25,000 expected in 2017

From a 265-person show in 2002, MAGFest has blossomed into near uncontrollable levels. Last year the convention runners reported roughly 20,000 were in attendance, but this year, 25,000 registrants are expected to attend. That's a massive amount of growth for what is essentially a small indie outfit -- and they're expanding into multiple conventions to meet demand.

It helps then, that the con has been situated at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center on the brink of Maryland, DC, and Virginia, for the past several years now. It's a massive facility that's just starting to see its breaking point -- as evidenced by the fa?ct that hotel rooms sold out months ago, mere minutes after being announced.

But the floor space is perfectly suited to hold everyone, and wit?h at least six big panel rooms, multiple warehouses for the marketplace, arcade, and indie gaming expo, and tons of sma??ll little hamlets to sneak into (like the wonderful retro computer lab with OG equipment), there's plenty to do.

MAGFest somehow manages to maintain that intimate feel despite its growth spurt, though. I noticed it in particular after happening u??pon the small "jam" room where anyone who feels like it can pick up an instrument and play along, like a video game jazz session of sorts. There were people of varying skill levels but they were all playing in time together, and at one point I noticed the lead drummer scan ever?yone in the room and give them a look, like they were home. Impromptu concerts like the one below also pop up in random halls -- this is a music festival after all.

Another big highlight was Killer Queen, a giant indie arcade setup that pits 10 players against each other with a 2D Joust-like retro conceit 5v5 style. There are three ways to win  -- economic, military, and "snail." The former two are self-explanatory (gather enough resources or kill the enemy queen enough to win a round), but the latter bit involves riding a giant snail to the end of your side without getting killed. It's fiendishly complicated affair that involves several mechanics all working in tandem (like speed buffs, or optional evolutions from workers into warriors). If it sounds interesting, it might be at your local arcade alread??y as it debuted in 2013, but this is the first chance I've had to play it.

Those are just a few of the things you can do at MAGFest, not including live concerts, charity marathons, and an entire floor dedicated to tableto?p and CCG (collectible card games).

The post MAGFest just gets bigger and bigger every year appeared first on Destructoid.

January 5-8

For the past five years, the folks over at HalfEmpty E-Tank have ran a lovely little charity based around one of the best premises of all -- playing a ton of Mega Man games at MAGFest.

The gist is that amidst live music and? special guests,? the organization will run a multi-day marathon event that plays through most of the series, complete with prizes for attendees, and all of the money going to charity. It kicks off at noon ET on January 5, and runs through January 8, so if you're attending MAGFest, go check it out!

MAGFest is being held on those same days over at Nation?al Harbor, MD, and tons of jbsgame.community members are in attendance. If you're not going this year, hit up the cblogs and connect with some people so you can grab a hotel room before it sells out ?next year.

The post The fifth ?annual Mega Man charity marathon is returning to? MAGFest appeared first on Destructoid.

Bay Area version planned next year

MAGFest has been a Dtoid tradition for many years, and has one of the biggest in-house community turnouts for public events. That'??s partially because people come from all over the world to attend, but for you west coast folks, there might be another option -- MAGWest!

Several weeks ago the powers that be held a small event called "MAGQuest" in an attempt ?to brainstorm up ideas for a new convention, which?? would not replace the old one (which is growing year after year, and set for January), but supplement it. The gist -- they want it to be "as far away from the 'main' MAGFest as possible," and they're looking at a possible late August 2017 target.

So yeah, ?another MAGFest seems to be past the plan??ning stages!

MAGQuest [MAGFest]

The post Go west, young MAGFest appeared first on Destructoid.

Here, at, the gaming con!

The Music and Gaming Festival, otherwise known as MAGFest, has just opened registration for its 2017?? event today. Some slight changes to pricing ?structure were made to ensure that the tickets don't instantly vanish, but pre-registration is highly advised.

While no guests are currently announced for this year, previous years have seen the likes of Destructoid alumni Anthony Burch, game composer Austin Wintory, the Angry Video Game Nerd James Rolfe and the world renowned Keiji Inafune (of Mega Man fame...not Mighty No. 9).

