ENnie Awards were that evening. My D&D product Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale took a silver ENnie in the Best Monster/Adversary category. It was my first ENnie win, and a blast to be able to walk up on stage with my fellow writers (Brian James and Steve Townshend - Matt James was elsewhere) and lead developer Jeremy Crawford to accept the award. I told my wife, when else do I ever get to make an entrance to the tune Back in Black (which was WotC's selected acceptance music)?
Other GenCon comments and events in no particular order:
Attended the first ever GenCon Keynote address, which covered D&D Next and news for fans of every edition of the game - the entire D&D line - every edition - will be incrementally issued via electronic format. All of the recorded D&D events are available on the WotC website. I attended the Monster and DM seminar, as well as the D&D Next core. Both are good, though I got more out of the Monster panel.
Attended the Diana Jones Awards, which is always a good time. Was out quite late with that one.
For those in the Realm Works rpg campaign aid beta (from Lone Wolf Development, the company that sells the Hero Lab character generator), I created the fantasy continet map (or rather, recreated it based on their earlier map). I'll post an excerpt to my online portfolio when I get a chance.
X-Wing Miniatures game is out from FFG. You can download the rules at the FFG site.
Finally able to pick up Leviathans from Catalyst, after years of watching and waiting. Steampunk flying WWI battleships, with a combat system at a level of detail I wish the Star Wars Starship Battles game could have had.
Picked up the Day After Ragnarok (Savage Worlds version) and Cthulu 101, both by Kenneth Hite and Atomic Overmind Press.
Picked up my kickstarter copy of Edition Wars card game from the Gamer Nation/Christopher West booth. It was one of the few games I had time to play during the con.
Totally enjoyed the food trucks lined up outside the convention center this year. Plus the weather was fantastic.
Attended some good seminars on publishing and other topics. Most of my seminar schedule actually changed a lot this time depending on other events, and my mood at the time.
Met with contacts old and new about potential freelancing.