MOCHI Mini: GenCon 2001

GenCon is one of the largest gaming conventions in the United States. Traditionally held over the first weekend in August, you can find a full gamut of offerings: new role-playing games, card games (both the collectible and non-collectible kind), computer games, board games, minatures, etc. Die-hard players can find a live-action game that runs the entire four days of the convention!

For 2001, there was a quorum of MOCHI present: Sugar Bomb, Daifuku, and Spiky. Toasted Mochi valiantly resisted all attempts to beg, plead, or brainwash him into coming this year -- although there was some interest in coming for 2002.

This was a "working" convention for both Sugar Bomb and Daifuku. Both of them were in the exhibition hall, helping out at the Gold Rush Games and R. Talsorian booth. Time and work permitting, Spiky was going to be joining them.

Of course, Daifuku took this as an opportunity to wear some costumes. ^_^ Much of the gaming that Daifuku has done for the past three years has centered around LARPs (Live Action Role-Playing), which made it easy to find things to wear in the booth. On Thursday, she wore the costume for Oyuki, a character for a Castle Falkenstein game. Conveniently enough, it was apropos for Gold Rush Games' Sengoku, set in sixteenth century Japan.

Spiky took Friday off to come hang out at the booth and be his usual, helpful self. [And get some loot! - Spiky]. Of course, being in the booth meant coming up with a Cyberpunk costume to go along with Daifuku's street-hardened cyber-samurai. Not one to shirk a challenge, he whipped up a costume befitting his moniker: black leather and lots of sharp, pointy spikes.

For more than an hour, the two 'punks battled over the mirror, tossing pots of pigments back and forth. For once, more than one member of MOCHI was decked out in extensive makeup! Daifuku went for a semi-tribal look while Spiky decided to go red and raw, mimicking self-inflicted brand scars.

Several people admired Spiky's new gloves. These were an old pair of weight-lifting gloves that had been used for one of the versions of Gateau. This time, Spiky Mochi had bought some metal "claws" that he screwed into holes near each knuckle. Voila! Instant Neko-fighter!

Daifuku: OoooOOOOO! Let me try on those gloves.
Spiky: I dunno. I don't think that they'll fit you.
Sugar: Uh-oh ....
Daifuku: WANT A PAIR! WANT A PAIR!
Spiky: Just give me a couple of weeks and I can make you a pair.
[Daifuku's eyes widen.]
Daifuku: Reeeaaaaalllyy?
Spiky: Really.
Daifuku: COOL! KITTY CLAWS!
[Daifuku launches herself at a nearby pillow]
MWROWR! *scratch* *scratch* *gut* *gut* *KILL* *KILL*
[Sugar Bomb turns to look at Spiky.]
Sugar Bomb: See what you've done?

Since this was the first time Spiky had been to GenCon, he was given free rein to wander the halls to get his feet wet. His hunt for a long-out-of-print edition of the Lord of the Rings board game didn't produce very much, but he was able to find some great stuff over at the Cheapass Games booth. One of the new games they had on display was a computer game: PlasmaWorm. Let's just say that Spiky has spent years honing his skills in front of many an arcade machine and it didn't go completely to waste ....

Abandoned by Spiky (who had to work at the Bristol Faire) on Saturday, Daifuku returned to the booth in another outfit. Made to go with the Zorro RPG game and done in colors to work up the feel for "Spanish California", the dress design itself is from the 1860's rather than the more "proper" time period of the 1840's. Another twenty years later and you'd get another Castle Falkenstein dress!