Friday, January 11, 2013

Highlights of MAGFEST XI - (2013)


MAGFest, annually held at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor (near Baltimore) MD, is a con we always look forward to, as it combines video games, music, and nerd culture all under one roof. MAGFEST XI boasted the largest attendance ever - here is a very quick recap of some of our favorite parts of 2013's event.

Gaming More Fun Than Ever


This year, MAGFest had total of FOUR separate areas.  One room for console games, one for tabletop, one for the dealer's room and LAN area, and of course, the massive Arcade.  Tabletop games were a big success this year, with a noteable difference in active players than in prior years.
This year's retro Arcade room was particularly impressive, featuring more dance games, racing games, and even a VR system, all of which had not been present in previous years.  The only downside was the number of broken machines - which seemed to be a little worse comparatively to years past. The pinball section was slightly bigger, but we'd love to see that expanded even further in future years!


Lilith Astaroth Too Sexy for MAGFest


This year included a bit of scandal....  Security at MAGFest was stricter this year, and they weren't too happy with model/singer Lilith Astaroth's costume - a custom-made homage to the classic NES system. On Saturday, she was approached by security and told that her unique costume was too risque' for the con and was asked to change out of it.  "I was kind of shocked when it happened... I wore it to last year's event and it was received positively," she said, adding that the costume, a bikini set imprinted with NES controller features on it, has not been a problem at other conventions.  "I just wanted to show my love for my favorite system of all time; the one I grew up with. I figured, what better event to share this costume at? I didn't think it would be offensive..!"

Apparently Ms. Astaroth, who sings for Boston metal band Sorrowseed and attends cons all around the US, was literally, "too sexy" for MAGFest.


The Protomen Win


Out of the 38 total concerts and visual performances at MAGFEST XI, (the most ever for this con), The Protomen were by far the biggest crowdpleaser.  During the course of the weekend, the performance room had anywhere from few to moderate numbers of people in the audience, but for The Protomen only, the room was filled to capacity and given the most enthusiastic response from fans.  At no point was the room anywhere close to being as packed as it was for The Protomen's set.  The crowd was hungry to see this inspiring band from Nashville, and it was easily the most captivating performance this year.  The Protomen rocked MAGFest hard - at several points a Colossus Roar from fans echoing through their performance in unison. This amazing group may very well be the most loved at MAGFest.

What will MAGFEST XII hold?  We can only anxiously await what the new year will bring.  Without a doubt, it will continue to be a magical place where nerds can run freely and find the total acceptance that the real world just doesn't offer.

We look forward to returning to MAGFest in 2014, and hope to see you there.

No comments:

Post a Comment