I love this...

Technically, this is old news. However, this is a new thought about old news. So there.

Relevant Link: 7 Game Conventions to Attend Before You Die

Read through that list. You have all the huge conventions, Tokyo Game Show, E3, PAX, California Extreme, Leipzig's Game Convention, BlizzCon, and... MAGFest.

Now, I agree, MAGFest is awesome, and something no self-respecting gamer should ever have to do without. It still stands out as the one small convention in the list. Attendance last year was a tad over 1000. There's something to a small, inexpensive East Coast game convention (more like a party) that classes it alongside all of these other huge, expensive big-name conventions. What could that be?

The range of guests? MAGFest has Game Refuge as one of its guests. The video game music concerts? Some of the biggest names in video game cover bands have played MAGFest. Minibosses, One-ups, Neskimos, Chromelodeon... The list goes on.

I think it's the atmosphere personally. MAGFest is a by-gamers, for-gamers convention. Every member of the staff is just as much of a gamer as the guests and attendees. At the same time, it's open to gamers of all levels. Even if you've only played a couple games, chances are at MAGFest you'll be able to play those games, talk to others who enjoy those games, get gameplay tips for those games, and even recommendations on other games you might enjoy.

Last year saw the lower lobby of the Hilton Mark Center filled with classic arcade games, including a rare cocktail version of Ms. Pac-Man that I played while drinking coffee and chatting with another staff member one morning. All of them set to free play, ready to go. Not far from there was the dealers' area, where all sorts of things can be found, including imports and the occasional rare game.

The game room itself needs very little introduction. It's open the entire length of the convention, has tons of consoles spanning all generations, and tons of games to go with those consoles. It's the reason the convention exists. There are tournaments for those inclined to enter them. There was even a stage with a full Rock Band setup.

Nearby is the video room. In here you can catch episodes of Super Mario Brothers Super Show, the old Legend of Zelda cartoons, those funny Nintendo promos, and pretty much every video-gaming-related movie ever made. X-Strike, an independent video game movie-making studio, gets a lot of screen time for their movies, which are pretty good.

Moving to the other side of the lower lobby, walking past Convention Operations, where the security staff (The Dorsai Irregulars, for anyone who's heard of them) hang out when not on shift, tallying up the number of people that come in asking "Have you seen Brendan?", the next room encountered is the Tabletop room. Ranging from card and board games to pencil and paper RPGs, and even Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots, this room is also quite fun.

Further down the hall you encounter the last two rooms. First up is LAN. Bring your computer, plug it in, and play multiplayer network games with everyone else. There are scheduled and impromptu tournaments. It's not uncommon to hear someone shout across the room "hey, anyone wanna play <insert game here>? I'm setting up a server!"

Just across the hall was a new experiment for M6 that was awesome and will be making a return for M7: Jamspace. Inside, you see a stage, and some instruments. Open for anyone to play on. I staffed the LAN/Jamspace equipment check-in table most of the weekend, and I was never without good video game music to listen to because of Jamspace. There were several impromptu concerts in there, as well as plenty of VG music jamming fun.

One more room remains, but be warned, it's a staff perk: The staff food room/crash space. Basically, it was an entire suite up on the 12th floor of the hotel. Show your staff badge and you're welcomed with food and drinks. It was a great place to relax and get some food. The beds in the linked rooms were available for staff to use (because, as much as it sucks, we have to leave MAGFest long enough to get a few hours' sleep sometimes). I've never had a hotel room at a MAGFest, and the last two were 150 miles away from me.

Basically, MAGFest is awesome. And for $40 prereg (currently), it's a bargain compared to those other conventions in the list. For what you get, $40 is really cheap. "I'm too far away" isn't really an excuse not to come, as there's an international attendance. It's always fun sitting in Brendan's house playing games and he'll say "hey, we just got a prereg from Japan" or something like that. There were some guys I met at M5 that were from Iceland. We took them to McDonald's because they'd never been before and wanted to go.