In the blink of an eye another year is halfway done and July once again rolls on by. For those of us in Adelaide, South Australia, it means cold days and nights and (when out and about) actively avoiding rapidly moving children on school holidays. For those of us who are even slightly into nerdy or geeky pursuits, the main focus of attention is AVCon – the Anime and Video Game Convention – this year running from Friday 22 – Sunday 25 July.
From its humble 2002 beginnings in a single room at Adelaide University to a twenty thousand person two and a half day event taking over the Adelaide Convention Centre, AVCon has grown into one of Adelaide’s biggest yet most intimate ‘popular culture’ conventions. Where AVCon differs from other conventions is the ‘core business’ of anime and video games, as well as the focus on the attendees. Be it the long-running cosplay competitions, the artists alley, the quiz night, or the After Dark events, AVCon strives to keep the focus firmly on the punter.
This year AVCon has some awesome special guests, in addition to Nintendo attending AVCon in an official capacity for the first time in four years:
- Steve Downes – the voice of Master Chief
- Jen Taylor – the voices of Cortana, Dr Halsey, Princess Peach, and Toad amongst many others
- Quinton Flynn – voice actor in Final Fantasy VII, Crash Bandicoot, Robot Chicken, and the Sonic the Hedgehog series
- Chris Pope – Pac-Man (Turbo Mode) world record holder, game developer, Internet personality, voice actor
What is Retrospekt’s involvement in the event? For the sixth year in a row you can check out and play games in our Retro Gaming Museum. Like last year, we’re situated in the main gaming hall, which means loads of room for loads of games! You can play over thirty of the best consoles, computers, and video games spanning the history of digital gaming. If you’ve been to the Retrospekt area in previous years, be assured that in 2017 we have some surprises in store. We’ve looked at what people like to play and have curated our content to suit. In addition, there’s an obvious flavour to the games and tournaments that is strongly influenced by AVCon’s guests.
Tournaments? This year we’re running five retro themed tournaments, with a style of game to suit almost everybody. We surveyed social media for peoples’ interest (though were weren’t bound by the results ;) ) and we can now announce them for you to get some practice in over the next week. Registration for all tournaments will be at the front desk of the museum from 10am on both days. You’ll need to sign up early to guarantee your place.
- Game: Tetris
- Platform: Super Nintendo
- When: Saturday 11am – 12pm
- Type of tournament: Knockout
In VS mode, Tetris on SNES is, somewhat surprisingly, one of the most intense two player retro games, and a blast to watch and cheer on your favourite players. Challenge all comers in this battle of reflexes and strategy. Can you be the ultimate South Australian Tetris champion? There’s only one way to find out!
- Game: Typing of the Dead
- Platform: Dreamcast
- When: Saturday 1pm – 2pm
- Type of tournament: High score
So you think your a fast typist eh? Well, lets see how fast you really are when facing certain annihilation by the dead! Type your way to killing your enemies and getting the highest score. Join the Retrospekt crew for this humorous and original zombie-infested tournament.
- Game: Mystery Tournament Number 1 – Fight!
- Platform(s): It’s a secret
- When: Saturday 3pm – 4pm
- Type of tournament: To be announced, although it’s pretty obvious…
With so many classic fighting and brawling games to choose from throughout the last three decades, the Retrospekt team has a challenge where only the best players will survive. Who knows – each round might even be a different fighting game. Only the best old school fighting gamers will prevail in this test of skill.
- Game: Pac Man VS
- Platform: Gamecube and Game Boy Advance
- When: Sunday 12pm – 1pm
- Type of tournament: High score / knockout
Be the Pac Man, be the ghosts, be the winner! How long can you survive while racking up the top score? This 32 bit update to the classic Pac Man formula uses the link up capability of the GBA to the GC to their full capability in this four player party game.
- Game: Mystery Tournament Number 2 – Race!
- Platform: It’s a secret
- When: Sunday 2pm – 3pm
- Type of tournament: To be announced, although it’s pretty obvious…
With so many 8, 16, and 32 bit racing and karting games to choose from, the Retrospekt crew have decided that the final tournament for the weekend will be a test of skill, speed, and tactics to decide South Australia’s best retro racing champion. Will it be the obvious Mario Kart tournament that everyone expects? Will Grand Tourismo make an appearance for the more tactical racing game player? Could Sega Rally test out your drifting skills? Or might we mix up different racing games for each round? You’ll just have to wait and see.
In addition to our museum at AVCon, there will be two other retro related events that Retrospekt are involved with. On Sunday Paul will be running a panel on Anime in Retrogames Part 2 (Panel Room B, 2:30pm – 3:30pm), a follow up on a previous panel he conducted. In addition, the big one is on Saturday night from 6:30pm – 7:30pm – Retrospekt’s Super Video Game Trivia Challenge hits the AVCon Main Hall. Celebrating it’s fifth year, the SVGTC challenges some of Retrospekt (and friends) hardcore gaming buffs with multiple choice, audio, visual, and quickfire questions about gaming from way back when until the now. Expect a ‘Good News Week’ style of show, with plenty of audience interaction and prizes.
We must mention and give thanks to our supporters and suppliers of prizes – Gameroom Essentials (Adelaide’s best family friendly video game arcade), King Kaiju Collectables (all manner of geeky and otaku goods and video games from Japan), Greenlight Comics (Adelaide’s newest and raddest comic book store), Gametraders (Australia’s specialists in new and pre-owned games, consoles, and accessories), and Retrospekt’s own Michael Towns.Follow #avconretromuseum on social media during AVCon weekend for live updates, photos, live videos, and tournament information. We hope to see you there on the weekend – come up and say hi to the Retrospekt crew, and most of all enjoy AVCon 2017 – we know we will!
Prizes!