MAGFest 12! January 2nd - 5th, 2014, at National Harbor, MD -- Gaming! Music! Awesomeness!

Hi!

The 12th Annual Music And Gaming Festival (MAGFest 12) is right around the corner!! The convention runs from Thursday, January 2nd, though Sunday, January 5th, at the Gaylord National Hotel.

Before I forget, here's the link for the official site:

http://magfest.org/

The lineup of guests and performers is great! The musical headliner this year is Machinae Supremacy, who'll be traveling from Sweden for their first performance this side of the Atlantic! The official list of confirmed musical groups is huge! Here're the groups who will perform on the main stage:

- Machinae Supremacy
- Bit Brigade
- Knight of the Round
- Mega Ran
- MegaDriver
- The Megas
- On Being Human
- Super Guitar Bros.
- This Place Is Haunted
- Those Who Fight
- URIZEN
- X-Hunters

...and here are the second stage performers!:

- Eight Bit Disaster
- OverClocked University
- Rare Candy
- Triforce Quartet
- ARMCANNON
- Final Stage
- missingNo
- Lucio Baldomero
- Chronicles of Sound
- LONLEYROLLINGSTARS
- VIKING GUITAR
- Random Battles
- Droidekka
- Dethlehem

Other bands that have performed in the past include Powerglove, The Protomen, Metroid Metal, Nobuo Uematsu's Earthbound Papas., and more.

MAGFest typically also features a considerable number of panel guests as well. So far, the following guests are confirmed:

- Darren Korb (composer for Bastion!)
- Al Lowe (creator of the original Leisure Suit Larry games, as well as the new Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded)
- Jon St. John (voice of Duke Nukem)
- Matt Mercer and Zach Grafton
- JonTron

Newly added!:
- Tommy Tallarico

Past guests have included Grant Kirkhope, Chris Huelsbeck, Yuzo Koshiro, the Angry Video Game Nerd, and many others.

The focus of this convention is heavily on music, games available (for free) play, and guests. They have a huge room filled with arcade cabinets, another room with consoles and challenge stations, a LAN party area, a dealers/merchandise room, a tabletop gaming room, and more! There aren't any/many industry showcase tables, AAA game releases and new demos, etc. It's all about the music, the games, the guests, and the fun!

For anyone who's planning to attend, would you be interested in a GWJ meetup? (I'm not 100% sure yet that I'll be attending, but I'm going to make every effort to do so!)

EDIT: We're less than a week away! I still need to add the list of chiptune artists and DJs, update the list of guests.

I'll go ahead and reaffirm my attendance. All they needed to say was MaSu and I was all in.

Hello! I'm Nick and I'm on staff with MAGFest! Let me know if you have any questions about the event and I'll be glad to answer them. My apologies if there's in a delay in answering, as this appear to be a drupal forum that doesn't allow me to subscribe to replies....

I'll check in as often as I can!

Hi Nick! Thanks for taking the time to drop by! You should definitely stick around and check out more of the excellent GWJ community!!

MAGFest sounds like it's going to be fantastic again this year, especially with MaSu headlining!

I actually do have a couple questions, if you don't mind:

- With the projected 1/3 to 2/3 increase in attendance this year, what are some of the accomodations that are being made to handle that increased volume of attendees? Although the main stage concert hall, dealers room, and game rooms last year were impressively large, I can certainly see them potentially getting choked up with the increased traffic this year.
- Will the challenges at the challenge booths be the same as last year? Also... any chance of getting a few more stations, and new controllers?

Thanks!

Well, I am a gamer...... and I do have a job............. Your offer is enticing....

As for growing pains, we're prepared in most ways, with just a couple hiccups.

Hotel accommodations: Unfortunately another group has taken a significant amount of hotel rooms on Saturday night in preparation for their event the following week, so though MAGFest has 1000 rooms available in the gaylord (we used 1400 last year), hotel rooms will be slightly scattered about National Harbor hotels. Thankfully they're all in immediate walking distance.