MAGFest 2017 will be taking place from January 5th to the 8th (of 2017) in National Harber, MD at the Gaylord National Hotel. The MAGFest blog also has links for hotel reservations, if you fancy going.

MAGFest 2017 Regisrtation is Open! [MAGFest.org]

The post MAGFest 2017 event registration is live appeared first on Destructoid.

Photos from the floor

MAGFest, also known as the Musi?c and Gaming Festival, has blown up since its start in 2002. Originally consisting of just 265 people, this year's ??con (held at the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center) is expected to hit 20,000.

Highlights include a booth from artist Temmie Chang (of Undertale fame) who is g??iving out autographs, a full arcade center with a decent amount of Japanese machines, and an awesome merch floor with tons of great works from some talented artists. There's also a full indie booth (with games that are well kn??own and are up and coming) and a console freeplay section. Despite the move to a much larger venue and a bigger crowd, it still has that chill homegrown feel.

MAGFest 2016 will run throughout the weekend, and scheduled guests include Keiji Inafune, Austin Wintory, Extra Credits, and more. A stray observation of sorts: Undertale is huge here. Nearly every booth has some sort of merch for it, and a lot of them al??ready sold out of it throughout the day.

The post See the madness that is MAGFest 2016 first-hand appeared first on Destructoid.

He's recording an episode of Radio Destructoid and we want you to be the star

Dtoid Community Monster and all-around nice guy Conor Elsea is at MAGFest this weekend. ARE YOU?! If so, you should totally find him, because he's recording an extra special episode of Radio Destructoid with Radio D ??alumn Aaron "Mxy" Yost, and they want ??you to help!

So if you spot Conor (he's beautiful; you can't miss him), just tell him you're from Dtoid and you want to be on the show! Having trouble locating our furry little friend? Follow @ConorElsea and @RadioDtoid on Twitter and let the stalking commence.

Have fun!

The post At MAGFest? Find Conor! appeared first on Destructoid.

Lonely Rolling Staaaar

MAGFest, the Music and Games Festival, is going into its thirteenth year, and to celebrate they have some big musical guests lined up. Katamari Damacy composers Yuu Miyake and Yos??hihito Yano will be...rolling into town this January.

Miyake is the primary composer and sound director for the Katamari series, and Yano is a fellow composer at Namco Bandai, and is also responsible for the Soul Calibur and Tekken series. Yano is behind the incredible Katamari song "Lonely Rolling Star." I?? could listen to that so??ng on loop for days on end.

MAGFest is set to kick of??f January 23-26, 2015, in Na?tional Harbor, MD. I'm going to go. You going?

The post Kat??amari Damacy composers confirmed for MAGFest 13 appeared first on Destructoid.

12 tracks from 12 artists featured at this year's event

This past weekend in Maryland's National Harbor, several thoudand like-minded individuals gathered for the 12th annual Music and Gaming Festival, AKA MAGFest. This was only my second year attending, but man it was a blast. Tons ??of games, events, panels, and of course, videogame music.

This year, there was a huge chiptune representation at the festival, and to commemorate it, Chiptunes = WIN released an exclusive compilation featuring the artists performing at MAGfest 12. The album, MAGFest = WIN, released at a listening party at MAGfest, features exclusive mixes from some of my favorite artists such as Danimal Cannon, RobotSexMusic, and fellow Baltimorean Inverse Phase.

As always, it's an excellent repr??esentation of some of the best artists in the scen??e, and worth your ear time, especially as it's expertly mastered by DJ Cutman. If you weren't able to make it to the 'fest this year, just Colossus scream while listening to this awesome compilation.

The post MAGFest = WIN is chiptuney goodness for your ears appeared first on Destructoid.

Courtesy of our very own Dale North

Dragon Fantasy Book II released last year for PS3 and Vita, improving on Dragon Fantasy Book I with 16-bit graphics and a more fully realized soundtrack. What you may not know is that the soundtrack was composed by our very own corgi-loving Editor-in-Chief, Dale North. What you also may not know is that the soundtrack has debuted at MAGFest and will be going on sale on January 6.

