MAGFest
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| MAGFest | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Video games, video game music |
| Venue | Gaylord National Convention Center[1] |
| Location(s) | National Harbor, Maryland |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2002 |
| Attendance | Approximately 6200 in 2012 |
| Organized by | MAGFest INC |
| Website | http://magfest.org |
MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival, originally the Mid-Atlantic Gaming Festival) is an annual convention held in the DC metro area that celebrates video games and video game music, as well as their surrounding culture. MAGFest's primary features are a large open video gaming room, a hall of arcade cabinets, concerts by chiptune artists and video game cover bands, and a Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN Party. MAGFest 10 took place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD from January 5 to 8, 2012.[2]
Attractions
MAGFest's arcade hall and console room are open 24 hours a day.[3] The hallway contains dozens of cabinets, ranging from vintage shoot 'em ups[3] to contemporary Japanese candy cabinets. Additionally, the console room houses dozens of televisions and attached game consoles, where guests are invited to play at will and each station's game is periodically swapped with a different one from a game library.
The concert area hosts several nightly performances of video game music and related works. Many luminaries of video game music fan culture have performed at MAGFest. Previous bands include Minibosses, Powerglove, the NESkimos, the Advantage and Chromelodeon.
Other major attractions include guest panels from the video game industry such as Sid Meier, Jon St. John[4] and Nobuo Uematsu,[5] celebrated composer for many of the games in the Final Fantasy series. In addition, the fan remixing community is well represented with sites such as OverClocked ReMix. Filmmakers such as X-Strike Studios, Main Moon Productions, PBC Productions, and There Will Be Brawl,[6] have also appeared at the event. MAGFest has also included intellectually driven panels such as "Game Studies 101" where attendees were given a basic introduction to the manner in which scholars study video games.
Additionally, MAGFest features an open mic stage, a large LAN party environment, a film screening room, a tabletop gaming room, vendors, contests like "name-that-tune," and a video game "challenge booth" where players can "try to tackle insanely difficult gaming feats for prizes of all sorts."[7]
| Dates | Location | Attendance | Featured performers |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAGFest 11 January 3–6, 2013 | Gaylord National Convention Center National Harbor, Maryland | 9000+ | Ongoing |
| MAGFest 10 January 5–8, 2012 | Gaylord National Convention Center National Harbor, Maryland | 6100+[9] | The Earthbound Papas,[5] Armcannon, Bit Brigade, Descendants of Erdrick, Dj CUTMAN, The Megas, Metroid Metal, The OneUps, Random Encounter, Temp Sound Solutions, This Place Is Haunted, X-Hunters, Year 200X, Jon "Jontron" Jafari |
| MAGFest 9 January 13–16, 2011 | Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia | 3000+ (Capped) | The Protomen, The Minibosses, The OneUps, Metroid Metal, Armcannon, Bit Brigade, The Megas, Year 200X, X-Hunters, Entertainment System, This Place Is Haunted, Rare Candy, Dj CUTMAN, A_Rival, Powerglove, Armadillo Tank, brentalfloss |
| MAGFest 8 January 1–4, 2010 | Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia | 2200 | Armcannon, Armadillo Tank, Entertainment System, The Megas, Metroid Metal, A_Rival, Rare Candy, Select Start, Temp Sound Solutions, The OneUps, The Smash Bros., This Place Is Haunted,[10] brentalfloss |
| MAGFest 7 January 1–4, 2009 | Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia | 1350 | Armcannon, Armadillo Tank, Entertainment System, The Megas, Metroid Metal, A_Rival, Rare Candy, Temp Sound Solutions, The Smash Bros., This Place Is Haunted,[10] Year 200X |
| MAGFest 6 January 3–6, 2008 | Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia | 1050 | The Advantage, Armcannon, Powerglove, Select Start, The Smash Bros., Temp Sound Solutions, This Place Is Haunted |
| MAGFest 5 January 4–7, 2007 | Sheraton Premiere Vienna, Virginia | 950 | Armcannon, Chromelodeon, Parasprinter, Powerglove, The Smash Bros., Temp Sound Solutions, This Place Is Haunted, Wave Theory, Year 200X |
| MAGFest 4 January 13–15, 2006 | Doubletree Hilton Charlottesville, Virginia | 750 | The Minibosses, The NESkimos, Parasprinter, Powerglove, Search Snake, The Smash Bros., Sprite Slowdown, This Place Is Haunted, Wave Theory |
| MAGFest 3 October 1–3, 2004 | Clarion Hotel Williamsburg, Virginia | 500 | Inheretics, Chromelodeon, The Jenova Project, The Minibosses, The NESkimos, Temp Sound Solutions, The Smash Bros., Wave Theory |
| MAGFest 2 October 31–November 2, 2003 | Clarion Hotel Williamsburg, Virginia | 375 | The Minibosses, The Smash Bros., Wave Theory |
| MAGFest September 27–29, 2002 | Holiday Inn Tanglewood Roanoke, Virginia | 265 | Everyone, The Minibosses, The OneUps |
References
- ^ "MAGFest X: January 5-8, 2012, National Harbor, Maryland". MAGFest. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ "MAGFest runs on video games". CNN Blogs. January 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ^ a b Topher Cantler. "What you missed at MAGfest 8".
- ^ "MAGFest 2010 Lineup Released". Wired. November 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "From Mega Man To Final Fantasy, Live Video Game Music".
- ^ Info Page on ThereWillBeBrawl.com
- ^ Joe Grogan. "Recapping MAGFest 8".
- ^ "MAGFest Information". MAGfest.
- ^ Dale North. "Magfest X: The best one yet".
- ^ a b On The Scene, Gaming and Rock: 'THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED' Hosts The 'FINAL VIDEO ARMAGEDDON' This Saturday