On the Road with the Dead Gentlemen

Ok, so I’ve been a little…er…distracted since GenCon finished up. A week ago.

My apologies.

So, the screening went REALLY well! There was a huge line for our screening at 10pm on Saturday. Matt and I managed to get into the screening for the sneak preview for the new D&D movie, Wrath of the Dragon God, which looked surprisingly better. The suck meter had been turned down by at least, I don’t know, 3, maybe 4 points. They didn’t have a bard, but what can ya do?

Anyway, back to our screening. The audience LOVED it! I would say, with utter confidence, that a good 50% of the behind-the-scenes documentary had laughter going. As Ben (one of the editors for the documentary) said, they laughed when they were supposed to, as well as at points when they weren’t expected to. It worked out well.

When the lights kicked back on after the documentary, all the present DG folk were greeted with a standing ovation from the audience. It was magical. Here were these people that were so grateful for what we had made, and here we were so grateful that they dug our creation. It was a nice little moment of two crowds of people looking at each other.

We had a little Q&A when everyone sat down. There were mainly Yes or No questions (Is the Purple Ninja in Dorkness Rising?), which made for a quick, if informative, question session. We received many grins, thank-yous, and high fives. We felt good about ourselves.

The second showing (at 11pm), wasn’t as full as the first, standing-room-only crowd. Nonetheless, they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Yay for people.

Hopefully the final chapter of this tardy recap will get up soon. Er. Than later.

Our absense from posting updates concerning our trip have no doubt caused untold damages both psychologically and physically to you, our loyal reader. I’d say I’m sorry, but no one likes a liar.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the energy to post a full-on entry tonight. I am WIPED out (pooped, exhausted, wasted), so it will unfortunately have to wait.

In the meantime, I will say that the screening(s) for Dorkness Rising were UNBELIEVABLE! I’m posting pictures of the extremely long line and an extremely packed room. I would say with confidence that the audience missed a good third of the content, as they were laughing hysterically. Good thing the documentary will be on the DVD!

Ok, hopefully more tomorrow, when my life regulars out again. Yes, you can use regular as a verb. Matt told me so.

…and it was great! Now isn’t the time for me to go into details (look at the timestamp of the post - 3:48am), but hopefully I’ll be able to post tomorrow. Yay.

Well, Day 3 has come and gone. As is quickly becoming our trend (if it wasn’t already obvious), we had people surrounding our corner booth pretty much the entire day. And we weren’t even paying them this time!

Shortly after lunchtime, Don was arrested by some Klingon folk. Apparantly, you can hire some avid Star Trek fans to come and “arrest” anyone you want, and that individual is “required” to come back with the Klingons to a jail they have right outside the Exhibitor Hall. One of the dudes from Magnificent Egos arranged for the arrest, but Don bargained with a couple DVDs to lessen his jail time. Pictures with social commentary to follow.

We’ve been busy getting prepped for our big Gamers: Dorkness Rising sneak peak screening tonight. We’re expecting a HUGE crowd, which is good. But also bad, considering that the room we’re showing it in only fits 300-ish people. Luckily, that’s why we have a two hour block for a 35-minute documentary, meaning we can show it twice in our time frame. Oh, and the fly spells and hanging harnesses will also help with packing in the people. As opposed to packing down the people. Well, I guess we should do that, too…

Right now, we have to run to the Celebrity Gaming event we have planned. Featuring the gaming might of Monte Cook, Sean K. Reynolds, and Aaron Williams (as well as our own Chris Duppenthaler, Nathan Rice, and Steve Wolbrecht), this public display of adventuring should lend itself to some good times had by all. This group is being led through the adventure module of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising movie that was written by Goodman Games. Like I said, good times had by all for sure.

I need food. (Theoretically and hopefully) more later.

What to say, what to say? It’s been a busy day, this Friday. Hence why there are no posts before tonight.

Our Friday morning came a bit too quickly. As is customary for the second day of the con, we were decently exhausted. All the movie screenings and question-and-answer sessions, night time conversations and games definitely don’t mesh extremely well with the early mornings that the con attendees demand of us exhibitors. Luckily, the super-power of the wonder drug caffeine was there to save our day(s). What do you mean it’s obvious we’re from the Northwest? (Give…me…coffee…)

Our booth was again packed the entire day. Especially during our signing times. In which we had mobs of people surrounding us. And no, I’m not just saying this to brag. I’m just trying to share our experience with y’all. I just called you y’all.

This evening we showed Demon Hunters and Dead Camper Lake, back-to-back. Like our previous Gamers’ audience, the con attendees for the films were very responsive and supportive. The show was standing room only. And yes, there were more than six chairs this time. There were like eight.

We had a question and answer session after the screenings, which went extremely well. Matt answered some background inquiries regarding the Demon Hunter movies (most notably: why are vampires able to walk around in sunlight? The answer being the use of the vampric supplement vitamin V. Another answer being it’s easier to film. What?)

