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{{short description|Multi-genre convention held in Troy, NY}}
{{Infobox Convention
{{Infobox Convention
| name = Genericon
| name = Genericon
| image = [[Image:RPI Genericon Logo.JPG|230px]]
| image = [[Image:Genericon logo.svg|230px]]
| caption =
| caption =
| status = Active
| status = Defunct
| genre = Multi-genre
| genre = Multi-genre
| venue = [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]
| venue = [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]
Line 13: Line 14:
| filing =
| filing =
| attendance =
| attendance =
| website = http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/
| website = http://genericon.org/
| Forum = http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/vBulletin/index.php
}}
}}


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[[Image:Genericon 1-3 buttons.jpg|thumb|120px|ID badge buttons for Genericons 1 - 3]]
[[Image:Genericon 1-3 buttons.jpg|thumb|120px|ID badge buttons for Genericons 1 - 3]]


'''Genericon''' is a modestly sized [[anime]]/[[science fiction]]/[[Role-playing game|gaming]] [[Convention (meeting)|convention]] held in [[Troy, New York]] on the [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] (RPI) campus for over 20 years, making it reportedly the oldest college [[multigenre convention]] in the nation.<ref>[http://www.poly.rpi.edu/article_view.php3?view=1127&part=1 http://www.poly.rpi.edu/article_view.php3?view=1127&part=1]</ref> It hosts theater-style auditoriums and has 24-hour anime viewing rooms, [[karaoke]], [[cosplay]] events, 24-hour [[video game]] room/competitions, [[role-playing games]], board games, and talks by guest speakers. The events usually begin 5 p.m. on the Friday of the last weekend of January and continue until Sunday at 5 p.m. with a closing ceremony and announcement of new "Con Chair". For Genericon XXI, convention staff partnered with Jazzman's Cafe, located in the middle of the convention itself, to bring food and beverages to the convention.<ref>[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/ Genericon XXI<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
'''Genericon''' was a modestly sized [[anime]]/[[science fiction]]/[[Role-playing game|gaming]] [[Convention (meeting)|convention]] held in [[Troy, New York]] on the [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]] (RPI) campus for over 30 years, making it reportedly the longest-running college [[multigenre convention]] in the nation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.poly.rpi.edu/article_view.php3?view=1127&part=1 |access-date=2007-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916102851/http://www.poly.rpi.edu/article_view.php3?view=1127&part=1 |archive-date=2006-09-16 |url-status=dead |title=Polytechnic Online - Features: Rensselaer to host Genericon XV convention }}</ref> It hosted theater-style auditoriums and had 24-hour anime viewing rooms, [[karaoke]], [[cosplay]] events, 24-hour [[video game]] room/competitions, [[role-playing games]], board games, and talks by guest speakers. The events usually began 6 p.m. on the Friday of the first weekend of March and continued until Sunday at 6 p.m. with a closing ceremony and announcement of the new "Con Chair". Starting with Genericon XXI, convention staff partnered with Jazzman's Cafe, located in the middle of the convention itself, to bring food and beverages to the convention.<ref>[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/ Genericon XXI<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