It does a fantastic job of evoking SNES-era role-playing game soundtracks, with tracks ranging from sweeping or??chestral pieces fit for untold adventures to funk bass infused tunes appropriate for exploring the more disreputable locat?ions of the fantasy world. And I'm not just saying that because Dale could fire me at a moment's notice! Ha ha ha. Ha. No really, it's good, I promise.

In case you want a free sample, check out "Hypothecary" below or download it from Destructoid's SoundCloud.

The post D?ownload a free track from the Dragon Fantasy Book II OST appeared first on Destructoid.

Pictures from the showfloor

Destructoid is at MAGFest 12, and in addition to our "Community First" panel, we're also roaming the halls looking for trouble. For those of you who haven't attended before, there's a large dealer room to peruse and purchase games and art (games are art too you know), a table flipping event for charity, and a boat load of arcade, console, and PC games to play. I'm talk?ing full multi-cabinet racing titles to old school adventure ga??mes on Commodore 64 hardware.

There's also tons of cosplay (including some dude who dressed up and did the chicken dance in random hallways) and random activities going on, like the second Mega Manathon for charity. Overall MagFest is a very community oriented convention, so if you?? aren't here al?ready, consider checking it out next year.

The post If you can’t make it to MAGFest 12, this is the next best thing appeared first on Destructoid.

Spoiler: I'll be drunk.

MAGFest is just TWO DAYS AWAY! We've been keeping you updated with announcements thus far, with news about the MAG Prom, DJ line-up, Mega Manathon, Main Stage line-up, and special guests. Now that the schedule has been re??leased, we can tell you abo??ut our very own panel!

On Friday we'll be in Panel Room 2 at 2:30 pm, hosting our panel entitled "Community First: Maintaining the Community of a Growing Website." We'll have Forums Admin and Communitoid host Aaron Yost, Reviews Director Chris Carter, Contributor Kyle MacGregor, Contributor and Flixist Editor-in-Chief Matthew Razak, and myself hosting a low-key discussion about where we came from in the community and what members can do to be more involved. We'll certainly shar?e some stories, and who knows?? if other staff members show up to share! Of course, we'll open the floor to questions and suggestions as well.

Sound off in the comm?ents if you're going to MAGfest; ?I need to know how many piggyback rides I'll be giving.

The post MAGFest is coming! Here’s our panel info! appeared first on Destructoid.

It's for charity

Last year Half Empty E-Tank ran a noble Mega Manathon for charity, and they're back again with MAGFest 12 this January -- once again they will be supporting Child's Play. If you want to get involved you can actually head over to their site right now and take a look at some Mega Man music bundles that are being offered.

There's three tiers of music, with Tier 1 running at $1, Tier 2 at $10, and Tier 3 at $20, and it includes artists like Mega Ran and DJ Cutman. There's also a signed copy of Mega Man 1 up for grabs. So if you're a fan of Mega Man music and want to chip in for ch??arity, head on ove??r!

Good luck to the folks over at Half Empty E-Tank.

Mega Manathon 2 [Half Empty E-Tank]

The post The second Mega Manathon is coming to MAGFest appeared first on Destructoid.

Yeah, there's a lot of horns in that game

If you follow Brentalfloss on Twitter or Facebook, you may have noticed how obsessed he's been with the soundtrack to Super Mario 3D World of late. I figured it was only a matter of time before he gave it the "what if it had lyrics" treatment, and thankfully this Christmas Eve Eve, he's bestowed this gift u??pon us.

Brent's also been dabbling in composing for games, and while he's not been tied to a particular game as of yet you can check out some of his samples at his composer site. He's also hinted at a collaboration with ProJared and Pat the NES Punk coming soon called SUPER RIFF BROS, which they ?plan to reveal at MAGfest in a fe?w weeks.

The post Brentalfloss? gives us Super Mario 3D World with lyrics appeared first on Destructoid.

