Where do I even start? If there's one thing I can say, it is that rAge expo 2016 was amazing. If you don't know what the rAge Expo is, don't worry, I'll tell you all about it. rAge is South Africa's biggest annual video gaming, computer, technology and geek culture exhibition with over 33 000 people attending last year. This year was the fourteenth annual exhibition and my first time attending.
I was super excited and was counting down the day's until the big day finally arrived and it seems like I wasn't the only one. The line into The Ticketpro Dome was filled with hundreds of people who were excited to escape to planet rAge and enter a world of everything geek.
rAge is a place of discovery and aims to introduce new concepts, products and culture. Something that I was not very familiar with before rAge was eSports. It's incredible to watch two teams compete. To see the teams focused on their computers, communicating with one another and watching everything unfold before your eyes is absolutely amazing. The eSports tournaments were definitely one of my top highlights of rAge. I'm really looking forward to seeing eSports grow in South Africa. Thanks to NAG and rAge I can really see that happening in the near future.
rAge is also home to the NAG LAN, South Africa's largest bring your own computer LAN. It honestly seems like such a great experience, seeing all those gamers definitely made me wish I could join in. Gamers participating in the LAN spend 52 hours playing multiplayer games, competing against each other and questing together. How fun does that sound?
I spent hours wandering around The Dome with my dad. There was just so much to see and I wanted to see it all. I got to try out a couple of games, visit many stands and had a lovely time. I loved the home coded section because I am also into coding games so it's wonderful to see what everyone else is doing.
I came across some very interesting stands with comics, cool merchandise, competitions, art and just about everything else in between. I really wish I could have it all. I also saw some weird and wonderful technology like using a banana as a video game controller and cardboard VR headsets.
Xbox or PlayStation? That's the question everyone always asks but I'm pretty sure they were both winning at rAge. The Xbox green room was filled eager gamers competing against one another. The PlayStation stand was also very exciting and the PlayStation VR really grabbed everyone's attention. The wait to try the VR headsets was very long but you know what they say, good things come to those who wait.
Another fantastic thing to see at rAge are the cosplayers. They definitely add a lot of fun to the whole exhibition. I spotted some of my favourite characters and it's also wonderful to see how much effort people put into this. It's really just so amazing. There was also a session on the cosplay stage with tips about cosplaying and although I didn't see much of the lesson I did pick up a few tips.
There were many some cool gadgets, of course. I was also invited to attend the MSI presentation where I got to find out more about what MSI is doing in South Africa. After hearing more about MSI I can definitely see why they are the number one in gaming. MSI was also showcasing their new gaming keyboards, gaming mouse, gaming headsets and gaming mouse pads so you can probably tell what is now on my wishlist.
A career in video games is something that I want and was excited to hear that there will be universities and colleges that will be showcasing the students work as well giving more information for those interested in a career in video game design and development. I definitely received some useful information so the future looks bright!
If you weren't at rAge expo 2016 you definitely missed out. It was almost as though I died and went to heaven but don't worry, there's always next year.
Here's a snippet of rAge expo as well as what I bought.
See you next year!
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