Magfest 2015 - Part One

I was going to write out a long post about Magfest as I usually do for the conventions we go to. Then I realized that it just isn't the same as just telling you to go and experience it for yourself. 

This year was really good and I hope whoever took charge of organization and making sure our gripes from last year were heard needs a beer and a good break. While every year seems to get better this one took the cake in organization. The only big downfall wasn't Magfests fault but rather the Gaylord itself when they booked over 100 rooms and then had to back track and put those people into a hotel 20 minutes away. Hopefully this wont happen again since the Gaylord has been pretty good to this conference every year. 

The layout was done a bit clearer and the rooms were better situated. They still had the annoying one exit deal between four large rooms but crossing my fingers they may hear us out finally this year and fix it next year. The map was more clearly marked and nicely designed and the communication between the volunteers was a bit better. There were a few hiccups involving food and drink but it didn't really affect me personally that much. I tossed everything in my bag and got into concerts fine with my drinks in my nalgene. I wasn't bothered once I got inside though I also didn't act like a crazy drunk so that may have helped. 

Artemis was set up again this year and we had a good time floundering around. Had to be told not to blow up the other groups ship but other then that they gave us freedom to do what we wanted. We all played before but of course we all took new spots that we weren't used to. I was captain at some point and they were a fine crew!

Got to see a few concerts. My two highlights were Triforce Quartet and Yuu Miyake (Katamari). Read Macathu's Magfest post and listen to the Quartets final song! Click Here! They had set up the concert hall a bit differently so the stages were across from one another. When one set finished the next started almost right away. I liked and didn't like this just because I felt it was a bit too quick at times and almost playing over the last set. 

The game room was spread out a bit more and this year I felt we got to play a lot more games then last year. There was a single room just for cabinets and another single room for Consoles and Computers which worked out great. I also didn't see any large podcast booth like they had last year blasting over everyone gaming. The indie game area had a nice spread which I will talk about next post since I want to give them a bit more then just a short blurb. 

I feel there was less disruptions this year and everyone overall had a good time. I met a lot of new people and what I will always love about this convention is everyone is so nice and willing to chat with everyone else. Always a friendly face to be seen. Of course you'll always have that bad apple here and there but overall I feel this is the friendliest, happiest group every year. I mean.. we all have to cram and be buddy buddy in the elevators so I just feel closer to everyone after every ride.

Between the card games, handhelds, game rooms, tabletop games and elevator bets (I won $2!) there seems to be gaming going on everywhere.  Never a dull moment and always a chance to distract yourself from sleep. There's four days so you really have to pace yourself or you end up crashing hard earlier then you expect. 

A few tips before I end this update for anyone thinking of going! 

• Try to pick up your badges the day before it starts. They usually start the evening before and go 24 hours after that but to skip the lines go early or go late at night.
  
• The Gaylord has mini fridges in their room so bring sandwich fixings for a midnight snack or bad weather/long lines etc. I also bring premade coffee so I dont have to worry about the lines in the AM.
  
• We also bring a lot of snacks and drinks so we don't have to worry about the crazy prices. We'll still buy some drinks/food but we skip a few meals and extra costs by walking around with our own. We're also polite about when and how we eat/drink during Magfest so we don't worry much about being chased down by the Volunteers.
  
• Bring some cash. The dealers room usually takes Credit Cards but the wifi in the place can suck. So instead of waiting to be able to connect or having to come back later you can hand over some money and be good to go.
  
• Hand Sanitizer! - we usually walk around with a bottle in our pocket. Any game console I touch I use some. I also carry hand lotion because this will dry the shit out of your skin but I think it's better then getting the MagFlu.
  
• I can understand if you're staying with a group of people you may not want to do this.. but the express check out is a wonderful feature if you are staying along. It cuts back on the front desk lines and you don't stand there forever waiting to get your stuff to your car before coming back for the rest of the day.
  
• Have a damned good time. You're at MagFest!

Jump to Part Two  |  Jump to Part Three