More than 35,000 people began flooding the Indiana Convention Center early Thursday for Gen Con 2012, the granddaddy of gaming, collecting and costuming, RTV6's Chris Proffitt reported.

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The longest-running and best-attended gaming convention in the world features more than 8,000 events over four days, along with plenty of interesting people-watching.

"I don't think anyone's lost the kid inside of them or the fantasy part," said Marty Hawthorne, who is in town from Minnesota. "So when you get into some of this, it brings that out and you realize that this is kind of fun."

Fans also spend while they play, pumping $36 million into the city's economy over the weekend.

"There's a new book for a role-playing game that's out, so they're all waiting in line to buy it," said Sarah McMichael from New York. "It's a big deal."

This year marks Gen Con's 10th in Indianapolis. It's committed to keeping the convention in the city through at least 2020.

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