==History==
==History==


Genericon began in 1985 as a general [[science fiction convention]], organized by the Rensselaer Science Fiction Association, a student group at RPI{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. Early conventions were held in the lecture halls of RPI's Russell Sage Laboratory, and featured standard SF convention activities such as lectures and panels, film rooms, a dealers' room, an art show, and [[Filk music|filking]]. Guests of Honor at Genericon 1 were writer [[Hal Clement]], artist [[Phil Foglio]], and fan Jan "Wombat" Finder{{Fact|date=April 2007}}. Other guests included [[Leik Myrabo]], [[Lynn Abbey]], [[Fred Saberhagen]], and Professor Alan Meltzer. Subsequent Genericons have included such notable guests as [[Samuel R. Delany]] (Genericon II), [[Joan Vinge]] (Genericon III), [[Jack Dann]] (Genericon III), [[Barry Longyear]] (Genericon VII), [[Christopher Golden]] (Genericon IX), and [[Vic Mignogna]] (Genericon XXIV).
Genericon began in 1985 as a general [[science fiction convention]], organized by the Rensselaer Science Fiction Association, a student group at RPI{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}. Early conventions were held in the lecture halls of RPI's Russell Sage Laboratory. They featured standard SF convention activities such as lectures and panels, film rooms, a dealers' room, an art show, and [[Filk music|filking]]. Guests of Honor at Genericon 1 were writer [[Hal Clement]], artist [[Phil Foglio]], and fan Jan "Wombat" Finder{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}. Other guests included [[Leik Myrabo]], [[Lynn Abbey]], [[Fred Saberhagen]], and Professor Alan Meltzer. Subsequent Genericons have included such notable guests as [[Samuel R. Delany]] (Genericon II), [[Joan Vinge]] (Genericon III), [[Jack Dann]] (Genericon III), [[Barry Longyear]] (Genericon VII), [[Christopher Golden]] (Genericon IX), [[Vic Mignogna]] (Genericon XXIV), and [[Kyle Hebert]] (GenericonXXVI), [[Studio Trigger]] (Genericon XXX and XXXI).


Since its founding, Genericon has been held every year except between 1993 and 1995, as the entirety of the staff had graduated in the year of Genericon VIII<ref>[An Informal History o Genericon by Deb Atwood</ref>
Since its founding, Genericon has been held every year, except 1993-1995, as the entirety of the staff had graduated in the year of Genericon VIII.<ref>[An Informal History o Genericon by Deb Atwood</ref> In recent years, since Genericon X in 1997, the con has gravitated away from its sci-fi roots towards a focus on webcomics, video gaming, and anime, though cosplay and other standard gaming has remained somewhat popular. This is most evident in the fact that guests invited to more recent Genericons have been more from the webcomic industry, including [[Pete Abrams]] ([[Sluggy Freelance]]), [[Jeffrey T. Darlington]] (General Protection Fault, Genericon XV), [[R. K. Milholland]] ([[Something Positive]], Genericon XVII), [[Jeph Jacques]] ([[Questionable Content]], Genericon XIX and XX), Mohammad Haque (Applegeeks, Genericon XX), and [[Ananth Hirsh]] (then Panagariya; Applegeeks, Genericon XX).
. In recent years, since Genericon X in 1997, the con has gravitated away from its sci-fi roots towards a focus on webcomics, video gaming, and anime, though LARPing and other standard gaming has remained somewhat popular. This is most evident in the fact that guests invited to more recent Genericons have been more from the webcomic industry, including [[Pete Abrams]] ([[Sluggy Freelance]]), [[Jeffrey T. Darlington]] ([[General Protection Fault (comic)|General Protection Fault]], Genericon XV), [[R. K. Milholland]] ([[Something Positive]], Genericon XVII), [[Jeph Jacques]] ([[Questionable Content]], Genericon XIX and XX), [[Mohammad Haque]] ([[Applegeeks]], Genericon XX), and [[Ananth Panagariya]] ([[Applegeeks]], Genericon XX).


In 2010, Genericon XXIV introduced a new "Featured Panelist" system, wherein the convention staff selected a group of panelists deemed to be "experts in their field (i.e. popular journalists, podcasters, or industry professionals)." The list featured a number of anime bloggers and journalists, as well as a group of RPI alumni who frequently run panels at the convention. <ref>[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/news/announcing-featured-panels-program/ Announcing the Featured Panels Program]</ref>
In 2010, Genericon XXIV introduced a new "Featured Panelist" system, wherein the convention staff selected a group of panelists deemed to be "experts in their field (i.e. popular journalists, podcasters, or industry professionals)." The list featured a number of anime bloggers and journalists, as well as a group of RPI alumni who frequently run panels at the convention.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/news/announcing-featured-panels-program/ |title=Announcing the Featured Panels Program |access-date=2011-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709192141/http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/news/announcing-featured-panels-program/ |archive-date=2011-07-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Two new events, Cosplay Ball <ref>{{cite web | url=http://genericon.org/cosplay-ball/ | title=Cosplay Ball – Genericon }}</ref> and Cosplay Cafe,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://genericon.org/cosplay-cafe/ | title=Cosplay Café – Genericon }}</ref> were introduced in 2018 for Genericon XXXI.
⚫
Genericon XXIV's official attendee count was 1351. <ref>[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/news/genericon-xxiv-attendance-numbers/ Genericon XXIV Attendance Numbers]</ref>