Tomorrow is the big event, however. We’re showing the behind-the-scenes, making-of documentary of the new Gamers: Dorkness Rising feature film. With clips from the film, interviews with the cast and crew, and insights from the gaming industry’s iconic personalities, it should be well worth the $0 admission fee. If you’re at the con, come on by Capital Ballroom 3 in the Westin Hotel. If you’re not at the con, then, well, we’ll be sure to laugh EXTRA hard for you. And that’s a promise!

To say the crowd for the Gamers screening this evening was fabulous would be, well, an understatement. Because. They. ROCKED!

Holy crap: these 200-250 gamers (I’m assuming) laughed at EVERY joke, broke out into applause (APPLAUSE) easily half a dozen times, and had some great questions for the impromptu question and answer session at the end. If you were at that screening and are reading this: thank you. Seriously, you effing rock.

Although finding the place was a bit difficult, we managed to get settle and set up with little difficulty. The room was packed (always a plus), and Nathan played host as well as could be expected by someone with so much public speaking experience. Don, Emily, Ben, Steve, Chris, and Nathan fielded all sorts of questions, from technical specifications to inspirational sources. They were eloquent and funny. Two traits I currently lack whilst posting. Thank you for pitying me and reading this blog anyway. You are a good person.

We’re really excited for our Demon Hunters and Dead Camper Lake screenings tomorrow. I’ll let you know how those go. Just so you can plan your Friday outfit accordingly. Think about it…

One day down, three to go. And, just so we’re clear, that’s one DAY down; we still have an entire evening and night to tackle.

The day has been, for lack of a better term, fruitful. We’ve chatted with many (MANY!) gaming industry people. Wizards of the Coast employees, Order of the Stick creators, Nodwick artists, everyone’s stopped by and said a little what-what. Granted we have a PRIMO booth spot, right next to Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing, and Wizards of the Coast. Yeah, don’t worry if that means nothing to you. Just trust us, it’s pretty cool.

Beyond those celebrity-types, we’ve talked to dozens, hundreds, no THOUSANDS of loving fans. It’s good to know that other people besides us love our movies. And hearing about their particular instances of Gamers references is a solid justification of all the blood, sweat, and tattoos we invested in our movies. We just can’t wait until there’s another Gamers movie for them to quote. It’s coming, it’s coming. Booyah.

Beyond fun conversations, we’ve continually entertained con attendees throughout the day. At any given time, there’d be between six and fifteen people crammed around our corner booth, watching the Gamers (as we’ve been looping it for the whole day) and asking us eager questions about Dorkness Rising.

And, just so all our Gen Con fans know where we’re coming from: we realize you’re disappointed that we don’t have a new movie to premiere here in Indy. But hey, it’s a movie; it takes time. Just so we’re on the same page. Ok, let’s move on.

We have a showing of the Gamers tonight, which we’re pretty sure will be packed. And packed, my friends, is a good thing. There’s nothing like a room full of laughing gamers to make you feel connected to one another. Yay for the fun gaming community. Expect pictures, comments, and responses to that later this evening/night.

Over and out. Under and in? Does anyone ever say that? I wonder why not…

10:30am. The doors to the Exhibit Hall opened a half hour ago, and already a few thousand gamers, sci-fi nuts, and fantasy buffs have wandered through. Whether to demo new games, learn about the newest expansion, or to merely soak in the wonder that is the Hall, all these people have one thing in common: a love to rock Gen Con Indy.

And damn, these attendees are rockin’ Gen Con Indy! Already I’ve seen, I don’t know, thirty or forty pick-up gaming sessions (in hotel lobbies, food courts, and restaurants). I’ve seen three Ghostbusters, five Stormtroopers, Legend of Zelda’s Link, and over two dozen individuals with capes. Frankly, I’d like to see a combo of all those costumes, but that might be a lofty wish.

Walking around the convention center, it’s easy to overhear conversations referencing some event that happened last year. Remembering booth locations, specific gaming events, and costumes, it’s evident that these people notice the details in life. Gamers’ memories? Top notch. Which makes sense if you think about it: many of them can give you the exact wording of any spell listed in the Player’s Handbook. An impressive feat, no matter how you look at it.

The excitement for the opening of the Con coalesced around 9:30am, half an hour before the doors to the Exhibit Hall opened. Eager to be among the first to demo the new City of Heroes card game or to see what new goodies Goodman Games has this year, the mass of attendees gathered around the Exhibit Hall doors. And damn, it was a sight.

There’s something inherently impressive about a few hundred people packed together with little regard to personal space. Granted such impressiveness made moving around incredibly difficult, but hey, that’s part of the fun. Increasing amounts of people meant the area around the doors became exponentially harder to navigate. It was great.

