Gam3rCon, the first local event with an international following, dedicated to celebrating the world of video games and interactive entertainment, wrapped up its five-day flurry of events Sunday.
Co-founded by local LGBT activist and author, Walter Meyer, 2012, Gam3rCon dominated the Tenth Avenue Theatre with more activities, displays, video gaming tournaments, opportunities to try new games and take in live entertainment.
In addition to the video gaming lounge, with tournament play of the most popular games; the Retrocade featuring old-school Atari, Sega, and other early systems; and the table-top gaming lounge; there will also be rooftop parties and live theater. The event ran concurrently with Comic-Con Internationa,l offering an additional venue for geek fun for those who couldn’t get tickets to Comic-Con, or just want to focus on gaming.
“We like to bring geeks to art and art to geeks,” proclaimed Gam3rCon co-founder, Brian Bielawski. “We (brought) back performances of the hilarious one-man show, GAM3RS, and this year … adding performances of Spiderbaby, the musical, starring Eliza Jane Schneider, who provide(d) most of the female voices for the TV show South Park; and a performance of the one-woman show, I Wish My Life Were an RPG. And we are expanding into the fine arts with an exhibition of curated by the local collective 8-Bit Cubist.”
“The rooftop is an awesome place for concerts and parties,” said Gam3rCon co-chair, Walter G. Meyer. “The Friday of Gam3rCon, (hosted) screenings and a meet and greet with the creators and stars of the hit web series, Video Game High School. Last Year, one of the stars, Jimmy Wong, played a rooftop concert for us. This year he is coming back to promote VGHS along with his brother, popular YouTube star Freddie Wong who created the web series.”
Joining them was Freddie’s co-writers and producers, Matthew Arnold and Brandon Laatsch.
Meyer added, “Last year’s filk (geek folk music) concert was so much fun and raised so much money for a great cause—Get Well Gamers—that we asked the same great line-up of musicians to return.” Eben Brooks, Allison Lonsdale, and former member of the Canton Mudders, Mark Kramer, with his new band the FIZGIGS, will be entertaining. Cash donations will be accepted at the door to provide gaming systems to hospitalized children.
This year, Gam3rCon featured four floors of gaming entertainment, including the Coleman University Video Game Arena and the USAopoly Tabletop Gaming Lounge, as well as panels featuring gaming industry professionals sharing their knowledge. Horrible Imaginings will once again host a movie screening for the geek audience. Last year’s Gam3rCon drew over 2000 attendees.
The event took place O at the 10th Avenue Theatre, 930 10th Ave. as an all-ages event celebrating the earliest traditions of dice and cards to the latest innovations in digital gaming experiences. It provided either an adjunct to its massive sister convention, ComiCon, or a far more affordable alternative with one day passes at $10 and week-long passes at $30 For more information about next year’s convention visit Gam3rCon.com.