Concert Hall: The main stage, second stage, and jamspace are actually in one large room, but are partitioned off by air walls. If things are getting stuffy, we can actually knock those down temporarily. If you attended MAGFest X in 2012, we did a similar setup in our original ballroom.

Main Hall (marketplace, arcades, consoles, etc): We'll have more content for everyone to enjoy, and we try to always maintain at least minimum required pathway for all aisles, as dictated by the fire marshal. There's a surprising amount of space in there so we should be ok, but if you feel that this year ends up being too stuffy, let us know and we can try to rethink our space plans for the following year.

Challenges: We'll have 100 new challenges that will make you want to drive your fist through all available surfaces. We're trying to get more stations, too, since those laptops are a shared modular asset used by all our departments. If you think a better controller will make the challenges easier, though, then I think the real problem here is that you need to man up and get better at the game. Stop externalizing your poor skills onto us!

Thanks for the updates, Nick!

Nick The Newbie wrote:

Hotel accommodations: Unfortunately another group has taken a significant amount of hotel rooms on Saturday night in preparation for their event the following week, so though MAGFest has 1000 rooms available in the gaylord (we used 1400 last year), hotel rooms will be slightly scattered about National Harbor hotels. Thankfully they're all in immediate walking distance.

Ah nuts, so that's what happened! When I saw the note on the MAGFest site that the Gaylord would definitely sell out this year, I'd figured/hoped that it was just because of increased popularity or the presence of MaSu. Indeed, at least there are several other hotels in the area (including the Hampton Inn right across the street).

Nick The Newbie wrote:

Concert Hall: The main stage, second stage, and jamspace are actually in one large room, but are partitioned off by air walls. If things are getting stuffy, we can actually knock those down temporarily. If you attended MAGFest X in 2012, we did a similar setup in our original ballroom.

Nice! I figured the rooms were partitionable, but did realize that both stages and the jamspace were really all in one giant room! I was at MAGFest X, but for much shorter than I would have liked, and didn't notice much about the concert hall layout. (I did get to see the Earthbound Papas, though, which was excellent!)

Nick The Newbie wrote:

Main Hall (marketplace, arcades, consoles, etc): We'll have more content for everyone to enjoy, and we try to always maintain at least minimum required pathway for all aisles, as dictated by the fire marshal. There's a surprising amount of space in there so we should be ok, but if you feel that this year ends up being too stuffy, let us know and we can try to rethink our space plans for the following year.

Cool; now that you mention it, there was a good amount of open space in those areas (especially the arcade room). I can't wait to see how everything looks this year!

Nick The Newbie wrote:

Challenges: We'll have 100 new challenges that will make you want to drive your fist through all available surfaces. We're trying to get more stations, too, since those laptops are a shared modular asset used by all our departments.

That's great! I look forward to trying out the new ones, and trying again on some old ones if they're still there. It was neat to see the Atari challenges on there last year; did attendees in general seem to welcome their inclusion?

Nick The Newbie wrote:

If you think a better controller will make the challenges easier, though, then I think the real problem here is that you need to man up and get better at the game. Stop externalizing your poor skills onto us!

Heh, fair enough! I'm definitely not one of the better challenge players; I was sufficiently pleased that I completed one or two "expert" level challenges, but had no chance at any of the "unfair" ones. Plenty of the other challengers do quite well with those controllers, so I can't really complain . I suppose I was just frustrated with what seemed like "looseness" in the D-pads, but my experience is probably just not holding up to my idealized memories of SNES controllers back in the day.

I only learned that this existed last year, and I was in Vegas when it happened. I'm not sure it was a fair trade. Fortunately, I live about an hour away from the venue, so I'll be there for sure this year!

Zudz wrote:

I only learned that this existed last year, and I was in Vegas when it happened. I'm not sure it was a fair trade. Fortunately, I live about an hour away from the venue, so I'll be there for sure this year!

Great! It's an incredibly fun weekend, with quite a bit to see, hear, and play! I've attended the past three years, and it's become one of the events I most look forward to.

