A weekend for all manner of fandoms everywhere got off to an exciting start with Day One of NexCon, now on its third year, at Function Room 5 of the SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Asia. Always innovative and always a step ahead, NexCon, organized by cosplay.ph, has striven to be an event unlike any other, being the Geek Event of the Summer for the third straight year. arkadymac.com is an official media partner for NexCon 3, and we are glad to be able to cover and share the highlights of this event.
Of the hundred or so events and conventions our website gets to cover every year, nothing truly treats geeks the respect and enjoyment they deserve like NexCon does. NexCon 3 is the ultimate celebration of science fiction and fantasy fandom in the Philippines, and thousands of experts, panelists, exhibitors, cosplayers, fanatics and enthusiasts got to gather under one roof to celebrate the fun, varied things they have been passionate about.
Cosplay.ph and Stompworks Media Studios got to present one of the biggest gathering for all fans of pop culture, sci-fi, fantasy, comics, TV, film, games, and animation. While other events cater to anime, cosplay, or toys, NexCon brings fans and creators together under one roof, fostering a highly engaging atmosphere of creativity, fun, and excitement.
NexCon 3 was top-billed by international guest actor Casper Van Dien, best remembered by fans for his role as Johnny Rico of the science fiction movie Starship Troopers, one of the most talked-about films of 1997 with one of the biggest cult followings in film history. With him was actress and cosplayer Jennifer Wenger, and his daughter, Grace Van Dien, actress from San Andreas Quake, Sleeping Beauty and Army Dog. They got to face the media at a press conference before the event, answering an assortment of questions with much enthusiasm that surprised everyone. Casper in particular was very accommodating as well as very forthcoming with all the questions given him, and he was not ashamed at all to admit that he was a geek and a big fan of pop culture, enjoying games, comics, movies and books even since he was a kid. We’ll have a separate feature on this press conference with more photos and videos soon so please stay tuned.
Also at NexCon was Hack-A-Superpower, a three-day hackathon organized by IBM in collaboration with DevCon, where college students got the chance to build a “super app” for social good: an opportunity to be a superhero using their coding skills. It featured a unique sci-fi theme that tackles disaster preparedness, response, and recovery during a possible alien spaceship crash. College students were expected to build an app that would address the scenario with the aim of saving lives. To further enhance the hackathon experience, participants used Bluemix, IBM’s open-standards, cloud-based platform for building, managing, and running apps of all types, such as web, mobile, big data, and smart devices. Bluemix boasts access to Watson services or APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).
Student participants, composed of 10 teams, underwent a workshop on March 30 to learn how to use Bluemix and Watson services. They were given until April 2 to develop a disaster response app or around 72 hours to complete a working prototype. Each team had to present their app to a panel of judges composed of representatives from IBM, Cyberpress, DevCon, and NexCon at Day 2, and we’ll have the presentations and the awarding posted on our Day 2 article, so do watch out for it.
The program proper opened with a flashy, action-filled Star Wars-themed performance by members of the Fightsaber group, wowing the fans with their exceptional swordfighting skills.
The Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest came next, with participants trying to outdo each other in being the first to finish their meal. There were a male and female rounds, and the winners got to go home with great gift certificates from Yoshinoya.
Next on stage was a segment by Komikon Inc., From Comics to Film, an engaging discussion on how comic characters have made it big on the silver screen. Hosted by Lyndon Gregorio and Jon Zamar, the panel explored the many interesting things that go into the production of recent blockbusters.
The Geeks of Youtube featured YouTube sensations CHRIS CANTADA (Chris Cantada Force) and DIWA DE LEON (String Player Gamer). They discussed their respective fandoms that naturally seeps into the videos that they create and post on the popular video site. Other topics that were touched upon were ‘knowing your audience’, use of non-copyrighted music, and ‘earning money from youtube’. The talk ended on a good note with Diwa giving away one of his albums.
