The name "GenCon" has been synonymous with gaming for over 35 years, ever since a group of tabletop wargaming fanatics starting meeting in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for a couple of days of pushing metal miniatures and rolling unusually shaped dice. From those humble beginnings grew a monster of a show (with subsidiary shows in Southern California, England, and Spain) that now plays host to over 60,000 paper-and-pencil RPG gaming fanatics every year. Today, safely ensconced in its new home in the Indianapolis Convention Center, this year's GenCon is bigger than ever, with capacity crowds converging on the American Midwest for four days of LARPing, filking, costume competitions, and the brutal slaughter of thousands of imaginary monsters.

Naturally, this many gamers in one place is an almost irresistible target for video-game manufacturers. As a result, GenCon has been growing in importance for the last several years as a venue to get its wares in front of the people most likely to get excited and spread the word about the latest CRPGs and MMOs. This year is no different, as companies like Atari, Blizzard, and NCSoft show off their latest sword-swinging, laser blasting, super-heroic titles. Stick with GameSpy over the next few days while we wander the convention floor, getting our hands dirty with some hot new titles, and speaking to some of the movers and shakers in the RPG world to find out what's happening!




Featured Articles

GenCon 2005 Wrap-up
In which Delsyn rediscovers his love of gaming by hanging out with people who -- ya know -- actually play games.



Sid Meier at GenCon 2005
We talk with the gaming legend about Civilization IV, Xbox Pirates! , and all things gaming.



Images of GenCon 2005
So many nerds, so little time. Four days of wackiness in pictures from GenCon 2005.



Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends
The 2005 GenCon convention plays host to a demonstration of Big Huge Games' own Da Vinci Code.



Dragonshard
The RTS/RPG hybrid is almost ready for release. Delsyn took a look at the game's RPG aspects at the biggest RPG show of the year.


Fable: The Lost Chapters
Delsyn finally indulges his dark side at GenCon when he gets his hands on the PC version of Peter Molyneaux's innovative RPG.


City of Villains
We talk with the decidedly un-villainous senior designer of Cryptic and NCSoft's new MMO about how much fun it's gonna be to play a bad guy.


Maximum Football
It's not Madden and it's not trying to be -- this football game is all about the numbers.



Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach
In which Delsyn enters the town of Stormreach, solves a puzzle, dodges a deathtrap, and gets abandoned by a damned dwarven priest.


StarCraft: Ghost
The stealthy first-person take on Blizzard's StarCraft universe is still a ways out, but it's starting to look like it might be worth the wait.


World of Warcraft -- The Collectable Card Game
There's 20 minutes left in your day when you're not playing, talking, or thinking about World of Warcraft? Upper Deck's got you covered.


Dungeons & Dragons Online -- A Talk with Dave Eckleberry
We sit down with one of the designers of Turbine's upcoming MMO to talk about combat, death traps, and why Eberron is so damned cool.