Including North American debuts of Machinae Supremacy and MegaDriver

In 24 days I'll be piling into a car with some other Midwest Destructoid members and heading to MAGFest! Now that we have the full line-up, I don't even know where I want to start when I get there. Wait, ?with booze. I'll start with booze.

Here's what's up so you can plan accordingly:

Thursday Night Main Stage (6PM - 12AM)
- Knight of the Round
- Urizen
- Random
- Bit Brigade

Friday Night Main Stage (6PM - 12AM)
- Super Guitar Bros
- The Megas
- This Place is Haunted
- MegaDriver

Saturday Night Main Stage (6PM - 12AM)
- On Being Human
- The X-Hunters
- Those Who Fight
- Machinae Supremacy 

Don't forget about all the chiptunes and DJ's that will be there, as well as the second stage and the MAGFest Prom! If you're going this year be sure to let us know: there's a reason the folks at MAGFest think as highly of us as ?we do of them, and trust me whe?n I say you want to be a part of the fun!

Sound off in the comments if you're attending so I can get your names tattooed on my body Memento style. I don't want to forget anybody!

The post Here it is, the MAGFest main stage line-up appeared first on Destructoid.

Featuring music from The OneUps and Love Canon!

MAGFest 12 is slowly inching its way toward us as I rip the pages off my word-a-day calendar (today's word is "gluttony"). Next year's event goes down January 2nd through 5th, and the second stage and MAG Prom line-ups have just been announced!

Here's what's in store:

Thursday - MAGFest Prom (12am - 2am)

• The OneUps
• Love Canon

Friday - Stage 2 (11am - 5pm)

• Chronicles of Sound
• Viking Guitar
• Eight Bit Disaster
• Lucio Baldomero
• Final Stage
• Overclocked University
• Armcannon

Saturday - Stage 2 (11am - 5pm)

• Droidekka
• Random Battles
• MissingNO
• Dethlehem
• LonelyRollingStars
• Triforce Quartet
• Rare Candy

(You can view the chiptunes and DJ line-up here.) So are you going this year? I've never been myself, but my buddy Conor never stops talking about it. I guess that's why Destructoid is one of MAGFest's favorite communities?

Anyway, let us know in the comments if you'll be in attendance so I can remind Conor of your names after he's had 12 too many bee?rs!

The post MAGFest’s ‘MAG Prom’ and stage 2 line-up announced appeared first on Destructoid.

More than 40 acts over 4 days

MAGFest is less than two months away! The yearly event takes place January 2nd - 5th at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor Maryla??nd, and some of the acts have just been announced. Personally, I can't wait for Benjamin Briggs and DJ Cutman (fun fact: I once gave Cutman a ride home from a gig). What are you looking forward to? Check out the list:

Friday Chiptune Showcase (12 PM - 2 PM)
- Trey Frey
- Chipocrite
- A_Rival
- Danimal Cannon

Friday Night EDM Battle (10 PM - 2 AM)
- bLiNd
- Benjamin Briggs
- DJ Cutman
- Grimecraft
- Totentaz
- Flexstyle

Saturday Chiptune Showcase (12 PM - 2 PM)
- Awesome Force
- Auxide
- Rainbow Dragon Eyes
- Cheap Dinosaurs

So are you going this year? You should be; Destructoid is one of MAGFest's favorite communities. Let us know in the comments so I know how ??many drunk hugs and piggyback rides I'll need to give.

The post MAGFest chiptunes showcase and DJ line-up appeared first on Destructoid.

MAGFest 12, Jan 2-5 2014

MAGFest 12 will have videogame music composer Tommy Tallarico (his work spans over 250 games) attending as a guest.

Aside from scoring games like Earthworm Jim and Metroid Prime, Tallarico is the producer and creator of the Video Games Live concert series. The orchestral concert has toured the world, but for their next steps (including their third album), they're asking for your help at the Video Games Live: Level 3 kickstarter.

