We are running a fantastic competition in conjunction with the guys from BroCon – you and a friend could win tickets to the convention, as well as hotel accomodation for that weekend! Click here for more details.
We’ve attended our fair share of Conventions down through the years and when we heard a new one was popping in Limerick, our curiosity got the better of us so we had to check it out. BroCon is brought to us by UL Game Society and the Anime & Manga society and will run from the 16th June – 18th June on the University of Limerick campus. We sit down with the BroCon Web Monkey to learn all we can about one of the summers most anticipated gaming events.
What is BroCon?
BroCon is a gaming, anime and manga convention being held by The University of Limerick Games Society and The University of Limerick Anime & Manga Society. The two societies are two of the closest societies on campus and bring fans of games, anime and manga from the campus together. This convention will follow in their footsteps by bringing fans of games, anime and manga from across the country. And to make it even better as of this year both societies are award winning societies with The Anime and Manga Society winning “Best new Society in Ireland” and the Games society winning “Best Society Event” in UL making it a perfect year to start BroCon.
Funnily enough the name BroCon was meant to be a temporary name while we started organising the con but it ended up sticking because nobody could decide on anything else to call it.
Who are the people involved in setting up the Con?
Honestly there are too many people to mention. Our committee consists of twenty people. But just in case you think we have an insanely large committee, there are 7 core positions and all other positions branch from those to spread out the work as much as possible. And as well as the committee we really have to thank the Student’s Union and the University for all their help but because there are so many people I can’t name them all but it would be unfair to name only a few.
A number of Cons are run around the country, what sets BroCon apart from the others?
There are very few cons in general which are both a combined anime and games convention. There is a very large crossover between anime fans and game fans and we hope to have a con which will cater for people with as many different interests as possible. We’re hoping to bring as many people together in the weekend of the convention to enjoy themselves and to make friends.
Also we aim to make the con as cheap as possible. Conventions usually take a big hit on everyone’s wallet and by trying to make it cheaper we hope to make it more enjoyable and to make it so more people can afford to come. This year it’s 15 Euros for a weekend pass but hopefully in years to come we can make it even cheaper.
Can we look forward to anything special from this year’s Con?
We actually have a pretty big surprise in store. Well at least we hope we do. I can’t give you any details because we’re still trying to confirm it. But just look forward to our news updates over the next few weeks. 😉
All I can say is we may have some pretty big guests if we can get sponsorship to bring them over. (And I’m not sure if I should really be saying that much)
But as well as that you can look forward to seeing one of our completely confirmed guests Francesca Dan who is a professional cosplayer and is a previous winner of The World Cosplay Summit.
What sort of events can we expect to run during the Con?
We have more than you could imagine but here is a list that I think covers everything we have planned. This list may change but for now seems pretty accurate.
-RPGs – LARPs – Wargaming & Miniatures – CCGs – Anime Screenings -Cosplay -Console -Gaming – LAN Lock’in – Board Games – Drawing Competitions – AMV Contests – Traders – Artists Alley – Table Quiz – Cosplay Speed-Dating – Minority Voting
For the console gaming I think I should mention that we’re hoping to hold a Pokemon Tournament so make sure to bring your copy of Pokemon with you if you want to enter.
Also categories for the drawing and AMV contests should be announced soon so keep an eye on the news on our site for updates.
Can you give us some details on the Con itself, for people looking to register or find more information?
Our site is http://brocon.skynet.ie and here you can find a lot of information. Unfortunately the site is still under construction to a certain extent so there is some information missing from it but if you have any questions you can e-mail ulbrocon@gmail.com.
Some details I should mention is that pre-registration is open and we’re charging 15 Euros for a weekend pass. Any children under the age of 12 can enter for free however they must be accompanied by an adult with a ticket. You can get your ticket at http://www.eventelephant.com/brocon2010.
We will be offering on campus accommodation which is only a 5 minute walk from the convention however it’s taking longer to negotiate with the college about getting these rooms than we originally hoped. But we should have an update on this soon.
Also if you’re interested in helping out with the convention we’re still looking for staff. Staff will get free entry into the convention as thanks for their hard work.
Finally, if the gang at BroCon were trapped in an Arcade for all eternity, what game would you play to pass the time?
Everybody has their different tastes in games but I think we all agree on playing either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. (Even though we may not always agree on the same songs to play) At The Game Society Console day it’s probably the only game that you see played every single week.
