GameStart 2018 (#GameStart2018), Southeast Asia’s Premier Game Convention, celebrates its 5th year on 13 & 14 October 2018 with the ultimate gaming content at Suntec Convention Centre. Organisers Eliphant announced a series of returning favourites as well as new and exciting content for everyone, including game showcases and previews, tabletop gaming, esports, indie games, retro gaming, and cosplay. Esports fans can gear up for exciting competition as SEA Major (SEAM) 2018 plays host to more international tournaments. Mobile esports also takes center stage as SEA Mobile Major (SEAMM) plays host to the very first Shadowverse Contenders Cup for the Southeast Asia & Oceania region.
An exciting guest lineup awaits visitors at GameStart 2018. Organisers revealed a guest appearance by voice actress Elise Zhang, who is best known as the voice of Mei, a character from one of the world’s most popular games, Overwatch.
New additions to GameStart include the debut of GameStart Masterclasses, where well-known creatives and personalities from the international games industry are invited to run specialised masterclasses. GameStart Workshops, developed in collaboration with No Average Joe, is a series of workshops and talks that focus on a range of general gaming-related topics. GameStart MasterClasses will be held on 10 and 12 October while GameStart Workshops will be held during the convention.
Crowd Favourites to Delight All
In addition to previewing new games, visitors can immerse themselves in the action-packed halls with a slew of game-related returning favourites, including:
● Gather round and immerse yourselves in fantastic worlds of board games, old and new, as the GameStart Tabletop returns to bring gamers the discovery of new analog worlds.
● Doujin Market, Singapore’s largest community-curated youth arts and illustration fair, is back for the third year with 43 artist tables. It is curated in partnership with Neo Tokyo Project, Singapore’s first dedicated pop-culture marketing collective.
● The 3rd Secretlab Grand Prix will be held for 2 sessions on 13 and 14 October, and the competitor with the fastest timing EACH DAY gets to bring home their own Secretlab Chair!
● Cosplayers can put their best game cosplay forward at the GameStart Cosplay Runway on 14 October. Pre-registration is now open here
● Unwind, chill out and grab a bite in the fantasy-themed Sanctuary – A selection of awesome vendors, with great food and tasty beverages including specially selected craft beers, welcomes all within the convention grounds.
Celebrating Indie Talent
GameStart visitors will get to vote for their favourite indie game for the GameStart Indie Award, and play a part in helping the winners take their first steps to prominence. The winning game developer will win a sponsored trip to exhibit in Taipei Game Show 2019 in January 2019, as well as a high-end creative pen tablet sponsored by WACOM. Both 2017 GameStart Indie Award winners went on to clinch international awards in Taipei Game Show and beyond.
See what the future of gaming can offer at The Founders Base, GameStart’s special indie area, with subsidized booths to individuals, start-ups and small companies that create or work with games. Limited booths are still available on a first come first served basis, and interested applicants can find out more here
World Class Tournament Action at Our Doorsteps
SEA Major (SEAM) 2018, one of the largest fighting game tournaments in Asia, returns to GameStart 2018 bigger and better! Expect to see high-level tournament action, as top players from around the world convene to fight for over USD 60,000 in prizes! This year is extra special, as SEA Major will play host pitstops for four major events – the Capcom Pro Tour Asia Finals, Tekken World Tour Master event, one of only 7 Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour SAGA events, and the only ArcRevo World Tour event announced for Southeast Asia.
The inaugural Shadowverse SEAO Contenders Cup, where the top 4 players in the South East Asia Oceania (SEAO) Region fight for the right to represent the region at the Shadowverse World Grand Prix in Japan, for a top prize of USD 1,000,000, will also be held during GameStart 2018. To join the tournaments, check out BeastAPAC.com.
Once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity to Learn from Legendary Game Artists
Take your Game Art to a whole new level with the GameStart Masterclasses on 10 and 12 October. For the first time, two acclaimed international game artists will be in town to conduct exclusive intensive sessions for budding and professional game artists in Singapore.
Jacqueline A.X Jocson, Art Director, Concept Artist & Instructor at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco will share insights on visual storytelling and the concept behind creating iconic and memorable characters on 10 October. Carlo Arellano, Art Director at Super Evil Megacorp, will focus on Advanced Character Design on 12 October.
The Masterclasses are organized by GameStart Asia and held at *SCAPE, the venue sponsor. Seats are priced at SGD120. Registration will open on the official GameStart site closer to date.
GameStart Workshops, powered by No Average Joe, will be held on 13 and 14 October within the GameStart halls. Sessions range from a hands-on workshop by Retrocade for those who are interested in building their very own mini arcade machine, as well as learning basic game animation. The full schedule will be available from 24 September onwards when pre-registration opens.
A Weekend of Fun, Games and More
GameStart 2018 will see its most diverse offerings to date, with mobile and PC games having a bigger presence at the convention. The first batch of exhibitors and sponsors announced for GameStart 2018 include The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia, who will be exhibiting at GameStart for the first time, Japanese mobile giant Cygames; Mihoyo, publisher of popular mobile game Honkai Impact 3; WB Games, Taipei Game Show, Battlebrew Productions, 3DSense and gaming apparel brand Xmashed Gear. HyperX leads this year’s sponsor list as Official Gaming Headset, Armageddon as Official Quest Sponsor, Wacom will sponsor the GameStart Indie Awards, and MyRepublic returns as Fibre Broadband Sponsor. Sponsors also include Monster (Official Energy Drink), Central City Brewers & Distillers (Official Alcohol Beverage Sponsor), Razer, Twitch and Xsplit, the official streaming software of the event. Tickets and official merchandise are available for sale here
“Esports has been garnering huge interest and publicity in recent years. Coupled with the popularity of mobile gaming and as celebrities openly play games such as Fortnite, gaming is now more mainstream than ever. In GameStart, we have seen a gradual shift in the demographics of GameStart attendees – from hardcore gamers when we first started to a wider variety of visitors, from esports fans, competitive gamers, to families with young children. Our content has also evolved to be more inclusive of different interest groups, such as our partnership with Doujin Market and the introduction of our Tabletop area, which was very well received last year, ” said Elicia Lee, Founder of GameStart Asia.
More information and the latest updates on GameStart 2018 are available on www.gamestart.asia and www.facebook.com/GameStart.Asia
