New York!

The New York Comic Con. Whew!

When Slava asked me to accompany him to the convention, several thoughts ran through my head:

"I've never been to New York, that might be fun. It'll be the largest convention I've ever been to, and I'd love to meet more of our players."

What didn't go through my head:

"30,000 people? Sure I can talk over that amount of noise for about 8 hours a day!"

Needless to say, my throat is still a little hoarse. Luckily, typing requires no voice whatsoever, so here goes. The convention was awesome in ways that words can't describe. Hence, we bring you pictures!


A view from our booth, about 30 minutes before the doors opened to the public.


Less than an hour later as people started pouring in (and this was only the beginning!) Throughout the three-day convention, we saw some awesome costumes. Regrettably, we have no pictures of them, but it was fun to see the hordes of Inu Yashas, Chewbaccas, and even Captain Hammer. It was fun to explain SAGA to a 6-foot tall female Buck Rodgers.

Some players were more than willing to get stamped with our SAGA stamp, thus acquiring the brand-new Rhyax. In fact, some were even willing to go the extra mile to gain a few more Rhyaxes for their guild mates. Here we have a player who got a few stamps, including a rather large one to the forehead (and he wasn't the only one)!

On the whole, it was a great experience, though there were definitely a few highlights. Most of them edible.

Slava is from the East Coast, originally. Myself, I grew up on the West Coast. Since we were there, he made it a point to show me things I've never seen before, and they were delicious.


Dennis and Slava go to White Castle. No run-ins with Neil Patrick Harris, though.

America's working class prefers Dunkin' Donuts to Starbucks 2:1 (if you believe the commercials). Now I know why. It's the Donuts.

As we demonstrated the game on a projector screen, a lot of the convention goers were impressed with the game, and enjoyed learning more. We're already starting to see them in-game, and we're looking forward to getting to know them all better.


To end this post, I'd like to present to you all the list of the best things I overheard at the convention:

10) "Entrance for exhibitors... does that mean the people showing the exhibits or seeing the exhibits?" - a convention-goer trying to get in the shortest line possible.
9) "The Rhyax looks kind of like a demon tick with plate armor. Except it's the size of a schoolbus."
8) A woman came up to me, looked at the game, looked back towards me, got a quizzical look, and then paid attention to the game again. After a moment, she said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you look a lot like a strange mix between David Boreanaz and Jessica Simpson's husband..." Not the first time I've been told either, but the first time I've gotten both at once. For this reason, one of our players refuses to call me Dennis anymore...
7) "You mean Tournaments are done? When are they coming!!!"
6) "If I can get the G4 chick over here, will you give me a Great Dragon?"
5) Seen on a t-shirt "And then Buffy staked Edward... The End". (Joss Whedon vs. Stephanie Meyer)
4) "Ben, oui. Je le connais très bien." "Il est ici, il fait des autographes à 30 mètres d'ici." I spoke with a French gentleman who works for a Gaming Magazine (I have a degree in French, believe it or not). We chatted briefly about the game, and exchanged information. He had just come from a booth where a childhood hero of mine was signing autographs. Slava covered for me for 5 minutes while I got to meet him and shake hands, and returned smiling like a 7-year-old schoolboy.
3) "I'm looking for princess-type stuff for my nieces. Have you guys seen anything like that?" -Slava "Well, there's a Princess Leia in a metal bikini over there..."
2) "Wow. Lycra should not be worn by certain people." "Yah, it's kinda like spandex, it's a privilege, not a right."
1) "Sega? Like the Hedgehog guys?"

Check back later this week, I'll be posting about upcoming features, Tournaments, and a groovy little thing called the Rhyax.