By: Eric Tran
On March 27, Fitchburg State University held its annual GameCon at the Recreation Center. GameCon is an event where students gather with fellow video game enthusiasts to play a variety of both computer and board games. The event was originally created by the President of the Anime Club, Adam Gwozdz, in 2008, and it has been running annually ever since. GameCon is now run by the GameCon Committee students and the Technology Department.
At GameCon there were plenty of activities going on throughout the event. A live DJ played tunes all night, tournaments were being held, people dressed up for a cosplay competition, prizes were given away, and there was plenty of free food and drinks.
The first and the most popular tournament of the night was for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Smash Bros. is a fighting game with a crossover between many characters from a number of Nintendo franchises. Players have to duke it out and eliminate each other by either knocking the other player off the stage or sending them flying off the screen. Although this was the first tournament of the night, it ran until the end of the event which stopped at around midnight. A total of fifty-three contestants entered but only one was crowned the winner. Spencer Roccapriore came in third, Michael Hardy placed second, and Glenn Hardy took first place as the 2019 Smash Bros. Champion.
Mario Kart 8 was the second tournament of the night. Mario Kart 8 is a kart racer with characters from Mario franchises racing against each other in a variety of vehicles and stages. Players have to boost their way passed the other competitors and attack each other with items as they try to make their way across the finish line. Peter Wade took third place, Todd Oliver managed second place, and Cam Connolly skidded his way into first.
The last tournament of the day was for Rocket League. Rocket League is a unique game where soccer meets rocket powered cars. The game has one to four players which consists of two teams driving rocket powered cars and hitting a giant ball into their opponents goal. The team with the most goals at the end of the match won. Thomas Saccoccio and Mitchell Faris were the runner ups, while Gharett Broderick and Jacob Morin boosted and scored their way into first place.
Besides the tournaments, there were a number of booths set up for everyone to play. Microsoft had a booth with people playing Apex Legends on portable Xbox Ones. Nintendo was also present with T.V’s set up for Pokemon games on their Switch consoles. Although this was Nintendo’s last year coming to the event. Tables and chairs were set up for those who wanted to play board games or for anyone who just wanted to listen to music and eat food. Some students from the Game Design program also brought their own games they had created for people to tryout.
It seemed that many were enjoying their time at GameCon. TJ Mitchell, a senior Game Designer, had this to say, “My experience at GameCon has been pretty good. I’m having a lot fun and I’ve also helped run the Smash booth the last couple years.” Mitchell has attended GameCon for the past four years and he says that he “loves the swag and Smash tournaments” the most. The “swag” he’s referring to, is free merchandise given away by the sponsors at the event.
GameCon is a grand event for passionate and casual gamers alike, or even for those who just want to have a good time. It’s an event where the community at Fitchburg State can come together and hangout outside of class. Whether it’s playing games, cosplaying, or eating food, there’s a little something for everyone.
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Fitchburg State Hosts Annual GameCon
May 19, 2019
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