Supernova

As you can see, I'm dressed as Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII, and life couldn't be any better.

Supernova is the one event of the year in which I can let down my Viking Hat (quite literally) and embrace the geekdom that is a large part of who I am. It's a place where wearing skivvy is a sign of manliness and dedication. It's a place where you can buy your favourite weapon from your favourite game. It's a place where you can find someone dressed as your least favourite character and kick them for good measure. (Unfortunately, Tidus is so hated by the geek community that no-one bothered to dress as him, and thus my steel capped boots went home unused. I only managed to find a small Asian lady dressed as Yuna and pushed her into a thresher, but this didn't give me the release I so needed).

I had a blast at Supernova, I really did. I bought lots of junk that I don't need, including awful games I would have never bought had they been over the eight dollars I spent on them, looked at all the illustrators from different comics and mostly enjoyed watching the cosplay (costume) competition.

BUT, unfortunately for myself and Supernova, I am not the happy-go-lucky Viking. I am the Viking Gamer, and let me tell you, the gaming portion of this event left something to be desired.

It was well and good they had some Xbox's in the Game section (as in the retailer Game, and not a section devoted to gaming which would have been much better) with a couple of different to try, a Wii with Red Steel 2 and another Wii with a multiplayer dance game (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn). It was not really well or good that Fifa on the PS3 was in a section for Samsung or some other bullshit company trying to simultaneously peddle their wares at me and convince me to play.

It was pretty damn awful that they only had a demo for Gothic 4 Arcania. This is my favourite sentence as it can portray two things I found frustrating about this situation. There was only one demo of a game yet to be released, which is frustrating. There was also only ONE console to actually play it on. One demo to play between another 2000 or so sweaty hairy nerds that are being transfixed by its beautiful graphics and impressive creatures and character design. What the hell people!?

Lastly, and the most disappointing part of the show was the actual LAN gaming section. There were about 10-15 computers, tops. They were in some kind of weird barrier gate thing which in my Viking nature I almost kicked down. Everyone was playing a different game. There weren't any staff to get you to join in or anyone to show you how to play, it was just some random people playing whatever game they felt like, most of them in single player.

LAN. This means something, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. However, when I am promised games played on LAN or over LAN or whatever the hell it is, I know it's multiplayer. And when I see a computer tower that looks like it's Viking material (awesome-looking and full of hidden power) I want to jump in and play.

Get some staff there, make the area open for gamers to come in, stick to one game for half an hour then move on to another, encourage competition, have real prizes, actually get a timetable for the events. I'm a Viking, organisation to me is sometimes wearing the appropriate clothes at different parts of the day. Yet even I could have made the gaming section a place for Vikings and non-Vikings alike enjoy.

While the gaming left a lot to be desired (and it really, really did) I still had a blast. I can't wait for Supernova next year where I'm sure my then 1000 followers will come to see me, the Viking Gamer, in all my glory.

I give Supernova 4.5 out of 5, because any event that gives me an excuse to dress as Zack Fair is worth its weight in peasants heads.

Til next time, from the gamer with horns in his hat.