Comic-Con is one of the brightest stars in the night sky of a geek’s world. WonderCon is produced by the people behind Comic-Con in San Diego – the largest comics and popular arts convention in the world according to the Guinness World Records. Last year hosting 64,000 attendees (2017) and likely to be more this year. Making it one of the largest comic conventions on the west coast with nearly 950 exhibitors, hundreds of hours of programming featuring comics, movies, and T.V. shows; and the very popular Masquerade, an on-stage costume competition attended by thousands. This event is so large it even has a blood drive and a huge selection of food trucks.
It’s an event with something for everyone; artists, collectors, comic book junkies, and there are of course many things for gamers too. An area is reserved for table top games to be enjoyed at anytime as a pick up game or by bringing a group of friends and checking out an available popular game for your group to enjoy in the gaming area. There were panels involving gaming too; What does it take to become a professional gamer, Game creator connection, and gaming as the next medium ,ect. There were even tournaments from dice games, card games, and even hard fought battles over brawler classics. Even a meet up for street passes if you’re a Nintendo user.
If you were a lucky gamer you could have had a Hologate Experience, Hologate being one of the companies at the forefront of a truly immersive VR experience, they are using a very special haptic feedback suit to simulate physically feeling inside the virtual world. Just like a controller that vibrates from a enemy attack this whole suit will simulate a surprising feeling of being wounded by an enemy or interacting with something you might feel if the experience was in the real world. A truly large step toward the future of gaming is happening right now. No doubt by 2045 we will have some addicts living more of their lives in the virtual world than the real.
Which brings me to Warner Brothers’ next gamer epic “Ready player one” where players play inside the most immersive video game world ever created for the world to see. This is type of world is getting closer and closer, a hybrid of something like World of Warcraft and VR/AR combined with a haptic feedback suit will bring us to a fully immersive world like “Ready Players One’s” Oasis.
WB had a fun panel for this movie and now having seen Ready Player One just a few days later I can say it’s worth a watch just for the nostalgia alone.
Just for good measure some other honorable mention moments consisted of the floor, where one can buy nearly anything a geek would desire and meet creatives. DC premiered two animated films this weekend: Suicide squad Hell to Pay and Batman Ninja. AMC brought Into The Badlands, Fear the Walking Dead, and The Terror with cool immersive experiences and panels. Netflix’s Lost in Space was an absolute joy to catch the pilot for and will absolutely be my next binge on Netflix. This is really a general overview and doesn’t do the event justice, so hopefully you, dear reader, are feeling inspired to check out your local cons in the future, if you haven’t made it to one before.
One last aspect of a con which is my personal favorite are the amazing cosplayers. Bring to life nearly every fictional character ever created, ranging from obscure comic book characters to fan favorites, and movie characters. Its apparent how much time, money, and energy dedicated cosplayers put into becoming a beloved character. I’m not the only one who loves these cosplayers since this is the 14th annual Masquerade costume competition drawing thousands to spectate this on-stage competition that often involves a stage performance to grease the wheels of victory.
It may seem hard to pick what the single best thing about a convention between the vast number of interesting and fangasmic things there are to see, but it really truly boils down to the people. Being apart of something so massive and busy it’s easy to lose track of why it’s all so special, this is a place full of people who like the same types of things. I’m not just talking about the stars, creators, and comic legends. This is a place erupting with passion and common interest that in the past have often made people feel like an outsider. Its one of the brightest times in geek history with the entertainment world saturated with things we’ve loved for year or are just getting reacquainted with in this new golden age of comics.
For more information on WonderCon, just head on over to the official website.
Related: Wizard World, Columbia Pictures Begin Accepting Idea Submissions at Wizard World Portland Comic Con
I've been a life long nerd and video game junkie known to associate with the likes of Link, Nathan Drake, Batman, and Master Chief. I'm a filmmaker by profession, but spend lots of time behind a controller escaping the real world. @GregVelde on Instagram/Twitter/YouTube
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