In this post, I will share to you my experiences at the Wargods Gaming Expo 1.5 held on July 12, 2015. Unlike their first iteration, the guys at Wargods were able to get a good set of partners this time around.
The event was held at Playland inside Fisher Mall in Quezon City. It’s a three-jeep stop from our base in Cainta (via Anonas). The event was co-organized with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ Otaku U Rule organization which also provided marshals. Playland is a three-floor amusement area at the fourth level of the mall. At the ground and second levels are arcade games while the third level has a basketball court, an airsoft field, and a billiard hall.
The stage venue — the roofdeck — is quite smaller than Megatrade Hall 3, so I was a bit worried if a crowd would form. Thankfully, Playland is an arcade and people can enjoy games if they stayed throughout the rest of the event.
The hosts for the event were Louise Betita and Koleen Mercado who are both cosplayers. Koleen is an Imagineer at Cosplay Network Philippines while Louise is part of Team M.A.R.C.H. Also, the latter’s a guy.
The event started off with a Team M.A.R.C.H. Cosplay 101 seminar with Lyron Aquino. It lasted longer than expected due to lots of inquiries from the audience. Not to mention, the seminar was set up classroom-style, so it was like being in school. This was followed by the Gamers’ Got Talent contest where gamers showed their talents. There was magic, stand-up comedy, singing (and more singing) and dancing. There was also this segment where fans welcomed the Wargods ambassadresses as well. The hotdog eating contest was fantastic too. To top it all off, there were Individual and Group Cosplay Competitions.
The organizers thought well of the competitors especially in the Cosplay Competition. They were given lockers to keep items as a marshal stood outside guarding the area. While the event was packed, it’s not too crowded since a lot of other attendees were focused on the arcade’s various games.
It was a good decision for Wargods to occupy Playland for a day, as it gave an opportunity to the venue and provided different activities for attendees. I wish I could’ve stayed at the basketball arena, but since I was given a Php200 pass to test the arcade downstairs, I just had to take a break.
Playland’s operation is quite similar to that of Timezone where it uses cards and prepaid load to play games, but unlike Timezone, I believe they use near-field communication (NFC) technology. If you want to play a game, tap the prepaid card into the reader and wait for a moment until the load gets credited into the machine.
The card readers are connected to a local network, and the online system sets the price for each reader. The only downside of this system is the infrastructure of the network itself. I had to tap to a reader many times to no avail, but since I already raised this issue with them, there should be no problem with that.
Let’s get back to the event. WGX 1.5 was wild. How wild was it? Here’s some quotable quotes for your perusal. If you weren’t there, you missed a lot.
Palakpakan ang pera!
[Cheers for the money! (Referring to the cash prize that was given during the Playpark Dance Contest, as shown in the video above.)]
Gusto niyo ng freebies? Wala ako, sila meron.
[You want freebies? I don’t have it, they do. (Referring to the hosts)]
Let’s get into the process of the Cosplay Compmetition: There’s a Best Male, Best Female, Best Chibi and the Group Cosplay awards. There’s a twist though, as narrated by Christian Mack:
In a twist, all the winners and runners up underwent another round to determine the Best Overall Champion. They got to choose the judge who they would like to ask them a question about their character. In the end, a very surprised Korra was unanimously chosen by the panel of judges as Best Overall Champion for her excellent and convincing characterization.
Meanwhile, at the second level, I was enjoying the Internet Kiosks. Php25 per hour is not that bad if you are in an arcade, I guess. After all, that’s the place where I stayed longer than usual as the other games and activities are jampacked, I reiterate.
The event ended with the pro gamers taking the stage, giving tips and answering questions.
To wrap this up, Wargods told me that they will continue doing this series of events in the near future. From what I’ve heard, they are planning to have another event this September. What are they planning next? That is for us to know soon.