As I sit here, I can feel the ache in my legs as if the muscle longs to drop right off the bone. My sore feet pulse around the ankles and toes, yet feel as if they breath in a great sigh of relief of not carrying my overweight mass. I feel as though I could use a hot shower more than anything after sitting in public transportation and wandering a convention center breeding the germs of frat boys and mouth breathers alike. As I sit in my not nearly cushioned enough computer chair, my speakers emote the soothing sounds of the Zelda franchise to my ears.

I’ve finished my first day at VGXPO, and I’m pondering what day two shall bring. I smile to myself as I recall the first time I had ever gone to such an event, Otakon, and despite the exhaustion wishing I could do it again the next day.

Unfortunately, while I am excited for tomorrow, VGXPO hasn’t left me with the same level of excitement. I was not expecting anything the size of E3 or the Tokyo Game Show, or even PAX. I was expecting something smaller, but not a convention that fit into a single hall minus a few rooms for panels and anime showings. The sort of room that Otakon gives to the Artist’s Alley contains the bulk of the Expo, and most of it is taken up by vendors of retro games. It’s a fantastic experience to walk through and see several games and consoles that you haven’t seen in years, wafting the pine scent of nostalgia into the sinuses, but I was expecting a bit…more.

I began to feel a bit of doubt in the coming experience when I submitted my pre-registration ticket and I was given a hefty yet empty bag. No pamphlet outlining the schedule, no map of the convention center, no guide to places to eat outside of the show, not even a guide to explain what all the panels or showings were supposed to be about. What the heck is an Armadillo Tank? Wasn’t that a boss from Mega Man X? In order to get the guide we had to be informed by volunteers, who were given no badge or apparel to suggest they weren’t just other con-goers, as to where to get the pamphlet. In addition, instead of doing badges they chose to go with wristbands instead. Wristbands whose adhesive is so strong that if I want to remove it I need to break it. I really don’t want to go to sleep with this thing on, but I don’t exactly have a choice.

Of course, these things wouldn’t have stood out quite so much if the actual opening ceremonies weren’t blown. In fact, from what I saw there were no opening ceremonies. They were scheduled at 7p.m. on a stage in the center of the convention hall, but instead a series of trivia questions were asked to the audience for half an hour. Questions I had heard being asked a couple of hours earlier to another crowd. By 7:30p.m. the poor girl had run out of questions and I had lost interest, wandering to examine the rest of the show floor. I do not know what happened, but scheduling opening ceremonies and then having none is pretty much the definition of mediocre and amateur work.

This isn’t to say I had a lousy first day, but it wasn’t really through the good graces of the folks running the expo that I enjoyed myself. There was a small publisher known as Storm City Games with an in-house developer Island Officials that I got to speak a lot with, some student game developers from local Colleges that have re-invigorated my desire to make a game of my own and a cool discussion with Bill Kunkel, who also ran a pretty cool panel.

The greatest draw to the whole event thus far, aside from the possibility of building a nostalgic collection of old Atari, Nintendo, Sega and various other gaming merchandise, is the Nintendo section. I finally felt as if I was taking my first steps into the world of the games industry I’ve longed to be a part of since high school as I played New Super Mario Bros. Wii before most consumers got the chance, giving Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks a whirl and finding simple yet addictive fun in upcoming Wiiware title Pokemon Rumble. Indeed, this is where the life of the show truly was, as it was always crowded in the Nintendo section of the convention hall.

I can give VGXPO a fair chance since this was Friday, a typically empty day for conventions, and they are also only a few years old. Overall members of the gaming industry are used to doing big consumer events such as Comic-Con and E3, not a series of small conventions to show off games or perform panels. In fact, being able to see a small development studio’s work was encouraging as it feels that there is hope yet in this industry of big names for even the little guy to make it somehow. They just need to start small, and events like this is where they could garner that much needed attention while bigger studios ignore it.

However, VGXPO certainly needs to work on their show, how well it is run and what other major companies they can get. Nintendo is a major success, and in the future other companies may want to share the spotlight. However, it may be too late if Gamexpo in two weeks does a better job. They’ve already got playable versions of Bayonetta and Dante’s Inferno, which more “hardcore” gamers are going to want than Nintendo titles (don’t get me started again on how dumb that whole train wreck of thought is). Escapist Magazine will also be backing the event with Ben Croshaw, everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed British game reviewer from Australia. Both events will have to compete with PAX East Coast next year in March, which is guaranteed to be a massive event right out the gate.

It’s too early to be making final judgments as there are plenty of interesting looking panels to be had tomorrow, but first impressions mean a lot. Especially when it comes to gamers, who are a finicky bunch. If your first day is a bad one, then don’t be surprised if they sabotage their own enjoyment just because they want to convince themselves the whole thing is terrible.

I’ll be back with the remaining impressions tomorrow night.

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