GamesCon 2016

On Saturday 16th some of our team were given the opportunity to attend GamesCon 2016, hosted at the Teaching Learning Complex at the UWI St Augustine campus located in Trinidad and Tobago. Of the many events hosted locally GamesCon standout as it is the only Gamer focused event for the year and caters well to its target audience.

GamesCon offered a multitude of gaming tournaments for the local gaming community, giving competitive gamers a chance to come out and show their skills while casual gamers were encouraged to come out, spectate and show their support. League of Legends, DOTA, Hearthstone, Fifa 16, Street Fighter V and even Pokemon were among the tournaments held showing just how much GamesCon did its best to care for gamers of all walks of life.

As a casual gamer myself it was fun to see all the people who came out to compete in the games I myself enjoy and even meet a few new people to team up with in game. Patrons to the event who weren’t competing were also catered for as outside of spectating competitions, guest could walk the floor and browse the wears of the various vendors who came out. Guest could also participate in the various games available at the Free-to-Play area to have some fun of their own. Its always a good time when someone busts out the Just Dance, and among the various game related attractions was a VR booth which gave guests the opportunity to experience the latest venture of game developers first hand. Thoughts on which can be heard on Episode 145 of BSP.

The event while focused on the gaming community did its best to be inclusive of those with other interests by allowing various Cosplayers to come out in their costumes. Wary event goers were encouraged to take a break at the Sweet Paradise Maid Cafe where they would be served by any of the various maids and butlers who all did their best to remain in character and costume throughout the day. The event also held a Cosplay Competition at the end of the day, offering Cosplayers an even more inclusive role in the days activities.

1st Place Winner of the Games Con 2016 cosplay competition

After their first time out last year its obvious that the organizers learned from some of their mistakes as GamesCon 2016 was a major improvement. Everything was timely done and great use was made of the space, however, I couldn’t help but feel like the event just fell short of a complete success. As opposed to last year the attendance seemed to have dropped along with the count of participating vendors. Its a shame that with all the hard work and organization that went into its planning and execution, the organizers didn’t take into account the losses to occur from scheduling the event so close to another major event in the community which has a much more established history. Timing and consciousness is always key.

Despite the dip however, GamesCon 2016 still had a good turn out. From my time walking around and checking out everything there was to offer the event goers all seemed to be enjoying themselves. If not by actively participating in one of the games then by meeting up with old, new and/or internet friends and making their own good time, though how some were able to socialize over the obnoxiously loud music is a wonder within itself.

GamesCon 2016 was such a good time overall but of course, give us games and we will come. GamesCon took a step away from the repetition of the local event scene where every event has begun to feel like a rehash of the last. It was a breathe of fresh air, especially for gamers and I’m looking forward to seeing what the team behind the scenes has planned for the future. If they keep up the hard work and and learn from this year like they did after last, GamesCon just might be able to make a bigger name for itself in gaming.