content creators, & more. However Insomnia isn't only about playing games;
it's also a place to meet new people, form communities, & immerse oneself
in the vibrant gaming scene. Venue The festival quickly outgrew its initial confines & now takes place at the Birmingham NEC (National Exhibition
Centre) in the United Kingdom. The NEC is the largest exhibition center in
the UK, providing ample space for gaming enthusiasts, exhibitors, & stage shows. if you're passionate about esports, LAN parties, stage performances,
and all things gaming, Insomnia is the place to be!

Review
Each venue or event is given a number prefixed by an I so this event is
(I72) & while on the face of things, an 8 bit r even 16 bit gamer may be looking else where for fun, Insomnia has something to offer every type of gamer, Dressing up or cos play seems to be a big thing at this years event,
& while I only booked one day, its enough for a casual gamer. If I was hardcore, I would be taking my own gaming rig, hooking it up to the lan, booking my tent into the hall area for a sleep over & be blasting scum
until its time to leave.

On entrance it can feel at first overwhelming, a large stage area has guest speakers though the day talking about all gaming, games & testing, while
other central areas are filled with small to large companies selling their wares, anyone with enough money can sell items at the show, paying a fixed price per meter squared. Prices can be higher than normal, costing in the retailer’s travel expenses but… you can find some gems & items being sold off. New releases especially tend to be heavily promoted & so heavily discounted at the show.

Tucked away to one side is the retro section, although it seemed a bigger
area than usual, this is were old tv`s are commissioned back into action and various consoles are brought back to life. Surprising with all the new glitz happening that gamers are still drawn to the retro games, maybe its
nostalgic, maybe they come to look at how bad games were or just appreciate some of the coding genius that went into beating the best out of these
systems. I met a few fellow 8bit gamers & we chatted, some new about C=
Free & some are going to look up the website.

This year it was consoles only, saga, xbox, playstation, etc no classic
gaming computers, no msx, no spectrum & no commodore, someone I spoke to
said it was because they get stolen. However it would seem there is little demand for these, the consoles on display were all locked n boxes & bolted
to the tables, I didn’t delve further for the review.

Other areas have promoters or influencers, commonly known as overpaid
youtubers who will chat & sign autographs, having been paid vast sums of
money to attend, last years even was quiet with hardly any of these
influencers around, this year though & after lots of criticism they are
back in force. To be quite honest I didn’t know any of them, but as they are not retro influencers that really isn’t surprising. Still, I grabbed a few posters & autographs because, well you never know whe one of these
influencers will chair a tv show & be catapulted into fame. To be honest
they were all very polite & none had heard of C= Free, many knew little of commodore, but again with their age that’s not so surprising.

Conclusion
Billed as a Lan party, & that’s still seems to be the focus, to play with friends, & fellow game enthusiasts online gaming, Insomnia tries to cater
for all needs & while the retro section feels like its an after thought
there were a number of systems recommended. As a retro users, you probably will not feel your well catered for but if you’re a more all round gamer
then it’s a great event to meet, greet & catch up with the latest gossip, friends’ & influencers.

The place is huge & although we did meet some influencers I have no clue
who they were, my son however did seem to know them & they were not
adverse to talking about gaming, although none had heard of commodore or of commodore free.

Homeward bound
Coming back via Birmingham motorway you realise how bad the state of British roads are, cars swerving dangerously to avoid massive holes in the road,
uneven surfaces, its impossible not to band down into some pothole, my car suffered & reported a catastrophic failure. Next day at the garage I was presented with a 2k bill for my delves into potholes, the garage said he had
a few bad cars from Birmingham, so next year, if its running & not on
strike ! we will take the train!

https://www.insomniagamingfestival.com/




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