The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rapture Gaming Festival
Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, August 11 and 12
Just as the world of comics has become so far-reaching that Glenrothes has its own comic convention, so too is the world of computer, console and mobile gaming so vast that the Rothes Halls has its own gaming event. The Rapture Gaming Festival was held successfully in Essex twice in 2017, and this summer its tour of the country stops in Fife.
“We want to attract every age group and we’re hoping to fill the Rothes Halls with gaming fans from across Fife,” says festival creative director Ogulcan Gunel.
“Rapture isn’t trying to compete with massive festivals with huge sponsors; what we want to do is bring eccentric gaming content to places that don’t have massive gaming events. It’s all about supporting grassroots gaming and communities, hence our visitors are local gamers with lots of talent, and they get to show their skills, possibly for the first time, at a live event.”
The main draw of the festival, Ogulcan says, is the chance to participate in a wide range of games. “Modern Gaming Zone offers the latest games, PCs and consoles, Retro Zone takes our audience back to old times with custombuilt arcades and a whopping selection of old consoles and games ranging from Donkey Kong to Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and more. Then we have the Tournament Zone, where you can participate in current competitive gaming with Dragon Ball Fighter Z and Overwatch tournaments.”
There will also be a Kids’ Zone with Minecraft and Fortnite gaming stations, a Cosplay Zone filled with costumes and props, and areas dedicated to tabletop games, virtual reality and – inevitably – merchandise, plus on over-18s afterparty between 6pm and 1am featuring a game-inspired DJ soundtrack.
Gaming celebrity meet-and-greets will also happen throughout. “Being a content creator isn’t an easy job,” says Ogulcan, on what makes a gaming celebrity. “They have to come up with interesting ideas, make videos and, often, they figure how to put everything together on their own. They’re extremely talented individuals, and ones who can really connect with audiences and attract new viewers. Of course, being a skilled gamer also helps.”
His long-term view for Rapture involves coming back to Fife if this one goes well. “Our hope is to try to grow the communities in these locations and start producing gaming talent to represent the UK better in the competitive gaming industry,” he says.
“We want people who attend to have as much fun as possible, with enough gaming stations for everyone to have a chance to play. We also want these gamers to come together and socialise with each other, supporting and growing the communities at each place we go to.”