Event: DexCon 13 (July 7-11, 2010)
Location: Morristown, NJ at the Morristown Hyatt & Conference Center
Dates attended: July 8th (Thursday) for approximately 5 hrs.
Covered by: GaMeR, Dizzy

DexCon has been around since 1992 so it's not a new convention at all which was a surprise to both of us as we weren't aware of its existence until recently. Fortunately, it was a great discovery as we both had a good time despite electronic gaming not being the primary focus of the convention (table-top and board gaming is the main focus). From the Hudson County area we were located in, it took about an hour or so to drive up there. The hotel's parking garage was not yet full so we were able to park inside for a reasonable rate (the cost was what you'd expect from similar venues). For those who would prefer to park outside and save some money, I'm honestly not sure of what the regulations are within that area about non-residents parking on the street so I'd probably do some research before attempting that but assuming there aren't any, you could probably find a spot nearby and just walk to the convention as the area appeared to be foot traffic friendly. With that brief intro out of the way, it's time to get down to the more detailed aspects.

Below you'll find our brief video coverage accompanied by a more detailed write up under it:

DexCon 13 Thursday Coverage Part 1


DexCon 13 Thursday Coverage Part 2


Video Games:

According to the schedule, there were several video game related events throughout the convention and in the day/time we arrived at in particular we were able to witness the following sessions in the video game room: Console Matrix, Mario Kart Wii, Beatles Rockband, and Godzilla Unleashed. Out of the ones we witnessed, the Console Matrix was the most impressive as it's actually a setup that allows you to play several retro consoles and all the current next-gen home consoles at your leisure on a big projected screen. The way it works is that there's a large switch device that has the inputs for all the consoles hooked up to it and via a switch, you can pick which console you want to project onto the screen. You simply then pick up the controller for the appropriate console and play! Since the entire library of games was scattered across the room, we were unable to compile an accurate list of what was available but from what I saw, there were a handful of games for each console.

Another cool thing was that in one of the lobbies, you could actually see what game was being played as the LCD monitor that was in there "streamed" what was being shown in the projector from the video game room. This can be seen below:


As far as free play went, the staff member we spoke with informed us that they tend to stick to the schedule but do allow free play if there aren't enough people interested in sticking to the scheduled event. We felt that was reasonable but one thing that the video game room lacked was multiple screens. There were plenty of consoles but since there was only one screen to play them on, in a busy time slot, you'd have to wait a while for your turn. That's something that I hope they improve on in the future by at least adding two more screens even if they aren't flat screen panel. Ideally, the main projected screen's job would be to showcase the newer consoles while the rest of the TVs should have some of the older consoles hooked up to them and allow free play to help pass the time for those waiting to play the primarily scheduled events. The players we witnessed were all friendly though and no one seemed to hog the consoles so in the event that you did have to wait, it appeared that you would get a fair chance to play.

Computer Games:

The LAN computer gaming room fortunately did not have the same player limitation issue as the video game room. The same free play rules applied which allowed us to play a friendly Call of Duty 2 match amongst ourselves and an attendee who was interested in joining our session. The rigs weren't mind blowing but got the job done for the games offered. We were able to compile a list of what was offered although we might have missed a few titles but it should give you a good idea of what to expect. The following games were installed onto the computer: Call of Duty 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, StarCraft: Brood War, Doom III, Dungeon Keeper 2, Star Wars: Empire at War, Star Wars: Battlefront II, WarCraft III: TFT, Quake 4, Dawn of War, Little Fighters, and Alien Vs. Predator 1/2.

Doom III appeared to be the most demanding game and was tested by me for performance, it ran well under decent settings so I imagine that every other available game should have run smoothly as well. As for the players, the ones we encountered were friendly and profanity/trash-talking was quite low.


In regards to tournaments, there were a couple and we actually happened to have walked in during the end of one of the StarCraft matches. Due to time constraints, we were unable to actually participate in any but they did seem like a fun challenge as some of those players looked like they had been practicing for a while.

Other events:

There was a fairly sized video room which was playing anime when we walked in and looked like a nice place to relax at when you wanted to take a break from gaming.

DexCon 13 also had a small but effective dealers' room to stock up on merchandise. We interviewed one of the LARP sword dealers in part 2 of our video coverage. There were goods for sale outside of the dealers' room as well in small booths which is where we met C. J. Henderson who was briefly interviewed as well.

Finally, DexCon 13 had an impressive array of board game/RPG related events which was expected as that's the convention's main draw and while both of us are pretty much n00bs at such games, we managed to sit down and successfully play a game of Car Wars/Cattle Battle that was quite fun. It's a shame the game is currently out of print but it can still be purchased if you shop around. The GM who ran the game was hilarious and the players we played with were a fun bunch. A photograph of the table we played on can be seen below:


A couple of the other games we saw were briefly showcased in part 2 of our video coverage as well which should give you an idea of that aspect of gaming if you're unfamiliar with it.

Pros:
+Reasonable admission fees
+Friendly atmosphere
+Decent selection of electronic gaming
+Loads of events, even for the non-hardcore board game players

Cons:
-The video game room could have used some additional TVs to serve as free play setups
-While the dated PC games offered were fun, a couple of newer ones would have spruced things up a bit

Final Verdict:
In the end, DexCon manages to offer enough events to warrant admission from video game and PC gamers alike as long as they are willing to give the board gaming aspect a shot as well otherwise they'll find themselves wanting to leave after they've had their fun with the electronic games. Luckily, there are several casual board games to accomplish this along with friendly individuals who help ease the process of giving this aspect of gaming a chance. In addition, while you won't find the latest video and PC games, what is available gets the job done and is sufficient enough to have a good time especially since the admission fees are reasonable. If you live in the NJ/NY area, it's definitely worth a shot, even if it's just for a day.

Check out the official website for more details: http://www.dexposure.com/home.html

Special thanks to Avonelle Wing.