The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The Promotion

I'd heard about it all over the 'net. Origins! The big ole convention of the Role-playing game community. Fate smiled upon me and put it in Columbus, Ohio, the same weekend I was supposed to go there and visit my parents. "What the hell," I figured, "might as well give it a shot..."

I'd been to some conventions before; mostly smaller, local ones, but also to DragonCon last year. So I hopped in my rental car and left Charlottesville, Virginia, for the funtown (no, really!) that is Columbus.

The Arrival

I'd given some directions to my friends at I.C.E. on how to get to Columbus. Fortunately for them, they didn't follow them on the way there, as I didn't realize how bad 23 could be on a truck. Ah, well, them's the fortunes. After 7 hours on the road, Thursday was looking bad for visiting, so I decided to go in the morning.

I arrived outside the convention center at around 10 am. I quickly noted the complete lack of exterior signs - hell, if I didn't know for *certain* that it was there, I would've been forced to just head across the street to Barley's for some good beer. Determined to at least see the inside of the damn building, I looked for guys with glasses and carrying backpacks - much like I was. I found some walking in, and entered the building.

There was no one at the doors to greet people as they walked in, and very little security whatsoever. That surprised me. The first thing I saw was I.C.E.'s 500-ship Silent Death setup. Very impressive. I spoke with them for a few moments, then headed over to the registration booth.

The registration area was fairly chaotic. There were lines, and some signs, but it seemed mostly setup for people to figure out what the heck to do on their own. I figured it out, then sat in line for a while, patiently waiting for some worker to scream out "NEXT!" so that I could move forward and (hopefully) find him.

After I got my stylish name tag, I headed into the Dealer Room. I thought about playing some of the games, but due to the completely confusing listings in the book, coupled with the confusing (and pretty much unlabeled setup of booths near the registration area) I decided I'd just go browse.

The Room

To reach the actual dealer booths, you had to wade through the see of tables setup for people who were trying to play games for, what it seemed the most part, by themselves. It also seemed to be home to the amateur salespeople hoping to sell their homegrown games...but then you got to show your ID (maybe) to the bored security guard. That is, if he bothered to care.

It seemed to be a pretty standard setup for a dealer room, with the addition of an ill-placed area right in the middle for TSR/WotC people to show off their games. That made it a bit harder to navigate around the room.

Highlights:

For me, the Pinnacle Entertainment Group booth rocked. They had a beautiful game of Great Rail Wars going (which won an award at the con) and the staff was friendly and helpful.

Most of the companies I stopped and talked to (Biohazard Games, I.C.E., Chaosium, Atlas) were very friendly and helpful. They actually took time to introduce themselves to people browsing their areas and to see if you needed help, had questions, etc.

Keeping most of the hard-core card players in seperated rooms from everybody else. That helped keep them from being annoyed by the rest of us, and helped us avoid them.

Annoyances:

Those damn girls from Aquarius. Yes, maybe with some gamers if you just show a pouty little face they'll do whatever you want them to (namely, buy your inane game) but don't holler at us as we walk by!

People that you know from 400 miles away that insist you play/buy every game they have everytime you walk by. No, I'd do that at home, if I liked you there, either.

Two of the companies I really wanted to see weren't there - Steve Jackson Games and Dream Pod 9. I don't know if that's related to their GenCon boycott or not, though...

Damn, the food was expensive.

Weird events:

I work about a block away from Kesmai/Gamestorm, and play RoleMaster with a guy who works there, but I had to drive 400 miles to get their CD for free in my Andon bag.

It was a good con - if kind of limited. If you go to cons for nothing more then role-playing games, then by all means, go.

It wasn't fancy but it was full of good stuff. Of course, if you're going to Columbus, you owe it to yourself to at least see the town that you drove so far to visit. Or at least go to the Metallica concert on Saturday night. But at least go outside!

