After being embarrassed by a group of mates dressed up as Naruto characters in a MacDonald’s, something in the air told me it was that time of year again. AVCon, Adelaide’s Anime and Video games Convention, had come again, and this time I was slightly more prepared, and in a much bigger group. Well, five is bigger than two. It was very similar to the convention last year, and, as such, was still a very enjoyable day.

Again, the first place I visited was the video games room, which was spread across two halls like last year.The stalls were back, with the Madman, Pulp Fiction Comics and Gametraders stalls creating the biggest crowds, but there were some much smaller stalls with some very cool merchandise. There was a line of music game booths containing Rock Band, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, Lips and a few other music games I’d never seen before. Next to these booths there was a wall of various arcade games, but none I could recognise at a glance. The Rock Band Stage also made it’s triumphant return, with new aesthetics and a much bigger song list. The Free Play tables were back, too, but the massive crowds, though great for the organisers, meant that most of the machines were already taken or had people waiting to play them.

The layout outside of the video games room had changed a bit from last year, though, with the Artist Alley located next to the maid cafe. There was some really good art there this year, though I only had a small look around, and if I had more time I surely would’ve bought something. Next to the artist alley was the Casual Gaming area, which had a bunch of TVs with Wii’s containing games like Wii Sports, Link’s Crossbow Training, and Mario Kart. While my friends were checking out some obscure anime I had no interest in, I decided to have a few friendly Mario Kart matches with some strangers. My luck was much better this year, with me placing first 3 of the 4 races I was in. Soon enough I departed from the Casual Gaming area and joined my friends in attending the Video Game Development panel.

You've got to love Mario cosplayers

The Video Game Development panel, hosted by a University of Adelaide who’s developing education games for medical science, who was joined by a Krome Studios designer, an ex-employee of Pandemic Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment Asia, and one of the three heads of Indie games studio Two Lives Left. The panel covered some of the basics of game development, including a bit about coding and some basic programs to get you started. Though I don’t plan to become a games developer, and some of the information went a bit over my head, one of my friends who also attended does want to go into the games industry, and said most of the tips they gave were really helpful.

And with the end of the VG development panel, came what was once again the highlight of the day: The AMV Comedy Session. Given a name change from last year, as well as an extra 30 minutes in duration, the session had the rather large showing room packed, with very little empty seats in sight. The videos ranged from alright to uproariously funny, with one video in particular having the crowd laughing and cheering at a noise level that rivaled those darned vuvuzelas.

With the AMV Comedy Session over, we all decided it was time to pack up and go home, after checking out the LAN gaming room, of course. It was really a sight to behold. The room was chock full of computer, each joined to one another, with many gamers versing each other in classics like Counter Strike, StarCraft and Half-Life. As with the Free Play tables, there were very little free computer, so, after quickly spectating a rather intense match of StarCraft, we left the building for good.

AVCon is an event not to be missed by any self respectful South Australian gamers or otakus. From the anime screenings, to the Free Play tables, to the overpriced convention food, there really was something for everyone at AVCon 2010. The organisational improvements since last year’s convention made the event much more structured, and though the crowds were large, it was still a great day out.

By Ben Hauser

A special thanks also goes to Dustin Wilson for providing TNB with access to the day.