⚫
Genericon XXIV's official attendee count was 1351.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/news/genericon-xxiv-attendance-numbers/ |title=Genericon XXIV Attendance Numbers |access-date=2011-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930100304/http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/news/genericon-xxiv-attendance-numbers/ |archive-date=2011-09-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
By Genericon XXVI the number has climbed to over 2000. <ref>
[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/wordpress/?p=10456 Genericon XXVI Attendance Numbers]</ref]


By Genericon XXVI the number has climbed to over 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/wordpress/?p=10456 |title=Genericon XXVI Attendance Numbers |access-date=2013-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709135743/http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/wordpress/?p=10456 |archive-date=2013-07-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
⚫
==Annual Activities==


⚫
==Annual activities==
⚫
Every year the following are usually the highlighted events:

⚫
* [[Eye Of Argon]]: A Story poorly written thus reserved to play at 1 a.m.
⚫
Every year the following were usually the highlighted events:
⚫
* [[Eye Of Argon]]: A famously poorly written story poorly thus reserved to play at 1 a.m.
* "Clay-O-Rama": A [[role-playing game|RPG]] with [[Play-Doh]] sculptures
* "Clay-O-Rama": A [[role-playing game|RPG]] with [[Play-Doh]] sculptures
* Artists Alley/Auction: A room showing submitted work that is also available for sale.
* Artists Alley/Auction: A room showing submitted work that was also available for sale.
* Video games: Everything from [[Atari]] to [[Xbox 360]] open 24 hours a day
* Video games: Everything from [[Atari]] to [[Xbox 360]] open 24 hours a day
* [[Magic: The Gathering]] tournaments and casual play
* Vendors: Selling various imports and local products
* Vendors: Selling various imports and local products
* 24-hour anime rooms : Anime is run throughout the entirety of the convention in at least 1 of the 3 viewing rooms.
* 24-hour anime rooms : Anime was run throughout the entirety of the convention in at least 1 of the 3 viewing rooms.
* Board gaming: Held in the Great Hall of the DCC, a wide variety of board gaming is offered.
* Board gaming: Held in the Great Hall of the DCC, a wide variety of board gaming was offered.
* RPGs: Held in various conference rooms of the neighboring Low building, a wide variety of table-top role-playing sessions are offered spanning mainstream and indie games.
* RPGs: Held in various conference rooms of the neighboring Low building, a wide variety of table-top role-playing sessions were offered spanning mainstream and indie games.
* Guest panels
* Guest panels
* [[Cosplay]] competition
* [[Cosplay]] Contest & Masquerade
* Cosplay Chess
* [[LARP]]ing
* Cosplay Death Match
* Cosplay Dating Game
* Genericon Dance/Rave
* [[Karaoke]]
* [[Karaoke]]
* [[Anime music videos]] Contest (as of Genericon XX)
* [[Anime music videos]] Contest (as of Genericon XX)