Hrm, I wonder if I can use my status as a writer for the site to get a press badge...

In all seriousness though, I went for two days last year and had an incredible time. I'll be going again this year as it's the closest major gaming event to me, and thus not actually a far drive, and National Harbor is a GORGEOUS place that's great to walk around. It was pretty much a non-stop party when I went with my friends, so I look forward to it again.

Also: Machinae Supremacy. Hell yeah.

ccesarano wrote:

Also: Machinae Supremacy. Hell yeah.

QFT!

Cool, I live an hour away, I may go!

Is there a banner I should be flying to let people know I'm a GWJer? Or a t-shirt? Secret handshake? Decoder ring? Something?

BunbyHeri wrote:

That's great! I look forward to trying out the new ones, and trying again on some old ones if they're still there. It was neat to see the Atari challenges on there last year; did attendees in general seem to welcome their inclusion?

As far as I can tell, people enjoyed the atari challenges, so keep an eye out for the new ideas that come out of of the twisted brains of our challenge department. There's actually a MAGFest challenges twitter account that's posting updates about what they have planned, so pay attention to that for a hint of what to expect this year.

I can now confirm that I will be going. I spoke with my supervisor at my new job and she was fine with me taking the days off since it's holidays and that happens. So once I get money I'll be buying the 4-day pass.

I'm sooooooo looking forward to this.

EDIT: Bought the pass just before the price went up.

So, let's get a Slap & Tickle organized!

I may have convinced my brother to tag along with me, and I'm currently pushing on a couple of coworkers to commit to going as well. Getting excited!

Alright, I shall compile some locations for a Slap and Tickle. Even if folks can't make it to MAGFest, surely they can manage getting into Maryland?

Grace's Mandarin - Right across the street from the hotel. It was quite a busy place, but my friends and I were able to have a good time sitting at the bar. Depending on how many folks will be around, I imagine we can either reserve a table or just find a spot at the bar. The food is awesome, as was our bartender, but it's on the pricier side.

Fiorella Pizzeria - Another expensive location, but the food looks authentic and delicious enough. Have never been there.

Public House - No prices listed on the website. Has a wide variety of foods to choose from.

Bond45 - a.k.a. Nothing Under $20.

My leanings would be one of the pubs, personally.

EDIT: Also, if you're like me and are not making a lot of money and are worried about budget and such, you can plan and pre-pay for parking. Which I think I'm going to do. The rates are actually not as bad as I was expecting, but it still looks like you'll be paying roughly $52 or so for the entire weekend.

So uh, any thoughts on the whole Slap & Tickle thing?

EDIT: Well due to a financial screw-up I won't be able to make it. There will always be more MAGFests, though, and I imagine Machinae Supremacy may return. They may not, but I'm hoping the crowd is large enough that they come back. We'll see.

Considering how many times I've missed seeing Blind Guardian live, I think I'll survive.

The rest of you have a great time! So sad I won't see any of you.

Just a heads up to you guys that the expo hall is going to be a little denser this year due to some of the hotel space being in use. It'll be a little cozy, but again, within the stringent guidelines of the fire marshal. These issues will be alleviated next year.

So I might be going again after all. A College friend of mine is offering to help alleviate costs on gas and parking by picking me up to drive me down.

I'll post in here when I have a solid answer and will give you folks my phone number so we can text and organize something. Also, schedules have been e-mailed.

Thanks for keeping us informed Nick the Newbie! Despite the crowds, I recall the hotel feeling very spacious, so I imagine it won't be as problematic as it might be at, say, PAX.

I won't know for certain if I'm coming down until Thursday morning, but either way I think we should schedule a definitive slap & tickle time and location as soon as possible. My vote is either Friday or Saturday, though I'd say more likely Friday as Saturday is when the biggest names are going to be performing. In fact, looking over the schedule and the website Who's Who page, I'm pretty sure any band I want to see is performing on Saturday.

So my recommendation would be early afternoon Friday before crowds start to form. My pick would be getting to McCormick and Schmick's at around 3pm so we can happy hour prices.

