I had not planned on going to Salt Lake Gaming Con. We're saving our ducats to go to Salt Lake Comic Con in the fall. But I received an email a little after 12am on Friday morning saying that my order had been completed. Not sure why or where I had managed to land myself a free Friday only ticket, but there it was with a beautiful QR code attached. Now I'm not usually able to drop everything and travel 40 minutes away, and almost never with my kids. But Friday's schedule was particularly open and I had some extra money. And so go we did!
SLGC is a smaller venue compared to SLCC. But what it lacked in size, it more than made up for in excellent utilization of space, variety, and activities. How things are arranged to allow through-traffic is important for someone like to who utilizes a wheelchair. One of my main complains of SLCC is that because there are so many of us Con-lovers, it tends to start to feel a little claustrophobic with the push of bodies all around me. While SLCC organizers have gotten better each year planning the layout of the con, I don't think they've yet found that magical formula to be wide in the places that need it to be wide to allow for a lot of traffic, but narrow enough so they can offer the largest possible variety in vendors and artists. Gaming Con had all the good in spades. Wide through-ways and bigger crowd-attracting events kept in places that were easy to find, yet out of the way. To be somewhat fair, to SLCC, my children and I were there at Gaming Con on a Friday afternoon, so foot traffic is anticipated to be less than in the evening or on Saturday. But seems to me that even if they got a huge influx later on, the layout would more than handle the increase.
There is a lot to do at Gaming Con. The commercials, I don't feel, gave a very good indication of what you could expect to find. On the south side of the hall, they had two very large projector screens and stages set up for the different types of competitions. Below each stage was at least 6 or 7 rows of seating for onlookers. In between the two stages was a large section of floor dedicated to computer gaming. It was my understanding that this section would have also served as competition space for games specific to the PC. Equipped with power strips, CAT5 cabling, chairs and sturdy tables, it was a great set up for LAN parties and online competitions alike. Beyond that were several islands of large screen TVs and consoles that anyone was welcome to play on. No sign-ups or lines, just people being nice and courteous to other people who share a passion. This, of course, was my sons' second to favorite place at the con. It was also nice for me to have them occupied for a while.
Beyond that the computer gaming area was the vendor area. I can't say much about it other than it was the standard con fare of t-shirts, jewelry, gaming gear and so on. What I was impressed with was the presence of both Microsoft and Playstation.
Both had very interactive booth areas where people could come and play. While it shouldn't be surprising that console/PC gaming companies would be here, if you think about it, it is. Gaming Con is a relatively average and locally influential con, much like other cons of its size. But its only appropriate that these companies make a presence here because you go to where the people who buy your games are.
There was a very good selection of artists in Artist's Alley. This however was where my one small complaint was. There was one very long alley to traverse, but then the rest seemed to spread out in these little awkward islands of artiness. Some of these poor folks I didn't know were there until we were searching for a bathroom and came up behind their booths. I hope that in future dates, Gaming Con does a little better of keeping all the artists in places where their patrons can find them.
At the north end of the hall, I regret to say we did not spend much time. This was the area set aside for tabletop gaming of all kinds. I saw Warhammer, D&D, Pathfinder, Magic: The Gathering, and on and on. It was wonderful. Stuff like that tends to take up a lot of time and while I would have loved to participate, the thought of playing a one-off game of Pathfinder while my kids are pulling on my sleeve was not appealing. I also noticed too late that this was also the area where one could find the con's Gaming Library. Shelves and shelves of games, old and new, were available to check out and try out. What a great way to learn new games and teach old ones to new people! Like I said, we noticed this one late in our day so there wasn't time for me to really get a good look at the availability list, let alone sit down and try to teach my kids a new game. Guess that will be something I save for next time.
Now last, but definitely not least, was KidCon. I kept saying in my head over and over that I wished that KidCon at SL ComicCon looked just like Gaming Con's. My boys had a blast. This was easily their favorite spot. Particularly large kudos to the gentlemen running the Zombie Invasion nerf gun arena. My boys were in nerf heaven. And all the running, ducking and shooting they had to do worked off a lot of the extra energy that makes taking kids to cons so hard on parents. Also in this adorable little area of the con was the Kart Racing Track. Kids, in waves, could take turns scooting a little kart around a small track to see if they were the 'winner'. No prizes were being given out but I can guarantee they didn't need any. These kids were having a ball. Even a group of cute girls in their anime cosplays got in on the action. How I wish my phone hadn't died 60 seconds previous to this adorable spectacle.
If activity wasn't your kids' thing, they definitely had something for them too. There was a crafting table, a green screen photo op designed to make your kid look like a super hero, and what would our local cons be without our lovely, resident princesses and action heroes to take pictures with? All in all, I was extremely pleased with the organization and variety of Gaming Con's KidCon. This is what most kids need. Something interactive and active to do, as well as the quiet and artistic things. I hope that Bryan and Dan take that into consideration for this fall's SL ComicCon offering.
What a great way to spend a triple-digit degree summer afternoon! We all got to play, shop, and participate in all things geeky, and to me that is the best kind of day. In my decidedly inexpert opinion, I would guess that we'll see Gaming Con swing by again next year, and I hope that as SLCC has done, they'll find their numbers grow exponentially.
As a bonus, I also recorded a little vlog for my Twitch channel giving a mobile and visual overview of the con. Enjoy!
Salt Lake Gaming Con - www.saltlakegaming.com
Salt Lake Comic Con - www.saltlakecomiccon.com
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