By Jared Cornelius



Over the years, the term "Comic Con" has been adapted to fit the broader terms of fandom. What was once an exclusive show for comic books, has transformed into a show that mirrors the wide appeal of today's fan community. Sci-Fi, anime, toys, and yes games, and it seems Denver Comic Con wants to be leading the charge on the gamer front.

Denver Comic Con released information on their "Hall of Games", announcing that they'll be adding a more interactive element to the show. I spoke with Director of Gaming Programing Chris Abbey who proudly told me, "We've tripled the space in the gaming area." Abbey was ecstatic for the event, telling me about the con's heavy emphasis and partnership with the Comic Book Classroom program, "a non-profit education program. One example of the CBC's educational endeavors is a state standards-based curriculum based on teaching literacy and arts designed for children in grades 5-8. The modules in the curriculum offer students not only fun activities to do but also solid educational engagement." Abbey was passionate about the program, calling it a, "Pop culture classroom".

Denver Comic Con has a robust series of panels this year, exclusively focusing on games. Abbey said that the "Hall of Games" panels would be informative for aspiring game makers, and hoped that attendee's would find the panels education and informative. They include:

-Getting Into The Games Industry

-Indie Game Development: Facts and Fiction

-Building a Videogame in Unity3D

-Kickstarting Your Game

-I Have a Great Idea for an App: What Now?

-I Want to Make Games – Is School Right for Me

They've announced over twenty local and national game developers to attend and participate in the panels such as Radical Games, makers of ROCKETS ROCKETS ROCKETS, the developers of Star Command, Glassbottom Games makers of Hot Tin Roof, and many more. Denver Comic Con's not leaving out the little guy's either, dedicating space to students' from the local Colleges to show off their projects.



The "Hall of Games" is also boasting a robust selection of tournament and single player video games, and will also be featuring table-top and role playing games too. The good folks at Colorado Cutthroat Connection will be hosting a series of gaming tournaments over DCC's three days. For the fighting game enthusiast DCC will have Killer Instinct, Super Street Fighter IV, and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom. The first person shooter crowd gets a Call of Duty Ghosts 2V2 tournament, and a Halo 4 free for all. Pokémon trainers can do battle as well with an X/Y tournament on Sunday. The tabletop crowd doesn't get left out either, with a Heroclix ROC pre-qualifier on Friday night, with a super qualifier round on Saturday. Abbey also told me that they were focusing on having people on hand to explain and give tutorials for new players which was encouraging for me as someone who doesn't play table top games, but is interested in them.

My attention was grabbed by the "Vector Lounge" that's described as a casual area with classic arcade games, music, and events. The arcade games provided by Mile High Arcade, feature some fan favorites with Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, and Gauntlet to name a few. Pinball tables get in the mix too, with Family Guy, Batman Dark Knight, and perennial favorite Dirty Harry. There's also no need for quarters as all the games in the lounge are free. To cap off the experience of the "Vector Lounge" DCC also has a DJ spinning on Saturday night. Abbey wanted the "Vector Lounge" to feel like an area that anyone could go in and have a good time.

Abbey was genuinely heartfelt about his desire to make gaming a huge part of the convention, and told me that the "Hall of Gaming" was, "A nod to very piece of gaming culture we could find." After taking with Abbey I wished that my local cons would be taking a similar approach, but only time will tell. Denver Comic Con is taking place June 13th through June 15th at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street Denver Colorado.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from New Jersey's coast who'd hate being Rocky Mountain High because he's afraid of heights. If you prefer the ground like a sane person, contact him on Twitter @John_Laryngitis