Come to MAGFest this January 2-5 in National Harbor, MD to meet Tommy as well as other talent including Bastion composer Darren Korb and Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe. And, as always, there are tons (almost 40) musical acts scheduled to rock out. Word is that I might even be perf??orming!

See you there?

The post Videogame com??poser Tommy Ta??llarico to attend MAGFest appeared first on Destructoid.

Five acts perform in Texas for one night only

MAGFest 11 has come and gone, but as James Hetfield once said, the memory remains. Why should we have to wait a whole?? year for the next event, though? Why can't MAGFest be every day, or at least every few weeks?

MAGFest organizers have begun setting up ancillary events -- mini-MAGFests, if I may -- starting with "Game Over Austin" at 7 PM CST this Sunday, February 3, at the red7 in Austin, Texas. Five music acts will be performing, including the recently assembled Lords of Thunder and nerdcore favorite Mega Ran. Descendents of Erdrick will be in the house as well, sporting a brand-new lineup following the old team's disbandment. Finally, two new players in the MAGFest scene, Dr. Awkward and URIZEN, round out the lot.

I wish I could attend -- I'm still super pissed that I missed Lords of Thunder's MAGFest ??set no thanks to YOU, Dale North (don't fire me)! Alas, I'm stuck here in my podunk South Florida town, watching as everyone else has a good time. Let me live vicariously through you guys!

Admission is open to all ages, and tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

The post Mini-MAGFest! Game Over Austin on February 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Seriously, this happened

As I said yesterday, mind-blowing?? stuff can happen at any second at MAGFest. The kind of stuff that people will be talking about for years to come.

Stuff? like a random dance battle in the middle of?? the dealer room.

I'm on my way to the console freeplay area when I notice a crowd gathered nearby Mega Ran's booth. He and DJ Asu Rock were pumping a mix of assorted dance, electronica, and hip hop tunes through the speakers, then all of a sudden, two con-goers start battli?ng hardcore right then and there. And every so often, anoth?er person pops in and pulls off a wild move that knocks everyone on their ass. After a while, all pretense of competition is dropped and the entire group starts getting down.

MAGFest, everybody.

The post Great M?AGFest 11 moment #2: Impromptu dance battle!!! appeared first on Destructoid.

Learn this name, even if you can't say it

It was probably about three in the morning at MAGFest, shortly after we were kicked out of the main concert room following bLiNd's amazing DJ set. As we walked out into t?he hallway, we heard something incredibly catchy coming from down the hall. Tucked away in a corner was a table with a lone figure, ABSRDST, playing in front of a small and hazy-eyed crowd.

Thanks to the Internets, we were able to track this guy down, and we can certainly say that his music sounds great any time of day. Of particular note is the catchy Sugar Blossom and the Space Cadets album that c??ombines chippy pop melodies with heavy electronic beats. It's a name-your-own-price album, and is certainly worth your attention if you're into retro game music (it's not 8-bit).

Let us know what you think! 

The post Late-night listening: ABSRDST at MAGFest 11 appeared first on Destructoid.

Off Mega Ran's River City Random album

As I mentioned earlier during Mega Ran's exclusive album premier, Niero and Dale North fell in love with "Sock Hop" when Ran performed it during his MAGFest set. They loved it so much that they downloaded the song from Bandcamp right away and played it at the end of the Destructoid panel just because.

Thanks to the above video that online radio network 8bitX posted, you too can experience what everyone in the room felt when Ran closed off his set with his cover of the River City Ransom stage 1 theme. This is the song as Ran performed it -- he unfortu??nately left off the final verse due to time constraints. He did perform the complete song in the Jamspace room on Sunday, and you can also wat??ch the official music video just below.

Don't be a square! Do the sock hop!

MegaRan - Sock Hop - Magfest 11 - 09 - 010312 [YouTube]

Sock Hop [YouTube]

The post ‘Sock Hop,’ Destructoid’s unofficial MAGFest 11 anthem appeared first on Destructoid.

"Castlevania-ception"

This was my first MA?GFest, and damn,?? it did not disappoint. So much hotness everywhere. For most people, it would be impossible to narrow down the greatest moment of the show.

