By Nate Thomas and Michael “Boots” Osborn
 

 
On April 8, video game enthusiasts came together to celebrate their shared passion at Fitchburg State University’s 2015 GameCon. This year was the largest GameCon that Fitchburg State University has held with 325 registered attendees, where last year held only 283 registered attendees. Some came with costumes for the Cosplay competition, some came with board/card games, some came with their laptops, and some came with their custom built computer towers the size of a large dog.  Whatever they brought with them, every person in attendance was ready for a day full of fun competition with their peers.
The first event of the night, was a League of Legends tournament.  For those of you who don’t know what League of Legends is, the game’s website offers a perfect description.  “League of Legends is a fast-paced, competitive online game that blends the speed and intensity of anRTS with RPG elements. Two teams of powerful champions, each with a unique design and playstyle, battle head-to-head across multiple battlefields and game modes. With an ever-expanding roster of champions, frequent updates and a thriving tournament scene, League of Legends offers endless replayability for players of every skill level.” (Leagueoflegends.com)  As avid players ourselves, we were ecstatic about this tournament, and spent multiple days beforehand getting ready. However, that didn’t stop the Bridgewater State University League Team from walking all over us, and every other opponent that stood in their way of 1st Place. A total of 10 teams battled it out in best of one games.
At the same time that the LoL tournament was taking place, a Halo 2 Anniversary Edition tournament was being played on an Xbox One. Twenty-nine Halo enthusiasts battled over the title of Halo Champion. Ryan Haynes ended up conquering, with Gregory Twyman and Dan Curtin coming in behind him receiving second and third place respectively.
For those who were not interested in either tournament, Mario Kart, Just Dance, and Pac-Man were all available to play the entire night, along with a plethora of board games, card games, and beach balls to bounce around. Bennet Sewell got a high score on Pac-Man of 16,900 (participants had one attempt) and Jim Quinlin took the winning time on Mario Circuit with 1:30.3
While people were playing, some great gaming food was served to keep us going.  Popcorn chicken, pizza, soda, cookies, and fried oreos, enough for everyone who attended.  After food was served, it was time for the cosplay contest.  There were not a lot of contestants, but the people who did enter brought their “A-Game”.  Along with some of the most famous anime characters right now, there was also a great looking Mega Man, a Blue Lantern Robot, and more.
The most popular attraction of the night, was the Super Smash Brothers for Wii U tournament with 95 competitors .  Representatives from Nintendo came to Fitchburg State to show off their most popular game out right now.  With them they brought  a Wii U, and a table full of free stuff.  After a few hours of hard fought competition, there were only three players left.  In 3rd place came Bryan Rios, the runner-up was Brandon Voeuk, and the 2015 Super Smash Brothers Champion was Michael DiFranza.
 
GameCon 2015 at Fitchburg State was a huge success.  Great food, tons of players, great games, and more.  So with that in mind, we’ll see you there next year.