ArcadeCon 2012: Gamers, Geeks and Predators! Oh My!
I really don’t know where to start this article from, I am sitting here, at 10am and I’m staring at my computer screen in the hopes that something will come to me but it hasn’t. I’ve been trying to think why that is and then it dawned on me, I actually haven’t been able to take the whole experience in just yet, I’m still processing it all (which would account for my uncontrollable outbursts of joy, a few tears, more joy then napping).
ArcadeCon 2012 has been the biggest undertaking of my life! Sure, 2011 was tough but when you make so many mistakes your first year and you feel like you’ve let your family, friends and the people who attended the convention down, you have to either ask yourself is this something I want to do again, is this something that can be fixed? I struggled with that decisions for a few weeks last year until I finally decided I was going to give it another shot and I was going to work ten times harder on not only improving the convention but in making it up to the people I felt I had disappointed.
Planning for ArcadeCon 2012 began less than a month after the first convention had ended and from August 2011 until July 2012, the work didn’t stop. No one working on ArcadeCon gets paid, I know I can speak on behalf of everyone involved when I say we do it because we love it.
2011 wasn’t a total disaster for us so the convention was lucky in the sense we had already made contact with some fantastic sponsors and traders all of whom were willing to come on board again and show their support for the convention.
The last eleven months have been a blur for me, I happily gave up my other hobbies and time to work more on ArcadeCon, something I knew I had to do but when the others I was working with also began to sacrifice their own time and energy into improving and bettering the convention, I realised that people actually cared about ArcadeCon and I was more determined than ever to make it work for 2012.
Guests were contacted, companies were approached, businesses were sweet talked, late nights were had, litres and litres of tea and coffee were guzzled, arguments erupted, chill out sessions were made mandatory, phones were topped up nearly weekly, girlfriends and boyfriends were roped in, laughs were shared, ideas were squashed and through all of that my friendships with the people involved only got stronger.
Tomm Moore – Photo: Jennifer Mulkerrin
Then the weekend loomed, it really was make or break for ArcadeCon 2012, the days before it my stomach was twisted, I knew so much work had been poured into making it bigger and better but I still didn’t know if it would pay off.
Friday morning there were sparks, little, almost unnoticeable signals that this weekend was going to be massive, then the doors opened and I was taken aback by the queue that had lined up around the hotel, people queuing to get into our event, the sparks exploded and the air was electrified with excitement, energy and enthusiasm. The three days flew, almost to the point where I lost track of the time and I’m only now recovering it. The nights were on fire, sleepy staff burst with new life every single night, dragging chairs, covering tables, dancing, singing, mingling, getting lost in the crowds of amazing, creative and fantastic attendees.
So when Sunday night came and I sat in my hotel room, I found myself wondering why I wished it would be over quickly. Three tiny days, three days out of 365, had become three moments I never wanted to forget.
The work had all been worth it!
How did I know that?
…because of the numbers of people we drew in all weekend… because for one weekend the hotel became the backdrop to colourful outfits and characters… because as a community we came together and helped raise much needed funds for a worthy cause… because in three days total strangers had become good friends… 
I guess I’m now rambling but as I said in the beginning I’m still trying to process all of this but I do have to mention some folk and my sincerest apologies for leaving people out, don’t for a second think I did because I don’t value your time and energy, it’s because my brain is still exhausted!
Kayleigh Tester, we fight like cats and dogs (I’m the cat!), you drive me up the wall, you squash all my ridiculous ideas and my need to splurge relentlessly, you make a great convention director and are the yin to my yang!
To my little brother, Matt, you were put in charge of Battle Royale for your no nonsense approach to life, you handled everything professionally and calmly (to my complete surprise), you are impossibly stubborn, ridiculously hilarious and you are my best friend and arch rival at video games!
To my parents and my partner, Alan, thank you so much for everything, your unwavering support, your constant nagging and all the free drives around the country to meet with sponsors and businesses, will not be forgotten. I owe you all so much, I’ll never be able to pay you back (which is my way of saying you remember those car journeys were FREE right?!).
To Damien Carey, you are without a doubt the most talented and generous artist I know. Your creativity is unmatched as is your ability to deal with me, my ridiculous descriptions of what goes on in my head and what I want the mascots to look like, thank you so much!