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Origins '98
Author: N/A Category: Convention Company/Publisher: Andon Inc. Cost: $16/day Page count: N/A ISBN: N/A Capsule Review by SeanMike Whipkey on 07/16/98. Genre tags: none	The Promotion I'd heard about it all over the 'net. Origins! The big ole convention of the Role-playing game community. Fate smiled upon me and put it in Columbus, Ohio, the same weekend I was supposed to go there and visit my parents. "What the hell," I figured, "might as well give it a shot..." I'd been to some conventions before; mostly smaller, local ones, but also to DragonCon last year. So I hopped in my rental car and left Charlottesville, Virginia, for the funtown (no, really!) that is Columbus. The Arrival I'd given some directions to my friends at I.C.E. on how to get to Columbus. Fortunately for them, they didn't follow them on the way there, as I didn't realize how bad 23 could be on a truck. Ah, well, them's the fortunes. After 7 hours on the road, Thursday was looking bad for visiting, so I decided to go in the morning. I arrived outside the convention center at around 10 am. I quickly noted the complete lack of exterior signs - hell, if I didn't know for certain that it was there, I would've been forced to just head across the street to Barley's for some good beer. Determined to at least see the inside of the damn building, I looked for guys with glasses and carrying backpacks - much like I was. I found some walking in, and entered the building. There was no one at the doors to greet people as they walked in, and very little security whatsoever. That surprised me. The first thing I saw was I.C.E.'s 500-ship Silent Death setup. Very impressive. I spoke with them for a few moments, then headed over to the registration booth. The registration area was fairly chaotic. There were lines, and some signs, but it seemed mostly setup for people to figure out what the heck to do on their own. I figured it out, then sat in line for a while, patiently waiting for some worker to scream out "NEXT!" so that I could move forward and (hopefully) find him. After I got my stylish name tag, I headed into the Dealer Room. I thought about playing some of the games, but due to the completely confusing listings in the book, coupled with the confusing (and pretty much unlabeled setup of booths near the registration area) I decided I'd just go browse. The Room To reach the actual dealer booths, you had to wade through the see of tables setup for people who were trying to play games for, what it seemed the most part, by themselves. It also seemed to be home to the amateur salespeople hoping to sell their homegrown games...but then you got to show your ID (maybe) to the bored security guard. That is, if he bothered to care. It seemed to be a pretty standard setup for a dealer room, with the addition of an ill-placed area right in the middle for TSR/WotC people to show off their games. That made it a bit harder to navigate around the room. Highlights: For me, the Pinnacle Entertainment Group booth rocked. They had a beautiful game of Great Rail Wars going (which won an award at the con) and the staff was friendly and helpful. Most of the companies I stopped and talked to (Biohazard Games, I.C.E., Chaosium, Atlas) were very friendly and helpful. They actually took time to introduce themselves to people browsing their areas and to see if you needed help, had questions, etc. Keeping most of the hard-core card players in seperated rooms from everybody else. That helped keep them from being annoyed by the rest of us, and helped us avoid them. Annoyances: Those damn girls from Aquarius. Yes, maybe with some gamers if you just show a pouty little face they'll do whatever you want them to (namely, buy your inane game) but don't holler at us as we walk by! People that you know from 400 miles away that insist you play/buy every game they have everytime you walk by. No, I'd do that at home, if I liked you there, either. Two of the companies I really wanted to see weren't there - Steve Jackson Games and Dream Pod 9. I don't know if that's related to their GenCon boycott or not, though... Damn, the food was expensive. Weird events: I work about a block away from Kesmai/Gamestorm, and play RoleMaster with a guy who works there, but I had to drive 400 miles to get their CD for free in my Andon bag. It was a good con - if kind of limited. If you go to cons for nothing more then role-playing games, then by all means, go. It wasn't fancy but it was full of good stuff. Of course, if you're going to Columbus, you owe it to yourself to at least see the town that you drove so far to visit. Or at least go to the Metallica concert on Saturday night. But at least go outside! Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Origins '98

The Promotion

The Arrival

The Room