At 10am, Peter Adkison, the man behind the Convention, came out to yell at the seething mass of gamers. He did some stuff with two big fuzzy red dice (not sure what – I failed my Listen check) then opened the doors to the salivating cheers of the attendees.

Like an army of zombies, the attendees swayed their way into the hall. Like hungry dragonflies searching for food, they scattered to the far corners of the massive room in search of their future purchases. Like a bad writer, I just used two similes in a row. Awesome.

As always, the Dead Gentlemen booth is packed with fans. Nathan and Scott are working the crowd, answering questions about the first Gamers movie and entertaining inquiries about the up-coming feature, Dorkness Rising. Ben and Sarah are busy finishing up the Gamers survival gift bags, and Emily just showed up to say what’s up. Matt should come in tonight, at which point the contingent of Dead Gentlemen will be complete. Then begins the world domination, one Midwest city at a time. Look out, St. Louis, we’re coming your way!

And as I finish typing this, I’m sitting between a dude who’s over seven feet tall and a woman who has bat wings. This really is the best four days in gaming.

Oh yes, we are here. And damn, it’s good to be here. We had a bit of traveling troubles, but damnit, nothing’s keeping us from getting to GenCon Indy 2005! Boo-yah!

We left Tacoma early (7am-ish), and subsequently got stuck in massive commuter traffic. Luckily, we had planned enough time to get to the airport with time to spare. Dear Southsound Commuters, Please don’t go about your regular routine while we need to get to the airport. Thanks. Love, the Dead Gentlemen.

Our flight to Denver was great. I (dave) passed out well before take-off, and basically slept the entire time. Yay for low sleep requirements. We got into Denver with a couple hour layover. We passed the time lounging around, chatting about characters, and trying to guess which of the awaiting passengers were fellow gamers. And actually, it’s quite easy to tell. Pony tails, less-than-tan skin, games played on the floor? Gamers for sure.

Right as we were getting ready to board our flight to Indianna, Don realized he didn’t have his drivers license and boarding pass. Huh? That’s not good. After quick deliberation, he concluded (accurately, mind you) that he had accidently left them on the previous plane (I guess “accidently” is not exactly necessary in that last sentence, as I doubt anyone would deliberately leave their only form of ID and their tickets on a plane).

Fifteen horribly stressful minutes later, we’re all on the plane, joking about how much of a dumb-ass Don is, and on our way to Indianna. For the record, we would just like to thank the wonderful workers at Frontier airline who made Don’s continuing flight possible. They be rockin’ the hizzy, yo. Yeah, suburban white boy…

On our way to register, we witnessed quite a display of Indianapolis public service power. Note the moon in the background.

We went out to eat with a couple people from Wizards of the Coast, ran into Aaron Williams, then went out for drinks with a few of the gaming industry peeps. As we talked about at various points during the evening, it’s interesting to note how incestuous the gaming industry is. Everyone’s worked for everyone else at some point, and everyone knows everyone else. Who works with everyone. Everyone else likes everyone. Ok, I’m confused now. Basically, they all know each other, and it’s funny to note. That’s all. Yeah, that was poorly explained. Yet it’s still in this post. And you read it. Hah!

Now all four of us (Chris, Steve, Don, and I) are plugging away on our laptops, cruising the Internet on our hotel-granted wifi. Ah, technology. Don’s lost items were found (HUZZAH!), so life is good again. I know you all were dutifully concerned.

The con officially starts tomorrow. You should be getting numerous updates from me throughout the day. If not, well, then I’m a liar. Or I was kidnapped by pirates. In which case it’s not my fault. Ok, need to sleep.

Oh, and we’ve written down a quick list of things NOT to do when traveling to GenCon:

1. Leave your drivers license, boarding pass, and palm pilot on your first of two flights, thus nearly stranding you in Denver.
2. Get caught in traffic on the way to the airport.
3. Be hungover from celebrating the last night of your friend being in the area.
4. Forget to bring all of your gaming materials, as no actual gaming happens at GenCon. Yes, I’m an idiot.

Well, as I’m sure you all know, tonight is Holy GenCon Eve Eve 2005. We’re busy getting our party favors and outfits packed and stowed and are eagerly awaiting our flight out to Indy tomorrow morning. Yes, we have close to no lives. Steve has a life, but then again he’s busy playing World of Warcraft at the moment. Oh, gamers!

We’re all 100% excited (none of this 75% crap) for the Best Four Days in Gaming™, as I’m sure you are too. We’ve got some brand new Dorkness Rising spoof posters, some fancy shmancy new shirts, and a little bit of lovin’ for the gaming community. Not like that. Ok, maybe a bit like that. But no more d20s, damnit.

As we drift off to sleep tonight, all snug in our beds, we’ll have sweet visions dance through our heads. They’ll be along the lines of this crazy mass of gamers from last year.

GenCon Indy, here we (eventually) come!