Gen Con SoCal ‘04: Some Last Notes From the Exhibition Floor.

Gen Con SoCal is over. I am looking over the last of my notes pondering the future of this convention. Sunday was blur of last minute activity running from booth to booth picking up some last minute purchases and talking to a few vendors along the way. Here are the last of my notes from the exhibition floor.

Reality Blurs

Reality Blurs is a brand new company, based in Tennessee, that has gotten a license to the Savage Worlds system, the third company to do so. They have also worked out an a agreement with Green Ronin to use their M&M Superlink license. Reality Blurs’ first product is RunePunk: Steam and Shadow and it is slated for a Spring 2005 release. Sean Preston, President of Reality Blurs, talked about his next couple of products. The next release after RunePunk, is Katana: Samurai Steampunk. It is slated to be released three to five months after RunePunk. Apparently, Katana will feature bamboo mecha and will have an Inu Yasha-esque feel to it. Capes & Spandex Asylum is projected for release at the end of 2005. Sean describes it as superhero horror and says that it his way of pushing the boundaries of the superhero theme. There will be some .pdf titles on the way as well.

Shifting Forest

Their business cards were messed up, their webpage is… well, under construction, but Shifting Forest may have had one of the more promising products at Gen Con SoCal.

They have a line of LARP products – scenarios actually, that use a very simple system to resolve tasks and combat that uses the ability score for both initiative and task resolution. They are trying to get away from the more traditional methods of rock-paper-scissors and playing cards and are much more interested in bridging the gap between drama and LARPs. They can be played in a small area like a dorm room or an apartment. Their scenarios span a wide range of genres and are quite affordable at $10 apiece. In addition, they a have a subscription service where a .pdf of a new adventure can be delivered, by email, every two months, at a rate of $110 for six months or $200 for one year. I wish I had one of their books so that I could tell you more about this exciting product – but sadly, I don’t. I do have a character sheet that a friend of mine left on the floor of the hotel and from the looks of it, the scenario: The Queen of Spades is very well thought out. They have questions that you, as your character, should be looking for answers to. This is a really nice touch and will help those new to LARPs. I really hope that Shifting Forest can get their company off the ground. They have a nice line of products and I think that the accessibility of their system could introduce a lot more people to the idea of live action roleplay.

Adiken

Nin-Gonost was finally available at the Adiken booth. At Gen Con Indy, they were still showing off the prototype. This time they were selling the real deal.

Nin-Gonost is a dungeon adventure game that uses magnetic floor tiles and walls to create the dungeon environment. The game uses a series of unique dice to resolve combat. The boxed set comes complete with pewter miniatures and accessories, wall and floor sections, doors, dice, tokens, character cards, paints and brushes, all packaged in a wooden case. The suggested retail is $149. This may sound pretty expensive, but you get a ton of stuff for the price. If you pre-order now from the Adiken website, you can get 20% off!

The Forge

I want to extend an apology to The Forge for not stopping by their booth. Apparently, my editor took a little heat from them. In my defense, it was a big convention and I was covering it by myself. I tried to talk to as many people as I could. I am sure you weren’t the only ones that I missed and I am sorry for missing new releases at your booth.

That’s pretty much it from the Gen Con SoCal 2004 exhibition floor. I will have a couple more articles that will trickle in, in the next day or so. But, for the most part, I’m done. Thanks for tuning in to my coverage of Gen Con SoCal 2004.