fan-convention
Latest
Anarchy Online gets its own convention in 2012: AO Con
Most MMO communities can only dream that their game would be as popular and supported as to get their own convention. A rare few see either studio- or fan-based efforts make this dream a reality. In 2012, Anarchy Online gamers will finally -- after 11 years -- join these revelers with their own convention: AO Con. GridStream Productions is putting on the first-ever Anarchy Online convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan on August 10th through 12th, 2012. The convention will take place at the Grand Rapids Airport Hilton, and is scheduled to have DJs, costume contests, panels, and meet-n-greets. Registration is affordable -- it's only $25 to attend the three-day convention, but you have to be 18 by August 2012 in order to go. GridStream Productions is an in-game organization that primarily focuses on putting out Anarchy Online broadcasts.
Mysterium calls the Myst Online faithful
Shorah, Myst faithful! It's time once again to make your plans to attend this year's Mysterium, the gathering for devoted D'ni scholars and fans of Cyan Worlds' Myst -- including, of course, Myst Online: URU Live. This year's event will be held August 5th through the 8th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with tickets currently going for the low price of $20. As with previous years, the team behind Mysterium are soliciting designs for a convention logo as well as submissions of stories and other original works based on the worlds of Myst for inclusion in the convention book. (Mind you, all submissions must fit Cyan Worlds' guidelines for fan-created content.) The events are still in the early stages of planning, but they currently show live quests, puzzle challenges, and we'd bet there will be some bevin meetups for Myst Online: URU Live cavern-dwellers in the mix. Considering CAVCON (or "cavern condition" for those unfamiliar) is currently standing at 4 (read: good) in regards to the current funding for Myst Online: URU Live, perhaps we'll see some official representatives from Cyan sign up to host a panel or two this year as well. Either way, it should be fun for all the D'ni devotees!
VanaFest 2010 playing host to more Final Fantasy XI number games
The Mog Bonanza has come to an end, and whether you won or lost your chance at the valuables has passed... or has it? Final Fantasy XI's upcoming fan festival, VanaFest 2010, has a chance for players to redeem their luck or go for a repeat success. The Nomad Mog Bonanza will be a special live repeat of the celebrated event at the convention, with more wonderful in-game prizes for players to win -- and this time, you don't have to drop one red gil to get in on the fun. All players with a PlayOnline ID linked to a Square-Enix ID can pick one set of five numbers as their entry. As with the in-game event, the prizes depend on how many numbers you got right from the last digit upward. There's a one-in-ten chance of at least getting the lowest-ranked prize, in other words. The numbers will be drawn and announced on the 28th, the day of the event, and will be likely shared by the official Twitter and Facebook feeds soon thereafter. Entries end on the 21st, so get on over, read the official conditions, and hope you can beat those one-in-one-hundred-thousand odds for some of the best prizes in Final Fantasy XI!
Square-Enix announces VanaFest 2010
With Final Fantasy XI entering its eighth year of operation and Final Fantasy XIV just around the corner, fans of Square-Enix have plenty to be excited about. But there's even more good news -- the company has just announced VanaFest 2010, the official fan gathering for the game, on February 28th in Tokyo. The official announcement, mirrored on Pet Food Alpha, makes a strong point that there will be a great deal of information about upcoming job changes and game updates coming for Final Fantasy XI. It seems that even with its big brother on the horizon, Square is still committed to its older game, a welcome sight for many fans. There's also an undisclosed "special announcement" rumored to be coming at the convention. Pet Food Alpha also has a few additional pieces of information. The tickets for the event will be free of charge, but will only be available to players with an active Japanese POL ID since December 2008. Attendees will be lucky enough to receive the pictured chocobo cap, while those unable to attend will have to be content with the new information coming out of the convention. With any luck, a similar event will be held for American and European players, but even just knowing that new facts are incoming for the game should be enough to get fans worked up.
Dragon*Con 2009: A look back at the mayhem
Some of us go for the excellent panels featuring stars like William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Terry Gilliam, Adam Savage, and so many more. Others of us go for the fun events like concerts by Arc Attack, Faith & The Muse, or the kilt-blowing by Jennie Breeden. Amongst all the comic, fantasy, sci-fi, and other sundry forms of nerditry, there is a steadily growing MMO and video game presence at Dragon*Con. For the last three years, Massively and our sister site WoW.com have been on the ground helping grow this East coast gaming presence either as panelists or staff. Some of the highlights for this year included: Guiness World Record set for 905 people doing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" dance at the same time. (You haven't lived until you've seen Alien do Thriller, though there's lots of footage.) 2600+ units of blood donated to the Dragon*Con blood drive, with 250+ people being tied to the Alliance vs. Horde World of Warcraft competition we held as part of the D*C MMO track. (Horde won, but just barely.) 40+ different fan tracks, with 50 panels worth of content for MMOs alone! $25,000 raised for charity! So if you missed the fun, here's a gallery of some of the random images from D*C this year. If you're East coast and looking for something fun to do on Labor Day weekend next year, perhaps we'll catch you at Dragon*Con 2010!%Gallery-72473%[Thanks to Ian W., Michael McG., Scott B., Shawn Schuster, and especially Tiffiany M. for contributing pictures!]
