The DiRT – Gencon 2014, Infinity, and more….
7 Minute Read
Aug 21 2014
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GenCon 2014 is over. Time to reflect on the amazing leap Infinity has made between 2013 and 2014.
For me to write about everything that happened at GenCon this year, even if I only focused on just Corvus Belli/Infinity, it would be a 19 part article. If I was still writing about GenCon in December, I would imagine any reader I still had hanging on would be screaming “ENOUGH ALREADY”, so I’m going to give you some highlights. I might slice off some pieces of the Infinity seminar for future articles, but we’ll just label those articles “3rd Edition Previews” instead of GenCon article part 12.
The News – Infinity Makes Its Presence Known
Changes In The Exhibitor’s Hall
Changes In The Exhibitor’s Hall
In 2013, the Infinity booth was effectively two tables and a space behind it. It allowed for a truly intimate connection between the staff, the demo personnel (Richard and I), and Infinity fans. As small as the space was, it was explained to me that it was double the size of the Infinity booth in 2012.
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| This photo is more than 50% of the space the Infinity booth had in 2013. |
In 2014, the space was significantly improved. Dedicated Demo areas were available and looked so good that we never ran out of a queue of people interested in trying Infinity for the first time. For those that are curious, the demo tables were built by Scenery Planet.
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| One of the dedicated demo areas in 2014. Huge thank you to the GenCon attendee who took the photo! |
Corvus Belli also acquired dedicated table space in the gaming hall. That space, was being used for the tournaments as well as a fairly extensive demo area run by the Warcors (volunteers who have a love for the game of Infinity and are willing to provide demos in their section of the world). So people in the exhibition hall would stop by, get a small sample of the game with all of the core rules and then have the option to experience a larger game in the gaming hall. My goal was to keep the Warcors in the gaming hall as busy as possible. I heard I did not do too bad on this endeavor.
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| Angel Giraldez, prepping the Neoterra Bolt miniatures for his Master Class at GenCon. |
In between the two demo areas in the Exhibitor Hall were display cases filled with expertly painted Infinity Miniatures. While we had some of those excellently painted miniatures in 2013. What we did not have was THE PAINTER sitting between two cases of his immaculate work. Angel Giraldez was on site to demonstrate his unbelievable painting skills. He was only at the booth about 50% of the time, due to his sold out master classes and seminar that previews his first collection of artwork. His book is due out in 2015, although I believe it can be pre-ordered.
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| Angel Giraldez previewing his first collection of miniatures book. Photo by Cervantes3773. |
2014, also marked the era of our first Booth Cosplayer. You probably know her from her exclusive cosplay miniature (or hundreds of other things she has cosplayed as), Tabitha Lyons. For those of you who could not attend, or missed her at GenCon, let me assure you, she was an incredible person who truly cared about Infinity. Her father hung out with me for a little bit, wanting to see the differences between 2nd and 3rd edition. I’m wishing him the best whenever he and Tabitha might get in a game next.
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| Ariadna 112 vs PanO Neoterra Bolt….. FIGHT!!! |
Before I depart from talking about Tabitha, let me just try to impress upon you just how much stamina that poor girl must have had. I cosplayed as well (for one day). My costume was super light, with breathable fabric, and after wearing it for 2 hours I was thinking it was time to shed the overcoat. I’ve got no idea how Tabitha was able to keep a smile on her face as she wore some extensive armor that was both heavy and hot.
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| Stacks of Operation:Icestorm on Wednesday. |
Now for something that I know will be a little sad for some people. But Corvus Belli DID have some stock of Operation:Icestorm and other GenCon Exclusives on Thursday. AND…. they were replenshed more than once. However, by Friday morning we had only 32 boxes of Operation:Icestorm left. All stock of the Neoterra Bolt Cosplay Edition disappeared in the first 90 minutes of Thursday (before Tabitha even appeared). Lastly, the Bootleg Penthelisea vanished within the first 2 hours on Thursday.
The Skinny – Changes in the Gaming Hall
Having 3 rows of dedicated Infinity tables was a huge change this year. It meant no one had to bring terrain with them to play on some amazing boards. For the cost of a generic GenCon ticket ($2 per player), new players could play a demo game with a dedicated Warcor demo host. Assembled and painted models were on hand for such a demo. The same generic ticket could allow more veteran players to just enjoy the additional space provided to them and get a game in. I am now going to post a ton of photos taken by Cervantes3773 to show you just how far $2 can go today….
Want a unique Infinity experience? Those lucky few who got in and signed up for the Morat Prison Break and Raicho Initiation series were able to get just that.
Let’s first talk about the Morat Prison Break. Hosted by Warsenal, the Morat Prison break pit a collection of GenCon Attendees against armed Morat guards as they attempted to bypass security and find a way off the planet. The scenery was breath taking. Roofs could be pulled off as the escapees made their way to the escape craft.
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| As amazing as this picture is….. it still does not do the real thing justice. |
While I am really looking forward to Warsenal releasing the details of this mission, the scenery itself is just another character/villain that I think will be difficult to replicate.
Now lets talk about the Raicho Initiation. Instead of the Morat being the enemy, the GenCon attendees were the Morats. When looking at the Infinity fluff, after a Raicho completes their training, they are still not “officially” part of the corp until they trek onto the planet and take out a vicious creature without the use of guns. And now… the photos….
See the people laughing and having a good time, now look at the organizer. He’s not sure how to deal with the sheer quantity of critical rolls being made against his creatures.
The DiRT – Meet ALL The Infinity People
So outside of all the events and I attended and worked at, there were the people. And it’s probably THE #1 reason to attend GenCon. There are so many talented people on the forums that make their way to GenCon and getting a chance to work with and hang out these people just makes the entire event enjoyable. With that thought in mind, and to keep it from being a “I talk to you once a year” kind of thing, I present to you my initial musings….. a cartoon.
Infinity Images
I leave you today with “Bostria and the 112”
I leave you today with “Bostria and the 112”
Last year (GenCon 2013), after playing a series of games with Richard (the other primary Infinity Demo Guy), I had a series of unbelievable rolls where my 112 miniature went in close combat and killed 3 Yu Jing models. When Carlos (Bostria) came over, I retold the tale. He looked at me with a shrug and said, “This does not suprise me at all. The 112 is the most powerful unit in the game.” I had no choice but to show up as the 112 for GenCon 2014. If any of you artists are in the mood to create me a signature banner for the infinity website, I would love to see a 112 about to take on a Jotums TAG (or Avatar, etc).
So that’s the news, the skinny, the DIRT on GenCon 2014 from an Infinity perspective. Have you been to GenCon or thinking about going next year, let me know in the comments below. If I see there’s enough interest, I might even pull together an official Infinity story driven event. As always find me here, my YouTube Channel, or drop me a line or Infinity photos at my new email address [email protected] .
Author: doremicom
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