Day 4: Farewell

January 5, 2009 on 3:33 am | In News | No Comments

All good things must come to an end, as did MAGFest this Sunday. Sleep-deprived gamers, staffers, vendors, musicians and special guests finally packed up their controllers, badges, figurines, instruments and cameras and said their goodbyes to MAGFest VII. Even though staffers and guests were glad to be able to relax, everyone was just a little sad to see the arcade cabinets get packed up until next year.

The main events today included a post-competition interview and awards ceremony for the Nibbler Championship (more here in case you missed it), an auction of some pretty sweet gaming merchandise, and the closing ceremony, where Brendan Becker a.k.a “Mr. MAGFest” listened to feedback from the audience about the convention.

Do not mess with Mr. MAGFest.

Some of the guests asked for better food options (pizza delivery gets old after a while, you know) while others asked for MAGFest VIII to be a full week-long event. Some were upset that the video and tournament rooms weren’t better advertised, and others wished for next year’s Jamspace to be more freeform. However, nearly everyone at the closing ceremonies that I observed was in agreement: This year’s MAGFest was the best in the event’s history.

Many people said that MAGFest was the best single convention they had ever attended, including conventions for Comics, Film and Anime. People gushed over the fantastic bands and musical acts and applauded the extra effort made in bringing guests like Overclocked Remix, whose work was relevant to both Music and Gaming. But most of all, people appreciated the fact that the MAGFest staff followed through on their promise and made a convention that was “by fans, for fans.”

Brendan said that thanks to events like MAGFest, people are changing their attitude about what a gaming convention can be. “We’re the anti-con,” said Brendan to cheers from the audience. Unlike most gaming conventions, MAGFest has no representatives from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, or the like trying rabidly to sell their products to gamers. The convention makes money, to be sure, but being a fan event gives the con a more relaxed, less corporate vibe.

At MAGFest, gamers have the opportunity to hang out, rock out, and (if they don’t pace themselves) pass out to their heart’s content. Every year, Brendan and the rest of the staff work like crazy to organize and run the convention, and this year’s convention has been run extremely well, adding tons of stuff to do without sacrificing quality or the convention’s intimate atmosphere. If you have the opportunity and live on the East Coast, seriously consider attending MAGFest VIII. As Brendan said with a smile, “We’re only getting bigger.”

~Joe Newman