It Has Never Been Easier Becoming Unplugged

Back in September something spectacular happened. There was a little convention making big waves down at the Primrose Hotel. The weekend of September 22-23 was the birth of a brand new convention: Unplugged Expo. A “guerrilla” style convention that announces official dates and times at the last possible minute, taking advantage of the power of social media.

I missed most of the first-day craziness because I was only able to attend on the Sunday, but the convention still had amazing momentum. Here’s what went down:

When I arrived I was surprised by the intimacy of the event. Having just been at the insanely busy FanExpo it was a bit of a shock to the system, but it worked for this con. The intimacy made everyone approachable, and gave the panels a more candid feeling.

The first panel I had an opportunity to experience was a gaming panel including some amazing talent such as Th3 Rogue and Marvin Mariano (Check out my interview with Th3 Rogue here!). The panel was relaxed and very inviting; it felt more like a group discussion than an official convention panel (at least the ones I have been to in the past). There was talk of females in gaming (as usual) but the conversation also touched on gaming in the physical realm. The idea that games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic The Gathering will never die out because they are more than a hobby, they are part of an underground culture. Many retailers and cafes host Friday Night Magic, and if you look hard enough you can find a whole group of people that actively participate in these games, despite the tremendous growth of gaming technology. There is just something special about sitting down at a table with a few of your friends and being able to create and share kick ass fantasies.

Aside from me hanging out in the gaming room and enjoying the excitement, the convention featured an Artist’s Alley, a Shoppes Room, and a Sunday Morning Cartoons Room.

I had the opportunity to catch up with one of the artists showcasing their work at the convention and one of the panelists from earlier in the day, Marvin Mariano. He is an artist that can do it all, from digital illustrations for video games or of comic book characters to tattoo artistry; he has really pushed his craft to a completely out-of-this-world level. Check out one of his amazing pieces below, Catwoman!

Overall the atmosphere was electric and there was such a great energy from everybody (even during the final ceremony, everyone broke out into the Gangnam Style dance!). I am definitely making a point to go again next year!

An opportunity to model some Evil Genius tee-shirts with Th3 Rogue was offered, so I took part in an impromptu phone camera photo-op. Check out the gallery below!