Gen Con - Saturday - Salvatore + Greenwood
Posted by Jay | Filed under Blog, Game Industry
I was first introduced to the Elminster character while playing Baldur’s Gate. In the very first act, his character is one of the first encountered. After doing my best to kill this character as quickly as possible, eventually I decided that this toon must be the man!
In 2004 while perusing the local library I happened across an old paperback named: Elminster: the making of a mage. I devoured the book, moving onto Elminster in Myth Drannor and Elminster in Hell. I’ve been a big fan of that character, his wisdom and mannerism alighting my imagination. Needless to say, I was extremely excited to meet and listen to Ed Greenwood speak at Gen Con.
I woke early and shambled over to an overview of the Forgotten Realms by WoTC team + Greenwood. What a ride! I’ll not spoil any information except to say that the world has drastically changed and many new and old enemies still lurk around every corner.
Ed was a ball of energy. Constantly making pop culture, pen and paper culture and in general being very charismatic, well spoken and cheerfully giggling while the audience laughed to his many jokes. I hadn’t kept up with the Forgotten Realms lore for quite some time and I can say that I will be picking up many a novel in the post Spell Plague Faerûn. I also attended his Spin a Yarn with Ed Greenwood talk. What a tale was weaved during those 2 hours. If you’re not familiar with this, the audience creates a story and Ed writes it at a later date. I look forward to reading this tale especially considering that I never knew Liches could have such active sex lives… DON’T ASK!
I would have to say the highlight of Saturday was listening to R.A. Salvatore speak about his writing and Forgotten Realms in general. Bob has a great world view when it comes to written communication and participatory media (ie Games!). He discussed his favorite characters, their development and his future writings. As mentioned above, Faerûn has changed quite a bit with 4th edition. Fans of his novels will be delighted!
I was mainly impressed with the discussion on writing style considering the communication styles of todays youth. Forums, instant messenger, social networking sites and MMOs have changed the way people communicate and interact. Historical forms of communication aren’t always the “best way” anymore. Traditional writing is evolving but in form and function. Having been an MMO player since the mid 90s (I include MUDs as MMOs), I’m not only an observer of this behavior, I’m also an active participant! Overall I was excited to hear what he had to say.
Bobs observations are spot on. It is evident by listening to him that he is excited and passionate about his work. He has quite a few projects on his slate, one being an MMO. New younger audience games like Toon Town and Wizard 101, have moved the communication paradigm to focus on static, canned statements. It will be interesting to see how many MMOs adopt a similar methidology when dealing with parental controls and young audiences.
This wraps up my Gen Con experience. Overall, I had a great time! The production value on many of the board game, card game and pen and paper products is pretty amazing. I look forward to watching how the periodicals business changes in the coming years in addition to seeing how 4th edition D&D is received in a years time.
MMOs played at Gen Con: Champions Online, Warhammer Online, D&D Online Stormreach and a SciFi rts mmo that I didn’t get to play!
Card Games Played: Too many to count!
Most exciting Board Games Played: Tannhäuser and Arkham Horror
