MAGFest Information & MAGFest Links at HealthHaven.com

MAGFest
Status	Active
Genre	Video games, video game music
Venue	Hilton Mark Center
Location	Alexandria, Virginia
Country	United States
First held	2002
Organizer	MAGFest LLC
Attendance	2200 in 2010
Official Website	http://magfest.org

MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival, originally the Mid-Atlantic Gaming Festival) is an annual convention held in Virginia that celebrates video games and video game music, as well as their surrounding culture. MAGFest's primary features are a large open video gaming room, a hall of arcade cabinets, and concerts by chiptune artists and video game cover bands. MAGFest 2010 took place at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA from New Years Day to January 4.^[1]

[edit] Attractions

MAGFest's arcade hall and console room are open 24 hours a day^[2]. The hallway contains dozens of cabinets, ranging from vintage shmups^[3] to contemporary Japanese candy cabinets. Additionally, the console room houses dozens of televisions and attached game consoles, where guests are invited to play at will and each station's game is periodically swapped with a different one from a game library.

The concert area hosts several nightly performances of video game music and related works. Many luminaries of video game music fan culture have performed at MAGFest. Previous bands include Minibosses, Powerglove, the NESkimos, the Advantage and Chromelodeon.

Other major attractions include guest panels from the video game industry such as Sid Meier and Jon St. John^[4], and from video game fan sites such as OverClocked ReMix. Filmmakers such as X-Strike Studios, Main Moon Productions, PBC Productions, and There Will Be Brawl have also appeared at the event. MAGFest has also inlcuded intellectually-driven panels such as "Game Studies 101" where attendees were given a basic introduction to the manner in which scholars study video games.^[5]

Additionally, MAGFest features an open mic stage, a large LAN party environment, a film screening room, a tabletop gaming room, vendors, contests like "name-that-tune," and a video game "challenge booth" where players can "try to tackle insanely difficult gaming feats for prizes of all sorts."^[6]

[edit] History

Dates	Location	Attendance	Featured performers
MAGFest 8 January 1–4, 2010	Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia	2200	Armcannon, Armadillo Tank, Entertainment System, The Megas, Metroid Metal, A_Rival, Rare Candy, Select Start, Temp Sound Solutions, The OneUps, The Smash Bros., This Place Is Haunted^[7]
MAGFest 7 January 1–4, 2009	Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia	1350	Armcannon, Armadillo Tank, Entertainment System, The Megas, Metroid Metal, A_Rival, Rare Candy, Temp Sound Solutions, The Smash Bros., This Place Is Haunted^[8], Year 200X
MAGFest 6 January 3–6, 2008	Hilton Mark Center Alexandria, Virginia	1050	The Advantage, Armcannon, Powerglove, Select Start, The Smash Bros., Temp Sound Solutions, This Place Is Haunted, Year 200X
MAGFest 5 January 4–7, 2007	Sheraton Premiere Vienna, Virginia	950	Armcannon, Chromelodeon, Parasprinter, Powerglove, The Smash Bros., Temp Sound Solutions, This Place Is Haunted, Wave Theory
MAGFest 4 January 13–15, 2006	Doubletree Hilton Charlottesville, Virginia	750	The Minibosses, The NESkimos, Parasprinter, Powerglove, Search Snake, The Smash Bros., Sprite Slowdown, This Place Is Haunted, Wave Theory
MAGFest 3 October 1–3, 2004	Clarion Hotel Williamsburg, Virginia	500	Inheretics, Chromelodeon, The Jenova Project, The Minibosses, The NESkimos, Temp Sound Solutions, The Smash Bros., Wave Theory
MAGFest 2 October 31–November 2, 2003	Clarion Hotel Williamsburg, Virginia	375	The Minibosses, The Smash Bros., Wave Theory
MAGFest September 27–29, 2002	Holiday Inn Tanglewood Roanoke, Virginia	265	Everyone, The Minibosses, The OneUps

Source: ^[9]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Press

Megatonik article on MAGFest, originally published in the Alexandria Gazette
Destructoid review of MAGFest 6
VG Frequency review of MAGFest 6
PBC Productions' MAGFest 6 Montage
Game Music 4 All review of MAGFest 6
X-Strike Studios' Magfest 2.0 documentary

This music festival-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[0] "MAGFest 2010". UpcomingCons.com. http://www.upcomingcons.com/upcomingcons/320-MAGFest. Retrieved 2009-07-04.

[1] ttp://www.destructoid.com/what-you-missed-at-magfest-8-159706.phtml

[2] ttp://www.destructoid.com/what-you-missed-at-magfest-8-159706.phtml

[3] ttp://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/11/magfest-2010-lineup-released/

[4] ttp://www.virtualfools.com/culture/magfest-8/

[5] ttp://terminalgamer.com/2010/01/05/recapping-magfest-8/

[6] On The Scene, Gaming and Rock: 'THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED' Hosts The 'FINAL VIDEO ARMAGEDDON' This Saturday

[7] On The Scene, Gaming and Rock: 'THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED' Hosts The 'FINAL VIDEO ARMAGEDDON' This Saturday

[8] - MAGFest Information

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Contents

[edit] Attractions

[edit] History

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Press