For me, it was simple.

I'm at the main concert stage listening to Bit Brigade, the band that deftly fuses videogame covers with live speedrunning, as the group performed Castlevania. I'm there with my good friend Patrick Kulikowski, writer for Pixelitis and VGdrum hero?, when Pat taps me on the should??er and tells me to look to our right.

Standing right next to us is Kinuyo Yamashita, the original composer for Castlevania.

I am standing immediately next to the composer of a game for which the soundtrack is currently being performed on stage by a live band while another dude is playing the game whose soundtrack is currently being performed by the band as the original composer of said game's soundtrack is ??????????????????????????watching the game and its music being played live and...

BOOM.

The post My greatest MAGFest 11 moment appeared first on Destructoid.

So much great music, so little time!

As previously mentioned, the Saturday's schedule at MAGFest was incredibly compact. There were tons of great acts scheduled as well as several impromptu performances that turned out to be some of the be?st of the show.

As always, Jake "virt" Kaufman drew a huge crowd with his energetic chiptune performance that he split with coda. It was an amazing set and one of the best of the event. Also of note was Rare Candy's set that closed with an awesome Chrono Trigger medley.

Yuzo Koshiro's highly-anticipated DJ set and had everyone in the room jumping and dancing with tracks from a mix from Actraiser, Streets of Rage, and Wangan Midnight. He even led the crowd for several Colossus screams which was a sight and sound to beh??old.

An impromptu chiptune show took place at about 2:00am featuring new music by Zen Albatross and others, and A_Rival took to the stage and had a delirious crowd going until about 5:00am with his funky "Chemical Plant Zone" from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and TMNT.

And that wraps up our music coverage from MAGFest. We hope everyone that attended enjoyed the event, and we hope to see you next year! And, as mentioned at our panel, please chime in and let us kno??w what you want to read when it comes to game music and chiptune coverage! 

The post MAGFest: Day three with virt, Y?uzo Koshiro, and A_Rival appeared first on Destructoid.

Koshiro envisions modern club music soundtrack

You probably know by now that composer Yuzo Koshiro was one of several special guests at MAGFest 11 this weekend. While his DJ set last night was amazing, we did get the chance to talk to him before the show and immediately asked him about the possibility of a Streets of Rage 4.

He expla??ined to us that he was contacted about the project about ten years ago, at which point the team made a prototype that was subsequently rejected by Sega, and he hasn't heard any rumblings about it since.

I took the opportunity to ask him what kind of soundtrack he would envision for a new Streets of Rage game if it were to be made, to which he responded, "Modern club music," but more emotionally varied than the high-speed trance music found in the street racing Wangan Midnight franchise.

Are you still waiting for Streets of Rage 4? Would you p??refer a retro FM soundtrack, or would you trust Koshiro's instincts to go with modern electronic music?

The post ?MAGFest: St?reets of Rage 4 prototype rejected by Sega appeared first on Destructoid.

New Fangamer product line to include Bad Dudes album

Despite numerous scheduling conflicts yesterday at MAGFest, we did get the chance to pop in on the Bad Dudes panel where they announced that their next project will be a physical remix album dedicated to EarthBound. We've been told to expect a vocal performance by our own Dale North, and my favorite track from the game, "Paula's Prison," will also be featured. It should be ready before next yea??r's M??AGFest rolls around.

Additionally, Fangamer, who is now distributing Bad Dudes merchandise, will have an entire product line dedicated to EarthBound, of which this CD is just one part. In other news, A_Rival wa?s initiated into the fold as the latest Bad Dude, so get ready for even more awesomeness from the?? group moving forward.

Will you be picking this album up? Do you have any request??s that you'd like passed along to the team? 

The post MAGFest: Bad Du??des to tackle EarthBound for next album appeared first on Destructoid.

Lots of great acts, more photos

It's another sleepless night here at MAGFest. Our panel went well today, and we were treated to some amazing acts on Friday night here in National Harbor, MD. Stage two featured the Descendants of Erdrick, one of my favorite bands, who played some underappreciated material from Ninja Gaiden and Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest.

