Play NYC: Differences Between Video Games & Comic Cons

Conventions are a strange beast. There are some universalities to them that can be found from one industry to the next. However, there are a lot of specific quirks unique to one type of convention that can’t be found in another. As primarily a person entrenched in the comic industry, it was interesting to visit Play NYC, a video game convention, and see how the two different types of shows compare to one another. At their core, they essentially are the same thing. It’s nothing more than artists and creators showcasing their work and trying to get people interested in it. But the way these two art forms are experienced and created offer unique challenges to accomplish that mission.

For the most part, the similarities are all surface level. There are alleys and areas of the convention set up according to how big of a display the vendor wants to put on. This hasn’t changed. What is considered the “main” part of the convention is filled with pomp and flash. There are cosplayers looking to draw people in and large crowds eager to see what the big names and popular vendors have to show. Likewise, there are smaller areas, what comic conventions typically call “artist alley.” These are creators who might have a team of just one or two people. Their booths might not have the same resources as the bigger names. In fact, many of them may not have cards or any type of pamphlet to take home about their work.

While the feel of this artist alley is the same, the differences between video games and comics are obvious. Comics are a physical medium, so it’s easy for a customer to pick something up and carry with them to take home. Video games are a little bit more challenging, and so the creators often overlook having something physical to remind attendees of their game. Also, there are more technical challenges with a video game convention. Comics just need a table. Video games need electricity, equipment, seating … the list of things that can go wrong is long. But one of the benefits to playing a video game is that it’s immediately immersive. Sure, a reader can pick up a book and start reading. But a bustling convention aisle is not the best environment to be absorbed into a story. Meanwhile, all a video game player has to do is pick up a controller to jump right in. Having attended many comic conventions, it was definitely interesting to see the different dynamics in trying to execute a show with video games.