It’s (Video) Game On at George Mason University!
GMU Hosts GAMEmason next weekend, a two-day gaming convention with hands-on play, panels, and dance parties.
George Mason University organized its first annual gaming convention in 2019, an all-day event co-presented by its main student entity and the College of Visual and Performing Arts, in collaboration with several game design programs affiliated with the school as well as the student affinity group GMU Esports.
Microsoft signed on to sponsor the second annual GAMEmason (GAME in this instance being an acronym for Gaming, Appearances, Meet and Greets, and Experiences), set for mid-March 2020, but you can guess why the convention was canceled that year, and also why it became a virtual affair in 2021.
The first weekend in March ushers in GAMEmason 2023, the second consecutive year it’s scheduled as a two-day, in-person convention.
Sponsored in part by Lenovo and Intel, the lineup during the day includes the option of playing arcade, console, and tabletop games as well as perusing the industry vendors in Artist Alley; attending Knowledge Center educational sessions led by faculty as well as alumni and business leaders; and watching tournaments featuring varsity level collegiate esports teams from around the region competing in Rocket League, League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Valorant, and Super Smash Brothers.
Programming culminates in a keynote conversation each day, followed by an “epic dance party” to wrap up the convention.
The keynoter for Friday, March 3, is veteran video game designer and Riot Games VP Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, whose 25-year career includes work on Netflix’s Emmy-winning series Arcane as well as Riot’s flagship title League of Legends, and before that World of Warcraft, followed by dancing to the music of video game/anime composer and DJ James Landino (No Straight Roads, Tower of God) plus VJ and interactive content creator All Hell Breaks Loops.
On Saturday, March 4, the keynoter is actor Carolina Ravassa, known for her voice work in video games including Overwatch, Valorant, and Grand Theft Auto V, as well as voicing characters in Nickelodeon’s The Casagrandes, Disney’s Hamster and Gretel, Netflix’s Ridley Jones, plus guest appearances on camera in The Affair and Mr. Robot.
The four-piece rock band Bit Brigade returns to close out this year’s festivities by covering NES game soundtracks at the same time as a member sets about “speed-running” the games in an effort to complete them as quickly as possible, with their progress projected on a screen behind the band.
Bit Brigade’s performance, to quote the band’s official bio, “[combines] the dread and daring of a live video game speed run with the spot-on technique of a live band covering the musical accompaniment to everything you’re seeing on-screen in real time.”
Friday, March 3, from noon to 10 p.m., and Saturday, March 4, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. GMU Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Dr., Fairfax. A pass is $25 per day, or $40 for both days. Visit www.si.gmu.edu/gamemason.
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