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MAGFest 6, Video game concerts and convention, Jan 3-6, 2008, Virginia/DC

NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
edited January 2008 in Games and Technology
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MAGFest 6
Where:
Hilton Mark Center Hotel
Alexandria, Virginia

When:
January 3-6, 2008


Pre-Registration fee: $35

It's coming again! The Music And Games Festival, this time in alexandria, virginia. Like last year, it will be over 3 days of gaming goodness, with 2 full evenings of video game music concerts. You'll hear some of the best VG covers ever in the style of chip tunes, rock, and even hip hop. A list of all the bands playing (and there will be 8 at the very least) is being finalized, and I'll post it as soon as I get it.

The gaming room is 24 hours, and features near every gaming system imaginable (including PC engines, neo geos, saturns, and a ton of arcade machines), and there are tournaments running through the whole convention. A LAN room is there and also 24 hours, so feel free to bring your PC. There are panels as well. Some of the panel topics include: various topics of game industry discussion, music composition, gaming talk in general, and drunken nintendo karaoke is going to make an appearance in there somewhere.

The convention goes from thursday morning to sunday evening, so that's over 3 solid days and nights of gaming, music and partying. You'll soon be able to get a group rate if you tell the hotel you are booking to stay at MAGFest. This price isn't set in stone quite yet, so i'll keep you guys posted.


Check out the website at http://www.magfest.org to preregister and find out more about the convention and what it's all about. Any other questions can be answered by me, or you can talk to "MrMagfest", the con chair, on AIM.

NickTheNewbie on

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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited September 2007
    So far this is shaping up to be a real blast.

    Confirmed bands:
    Armcannon
    Planet Skill (Wave Theory)
    Powerglove
    The Smash Bros
    Shawn Phase / Temp Sound Solutions
    This Place Is Haunted


    Also, ScrewAttack will be at MAGFest 6! We'll be hosting Tom and Craig of the SideScrollers Podcast. We'll have Liz, their forum queen. We'll have PBC, who you already know as the creators of the popular Captain S serial. And last but not least, quite possibly the most requested guest so far this year (other than Miyamoto himself), we will be hosting James, the Angry Video Game Nerd. It's been hinted at that there may be a few other appearances as well!

    NickTheNewbie on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Just so you guys know, the hotel is offering a room block for us at discounted prices. If you call up and say you'll be staying there for magfest, then you'll get a huge discount on your room fee. It's only 3 months away, so don't wait too long, or the block will fill up!

    NickTheNewbie on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    The two final bands confirmed for magfest:



    The Advantage
    One of the ORIGINAL video game cover bands, these guys have a wide range of styles that anyone can enjoy.



    Select-Start
    One of the only video game cover bands consisting of mostly orchestral instruments. Their rendition of time's scar will drop your jaw.

    NickTheNewbie on
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    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Oh holy shit I'm excited. I'm going to call a bunch of friends after work today, and see if any of them want to come.

    urahonky on
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    AlejandroDaJAlejandroDaJ Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    *Glances at his location*

    Huh. Might check it out.

    AlejandroDaJ on
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    Tw4winTw4win Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Well, this is pretty much right down the street from me so I'll check it out.

    All of us VA/MD/DC PAers should get together soon for a beer or 6. I'd suggest Murphy's in Old Town or someplace like "The Big Hunt" near Dupont Circle...

    Tw4win on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Ah, good to see people are taking interest! I guarantee you that you'll have an amazing time.


    If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

    NickTheNewbie on
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    AlejandroDaJAlejandroDaJ Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Man, Murphy's is like the only place a guy can get a decent drink in Old Town. That and Union Pub. Not enough good drinking holes in the city, and entirely too many middle-aged folk. Makes me kind of miss living on Connecticut Ave.

    You other Alexandria folks, what systems do you have? I'm only rocking a Wii and an oxbox at the moment, and my Wii has been in my backpack for about 4 weeks (which I think is a meme, anyway).