== Problems and Issues ==
== Problems and issues ==

⚫
Sleeping on the convention space was a problem, since RPI does not allow loiterers. People have been woken up by staff and told to move, or leave campus to sleep elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/content/policies/ |title=Genericon XXIII<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2010-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315213630/http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/content/policies/ |archive-date=2010-03-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Challenges occurred during the MS Paint panel, wherein individual participants have used the panel to display crudely drawn and crude-in-nature images. Despite the panel being 18+, a rule was implemented requiring non-graphic images to be displayed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Genericon Rules 2019 |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M6FPNaGl1I8ZBrYGJtrq7WQxy8Ig8Des/view}}</ref>
⚫
Sleeping on the convention space has become a problem in recent years. This is a problem since RPI does not allow loiterers. People have been woken up by staff and told to move, or leave campus to sleep elsewhere.<ref>[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/content/policies/ Genericon XXIII<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


R. K. Milholland has expressed a dislike for the con following his attendance as a guest in 2004.<ref>[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp04222005.shtml http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp04222005.shtml]</ref> Other webcomic artists, however, have claimed to have enjoyed the con in their visits, including Jeffrey T. Darlington,<ref>[http://www.gpf-comics.com/shows/genericon2002/ http://www.gpf-comics.com/shows/genericon2002/]</ref> Jeph Jacques<ref>[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=806 http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=806] (in sidebar blog)</ref> and Ananth Panagariya.<ref>[http://www.applegeeks.com/blog/2007/01/28/take-me-home/ http://www.applegeeks.com/blog/2007/01/28/take-me-home/]</ref>
R. K. Milholland expressed a dislike for the con following his attendance as a guest in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp04222005.shtml |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-04-09 |archive-date=2007-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403035209/http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp04222005.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other webcomic artists, however, claimed to have enjoyed the con in their visits, including Jeffrey T. Darlington,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gpf-comics.com/shows/genericon2002/ | title=General Protection Fault }}</ref> Jeph Jacques<ref>[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=806 http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=806] (in sidebar blog)</ref> and Ananth Hirsh.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.applegeeks.com/blog/2007/01/28/take-me-home/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-04-09 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210548/http://www.applegeeks.com/blog/2007/01/28/take-me-home/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 64: Line 70:
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/ Official Website]
*[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/ Official Website]
*[http://genericon.union.rpi.edu/vBulletin/index.php Official Forum]


{{Multigenre conventions in North America}}
{{RPITemplate}}
{{RPITemplate}}


Latest revision as of 03:32, 10 February 2024

Genericon
StatusDefunct
GenreMulti-genre
VenueRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Location(s)Troy, New York
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1985
Websitehttp://genericon.org/
ID badge buttons for Genericons 1 - 3

Genericon was a modestly sized anime/science fiction/gaming convention held in Troy, New York on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) campus for over 30 years, making it reportedly the longest-running college multigenre convention in the nation.[1] It hosted theater-style auditoriums and had 24-hour anime viewing rooms, karaoke, cosplay events, 24-hour video game room/competitions, role-playing games, board games, and talks by guest speakers. The events usually began 6 p.m. on the Friday of the first weekend of March and continued until Sunday at 6 p.m. with a closing ceremony and announcement of the new "Con Chair". Starting with Genericon XXI, convention staff partnered with Jazzman's Cafe, located in the middle of the convention itself, to bring food and beverages to the convention.[2]

History[edit]

Genericon began in 1985 as a general science fiction convention, organized by the Rensselaer Science Fiction Association, a student group at RPI[citation needed]. Early conventions were held in the lecture halls of RPI's Russell Sage Laboratory. They featured standard SF convention activities such as lectures and panels, film rooms, a dealers' room, an art show, and filking. Guests of Honor at Genericon 1 were writer Hal Clement, artist Phil Foglio, and fan Jan "Wombat" Finder[citation needed]. Other guests included Leik Myrabo, Lynn Abbey, Fred Saberhagen, and Professor Alan Meltzer. Subsequent Genericons have included such notable guests as Samuel R. Delany (Genericon II), Joan Vinge (Genericon III), Jack Dann (Genericon III), Barry Longyear (Genericon VII), Christopher Golden (Genericon IX), Vic Mignogna (Genericon XXIV), and Kyle Hebert (GenericonXXVI), Studio Trigger (Genericon XXX and XXXI).

