Written by William G Chandler Jr., June 25, 2016, at 6:43 a.m.
Photos by Greg Chandler
Any good convention can be about great game, and item, purchases, YouTube celebrities, great music, and competitions. It can also be about duality. The first day of the Too Many Games Convention, in Oaks, Pennsylvania was good in that way.
The Too Many Games Convention and Its Two Sides
A teacher comes out of the classroom. They learn their words jump from the podium and can be part of a lesson to the world. They apply their skills to video presentations of video game inspired rap lyrics, and game chip sets to present a sound that influences others. Another teacher does the same, but analyzes differences in cultural ideas in video games. They explain how our money influences the quality of the content we purchase.
Too Many Games is a display of two sides of existence. The gamer meets the everyday person. The costume role-play character meets the standard employee. The filmmaker meets the angry, internet, doppelganger. Since 2003, as explained by Jenna Pitcher, at Polygon, the East Coast Gaming Expo started as a classic games conference.
Over the years, Too Many Games has expanded and host modern games, tabletop game competitions, console competitions, celebrity appearances, music, and how the past meets the present.
In my opinion, what others can see is people that search merchant tables, only, for relics from the past. Too Many Games can be how others find a social connection through the right game format. It displays individual skill in costume design, artistic expression, or sets one individual apart from another through competition. The show can be so many things. It is a departure from daily life. It is expression in its purest form in one place.
Nathan Barnatt, a Massachusetts native and regular person, expresses himself through physical comedy, acting, and directing, as indicated at the Internet Movie Database.
He presents a character Keith Apicary that is different. His display of trash in one corner of the small convention center confuses many that pass by. He expresses himself, provides a musical performance, and takes photographs throughout the day.
When I asked him about his corner of the convention center, his character explained this was what he had to offer the world.
On the level of the search for games, two individuals Billy Hudson and Jay Hatfield represent a cultural need. Two men, from Arlington, Texas search the state to find the best deals in retrospective video games, and similar items for their own pleasure. Their program, Game Chasers, shows a different side to that adventure. They are extravagant personalities that entertain audiences, on Youtube, in their visual how-to- manual of how to find the right game items, the best prices, and how to make rivals.
It is about what you are, and can be. Shawn Long, of Nintendo Enthusiast fame, was a standard visitor. Others may not know he host a Youtube program, and is part of a website that educates, and entertains others about Nintendo specific content. You can get good deals. You can visit Too Many Games and inspire your creative side.
Links
Too Many Games 2015 by CinemaSickness