Gen Con 2014, the biggest con in tabletop gaming, ran full-steam this past weekend, offering players four days of exhaustive gaming. This year, video games seemed to be everywhere. In the hallways, cosplayers were just as likely to be wearing a Mario or Link costume as they were a wizard or drow. In the Exhibitor Hall, companies were demoing new computer games alongside their tabletop counterparts. And on the game floor there were rows of computer monitors ready for play.
Golem Arcana
One of the more interesting games to appear at Gen Con was Golem Arcana. This game came out of a Kickstarter campaign last fall, and released on August 13, just in time for Gen Con.
A self-described “gateway game,” Golem Arcana uses an iOS or Android tablet to act as the game’s rulebook, referee, and scorekeeper. Play occurs on a grid of microdot-tagged terrain maps, atop which are microdot-tagged models of giant combat golems. To play, players use a Bluetooth stylus to tap their models, their stat cards, or the terrain grid, while the synced tablet display calls up stats, tracks movement, determines combat outcomes.
Golem Arcana is an interesting hybrid. The stylus works well most of the time, though it could also be hindered by connectivity issues (especially when many games were going on in one area) and battery charge. Also, the game currently supports only one tablet display, meaning players need to either pass a tablet back and forth or stand one in such as way as both players can see it. GA staff at the con assured that the multi-tablet function was in the works for a future update.
Warmachine: Tactics
Another Kickstarter-fueled game, Warmachine: Tactics is still in beta testing but had a fully playable demo running at the con. This game is a well-crafted translation of the Warmachine tabletop miniatures game to the turn-based strategy game format. While the translation isn’t exact — individual troopers have hit points, for example, whereas on the tabletop most troopers go down in one hit — it comes close to recreating the play experience in a dynamic digital environment.
The demo at Gen Con ran smoothly. Two-sided kiosks were set up in the Exhibitor Hall so that two people could stand on either side and play each other, and there were always lines to give the game a try. In addition, all Kickstarter backers were recently invited to join in the Steam beta, a move that indicates Warmachine: Tactics may be close to commercial release.
BattleTech: Firestorm
In the hall just outside the Exhibitors area were a number of large pods — the BattleTech Cockpit Simulator Pods Inside, players could step inside and pilot a virtual mech in combat. The tabeltop games BattleTech and MechWarrior have been popular with gamers for decades, and they’ve both made the leap to video game before … but never quite like this. Think of BattleTech: Firestorm as Titanfall on steroids. The gameplay is pretty straightforward, but the experience is definitely enhanced by the virtual pod you’re sitting in for the game. Enthusiasts of the franchise were lining up to play this one.
These pods were once exclusive to Dave and Buster’s franchises and certain licenced BattleTech play centers. They are now making the con circit so that more players can experience what it’s like to pilot a mech into combat.
TCGs
Since its release, Hearthstone has made a big impact on the gamer community. It was fully represented at Gen Con, with both a tournament format and a casual hourly play area. Players were welcome to bring their own devices, or to play on provided systems. In addition, games like Magic: Duels of the Plainswalkers 2015 and Hex: Shards of Fate were also well represented alongside all of the traditional tabletop TCGs played at the con.
Other Games
In addition to the above, there were League of Legends tournaments, Minecraft events, Mario Kart 8 tournaments, Indy 500 racing simulations, and any number of new indie developed games on display in the exhibitor hall. There was even a retro arcade area set up in one of the show rooms, allowing players to plunk quarters down for a turn at games like Centepede and Donkey Kong.While video game offerings still accounted for only a small percent of all the games available at the con, their presence was noticeable and welcome.
Gen Con Indy 2014 was, all in all, a good time for any gamer who also loved video games. It will be interesting to watch the presence of these games grow as the years progress.
