Day 1 at the India Gaming Carnival (IGC): FAIL

And at last the IGC is here! Lots of excitement and build up already, but does it really hold up? Read further.

So the iLLGaming Team reached the venue well before time, which the organizers had specified at 10 a.m. There was a huge crowd outside the main gate of the Ayatti Convention Centre, the venue for the IGC, and things looked really disorganized. iLLGaming had its contacts with the organizers, so we were given entry straight away, but as it turns out, the participants were kept waiting outside the main gate for 2–4 hours. They had all bought genuine tickets, but the organizers were refusing entry for no reason whatsoever.

So as the illgaming team entered the main hall, it was crowded but nothing was really going on. Most of the infrastructure, i.e. the computers, consoles, LCDs had been set up, but yet, nothing was really happenning.

Participants kept asking the illgaming team why the IGC wasnt taking off, and we had no reply. We spoke to the organizers, and they had nothing to say about it either. At 3 PM, I finally spoke to one of the heads, who I got into confidence, and this what he said:

“We’re doing this on purpose. Keep some people waiting outside. “Generate some controversy in the media to create a buzz, but we shall be starting by 3 PM.”

Really? After this statement, all my expectations from WTF Eventz plummeted. It doesn’t seem much of an ethical company. Anyway, moving on, it is now 3 PM, all gamers are now growing impatient, and things are a mess, but the organizers are still not giving any concrete information.

Then enter the cosplayers. Group of about 10-12 girls dressed up. We couldnt relate any costume to any any game character. Infact, we spoke to a bunch of participants and no one could recognize what the cosplayers were dressed up as. So I thought why not ask the cosplayers themselves. Turns out, they dont really know what they’re dressed up as. They have no clue. To them, it was just like any other ‘fancy dress’ competition. So illgaming finally got hold of the coordinator of the cosplayers. We asked them what they’ve dressed up their girls like, again, no clue whatsoever.

Is this really a cosplay or what?!?!?!

4 PM, nothing has really kick started. The Blizzard Team is here to set up the competitions for Starcraft II and Dota. They say they’re all set to go. The teams are ready. They’ve come all the way from Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, all ready and waiting to play. But wait, hey, there’s no electricity!

Next, many people were excited for Honey Singh’s performance. It is the headline of the IGC. Many people had shown up just to watch Honey Singh. His picture is being used in all the banners and promotional material. At 6 p.m., we get the final update that there is going to be no Honey Singh. BIG FAIL for IGC and WTF Eventz!

Final update at 6:30 PM, no electricity for the next 4 hours, so no point waiting the venue. Almost all of the participants are furious and many have surrounded the organizers demanding an explanation! Most of them have asked for refunds, some of them have even managed to get them. So haven’t. But this is for sure, IGC has left a negative impression on Indian and foreign gamers alike. Many gamers have traveled from far off places just to participate in the IGC. For many it wasn’t easy raising the funds to travel, but they managed somehow.

Day 1 for the IGC was an EPIC FAIL. The organizers promise an eventful day tomorrow, we’ll have to wait and see if that actually happens.