    AlejandroDaJ on
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    Tw4winTw4win Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Man, Murphy's is like the only place a guy can get a decent drink in Old Town. That and Union Pub. Not enough good drinking holes in the city, and entirely too many middle-aged folk. Makes me kind of miss living on Connecticut Ave.

    You other Alexandria folks, what systems do you have? I'm only rocking a Wii and an oxbox at the moment, and my Wii has been in my backpack for about 4 weeks (which I think is a meme, anyway).


    I'm technically in DC but I'm rocking a Wii, PS3, 360, DS, & PSP.

    There's supposed to be some sort of speakeasy on Kingstreet, almost diagonally across the street from Murphy's. It's open when the Jolly Roger is flying... I think it's semi-upscale but not totally overpriced. I've been meaning to try it...

    Soutside (on S. Washington Street) is also a cool place to grab a drink and a Po Boy.

    The Flying Fish (on King) is a decent place to eat but their downstair's bar is cool...

    Tw4win on
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    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Bah. 8 Hour drive there... I might have to check plane ticket costs... But I don't want to spend a fortune. Although... If I have a couple people with me, we could always switch off while driving.

    I'll have to pass the word around.

    urahonky on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    If you can't muster up some friends to help out for the drive, there is the ride'n'room database. Enter your info, and look at other people's info to try to make a carpool and share a room. A room may not be as big a worry, as buying anyone at the convention a drink usually gives you a floor to crash on for a night.

    http://magfest.org/rideroom.php

    NickTheNewbie on
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    EclecticGrooveEclecticGroove Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Hmm... this sounds interesting. I just did a meet up of a few of the DC area folks not long ago for the Small Press Expo. January is a nice distance off too.. plenty of time for people to plan things, and it's after the holidays are over too... nice. I might have to go check this out.

    EclecticGroove on
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    imbalancedimbalanced Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Hmmmmm, I live right by the Pentagon. Maybe I should go? The Mark Center Hilton is like five minutes from my apartment.

    imbalanced on
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    Wii Code: 1040-1320-0724-3613 :!!:
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Let me give you guys some more details about the bands you'll see.


    Arm Cannon
    A progressive rock group from buffalo. They just recently performed their rendition of "still more fighting" from final fantasy 7 as guest musicians on the Video Games Live tour. Each one of them are absolute virtuosos on their respective instruments, so expect amazing guitar, keyboard, bass, and drum solos.

    Powerglove
    A metal group from Massachusetts, these guys are about as heavy as is gets. Moshing and headbanging will surely ensue. Though, at their last concert, they gave people foam swords to start mosh swordfighting.


    The Smash Bros
    Formed from all-stars of vgmix (an incredible arrangement site, been down for a while for a complete rewrite). Featuring the famous Jake "Virt" Kaufman, this group performs exclusively at magfest. They're pretty much the very definition of supergroup, as you've likely heard arrangements you love made by each of the members.

    NickTheNewbie on
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    Sacred CowSacred Cow Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    hmm this is 5 mins from my office....I may have to show up.

    Sacred Cow on
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    SSB code- 0216-0856-6886 PM me so I can add you
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited October 2007
    Ok so I just got word on hotel room pricing. It's $99 a night, and you have a choice of either a single king, or 2 doubles. Don't forget to mention you want to be in the magfest block.

    NickTheNewbie on
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    EvanderEvander Disappointed Father Registered User regular
    edited November 2007
    Nick keeps harassing me, so I am posting that I am potentially interested.

    Is that good enough for you, Nick?

    Evander on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited November 2007
    The latest addition to MAGFest: CHALLENGES!


    The idea is that we have certain premade challenges in classic games for you to accomplish. They're ranked normal, hard, and expert. You can try the challenges as many times as you'd like, and the people with the most points at the end get awexome prizes (read: CASH).

