I heard about MAGFest last year at PAX East while watching a chiptune show. In July, I decided to entice some people into coming with me. The promise — unlimited free gaming, 24 hours a day — was too awesome to resist. Several months later, we arrived in National Harbor, Maryland (off the border of Washington DC) and prepared for a crazy weekend.

The view from the sidewalk.

After checking into the Marriott across the street in our 2-bedroom suite (we decided to go all out for this vacation), we headed over to the Gaylord Convention Center & Resort.

The Gaylord.

We didn’t check out any shows or panels on the first day and mostly spent our time in the arcade and walking around. The hotel & resort areas were absolutely striking.

Here are some shots showing all the FREEPLAY games in the arcade.

The arcade area was absolutely massive and also featured a taiko rhythm game, DDR and Pump it Up, and Pop ‘N’ Music. There were challenges on PCs for those who wanted to win prizes and Kinect games for those who wanted to be in the spotlight. There was also a great dealer’s area filled with old, rare games and merchandise:

Only $50.

Mario for SEGA Genesis.

The Pikachu car was also there!

CUTE!

After tons of DDR, swimming, and first-night celebrations, we all fell asleep. Waking up was no easy task, but free breakfast and more games called. We also wanted to catch some concerts.

Back to the Gaylord, with a bit of a hangover this time...

We spent the second day getting down to business. After tons more of DDR, we went to two concerts. First, we hit up the JamSpace while looking for chiptune concert. Edit: the video is now up!

These guys rocked out, even when a drunken guy jumped on the stage.

We finally found the chiptune concert right as it began. First up was Disasterpeace. Their music was very ambient and had a slight gospel-like feeling due to the drums. Edit: video is now up!

Next up was Revengineers, a band from Rochester, NY. Their music was a little more upbeat and melodic (edit: yes, we got video of this too, and it’s up now!). They jumped around a lot and made the crowd feel excited.

They also made it a bit harder to take a good photo on the fly:

Last was Danimal Cannon, a one-man-chiptunes-making band. He was also very into his music and switched effortlessly between his switchboard and guitar. Edit: the video is up!

After the concert over, I bought about $25 worth of merchandise and then went on my way to the Brentalfloss concert. It was (in my opinion) hilarious, especially the mad lib lyrics. Mr. Floss also performed his famous DuckTales Moon Level with Lyrics song.

Crazy! Ducks in space!

We spent the rest of the day playing more games into the wee hours of the morning. On the third day, we sat in on Super Art Fight. It was a throwback to my high school days for sure. Here’s a shot of round 1′s finished work:

Sweet, right? I love the angry zebra. Next, we caught part of the Minibosses concert. Sadly, I couldn’t get a recording of it, but these photos show how into the music they were.

We then tried to catch a little Earthbound Papas, but it was insanely crowded. We hung out for a bit and listened to some of Nobuo Uematsu’s music, then went down to the arcade.

You try standing here for an hourlong concert after playing ~5 hours of DDR...

The arcade was, of course, empty. We played DDR and other games until we were exhausted. Time flew, and suddenly the last day arrived.

My bedroom in the Marriott suite.

We didn’t do too much on the last day besides recoup and look for last-minute purchases. I was exhausted from playing ~$40 worth of DDR in 3 days, so I took it easy. We walked around a lot and took in the sights.

The view from my bedroom.

Overall, the trip was AMAZING. The people were great and the atmosphere was very calm. Instead of concentrating on upcoming games, MAGFest seems to be about celebrating the past and appreciating the games that make us who we are. Not only this, but the hospitality was top-notch and the food was amazing.

Potbelly Sandwiches' Mushroom Melt & Vegetable Soup. Om nom.

We left the cleaning person a tip & note. They responded!

I’m definitely hoping to go to MAGFest next year to experience more fun games, great music and hilarious panels. To find out more information, check out their website.