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MAGFest 9 - Virginia/DC/Maryland Area Gaming Festival - January 13 - 16, 2011

By , About.com Guide

MAGFest 9 - Virginia/DC/Maryland Area Gaming Festival - January 13 - 16, 2011Image courtesy of MAGFest

Official Website:

MAGfest.org

When

January 13th - January 16th, 2011

Where

Alexandria, VA - Hilton, Alexandria Mark Center

The Show:

The biggest gamer party in the Nation's Capital!

A unique spin on a video game festival and the only annual gamer event in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area (Alexandria, VA to be exact). Not only is this 'round the clock video game party include special guests, dealers, panels, competitions, exhibits, and social events, but it's also a marathon concert event chock full of video game inspired musicians, bands, and DJs, performing nightly.

Celebrating the old and new, there are tons of activities and fun for retro video game lovers and hardcore next-gen fans alike.

Special Guests:

  • Robert V. Aldrich - "Part writer, part artist, and part walking geek encyclopedia"
  • Derek Alexander - the Happy Video Game Nerd - Host of the video review series and review spoofs that celebrate forgotten retro video games.
  • Noah Antwiler - Creator and host of online video review show The Spoony Experiment.
  • Alexander Brandon - Retro gaming music Synth musician whose credits include Deus Ex, Unreal Tournament, Tyrian.
  • Stuttering Craig - The mind behind the website ScrewAttack.
  • Dan Froelich - Composer behind the classic '90s PC games - Jill of the Jungle, Brix and Solar Winds: the Escape.
  • Chris Hazard - Founder and president of Hazardous Software, the team behind Achron, "the world's first meta-time strategy game".
  • Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin' and Once Upon a Pixel Cast and Creators: Ashly Burch, Anthony Burch, and Ashley Davis
  • Wes Johnson - Announcer for the Washington Capitals who's also lent his voice to The Elder Scrolls series, Star Trek: Legacy, and Fallout 3.
  • Grant Kirkhope - Historic retro game composer who created score soundtracks to Goldeneye 007 64, Perfect Dark, the Banjo Kazooie series, and Viva Piñata.
  • Hiroki Kikuta - Video game composer and designer who wrote the soundtracks for retro classics Super Nintendo classic Secret of Mana.
  • Dave Lister - Team member on the upcoming video game StarBuster will be celebrating his B-Day at this year's MAGFest.
  • Maffer - Creator of the web video series Botchamania
  • Matthew Mercer - Actor, producer and director behind the Super Smash Bros. Brawl parody web series There Will Be Brawl, who has also lent his voice to World of Warcraft, Street Fighter VI (Fei-Long), Brütal Legend, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
  • OverClocked ReMix - An organization dedicated to the appreciation, preservation, and interpretation of video game music.
  • Retroware TV - Website hosts of the classic video game web series.
  • James Rolfe - The Angry Nintendo Nerd, turned Angry Video Game Nerd. 'Nuf said.
  • SollarSystems Studios - Director Eddie Lebron, Producer David Horowitz, and Producer Daniel Horowitz, the team behind the popular MegaMan fan film will be on hand to party and talk about their upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog fan film.
  • Scott Ramsoomair - VGCats webcomic creator and artist
  • Virtual Fools - Bobby and Kevin
  • Josh Whelchel - Independent game composer.
  • X-Strike Studios - Independent filmmakers dedicated to making quality, live action video game parody films.
  • MAGFest Arcade:

    Loads of original video arcade cabinets from private collections set up for open play. Titles present will include…

    • BeatMania IIDX
    • Dance Dance Revolution
    • Donkey Kong
    • Drummania
    • Guitar Freaks
    • King of Fighters
    • Mario Bros
    • Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
    • Mortal Kombat
    • Nibbler
    • Pac-Man
    • Primal Rage
    • Pump it Up
    • X-Men (6-player dual-screen)

    Events::

    • Video Game Auction – Bring video game items you want to sell or bid on some rarities.
    • Costume Contest – Cosplay enthusiasts who show up in outfits will be judged.
    • Dwelling of Duels (DoD) Listening Party – “Independent video game music arranges from all over the world are given a theme and told to go wild rocking their favorite game tunes in an anonymous competition”. A listening party for the entries with many of the musicians present.
    • Feedback Panel – Tell the MAGFest team what you’d like to see at future shows.
    • Gamer Iron Chef – Cooking teams prepare treats for the show’s guests.
    • Meet-Ups – Fellow video game fans from the forums meet up in person. What a unique idea.
    • Late Night Trivia Show - Prizes to be won at the trivia challenge taking place after the Saturday night concert.
    • Name That Tune – Video game take on the music listening and naming game.
    • Video Game Improve – Improve comedy meets video games. Lord help us all.
    • Webcomic Panel GO! – Guess what this panel is about.

    Tournaments:

    Throughout the show there will be all-out video game battles as players go head-to-head or in teams to be victorious in the following games slated so far…

    • Unreal Tournament III
    • Call of Duty: World at War
    • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 & 2
    • Counter Strike: Source
    • Left 4 Dead 1 & 2
    • Capcom Vs. SNK 2
    • Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
    • Dance Dance Revolution: Beatmania
    • Para Para Paradise
    • Guilty Gear
    • Halo
    • Super Smash Brothers
    • Tekken
    • Mario Kart
    • Virtua Fighter
    • Trogdor
    • Magical Drop
    • Puzzle Fighter
    • Tetris
    • Dr. Mario
    • Tetris Attack
    • Street Fighter: Third Strike
    • Soul Calibur
    • F-Zero GX
    • CounterStrike
    • Unreal Tournament
    • Doom
    • Quake
    • Gears of War

    Challenge Corner:

    In addition to the tournaments there will be booths dedicated to video game challenges where you can compete for prizes.

    M9 Challenges Booth - Old-school Nintendo Entertainment System, SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo games.

    Check out the Challenges Booth page for a listing of all 100 Challenges.

    Concerts/Bands Performing at nightly at MAGFest Parties:

    Details on each musician can be found at the MAGFest Band Line-up Page and their DJs and Chiptunes page.

    • Minibosses
    • The Protomen
    • Year 200X
    • The OneUps
    • The Megas
    • Armcannon
    • This Place Is Haunted
    • Metroid Metal
    • Bit Brigade
    • The X Hunters
    • Rare Candy
    • Entertainment Systems
    • DJ Cutman
    • DJ Awesome

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