Screw Attack Wrap Up!

Ahh, that fresh convention odor, there really is nothing like it.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention in Dallas, TX. I had attended conventions like Akon or AllCon in the past, but this was to be a first for me and video game conventions. I was stoked. Getting there was easy, since it was only about 30 minutes from my house and I already knew the hotel since I attended a beer festival there last year. First thing I did once I got there was walk straight into the 7,000 square foot gaming room and played some Capcom Vs. SNK 2. It was perfect.Too bad I couldn't get a pic inside the room, my iPhone does not respond well to the dark. Anyway, scanning the room there were about 40 or so consoles out and most were rocking a cornucopia of fighting games, competitive FPS’, retro games and even some Beatmania (think Japanese DJ game). I was fairly impressed, but in retrospect, I had wished for too much.I was a little disappointed not to see more rare games; maybe a review copy of KOF12 or the FF13 demo. But there is probably a bunch of red tape for something like that. Although… they did have some Blaz Blue, which was nice. Also, spent a fair amount of time in the Gameworks sponsored arcade room. Gameworks has been on my shit list for years, having pulled almost every "classic" (featuring a joystick and buttons) arcade game out, and replacing it with generic racing games and rail shooters. But ScrewAttack did bring some nostalgia to the convention with a Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 cabinet, X-men the arcade game, Killer Instinct and even a Rainbow Edition of Street Fighter 2 just to name a few.




Of course conventions aren't all about playing games; they are a celebration of all things gaming. There were panels and discussions all throughout the weekend and I personally enjoyed the one hosted by Matthew White on “How to Get a job in Gaming, Without Being a Developer”.You should check out previous posts regarding the Jack Thompson Debate as well. Don’t forget a movie room showing all sorts of gaming in films, including some episodes of the old Mario Brothers TV show!! Man I loved that show... Then you had the Dealer’s Room, which was a bit of a disappointment, with only three major dealers, the ECA and some Japanese foodstuffs. I would have liked more venders to have come from the local gaming community, maybe some developers showing off what they are doing, selling some t-shirts, etc. There was a lot of Table Top gaming and many tournaments like the Iron Man of Gaming and numerous speedruns. All of which I am not competent enough in to be competitive. >_< OH! And let’s not forget those crazy cosplay kids, which really bring a lot of personality to conventions such as these. Here are just a few pics of the many cosplayers that attended.
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All in all, weekend well spent! I really want to give huge praise to ScrewAttack and everyone that made this convention a success. Best wishes to all for a repeat next year, and with Austin GDC coming up in September, expect much more in the vein of conventions coming to TwoCanPlay blog

Thanks for reading!