Grumbling Dwarf

The last time I was in Lake Geneva was for Lake Geneva Gaming Convention, but I don’t recall how long ago. It was before E. Gary Gygax passed. I was a bit out of place since I went there on whim. As I tried to recall the exact name of the con, I came across this thread on the Dragonsfoot forums. You’ll notice some guy that goes by Col_Pladoh but signs his posts “Gary”. heh  The thread goes on for 16 pages.

I did not prepare for GaryCon 3. I figured I’d just show and run into some of my fellow gamers from Madison, WI.

I arrived late afternoon. I registered for the day and made my way around the hotel. The first thing I noticed was how it grew. I failed to mention that GaryCon was derived from Lake Geneva Gaming Convention, so it’s my interpretation. There was 6 large rooms for gaming, a lounge/bar area that featured a musical guest, and a room for vendors.

Move over World of Warcraft their is a new MMO on the block, and that is Rift.

Rift will release in early March, however I was able to get into the beta for it and while my time was short with the game I came away very satisfied. There were only four classes available to play (Warrior, Cleric, Mage, and Rogue), but for each of those classes there are eight specializations to choose from. While you level up you are allowed to choose three of the specializations and level them via Diablo style talent trees. The more points that you put into a tree, the more spells you unlock from it which are called roots. Certain specializations meld better than others, making for a better play style.

The questing system in Rift is very similar to other MMO’s. Kill X number of this enemy, collect X number of this item, go from point A to point B, etc. While the questing is repetitive, the story behind the game is very intriguing. I won’t spoil any of it here because I’d like for each of you to experience it for yourselves.

If you are an MMO fan, I highly recommend giving this game a try!