To Dave, Mairead, Juliana, you are not just assets to ArcadeCon, but you are wonderful friends. Thank you for everything you did for the convention and for me personally.
To Ally, Melissa, Kae, Anthony, Dominique, Naomi, Ryan, Bryan, Jaffa, the Davids, Chris, Nathan, Dylan, Michelle, Megan, Jack, the Fionas, Therese, Sean, Lucy, Tendai, Patrick, Alex, Dan, Louise, Danny, Eoin, Seb, Mark, Tizzy, Jenny, Mart, (if I’ve left you out, I’m sorry), without you there couldn’t be an ArcadeCon – you are the most professional people I’ve ever worked with, you made three stressful days feel like a complete joy and I can’t thank you enough for all of that. It would be a privilege to work with you all again… that is if I haven’t scared you off.
To all of the traders, sponsors, special guests, Quinton Flynn, Nick Roche, NeverMind Games, UpRoar Comics, Alan Early, Louise Coghlan, Tomm Moore, Chris Baugh, Alan Nolan and Professor Elemental, thank you so much for all your support. Without your talent, your generosity, your support, ArcadeCon 2012 could not have happened and I’m eternally grateful for that and I hope we can continue to work on improving ArcadeCon every year!
To Ciara Darcy in the Ballsbridge Hotel, you are nothing short of a professional and I hope we can continue working with you on our plans for the future. To Jessica, Maxine and Laura in Nickelodeon, apologies for gushing over e-mails from you guys but it was a dream come through for this geek! To Grainne Murray, Sony Playstation Ireland and the PS Vita staff, you made the weekend complete!
To Nigel and Cassie Hanlon, thank you so much for your generous sponsorship! To Sean and Jennifer Mulkerrin thank you for keeping this ship running for the last few weeks while I’ve been Con-obsessed!
To Shane and TGL thank you for everything! To all the press who’ve written so many wonderful things so far, thank you for giving me perspective on why it is I do this.
To Predators Ireland, you are the epitome of what it means to be gentlemen, your talent and drive knows no bounds and is only succeeded by your generosity, thank you being a part of our weekend. To the Irish Pubcast, you are depraved, insane, foul mouthed and I love you because of it, you are all of the things I want to be when I grow up, please don’t ever stop being yourselves! To Jet Set Radio, you put on the best show I have ever been to, you have more talent, drive, passion and creativity for what you do than most artists and bands in the charts, I am your biggest fan and I will do anything to see you guys make it to the top. To the Chronic Candies, your sincerity, kindness and beauty are matched with your talent as performers. To CJ Mobile Studio, thank you for bringing something different to our photo booth room and for giving Eoin a well deserved break. To Nikki and Tommii, you have the raw talent and passion to make it big, don’t ever stop chasing that dream!
To bitSmith Games, if Kú is anything to go by, your team are wonderfully talented and I’ll do anything to help you get the game out to the people, the world needs to know about your work! To The Gealach Trio, you brought me to tears with your fantastic performance and then to to turn around and drag your equipment out again on Sunday for the Staff Party… absolute legends! To teeBusters, thank you for generous donation, your fantastic clothing and my swanky new hoodie!
Finally, I’d like to thank you! If you went to ArcadeCon, if you shared our links, told your friends, cosplayed, shopped in the Trade Hall, attended the events (even helped me ruin Resident Evil for gamers everywhere…twice!), danced, laughed, took photos, posed for photos, fell asleep with exhausted feet and heavy arms, ran around like a maniac, sat quietly in the corner… thank you for being you! You created an energy and atmosphere that I found myself completely swept up in and I haven’t been able to shake myself free of it.
ArcadeCon 2012, was not perfect, we have kinks and quirks to work on but I promise you, the team and I will continue to do our best and improve every single year.
ArcadeCon is YOUR convention and always will be!
For now, I say, with my heart feeling heavy, farewell but ArcadeCon 2013, is less than a year away… and I hope I’ll see you all there!
Declan Doody
ArcadeCon Director / Editor for ‘The Arcade’
Editor-in-Chief, part-time super villain and hoarder of cats. If you can’t find me writing, I’m probably in the kitchen!