The main stage got brentafloss's crazy antics, Bit Brigade's masterful musical accompaniment to speed runs of both Castlevania and Contra, a mighty ARMCANNON who rocked the night away, and a surprising performance by the Video Game Orchestra which appeared as a rock band. Their renditions of "Eyes on Me," "Melodies of Life," and "I am the Wind" (from Symphony of the Night) were the best I've heard thanks to a?n amazing? vocalist.

DJ bLiNd closed out the night after 2 AM with a some stellar remixes, including one of my favorite tracks, the Ducktales moo??n stage?, and A_Rival made a surprise appearance to work the crowd during his set.

It was an amazing night with awesome music, and there will be even more tomorrow. Chec??k out some photos below courtesy of Chris Serani and Ashley Robison (Bit Brigade).

The post MAGFest: Day two, Video Ga??me?? Orchestra and bLiNd win appeared first on Destructoid.

Name that tune, corgis, and of course, a group photo!

Did you make it out to the Destructoid Live panel today at MAGFest? We had a great time filled with photos of corgis, name that tune, and a music video that you must absolutely see, "Fatty Boom Boom."

We have a few photos from the panel, including the group photo shown above. Thanks to everyone who made it o??ut, and be sure to catch the rest of our coverage from MAGFest 11.

The post MAGFest: Destructoid Live panel was awesome appeared first on Destructoid.

Pew pew for the kids

MAGFest is a convention of many awesome things, and this year, they've combined two of my favorite things ever: Mega Man, and Child's Play.

The fine folks at Half Empty Energy Tank are now running a 72-hour Mega Man charity marathon to benefit Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity. They'll be pew pewing through everything from Mega Man to the X series and beyond as they trek through this giant three day affair.

Be sure and catch the stream, as you may get to see our very own Tony Ponce get his Mega Man on! If you're at the convention, you can find the booth in the free console gaming area, on the bottom floor. If you're not at MAGFest, you can donate here.

72-hour “Mega Manathon” [Mega Manathon via Pixelitis]

The post The Mega Manathon is running at MAGFest right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Random, OneUps, Metroid Metal, The Megas

Destructoid is here at MAGFest. Are you?

We had a blast today listening to the amazing rap stylings of Random (AKA Mega Ran), who impressed us with a freestyle session based on items that members of the audience held up. The funktacular OneUps followed up with "One-Winged Angel" and The Legend of Zelda arrangements from their latest Intergalactic Continuum album which were the highlights of the night. Metroid Metal worked in some Actraiser to pay homage to special guest Yuzo Koshiro, while The Megas had everyone in the audience singing along with their catchy renditions of the themes from the Mega Man series.

Check out our photo gallery from the first night's performances below, and let us know what you thought if you were tuned into the streaming MAGFest radio station or happened to be in attendance. Don't miss our panel tomorrow! 

The post MAGFest: Night one is over, you should be here appeared first on Destructoid.

Friday at 3pm in Panels room 2

Are you going to MAGFest this weekend? You should. We gave you five very good reasons to go. The music alone should be good enough, and bonuses like table flipping should round out what's sur??e to be an incredible weekend. 

More importantly, do you plan on going to Destructoi??d's panel at MAGFest this weekend? You should because it's f*cking COLD in there this time of year, and I need your body heat.

Our panel was great last year, so we're looking to do it again. Destructoid Live! takes place during the 11th annual Music and Gaming Festival, taking place January 3 - 6 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. Our panel is on Friday at 3pm in panel room #2. Be there with us to play games, win prizes, get new news on the site and laugh at others' misfortunes. We had a great turnout last year, complete with a nice group photo. Get all up in that this year.

Look, even if you miss our panel, you'll be sorry if you miss MAGFest. I'll never forget last year's event -- standing five feet away from Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu while he rocked a packed audience's face off was one of the most amazing things t?hat has e?ver happened to me.

The post Destructoid Live! panel at MAGFest this weekend appeared first on Destructoid.