Since its founding, Genericon has been held every year, except 1993-1995, as the entirety of the staff had graduated in the year of Genericon VIII.[3] In recent years, since Genericon X in 1997, the con has gravitated away from its sci-fi roots towards a focus on webcomics, video gaming, and anime, though cosplay and other standard gaming has remained somewhat popular. This is most evident in the fact that guests invited to more recent Genericons have been more from the webcomic industry, including Pete Abrams (Sluggy Freelance), Jeffrey T. Darlington (General Protection Fault, Genericon XV), R. K. Milholland (Something Positive, Genericon XVII), Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content, Genericon XIX and XX), Mohammad Haque (Applegeeks, Genericon XX), and Ananth Hirsh (then Panagariya; Applegeeks, Genericon XX).

In 2010, Genericon XXIV introduced a new "Featured Panelist" system, wherein the convention staff selected a group of panelists deemed to be "experts in their field (i.e. popular journalists, podcasters, or industry professionals)." The list featured a number of anime bloggers and journalists, as well as a group of RPI alumni who frequently run panels at the convention.[4]

Two new events, Cosplay Ball [5] and Cosplay Cafe,[6] were introduced in 2018 for Genericon XXXI.

Genericon XXIV's official attendee count was 1351.[7]

By Genericon XXVI the number has climbed to over 2000.[8]

Annual activities[edit]

Every year the following were usually the highlighted events:

  • Eye Of Argon: A famously poorly written story poorly thus reserved to play at 1 a.m.
  • "Clay-O-Rama": A RPG with Play-Doh sculptures
  • Artists Alley/Auction: A room showing submitted work that was also available for sale.
  • Video games: Everything from Atari to Xbox 360 open 24 hours a day
  • Magic: The Gathering tournaments and casual play
  • Vendors: Selling various imports and local products
  • 24-hour anime rooms : Anime was run throughout the entirety of the convention in at least 1 of the 3 viewing rooms.
  • Board gaming: Held in the Great Hall of the DCC, a wide variety of board gaming was offered.
  • RPGs: Held in various conference rooms of the neighboring Low building, a wide variety of table-top role-playing sessions were offered spanning mainstream and indie games.
  • Guest panels
  • Cosplay Contest & Masquerade
  • Cosplay Chess
  • Cosplay Death Match
  • Cosplay Dating Game
  • Genericon Dance/Rave
  • Karaoke
  • Anime music videos Contest (as of Genericon XX)

Problems and issues[edit]

Sleeping on the convention space was a problem, since RPI does not allow loiterers. People have been woken up by staff and told to move, or leave campus to sleep elsewhere.[9]

Challenges occurred during the MS Paint panel, wherein individual participants have used the panel to display crudely drawn and crude-in-nature images. Despite the panel being 18+, a rule was implemented requiring non-graphic images to be displayed.[10]

R. K. Milholland expressed a dislike for the con following his attendance as a guest in 2004.[11] Other webcomic artists, however, claimed to have enjoyed the con in their visits, including Jeffrey T. Darlington,[12] Jeph Jacques[13] and Ananth Hirsh.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Polytechnic Online - Features: Rensselaer to host Genericon XV convention". Archived from the original on 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  2. ^ Genericon XXI
  3. ^ [An Informal History o Genericon by Deb Atwood
  4. ^ "Announcing the Featured Panels Program". Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  5. ^ "Cosplay Ball – Genericon".
  6. ^ "Cosplay Café – Genericon".
  7. ^ "Genericon XXIV Attendance Numbers". Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  8. ^ "Genericon XXVI Attendance Numbers". Archived from the original on 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  9. ^ "Genericon XXIII". Archived from the original on 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  10. ^ "Genericon Rules 2019".
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "General Protection Fault".
  13. ^ http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=806 (in sidebar blog)
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genericon&oldid=1205638150"