When Gen Con announced the cancellation of its beloved long-running annual gaming convention in Indianapolis, a team of long-time Gen Con professionals and entertainment tech specialists came together as VRazeTheBar, with the goal of creating a rich, immersive, interactive social experience for fans as part of Gen Con’s online events. Gen Con marks the debut for VRazeTheBar, the first of many other interactive, immersive online events designed to help people gather safely and have fun in the virtual world.

What VRazeTheBar is offering to Gen Con fans and other gamers is the ability to virtually go to Gen Con this year through a new world. VRazeTheBar selected the Linden Lab Enterprise/Education edition of Second Life as the ideal platform to create a virtual Gen Con experience. Second Life is the largest user-created 3D virtual gaming and social interaction world of its kind in the world. It provides the ideal space to create a virtual Gen Con experience for Second Life residents as well as Gen Con fans looking for more immersive play and social interaction.

Membership in Second Life is free, and users can select their own avatars and customize them in dizzying detail, ideal for fan-based events. Details are available on their website, for people new to Second Life there is a step-by-step guide. VRazeTheBar “emmisaries” will be available to help.

In VRazeTheBar’s virtual Gen Con experience, users will find many of the details that fans love: food trucks and the traditional Saturday night dance as well as a free official Gen Con virtual t-shirt. But more than anything else, it’s really about the games. The game masters have embraced the virtual platform to make some awesomely rich, detailed environments for interactive gameplay.

Details of the games, panels, and other events are available at the VRazeTheBar website, and registration is available Gen Con Online website, as well as registration for all events.