To get our guide, click the banner below to download Guidebook, then search for “Genericon” inside the app. Enjoy the con!

(Please note that we are using the free version of Guidebook, so we have a maximum of 200 downloads. Be nice and try not to double download!)

As you may know, our video game room runs on donations from charitable attendees. We are in greatest need of:

-TVs
-Current-generation consoles (Wii, Xbox360, PS3)
-Controllers for aforementioned consoles
-Games for tournaments (see the tournament thread for the list)

We love donations of any kind for the weekend. If you have a game that you thing anyone else at the convention might enjoy and you’re willing to leave it in our capable hands for the weekend, we’d love your support!

– Zach Greene
Genericon Video Gaming Coordinator

Hey everybody! One of our contest sponsors, MicCostumes, will be giving out $60 coupons to the top 2 winners of our Cosplay contest! In addition, people visiting their site from our site will recieve a 10% discount on their products when they buy online! You should totally take advantage of that in preparation for the Con.

Regardless, if you’ve got any last-minute panels, send ‘em in!

First up are Erin Finnegan and Noah Fulmor. In addition to being the first couple married in zero-gravity (pretty cool, huh?), these two daring geeks run the Ninja Consultant anime and manga podcast. Meanwhile, Erin writes features and reviews for Otaku USA Magazine, and you might recognize her as the woman behind Anime News Network‘s popular column “Shelf Life.” This will be Erin & Noah’s second year at Genericon, and they will be running panels on a variety of anime- and manga-related topics.

Falco Clan is the New York chapter of the Mandalorian Mercenaries, a Lucasfilm-approved costume group based around the alien race called the Mandalorians, made famous by the characters of Boba and Jango Fett. The Mandalorian Mercenaries Falco Clan will be running panels on creating Mandalorian armor, among others, at this year’s convention.

Finally, the fearless RPI alumni known as “The Con Artists” will return this year to present their fun mix of contests and anime/video game review panels. Made up of Scott Fermeglia, Sushma Chandran, Daniel Condaxis, and Brendan Flaherty, The Con Artists are delighted to be back at RPI for another weekend of geeky festivities.

Of course, we’ve also got a lot of guest and fan panels, and we hope you’ll check out all of them (or at least as many as you can) at Genericon this March.

Nicki Clyne is most well known for her role as Crewman Specialist Cally on the hit Sci Fi series Battlestar Galactica. She has also starred in the VH1 comedy series Totally Awesome and lent her voice to the illustrated film Godkiller.

We’re also excited to welcome TV and voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch. Johnny began his career as Adam Park (otherwise known as the Black Ranger) on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He later moved into anime voice acting, where he has voiced such beloved characters as Vash the Stampede (Trigun), Kaneda (Akira), Itsuki (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach), and Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass). Video game players may also know Johnny as the voice of Nero (Devil May Cry 4) and characters from many other video games, including Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, .hack//G.U., and Persona 4.

Mr. Bosch is also a musician, performing lead vocals and rhythm guitar for the “edge rock” band Eyeshine, the musical guest for Genericon XXV. Additionally, Eyeshine features the talents of band members Maurice, Polo, and Crystal. As usual at Genericon, the band will hold a live concert at the convention on the night of Saturday, March 3rd.

FULL PRESS RELEASE

Panel Application
Press Application

It is time for the Genericon Conbook Cover Contest!

As you may or may not know, the theme for this year is TIME TRAVEL!  This means, as such, your entry must be about TIME TRAVEL in some way. Check out the official rules and contact information after the break.

Rules:
- The entry must be about TIME TRAVEL.
- The entry must be appropriate as a conbook cover (that means PG!  No blood/gore/inappropriate anything.)
- The entry must leave space for text and the banner.
- The entry must not CONTAIN text or the banner.  We’ll add that later.  It should not say Genericon anywhere.
- The entry must be in FULL COLOR.
- The entry must be in DECENTLY HIGH QUALITY; aiming for 8.5×11 in at least 150dpi is probably best.
- The entry must NOT include any TRADEMARKED CHARACTERS or other TRADEMARKED VISUAL THINGS.  Yes, this includes blue police boxes.  Sorry.
- The entry CAN be submitted as a wraparound 11×17 image that would wrap to the back with no bleed.  If you choose this format, make sure that there are no important elements on the back, and make it easy to put lots of text there.  The back portion may be partly or mostly obscured, but it may still look better in the long run.  Remember, this means the back is on the left side of the submission and the front is on the right!

Above all, be creative and have fun!  Not too much fun though, because unless you have a time machine lying around, you’re going to have to get it in by the deadline.

The deadline for submissions for the conbook cover contest is February 15th, 2012, so that the panel of judges (i.e. the staff) can judge it in time.

IMPORTANT: The “runner-up” of the conbook cover contest will be the shirt design.  However, this can only happen if you are able to supply the line art, since the shirt is usually printed in monochrome line art.  If you want your conbook cover art submission to be considered for the shirt, be sure to send in a file of the line art as well.

All submissions should go to:

Conbook Coordinator
James McEntee (mcentj [AT] rpi [DOT] edu)

My apologies to anyone who was still hoping for a spot in this year’s Genericon, there will be a more concrete announcement next year regarding when registration opens.

Wesley Koo
Genericon XXV Artists Alley Coordinator

See you all in March!