Surviving GenCon

MILWAUKEE - If you've ever been to what are affectionately called "cons," what I have to report from the granddaddy of them all, GenCon, won't surprise you. If you're not yet "experienced," however, you may want to test the waters at some of the smaller "cons" in your own area before making the pilgrimage to Milwaukee. GenCon is one of the hardest of the hard-core gaming conventions around.

GenCon is short for Geneva Convention, an amusing title that gets its name from Lake Geneva, headquarters of TSR. The name also is a bit of a misnomer, for world peace is rarely promoted by the games played at the convention.

This is a gathering of gamers fond of tabletop role-playing, miniatures gaming, board gaming, computer gaming, card gaming, and general fantasy and science fiction. The exhibit hall is not as single-purposed as it is at E3, because here, gamers congregate to not only play games, but also meet the makers. Gamers also stock up on products from dice to fantasy role-playing adventures to real swords and armor. Basically, the exhibit hall is like a gamer's dream game store.

But since GameSpot is here to give you the latest in the realm of computer gaming, we'll see what is being done to attract the gaming elite.

InterplayWith the upcoming release of Baldur's Gate for the PC, as well as Fallout 2, Interplay's computer role-playing lineup is hotter than ever. With the formal announcement of Black Isle Studios, its role-playing division, Interplay debuted a trailer for Planescape, its next role-playing title based on the AD&D campaign setting of the same name. The trailers that were shown for Baldur's Gate and Fallout 2 are available for download at www.blackisle.com, but the Planescape trailer is closely guarded by Black Isle. In fact, the game has been in development for a year now with very little information coming from the developers.

The Planescape trailer showed some of the kind of CGI cutscenes you're likely to see in the game. The scenes appeared to be the city of Sigil with its multiple architectural styles and different creatures from all across the universe. Sigil is probably the best location for the game given the fact that portals to all the known planes of existence are readily available within its walls.

The trailer also showed some nasties that looked suspiciously like demons from the lower planes. Another creature in the trailer was obviously one of the Modrons from the planes of law. Of course, we don't know whether these guys will be in the final game, but the trailer was definitely something to see. If and when the trailer is released, you'll be able to download it here.

SierraThe kids at Sierra are working hard on two notable titles. The first is Return to Krondor, the anxiously awaited sequel to Betrayal at Krondor. Return to Krondor will boast 3D characters as well as 3D-rendered backgrounds. The game spans ten chapters and 200 locations from a Raymond Feist-influenced story. As its predecessor, Return to Krondor will have the player guide five predetermined adventurers through the world to recover the Tear of the Gods.

The other game that turned heads was a space simulation based in the world of the Babylon 5 TV show. The game, titled Babylon 5: Prototype, uses the ship models from the actual show including one of the five-mile-long capital ships. Players can also expect to encounter real characters from the show in a nonlinear plot that proceeds in various directions depending on the relative success or failure of the mission. If you're a space sim gamer still shopping around for a favorite franchise, you'll want to hold off judgement until you play Babylon 5: Prototype.

Westwood StudiosAs far as role-playing games are concerned, Westwood is trying again to bring its own new title, Swords and Sorcery, to the head of the marching order. The game, which uses 3D models and landscapes, has a very easy-to-use interface and gives the feeling of playing a very down-to-earth role-playing game. The races in the game are partly modeled after traditional races and also modeled after animals (the elephant-like Omphaaz, the tiger-like Whiska, the warthog-like Gourk, as well as the Ratling and Lizzord). You may be rolling your eyes about now, but it looked like a humorous and very unintimidating game for novices.

The game designers are also projecting 100-150 hours of gameplay, if you can believe it. The game will also allow you to create your own unique magic items, which can be traded with other players online. In addition, the worlds will span several different realms, including an underwater realm, a dinosaur realm, and even an ancient Egyptian-like realm. If you miss that back-to-roots brand of role-playing, keep your hard drive ready for Swords and Sorcery.

If you're into events where you're bound to find gamers walking around in this year's most fashionable chain mail - or enjoy waiting in line to see actors from shows such as Star Trek, Babylon 5, or Hercules and Xena - GenCon is a must-attend event. Gamers can peruse the latest wares of gaming companies from all over the country as well as meet designers looking to showcase their own role-playing games to the mass market.

For the consummate gamer, GenCon is definitely something worth a look - at least once.