What is GamesFest?
From the humble origins of a gaming collective to a one-day convention encompassing RPG’s, Board Games, CCG’s, War Games, Comics, Books, Film & Video gaming. Our aim is for an informal event that enables the enthusiast and casual gamer to sample the best the hobby has to offer.
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The Team
Mark Lucas has been into gaming since the first publication of the Fighting Fantasy books. After that it was Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer Battle and Warhammer 40K (he still is proud of the fact he won the 1st edition of WH40K – a tragic claim to fame). He got his taste for conventions after Gamesday 88 and fondly remembers hassling Steve Jackson for an autograph at an inappropriate time (don’t ask) but all credit to him he signed the programme. Mark has been gaming for nearly 25 years, which is quite worrying when you think about it and is still looking forward to playing a Dungeons and Dragons adventure started in about 1986 by a close friend and yet is still not finished (the film rights have apparently been sold already). Currently Mark’s life is a combination of harsh stark reality and a heady mix of Sci-Fi fantasy gaming. To some a dangerous combination, but he finds it works for him (most days). Marks hobbies are Gaming (duh!), reading (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and History) and football. He is currently painting Ultramarines and an Ork army at the same time, which wasn’t the best idea in the world.
Walter Mathews is proud that he has never learnt the rules to any gaming system, preferring to allow others to incur that pain. Even the Fury of Dracula board game flummoxed him to such degree that he refuses to play that game. Walter’s convention history also includes that iconic moment with Steve Jackson thus setting the current trajectory. The heady days of the late 80’s GM’ing Warhammer Fantasy Role-play are long behind him however he still harbours dark desires to recapture his youth and actually learn some rules and run a game. Walter’s current day to day existence is a mixture of corporate double speak and the consumption of novels by semi obscure Japanese authors. In between he’s trying to fit in quality time with his Playstation and making a bad job of painting Chaos Space Marines.
