This article is a person retrospective on the July 2016 Coxcon weekend event, all (T) links direct to the Twitter page of the person or company in discussion

What is Coxcon? (not about ding dongs)

Many people will be confused as to what Coxcon even is, no doubt. This is understandable as it is a small, modest convention that has only this past weekend completed its second occurrence. With a modest guest list of less than a dozen youtubers, a single panel hall, a single signing room and a likewise a single exhibition hall, the event was nevertheless filled to capacity by around 1000-1500 attendees, perhaps in itself a sign that in influence of popular internet personalities should not be idly discounted, as these guests are drawn not only from across the UK where the event was held, but also from around Europe, the Americas and even a few attendees making their way from Asia across the globe.

The whole event was filled with a sense of goodwill and conviviality I have not felt at larger conventions such as MCM in London, where the crowds all feel very separate and self interested in their endeavours, while in this small gathering in Telford the guests were all united by common interests. I myself witnessed such small acts of kindness as water bottles and snacks being readily shared with others in the long signing queues and was on the second morning while waiting for the Sunday events to begin, offered seating on a sofa for myself and my partner by two total strangers with whom we spent a pleasant hour playing a few hands of Sushi Go! and Timelines. If nothing else can be said about Coxcon, let the welcome and enjoyable atmosphere be it’s main selling point.

Guests and Hosts

Moving on in our Discussion to the YouTubers in attendance themselves, the main figure to talk about of course is Jesse Cox(T), the eponymous man of the convention, organiser and host. This jovial American started his YouTube presence covering World of Warcraft, and has since expanded his reach into general Let’s Plays, Esports and podcasting. Joining their robust host are Jesse’s longtime online co-workers, John “TotalBiscuit” Bain(T), the respected gaming critic better known as the Cynical Brit and host of the Co-Optional Podcast, his wife, business manager and snack enthusiast Genna Bain(T), Jesse’s long time partner in crime Crendor(T), a fellow WoW community contributor of note and the primary proprietor of “Non Content” in their circle, as well as Jirard “The Completionist” Khalil(T) and Alex Faciane(T), known as the Super Beard Bros. and, together with Jesse Cox and their mutual friend and guest of Coxcon Michael Davis(T) from the Scary Games Squad, in which four drunken men yell at each other and the game while playing some of the finest and/or cheesiest horror gaming has to offer. All were present at panels and Q&A sessions throughout the weekend and all gave an excellent showing, providing the same wonderful interpersonal comedy and banter that is the hallmarks of their online content. I would also like to give mention to another person of note present at Coxcon, the independent games journalist and podcaster Laura Kate Dale(T), also known as LauraKBuzz, who managed to attend despite having recently completed gender surgery which she is still in the recovery stage from. We got a chance to meet and spend time with her on the Saturday evening (though I perhaps came across somewhat awkwardly in my own eyes), though this convivial event was cut short by a need to catch a train back to our lodgings. As someone who has been following her in the industry for over a year now, it was a real pleasure to meet her in person.

As for the event’s exhibition hall, there was a highly enjoyable selection of sale booths, demos of games, board games and even a signing booth for Sci-Fi author J. S. Collyer(T), whose books sold like lightning throughout the weekend. I would like to highlight three of my personal favorite things that I took away from the various demos i was able to try there.

Hammer Labs VR. (T)



Embarrassingly, I was not able to catch the name of HTC Vive game I was able to demo at their booth, but the game was a 1v1 tower defence wherein the players competed to capture strategic points, which they could then teleport between and push their waves of minions towards victory, fighting with a longbow, fire bomb launchers or a curious electrical launcher that I was not able to get the hang of using. The minimalist graphics style worked well and the well implemented haptic feedback in the Vive’s controllers helped well with controlling my weapons. While I have used an Oculus Rift at event’s before, this was definitely a excellent first impression for motion controlled VR for me and I cannot wait to try the system in more depth.

Crap, I’m Broke!(T)

Operating from a pair of simple tablets besides the Hammer Labs booth, a pair of enthusiastic developers offered me the chance to try their new game for IOS and Android, Crap, I’m Broke!, immediately intrigued by its art style and premise, I was presented with the stark reality of a new home in a new city and an empty bank account. After a few tutorial tooltips, I was let loose to find jobs, realised as charming touch screen minigames and keeping myself alive to pay my ever mounting bills. What followed was 15 hectic minutes of highly enjoyable gameplay before I met my failure 3 months after the new year, but which time I had been presented with 5 different mini games and a refreshing level of mechanical depth for a mobile game. While the developers told me they would be taking a couple more months to file down the kinks, the game would be releasing without Microtransactions for a modest and more than reasonable £1.99 price. I highly recommend this game and will definitely be acquiring it come launch on Android.

Guns of Icarus Alliance.(T)

Having been a player of Guns of Icarus Online since it first game to steam’s early access program, the addition of this cooperative experience for the game has been someone I have been deeply looking forward to for some time since it was first announced in the game’s kickstarter, dubbed Guns of Icarus: Adventure Mode at the time. Using the same mechanics from the base game, this new system of interactions with objectives and AI controlled enemies is a breath of fresh air I have been looking forward too, and the Alpha build presented at Coxcon has made me optimistic for the finished product.

Final thoughts.

Overall then, Coxcon was a highly enjoyable experience, promised to return for 2017. For any fan of the YouTubers concerned I would call it an unmissable experience with excellent facilities for a fair entrance fee, most definitely a weekend well spent.