The Midwest is not just a market for nerd culture products produced elsewhere. It is the origin point of significant portions of the hobby gaming tradition — the place where Dungeons and Dragons was created, where Gen Con began, where the organized science fiction fandom tradition has deep roots, and where the communities that shaped modern convention culture developed over more than half a century. Understanding this history is useful context for the current scene.
Lake Geneva and the Creation of D&D
Dungeons and Dragons was created in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game's immediate antecedents were wargaming communities that had been meeting in the Midwest — the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association, the Castle and Crusade Society — and the influence of Midwestern wargame culture on the design is direct and traceable. TSR, the original D&D publisher, operated out of Lake Geneva for its first two decades. The Midwest didn't just influence the creation of the modern hobby gaming industry; it was the industry's first geographic center.
Gen Con: Origins in Lake Geneva
The first Gen Con was held in 1968 at Horticultural Hall in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin — organized by Gary Gygax as an extension of the local wargaming community. It was a small event by modern standards, but it established the template for tabletop gaming conventions that the industry has refined and expanded for nearly six decades. Gen Con moved to Milwaukee, then to Indianapolis in 2003, where it has grown to 70,000+ attendees. The convention's Midwestern roots are not incidental; the gaming community that produced it was genuinely Midwestern.
The Science Fiction Fan Tradition
Midwest science fiction fandom predates the modern convention industry by decades. CONvergence in Minnesota traces its community roots to organizations that have been meeting since the 1970s. The World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) has been held in Chicago multiple times. The Midwest's literary science fiction tradition — writers like Roger Zelazny, George R.R. Martin (who spent years in Chicago), and others with Midwest connections — has sustained a fan community with intellectual depth that newer markets sometimes lack.
The Convention Circuit Today
The current Midwest convention calendar — Gen Con, C2E2, Origins, Geekway, Planet Comicon, and dozens of regional events — is the result of fifty years of community building. Each convention reflects its community's specific values: Geekway's deliberate small-scale warmth, Origins' gaming-first focus, C2E2's pop culture comprehensiveness. These characters weren't designed by corporations; they emerged from the communities that created and sustained the events.