In a twist of loadshedding-affected fate, on Friday I found myself driving past the Dome, the old home of rAge, AKA the Really Awesome Gaming Expo. Now a literal parking lot, it was sad to think that it would never again host the Johannesburg gaming event – the most well-attended in South Africa and, pre-Comic Con Africa, arguably the country’s biggest pop culture gathering in general.
Times change, though, and after a three year hiatus due to Pandemic restrictions (excluding a 2020 online event), rAge made its return this past weekend, 9-11 December, at a new home: Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand. While it was a little melancholy missing out on the familiarity of proceedings at the Dome, it turns out that the venue change provided a needed “level up” for rAge, now celebrating its 18th in-person anniversary.
And honestly, rAge did need something new, as it had started to feel a bit dingy and lacking in drawcards at the Dome during its last two years there. Especially as it took place within a few weeks of razzle-dazzle CCA.
This year, Gallagher provided a much more enjoyable event experience. Even on Saturday, by far rAge 2022’s busiest day, the expo felt spacious, airy and easy to navigate. In the past I would have recommended that cosplayers leave their bulky or fragile costumes at home when attending rAge but that no longer feels necessary. Importantly, this year it was a lot easier to find what you wanted across two rectangular halls as opposed to one giant disorientating circle.
It was also pleasing to see a more equal weighting of attractions. As an example, in previous years, artists’ alley, populated by crafters and other local small businesses, was confined to a single row of stalls shunted to the side. The situation was worsened after their old space, the Blue Wing (which they shared with cosplay), was given to the NAG LAN. When crowded, artists’ alley was a miserable place that discouraged browsing.
That wasn’t the case at all at rAge 2022, where they, and the bigger geek lifestyle retailers, enjoyed larger, well-lit spaces. One of the most punted attractions of this year’s rAge was its festive shopping opportunities, and the expo delivered, allowing attendees to pick up unique gifts for their loved ones, and themselves. Along with an unusually high number of local energy drink samples.
There were plenty of excellent exhibition-exclusive deals as well on PC hardware, laptops, gaming consoles and accessories. Even though Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation (all present at CCA 2022) were notable absences at this year’s rAge, the likes of Incredible Connection and Koodoo stepped up to sell their wares. As a side note, it was strange – though a sign of the all-digital times – to see an almost complete lack of physical edition games in comparison to previous shows.
As for other attractions, requiring a separate ticket (as usual) the multi-day NAG BYOC LAN was off to the side, while on the competitive gaming front, arguably the most high profile event was the Intel Africa Masters CS:GO finals, which brought together the four top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams on the continent to compete for the title of African champions. That honour went to Algeria’s 15AverageGang. Elsewhere, there were Minecraft challenges for younger gamers, and Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. and Mettlestate partnered to deliver a R200 000 FIFA 23 tournament. Apart for these more formal events, multiple exhibitors were running play-based contests at their booths for prizes.
Cosplay felt a little light on the expo floor on all days, although the pastime was treated with respect by the organisers, with a dedicated cosplay space in Hall 3, plus the daily competitions, from the casual to seriously competitive, taking place on the expo’s main stage. Local game developers too enjoyed an elevated presence, with attendees able to get hands on soon-to-release shooters Operator8 and Grunt 1991 from Aligned Games; poopy medieval puzzle game Long Drop (out now on mobile and Steam) from Slakkedis Studio; and Yellow Lab Games’ upcoming Metavoidal, a quirky roguelike brawler where you fight your way free of a cult-like Metal band.
As for general expo facilities, rAge 2022 generally outshone this year’s CCA, as well as rAges of the past. Although the Gallagher Convention Centre’s insistence on using in-house catering means that food options are quite generic (although they have bumped up their vegetarian and vegan options at least), it’s a very tightly run ship with numerous staff manning the counters, and cleaning up the vast indoor and outdoor shaded food courts. It was never a struggle to get refreshment *cough cough*, or find a place to sit quietly for a bit. The bathrooms too are multiple, large, and pristine. As for loadshedding, maybe we timed our visits just right but we never noticed the switch to and from generators.
Overall, rAge 2022 felt like a strong return for the event, which has benefitted from its new home and clever shift to the start of the festive season. Even better, the expo has managed to provide a better stage for its secondary offerings while retaining its distinct identity, which has always been gaming and technology centred. The venue may be different, but the rAge heart remains the same.
