Using SX for convention, need recommendations

[moofers]

Hey everyone. Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I'm going to be putting together a space at a videogame convention next year. This space will focus on fantasy themed games. Think Lord of the Rings, Gauntlet, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, etc. At the entrance, I will be creating a kind of "grand doorway" that I want to come off a bit like a portal into another realm. It is here that I will have a stereo set up with Symphony X blasted during the convention's hours. Just Symphony X, nobody else.

So here's the two things I would like from the forum here.

First, any thoughts on my playlist. Keep in mind the songs are chosen because they fit the fantasy theme, or they would make great background music for battles. Gotta either keep the energy high, or make sure the slower periods really fit the theme (like Accolade for example).

Second, I want to put up a page-sized poster near the door that basically talks a little bit about the band and its history. I want everyone who stops by to see that Symphony X is the band that wrote all those awesome songs they heard. So what should I say about the band? Just copy a chunk of their bio off site? Also, I'm thinking the album art for "V: The Mythology Suite" could be either transparent in the background, or next to the text. Either way, I think that album art in particular is eye-catching and really memorable.

Thoughts on all of this are welcome and appreciated. Thanks in advance! Now, the playlist:

-The Divine Wings of Tragedy
-Oculus Ex Inferni
-Set the World on Fire
-The Accolade
-In the Dragon's Den
-Iconoclast
-Wicked
-Paradise Lost
-Revelation
-The Relic
-Prelude
-Evolution (The Grand Design)
-Fallen
-Transcendence (Segue)
-Of Sins and Shadows
-Accolade II
-Rediscovery Pt. 2 The New Mythology
-Inferno
-Reign in Madness
-The Edge of Forever
-Sea of Lies
-The Witching Hour
-The Eyes of Medusa
-Incantations of the Apprentice
-Seven
-The Walls of Babylon

Keep in mind the playlist will restart when its over and be playing for about 12 hours straight. Most people will come and go from the area for about 35 minutes or less. Some dedicated few may stay for an hour or more.

 

[Lagtastic]

Cool idea. What convention are you going to?

I would personally just put the whole V album in, start to finish. Nothing says another realm like the Transcendence - Lacrymosa section of that album. You could also put in "Live on the Edge of Forever" as a whole mashed in there.

You must put in The Odyssey!

I would also add:
Candlelight Fantasia
Looking Glass
Awakenings!
Wicked
Masquerade 98
The Haunting

Lady of the Snow
Premonition
Rapture or Pain (always loved that song)

 

[moofers]

Oh right, I left out the convention. lol Its The Midwest Gaming Classic in the Milwaukee, WI area. In its 11th year, this will be my first year as part of the crew and not just an attendee.

website: http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com

And I'm steering away from just doing the whole V album because it flows together very well, but most people won't be around long enough to hear it all. I'm thinking the sampler approach will allow for better frequency of high-energy songs like Inferno, Iconoclast, Set the World on Fire, etc. Gotta have those "riding into battle" songs coming up regularly, y'know?

 

[Marwen]

You must put in The Odyssey!

+1

But I don't know about Candlelight Fantasia, Looking Glass, and the stuff from the self-titled album. Lady of the Snow and Communion and the Oracle would be nice for a slow (no battle) kind of theme. I don't think songs like Candlelight Fantasia, Awakenings, Paradise Lost or Sacrifice are video-gamish, if you know what I mean.

I'd also add:

Church of the Machine
Revelation
The Bird-Serpent War Cataclysm
On the Breath of Poseidon
Egypt
A Fools Paradise

 

[Prog is King]

I would personally just put the whole V album in, start to finish. Nothing says another realm like the Transcendence - Lacrymosa section of that album.

Indeed!

You might also add:

Pharaoh
King Of Terrors
Domination
Eve Of Seduction

 

[symphonyXjapan]

I'm assuming this convention you speak of is the upcoming PAX?

Anyway, in the description of the band it might be cool to mention that "Sir" Russell Allen used to be a knight/actor for Medieval Times as it fits well with the fantasy and swordplay theme your booth is going for.

 

[symphonyXjapan]

Oh right, I left out the convention. lol Its The Midwest Gaming Classic in the Milwaukee, WI area. In its 11th year, this will be my first year as part of the crew and not just an attendee.

website: http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com

And I'm steering away from just doing the whole V album because it flows together very well, but most people won't be around long enough to hear it all. I'm thinking the sampler approach will allow for better frequency of high-energy songs like Inferno, Iconoclast, Set the World on Fire, etc. Gotta have those "riding into battle" songs coming up regularly, y'know?

Oops, guess it isn't PAX!

I didn't realize there were really any real true pure video game conventions out there besides PAX as I don't consider events that are mostly focused on the industry and media such as E3, TGS, and Gamescom actual conventions. I'm even more surprised this one in Milwaukee you speak of has been around for over a decade! Gaming is usually just sort of a side thing at most conventions which focus mainly on anime or tabletop gaming.

 

[moofers]

symphonyxjapan, yes, the MGC has really been around for a decade now! I first read about it in Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) something like 5 years ago. It actually started as a convention for Atari Jaguar enthusiasts if you can imagine that.

PAX is great, but its starting to become more like those other shows you mentioned. The focus is largely on publishers putting together booths to show off the games they will be releasing tomorrow. I've been there twice now and it is a lot of fun, but the community aspect is missing in some ways. Not to directly compare the two because they are very different, but MGC is just as focused on retro gaming as modern gaming which is something PAX doesn't really do. It also has a huge vendor room and I know some people show up every year just for that. Its the only place I know where you can find ultra-rare stuff like Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega Saturn) or motherboards for pinball cabinets and everything inbetween.

Your comment about videogames always taking a backseat to anime or tabletop stuff is funny to me because its the other way around here. At both PAX and MGC those things are 2nd banana to videogames.