GAME3R-CON OFFERS MORE TO COMIC-CON ATTENDEES

By Nadin Abbott

Photos by Tom Abbott and Nadin Abbott

July 13, 2012 (San Diego)--If you are going to attend Comic-Con this year, you should know there are many side events outside the Convention Center. One of them is Gam3r-Con, located on the 10th Ave Theater, which is on 930th, Ten Avenue.

So what is different or interesting about this small Con running concurrently with Comic-Con?  Live theater. When we attended for this review we were treated to Gamers: The Play, co-written by Brian Bielawski and Walter G. Meyer, an ECM book reviewer. 

So what is this one man show about? Imagine being a worker, at an IT support center, and at the same time organizing the largest raid of one realm on another in an internet Multi Player Game. Oh and you could not get the day off?

The play, which is funny from the moment it starts, is full of pop culture and gaming references. Some of them are more obvious than others. Examples include Con badges and bottles of Mountain Dew. The former are decoration of the cubicle, the latter are… well integral to the plot. (And if you know gamers, you know Mountain Dew or other refreshing, caffeine laden, sometimes sugary, sodas.)

It is a funny look at gamer culture, where the game takes over the life of players. If you are a gamer, the jokes will make you laugh. If you are not, it’s a good in-look at this sub-culture.

What else is the Con about? Gaming--both electronic and table top. Coleman University is sponsoring the Computer gaming room, with many a station where players can try commercial games, such as Tom Clancy’s “Ghost Recon,” or student projects, or both.

They also have a room dedicated to old systems, such as the Sega 64 and the Atari. This is the “retrograde game room.”

According to Meyer, not just a co-writer of the play, but one of the founders and organizers, this room is popular with fathers and sons. Here they can both play what dad used to play when growing up. “Young kids are now enjoying the games of their parents.”

Then there is the tabletop room, where people can bring their own games, or use whatever the convention brought to have a good time. This year they are being sponsored by USAopoly, who is putting out specialized monopoly games, such as HALO, and other video game ties.

This year they are also launching “Telestrations” a new version of broken telephone and charades using texting.

The Con also includes an art gallery where all the art has ties to the pop culture. Paintings include themes familiar to gamers, and they have mats where you can go look. It will take hours to find all the pop culture references in them, they range from Donkey Kong to The Simpsons.

The Con is growing and last year it first got sponsors. According to Meyer, in the first year, “nobody could believe they could do this.” Now it is in third year and growing. It is also “filling a gap that Comic-Con does not.”  He also said that Comic-Con is glad that these side events exist, not because they are competition, but because they get people off the Convention center for a few hours.

Tomorrow they are going to have a concert on the rooftop, where they hold events every evening, last night it was a comedy show. Tomorrow’s concert will benefit the “Get well Games Foundation.” This  foundation helps to get kids who are in the hospital video game systems, so they can pass the time, especially kids who are in the hospital long term. So if you are into Filk Music, come by. The musicians tomorrow will be Evan Brooks, Allison Landsdale and Mark Kramer.

If you did not get tickets for Comic-Con but still want to enjoy some of the atmosphere. Or you got tickets to Comic-Con, but need a breather from the thousands of people, check out Gam3r-Con.