Of course, keep in mind I may not be going after all. If I do go, I'll PM my phone number for text messaging. I'll also see if I can have the GWJ badge I got from PAX East or if I can print a new one out so I can be identified while wandering around. It's also likely that I'll try to find some open spots during post-concerts to do late night board games. If I recall the layout of the hotel, there should be plenty of spaces for that.

Does that sound like a good plan?

I'm also in a similar boat of not knowing for certain whether I'll be attending (though I'm certainly hoping to!), but if I do I'd definitely be up for some late night baord games! I'd love to attend a S&T as well, but I wouldn't be heading to the venue until early evening on Friday.

And as ccesarano said, thanks Nick the Newbie for the updates!

I can afford to go! I will be PMing my phone number to you guys who have commented so you can text me if need be. I don't know how many board games I'll be bringing, but right now I'm considering The Walking Dead (based on the comic, not TV show), Mall of Horror, and then either the Firefly board game (which I've yet to play) or the Resident Evil deck building game (which I've played plenty of).

Whee!

I decided to cancel my plans to attend at the beginning of the week. I had hoped I could find someone to go with among friends in my hometown, but it wasn't meant to be. I wouldn't mind it with someone else along for the ride and to split costs, but it's hard to justify a 8 hour solo drive and the full cost of the hotel. I'll be doing all I can to promote it to friends and coworkers for next year, and im bummed to miss MaSu, but I also get to stick around and play board games with the family for another couple of days, so I consider it a pretty even trade.

wishing you guys a great time and hope to see you there next year!

So I was at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention center today with my family to do the ICE! thing... when I noticed all cosplayers and kids walking around with DSs... had no idea this was going on.

the schedule looks awesome... couldn't make it today as I had my non-gaming spouse and two munchkins who were spent... now debating on whether I should head down there by myself tomorrow...

looked really cool... in a gaming nerd sorta way. (takes one to know one)

Mrs. Zudz and I will be there tomorrow morning around 10:00. I'm going to try to get into the Creativity in Gaming panel, and then we're probably going to play board games all day. We're really just playing it by ear.

ccesarano, if you'll have the ability to check your PMs I can just bother you here instead of by phone. If not then I'll be concise, promise.

My smart phone is kind of crap, so while I'll be able to check PM's, I'd prefer text.

My friend and I won't be getting in until morning due to snow. He's pretty dead set on getting down there, though.

My phone is not cooperating with the Internet, so I'm stuck with just texts and such. Contact me if you're around.

if I wasn't leaving DC tomorrow morning... the panels I would love to listen to...

how games teach

storytelling with sound design

how being indie is not so indie - maybe not love, but like to listen to... the title pretty much says it all... indie has catapulted to being mainstream.... there's an earlier panel session asking if AAA developers are creatively relevant anymore? (across the board... not as much not really)

exploring vr with oculus rift - although I wonder how interesting this one could truly be... its not like developers would be talking about the really interesting ways they're designing for it, lest they have their idea stolen.

ah damnit the doublefine documentary is gonna be on tomorrow morning... UGH!

gotta make a point to check this out next year.

Though it was an anime con, I've been in the area before, so I know the types of vendors likely to show.
What would I do there?
edit: at that con I forced myself to drink two glasses of wine while my passenger went around with her anime club friends so I could feel the effect of the alcohol-slight buzz, not even close to falling over but the part of my brain in charge of balance became more lax w.r.t. the meaning of standing straight; I don't need to do that experiment again.

just google magfest and it'll pop up as the first hit.... on that note, i'll say this:

website markets it as a music and gaming (pc, console, and tabletop) convention

panel schedule is pc gaming developer and industry, but gaming schedule appears pretty balanced and catered to tabletop gamers, pc gamers, ds, and console peeps.

what I saw in passing: about the same, although what grabbed my attention (and my wife & kids) was the number of cos-players.

I woulda stuck around for it or come back with primary goal of attendance if I didn't live so dang far.