Written by Tanner Banks, June 19, 2016, at 8:03 p.m.
All good things must come to an end unfortunately. The past few days at Indy PopCon 2016 have the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Built around an amazing community of all things geeky, this haven for nerds of all kind proved that the most important part of a successful convention are the fans.
Any seasoned convention goer will tell you that the last day is often the least busy. People are ready to get home before work starts again, some vendors are sold out of popular items, and so on and so forth. Despite that, the final day at Indy PopCon was anything but slow for Slickster Magazine!
Indy PopCon Day 3 Recap
Wrestling
W
e started the day by having a chat with one of Indianapolis’ home town heroes, professional wrestler Jake Omen. Jake was kind enough take some photos with us and do an interview about his life as a wrestler. (Which will be out soon.) Just one night before, the self proclaimed “Black John Stockton” stole the show with former TNA wrestler Robbie E, while picking up the W.
The RCW champ told us he he’ll be headed to Japan in the near future with Wrestle-1. If you want to check out Jake, his Facebook page is always a great place to start.
Gaming
I thought I had pretty much seen it all at Indy PopCon when it came to the games there. From Smuggle Craft, to Chicken Hero, to Space Cats in Space, I thought I hit all the best games. Until I didn’t. Two amazing games managed to slip through my hands before a nabbed them on the way out.
The first was Art Club Challenge by Jarryd Huntley. Initially built for the Ludum Dare Game Jam, this practice in minimalism was a great way for anyone to feel like an artist. After picking a card, the player would have to make that word out using squares, and three basic colors (red, blue, and yellow). After making the picture, players had the option of uploading their creation to the gallery.
But the big winner of the day, was Hive Jump. Not only did I think so, but so did the Indie Reboot judges, when they gave the team the big $10,000 check for best gameplay. Anthony and I had the chance to play with one of the developers of this run and gun sci-fi action platformer.
We both found ourselves jumping out of our seats for the entirety of our play time and we both were itching for more as soon as we finished. With fast action, fluid mechanics, and very fun weapons to dominate with, Hive Jump was a sight to behold.
The Big Ending
After getting a piece of art commissioned by the supremely talented Meridian Gray, and facing off in a five minute sketch contest, the biggest highlight of the weekend happened thanks to our photographer Anthony.
After a chance meeting with Anthony, YouTuber Bob “Muyskerm” Muskens was kind enough to take the time to do an interview with us. Getting to talk with someone you’ve watched and admired for a long time is a surreal experience and something that Anthony and I geeked out about all the way home.
The time we spent at Indy PopCon was an amazing experience that left me wanting to do something that would always remind me of the great work done by so many people. Therefore, I asked developers, YouTubers, and wrestlers to sign our program for the event.
Because Indy PopCon was made by fans, for fans. And even the exhibitors were a fan of something. With next year’s Indy PopCon already announced, you can count on Slickster to be there as soon as the gates open!
