Here's a post I wrote about Magfest:
I had recently went to the video gaming and video game music convention near Washington DC for all 4 days (so from the 5th through the 8th of this month). This is the second year I’ve gone and the first year that the convention was held somewhere different (Gaylord Hotel).
Overall I did have fun. Despite there not being as many panels this year, or it seemed like that to me anyway, there was still a decent amount of things to see in the panels.
On Top The Fourth Wall Live was awesome as usual. I saw part of the Ellen McClain panel. That letter to the princess done in GLaDOS’s voice was hilarious. That Guy With The Glasses panel was definitely bigger than the last one, but I wish I could have seen a little better. Retroware’s preview, I think, of their next show, The Video Gaming Years, looks hilarious and I wish I could find the video online somewhere. I suppose I’ll have to wait.
There were many other panels I went to see, although I don’t remember all of them. Others I saw included part of one about overcoming writer’s block. I hope that one is recorded and posted online. I’m sure my sister would love to see that, since she’s really into writing and all.
Another I saw that I was interested in was about video game reviews. The only person I knew in the panel though was James Rolfe (The Angry Video Game Nerd), and I am pretty sure Derek (The Happy Video Game Nerd) was there too. They gave some interesting advice, which I may find useful if I decide to do a few game reviews in the future. Now if only I could actually portray emotion when I talk.
Besides the panels, they had a large market area filled with all kinds of stuff to look at and buy. There were a few video game vendors selling new and old games, as well as old gaming systems. Hardcore game collectors, or people just looking for games to buy, would have had plenty to look at. But if you’re not a fan of video games, never fear! They provided other stuff there as well. T-Shirts, plushies, cards, imported snacks and soda, buttons, hats, etc, and that’s just to name a few.
I momentarily got addicted to Pocky. It’s imported from Japan. It’s like a long but thin breadstick dipped in something (like chocolate or strawberry sauce). I ate, like, over 100 of them in total I’m sure.
I also tried some Hello Panda, which wasn’t too bad, and japanese soda. I forget the name, but it’s in a glass bottle and has no lid; you push down a glass marble. Unique.
Next to the market was a gaming room. Though a LAN section was up in the market, the rest of the gaming area was next door. This is a video gamer’s haven. There were a ton of arcade machines lined up in a few rows, all of them free play. Further back were pinball machines. Not as many but still plenty enough. Further up front were a line of monitors with gaming systems of all kinds (Super Nintendo, X-Box, Wii, and Playstation 2 to name a handful), with the games switched out every day. And there was more, like some of those dancing games as well as large screen games (I’m not sure what they were to be honest).
The Atrium, though I didn’t see much of it, was beautiful. It was the first time I was in one. I wish I had explored it more. This was a very fancy hotel. There were shops inside of it! Restaurants too. If you had the money, you’d never have to leave the hotel. But if you had to go outside, there was an array of shops and buildings outside too, with pedestrian friendly walkways. If anyone goes there, I recommend Elevation Burger. 100% organic food at affordable prices!
But I do have a few gripes about how Magfest handled things this year. And here they are:
1. Seats were too close in the panels. I understand needing to make room, but they could have spared some space between the chairs. This is fine if everyone is thin, but not everyone is built like a twig though. Some people are rather large, and sometimes the seats are too small. This can become a problem for both them and people next to them. My brother lose part of his seat because the fat guy next to him wasn’t able to fit completely in his chair. And I’ve been squeezed between a couple people as well, and while they weren’t that heavy, I’m pretty heavy myself so I couldn’t get comfortable. So I would suggest that Magfest put some space between the chairs next year so everyone can be as comfortable as possible.
2. Magfest staff would guide people to where they wanted them to sit. I think this was done so that they could keep track of the seats, but it’s more annoying than helpful. Sometimes the staff would get people to go down multiple rows away from the front, or they would make them sit on the far side of the room, so that people who waited the longest can get the worst seats. I see no reason why they should have to do this. People are smart enough to find their own seats. I can understand keeping track of seats, but having everyone neatly next to each other isn’t really necessary. I believe that everyone should be allowed to sit where they want rather than being shoved aside.
3. Gaylord Hotel needs to advertise their “full charge on debit card” more thoroughly. I did realize there were plaques on the table, but I didn’t see them there right off the bat. The Gaylord people should at least offer a receipt so that their customers know what they were charged, if any at all. But if they don’t wish to print receipts, they should at least tell their customers what they were charged. This was my least favorite part of Magfest 2012. I almost got overdrawn because of Gaylord’s neglect of telling me that I would get charged the full 3 nights. I understand this isn’t really Magfest’s fault, but I figured I put it on this list anyway.
4. Despite the fact that last year they offered a program guide, Magfest did not offer one this year. I don’t understand this. It’s hard to tell what the panels are about at times without a guide. I hope that next year they offer one. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is upset about this. A friend of mine was especially confused by the lack of a guide. She had to go online to look at the schedule there just to see what certain panels were about. Intertwined with this is how they printed the schedules. They were too confusing and I often had to do a double or triple take to see what time a panel started. Instead of having the exact time by the panels, they just had a row of numbers with white and gray bars. So I hope next year this is fixed too.
I do look forward to next year, though, despite the issues. Maybe there’ll be some improvements. This was their first year at a new hotel and there was so much space that it felt quite open. Maybe they’ll be able to bring in more stuff and make use of that space they have now. I just hope it won’t get too crowded. I don’t like crowded spaces.
I'd love to hear about it. Also, welcome back!