    Here's a rundown of the challenges so you can start practicing.

    http://courtwright.org/challenges/

    NickTheNewbie on
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    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited November 2007
    Ghosts n' Goblins -> You want us to finish stage 1?! I can't even do that.

    urahonky on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Inside info! I ran into the magfest chairman at blipfest in nyc (a chip tune concert), and he gave me a scoop on their latest confirmed guest.

    Brian Colin will be attending MAGFest. He's the CEO of Game Refuge, which is the company that created rampage, arch rivals, pigskin, xenophobe, and a bunch of the other funny bally/midway games of the time.

    It'll be nice to hear some old school gaming stories from this guy. Mr Magfest tells me it will be officially announced on the website soon.

    NickTheNewbie on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Less than 3 weeks away, now! Pre-register before the end of the year and save 5 bucks off the at-the-door price.


    Also, did you guys want to arrange the PA get together?

    NickTheNewbie on
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    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    God I wish. I was all hyped up and ready to go, but then I ran out of money. My damn car broke down last week, and the repair bill was $700. That's all the cash I had to go to this event! One of these days I'll attend something cool like this. :(

    urahonky on
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    AlejandroDaJAlejandroDaJ Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I'm not going to Magfest, but I'll be back in Alexandria on Jan 2nd. If someone's organizing something informal, gimme a PM.

    AlejandroDaJ on
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    CyberJackalCyberJackal Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    So who all is going to this? I'm on the fence for this one...

    CyberJackal on
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    HyperAquaBlastHyperAquaBlast Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I have a buddy who I was planing on hanging out with who now lives in Alexandria and my boss offered to take care of my dog for that weekend.

    I haven't really thought much about it though. The website kind of makes it sound lame sorta. I need some new fucking friends on this coast to hang out with.

    HyperAquaBlast on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I'm sorry if it sounds lame, but I can give you my assurance as an attendee, that you'll have a great time. The list of activities this year is great, and if you're in the area, it would definitely be in your interests to stop by.

    If you want to come for the video games, they will be in no short supply. You'll find any system you want, already hooked up and ready to go, and if there's some obscure one you want to play, talk to the people running the game room, and odds are they have one they can hook up for you. And the boxes upon boxes of games for each system is something to marvel at.

    If you want to come for the music, you'll have a great time to. There's the concerts, a jam space where you can just pick up an instrument and start playing with other attendees, a listening party for the latest dwelling of the duels (a monthly competition for game music arrengements), and musicians everywhere to give you tips on doing your own stuff.



    If you want to come for the video games AND the video game music.... Well you're pretty much in heaven, then. That, and, if you follow any one group of people around for long enough, there's a high probably they'll lead you to free booze.

    NickTheNewbie on
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    HyperAquaBlastHyperAquaBlast Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Booze you say? Well now if I get to play Rock Band and be slightly plastered then it might just do.

    I guess I will go regardless since I have nothing better to do. Someone from PA better say whats up to me!

    HyperAquaBlast on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Festivities start this thursday night!

    NickTheNewbie on
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    CyberJackalCyberJackal Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    So I went for a couple hours earlier today. I couldn't stick around because I have work tomorrow. I think I arrived a bit early though. There weren't many people there and they were still setting stuff up, but I think I could see the potential (they were setting up a Simpsons arcade machine!).

    If anyone else is going and wants to hang out, shoot me a pm.

    CyberJackal on
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    Tw4winTw4win Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I might swing by tomorrow afternoon at some point...

    Tw4win on
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    TxdoHawkTxdoHawk Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    To those on the fence, it's small, but a great time, especially if you get a little social during the day and find a room party at night. I have been going for several years now with my NJ friends and we always have a blast.

    Sadly this year it looks like I will be missing out. :( Family health issues. Everybody who does go, have a blast for me.

    TxdoHawk on
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    NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    God the convention was amazing. I'm sorry i didn't get to meet with any PAers if any of you showed up. Arm Cannon is now my favorite band ever.

    NickTheNewbie on
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