The year 2020 was different for all of us. We didn’t expect a virus that would affect our everyday lives, but it did. A lot of communities were affected, especially the gaming community. Not only do we play the games for fun, but we also play games to escape the reality of our everyday lives, and that’s where conventions come in. I feel that we go to conventions to share our love for gaming, as well as interacting with other gamers and cosplayers.
My first ever convention was PAX West in 2019. It was my first convention, and I was living my best life there. I remember first entering the convention and seeing a group of gamers playing Final Fantasy VIII. Just looking around and seeing the excitement on everyone’s face was mind-blowing. I only had passes for 2 days because I wanted to use some of my limited time visiting Seattle to explore the city. Of course, I connected with some people because I like to run my mouth a lot and talk to anyone I can.
Once PAX West came to an end, I knew that I wanted to go back the following year. When 2020 came around, I was actually counting down the months starting in January. Now in reality I knew it was kind of early to be counting down for an event so early, but that was okay with me. I just knew I wanted to go back, so I started planning. That’s when I heard about the coronavirus. Now even though I heard that there was this virus going around that was like the flu, I didn’t think too much of it. Just like most people, I blew it off not thinking that it was that serious. When I tuned into the news later that day to see the death count rising I knew it was more serious than what I had originally though. People started to lose their jobs, and events started having limited capacity, then eventually just getting canceled.
So now the question remains. What will happen with conventions in the future? Most conventions are doing virtual gatherings at this point. It’s not the same right now, but at least we get a chance to be aware of the recent game releases. What drew me to these conventions the most was meeting all of the cosplayers, because I loved to see how passionate they were about their characters. I’m looking forward to conventions opening back up, and even though we all are going through a rough time right now, I feel deeply that we will all be united again someday.
Leave a Reply