There’s one big change when it comes to gaming event IGN Con this year. Whereas in 2014 it took place at the Dubai International Marine Club, this year it is being moved to the capital city’s du Forum.
Speaking to tabloid!, IGN spokesperson Lynn Jisr said that it came down to fairness. Abu Dhabi didn’t get enough — or any — convention love.
“A lot is going on in Dubai and not enough is happening in Abu Dhabi. This year alone Dubai had the Middle East Film and Comics Convention, GAMES 15, MEGCON, and then there’s Dubai Games Week going on in November,” she said.
But the venue is just the first of many changes. She shares what people can expect and how to get the most out of the Friday-Saturday event.
First things first, what’s different this year?
Virtual Reality technology is the next big thing in gaming and we have a showcase of HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift. In addition, we have a few previews of unreleased games, the biggest cosplay competition in the region with a cash prize [totalling] $10,000 (Dh36,729 an amazing line-up of celebrities and voice actors, some incredible local talent and a whole lot more.
What are you guys looking for from hopefuls in the cosplay contest?
We’re looking for well-crafted costumes with a lot of attention to detail. It doesn’t matter if you have a huge armour costume or a delicate cloth costume, what we will be looking at is the quality of your work and how closely it resembles the character you are cosplaying as. That’s what will get you the win.
Can you tell us the numbers of artists exhibiting this year, and the projected number of attendees?
We’ve had nearly 40 artists exhibiting in the Artist Alley last year. We’ve had an overwhelming interest from exhibitors this year and have had to split the area into three separate zones — Artist Alley, Retail Alley and Indie Game Developers Zone. We had approximately 5,000 attendees last year and we’re expecting a healthy increase in those numbers for Abu Dhabi. We’ve already seen a 100 per cent increase in pre-event ticket sales from last year.
What not to miss
1) Discussion panels at 4.30pm and 5.30pm on the Main Stage on Friday. With the creators of Mansour and Freej; both cartoons are locally-produced and have risen to popularity in the region.
2) Cosplay competition at 7pm on the Main Stage on Saturday. The Cosplay Competition going on at IGN Convention Abu Dhabi has the biggest prize in the Middle East. [A $10,000 cash pool prize.]
3) International celebrity discussion panel at 8pm on the Main Stage on Friday. The IGN Middle East team will be hosting a panel with our international guests to ask them some questions that are on top of everyone’s mind.
4) Workshops, between 3pm-8pm on Friday and 4-6pm on Saturday: Seven overall workshops tackle subjects such as filmmaking, screenwriting, cosplay, and more.
5) Virtual reality (various timings): For the first time in the Middle East, the HTC VIVE VR [a headset that allows users to interact with a computer-generated, seemingly real 3D environment]. We’ll also be demoing Battlezone on PlayStation VR. The Mystery Zone will be bringing their Oculus Rift units [which are also head-mounted virtual reality displays] for people to play with, as well.
Meet the celebs
Actor Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones), voice actors Dave Fennoy and Adam Harrington, Italian cosplayer NadiaSK and gaming host Naomi Kyle will be in attendance. Autograph or photograph tokens are sold at Dh50 each, which allow one autograph or photograph per token.
FRIDAY
Celebrity Village, 5.30pm-7.30pm
Jack Gleeson, Dave Fennoy, Adam Harrington, Naomi Kyle
SATURDAY
Celebrity Village, 3pm – 5.30pm
Jack Gleeson, Dave Fennoy, Naomi Kyle (Adam Harrington will join at 4pm)
*Tickets are Dh100 for general admission per day, or Dh500 for VIP (includes two-day access, two autograph tokens, priority queuing at Celebrity Village, a gift bag, and access to closed discussion panel for media and VIP). Available through ticketmaster.ae.