Geeky Business was a talk on turning your hobbies into a full-time career. It featured the proprietors of some of the favorite geeky establishments – Freddie Tan (Neutral Grounds), Jay Mata (Ludo: Boardgame Bar & Cafe), and Ivan Guerrero (Filbar’s). They talked about why they chose to amp up the geek and become entrepreneurs, how they got started in the business, and the pitfalls and triumphs of doing what you love for a living.
Rise of the Machines was a talk about building your own robots. The Philippine R2 Builders’ Club and Philrobotics discussed the ins and outs of tinkering and creating your own robots at home, whether it’s incorporating electronics into your mecha cosplays, building a robot out of a trash can, or going all-out and building a life-sized R2-D2 (which they showed off on stage).
One of the highlights of Day 1 was when Casper Van Dien, Jennifer Wenger, and Grace Van Dien had their time on stage. At this point the organizers requested that video taking was not allowed for the audience. Casper being his usual self, immediately mimicked his Tarzan poster while standing on his chair.
The hosts did well in the interview as the guests heartily answered their questions. The audience couldn’t stop laughing as Casper keeps injecting funny stories into his answers. Some questions were entertained from the crowd as well.
Lip Sync Kombat kept the seats hot as pre-auditioned cosplaying contestants battle it out on stage. Showmanship, song selection, and general badassery were displayed as they tried to outdo each other.
Contestants for the Cosplay Masquerade were approached and scored and by the judges throughout the event. The judges were premiere cosplayers Jin Joson, Miguel Mercado, and Guy Singzon. This culminated with the top placers being invited to pose together on stage.
Cyberzone then got to award a couple of new phones for their contest and promotion.
Although not planned, Casper Van Dien ran to the stage when Subzero was announced as Third Place. He stayed on with his family to help with the awarding. Second Place was Spiderman and The Mad Hatter took first.
GeekFight Battle Royale capped the day with teams having fun answering a wide range of challenging geeky fandom questions.
There were lots of other attractions offstage for attendees to enjoy. There was the autograph and photo op sessions with international actor Casper Van Dien, along with his wife, actress and cosplayer Jennifer Wenger, and his daughter, actress Grace Van Dien, where fans can got to meet their idols up close and personal.
A very interesting attraction was the Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator Grand Tournament, where teams of six people – the Captain and five bridge crew members (Helm, Weapons, Communication, Science, and Engineering) – play as the bridge crew of the spaceship Artemis, with the ultimate goal of blowing up the opposing team’s ship as many times as possible in 30 minutes. Each crewman has his/her own console that provides vital information on the ongoing battle, but the Captain does not. The Captain must rely on the information relayed by the rest of the crew to make those do-or-die decisions. It was fun to watch and even better to play as participants got to live out their fantasies.
SM Cyberzone had a booth at the event, and they have been partners with cosplay.ph with Cosplay Craze, a series of cosplay events that have brought cosplay closer to communities. Attendees would register and get to play a dance game with friends or with others.
The finalists for the Take Cover Photo Contest were also presented to the public and attendees got the chance to vote for their favorite photos and cosplayers. The one with the most number of votes would win the People Choice Award at the conclusion of the contest the next day.
We were happy to see our Cosplay Medics friends at the event, and they were tirelessly helping out cosplayers in distress, helping out with their costumes, wigs, and makeup.
Various exhibitors got to hold card and board games to both the experienced and the curious, all in a friendly and interactive atmosphere.
And extensive artist gallery got to show off their amazing work, which they offered for sale or were accepting commissions, each booth being such a delight to browse.
Various merchandise booths offered an incredible variety of unique items from a diverse range of genres, tastes and fandoms.
We were there for the cosplayers of course, and there certainly were a lot. Lots of new cosplays too, with Western fandom being the theme.
Thanks for dropping by, and do visit us again as we try our best to finish our feature on Day 2 of NexCon 3 very soon.
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