Two electronic gaming-centric events were held in Victoria, BC on the same weekend on March 12, and that can make for some hard decisions for people wondering which one of the two is the show to attend. Fortunately, Games Without Frontiers (GWoF) at University of Victoria’s IdeaFest has no relation to Peter Gabriel‘s song, otherwise there might have been some conflict. Instead, I had to make a tough call. The one on campus was closer to get to and it had an educational appeal that tickled my fancy. LANtasy at Pearkes Recreation Centre was further away and it had a communal appeal. Ultimately, I managed to hit both. Each had a specific audience they wanted to reach out to and it is not fair to say which is better. It’s easier to reveal what each 2016 event offered.
Games Without Frontiers
GWoF’s goal is to look at what gaming encompasses from an academic point of view. The panels I attended were informational and afterwards, I could talk to the guest speakers about their work.
Here, I saw youths having fun playing MineCraft. LANtasy saw some children appearing, but there was little they could play. Sure, there were two arcade consoles, but those games were of the violent variety. From what I heard, they took to the Victoria LEGO User’s Group (VicLUG) and Commodore 64 Enthusiasts of Greater Victoria for their entertainment quicker than the roll of a die.
In what I witnessed at UVic is a simple show. Attendance numbered roughly 250 during the time I was there after lunch. I explored MacLauren Building’s A and D wings, looking for where the fun was at. As GWoF grows (this is their second year), so will their numbers. I like this event for the reason it brings local video game companies, artists, professors, grad students, undergrads and youths together to look at where technology is going in both the video game, artistic and virtual world. Together, they make up what we as consumers enjoy in a game product.
Continue reading “Comparing Apples to Oranges: Games Without Frontiers 2.0 and LANtasy 2016”
Victoria’s local anime and cosplay convention has managed to obtain a Japanese idol for their guest list. Tsukino-Con announced on their official Facebook page that voice actor-singer Kensho Ono will be attending their event.
March 12-13, 2016 
With all that has happened in 2015, it is good to see fandom on Vancouver Island can still rely on Victoria’s annual anime convention Tsukino-Con. When it comes to experiencing a weekend escape, I believe Tsukino-Con knows all too well what kind of distractions their con goers want. That could be why they have announced the addition of special guest, voice artist Sarah Anne Williams. She has worked as a voice artist for English dubs of Japanese animation and video games since 2009.
