A couple of the largest panels were “Meet the voices of RWBY” - a very popular anime produced by Rooster Teeth - and “Meeting the legends of horror” which featured the actors from famous movies in the genre such as “Tales of the Crypt,” “Gremlins” and “Scream.” People could also meet the voice actors from “Dragon Ball Z,” “Super Mario” and the epic duo Chris Sabat and Eric Vale who voice some of the most iconic anime characters in the industry such as “My Hero Academia,” the “Dragonball” series and “One Piece.” Other panels included topics on success in Twitch streaming, “Writing for Comics,” podcasting, anime fandoms and more. Just beyond them were three long halls with rooms for panels happening almost every hour for all three days. Participants were yelling and grunting into a microphone while swinging their arms as they did their best to match the muted anime on screen. Cosplayers advertise handmade costumes.Īt the top of the stairs to the second floor, they were holding voice acting auditions for the competition on the last day. The entryway was broken into a permanent food court to the right, tables handing out passes next to the main room doors, a very long staircase conveniently alongside an escalator, and a large lobby area with individuals resting or fixing costumes and body paint. Stepping inside through one of four parallel lines that wrapped around the building was a relief for attendees. Though the interior of the building was cool even with all the bodies moving about, the lights beaming down and the high electronic use. As annoying as the parking and ticket lines were, they were less chaotic than that of Salt Lake City’s Fan X parking disarray. Parking prices and Uber/Lyft rides from hotels nearby were affordable. Some of the early arrivers or those that parked outside the gates on the residential streets parked for free. On Friday, the building opened later than the other days. The environment breeds an atmosphere of engagement and excitement that’s nearly stress-free. With so much offered at the expo already, it seems they won’t stop. Each year, their challenge is to keep “leveling up” what they bring to the community. They sought to harness one of the largest gaming gatherings annually by focusing on diversity and love for gaming, technology, design, art and anime, blending the old with the new in an interactive environment. It evolved from a two-day festival garnering anywhere between 1000 visitors to tens of thousands this year. LVL UP is a non-profit organization established in 2012 by Vegas natives Colten Pipkin and Lauren Arancibia. To put it shortly, there was something there for every type of nerd. The expo featured retro gaming and indie developers, new releases to try, a plethora of gaming tournaments, live gaming streams, hoards of cosplayers, contests, guests, panels, podcasts, karaoke, an array of interesting merchandise and there were even wrestling matches. The expo is something that those in the gaming world - especially those in the University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering (E.A.E.) program - need to visit at least once to be exposed to all the technologies, networking, new ideas and to seeing what’s going on outside of the state of Utah. The event took place from April 26-28 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This three-day event offered far more to do and see this year than that of any other convention like it so far. From gaming enthusiasts, anime geeks and comic book lovers to other branches within nerd culture, thousands come to mingle at the LVL UP EXPO (pronounced ‘level up expo’) convention.
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