Hosted by UA’s ABXY Gaming Network, PixelCon 2012 kicks off its slate of video game-related events on Friday night, with PixelCon Live!, a free video game music concert featuring student and alumni musicians in Moody Recital Hall at 7 p.m. The convention itself, celebrating video game culture through tournaments, panels and a variety of events, will take place in the Ferguson Center from 10 a.m. on Friday until 9:30 p.m. the following day.

Birthed in 2010 as a cooperative effort between Creative Campus and ABXY, the first PixelCon brought in approximately 500 students (a number doubled the following year) according to Creative Campus graduate assistant Ryan Davis. An intern playing a role in the Con’s foundation, Davis said PixelCon was done independently by ABXY this year, something he said all Creative Campus projects are hoped to achieve.

“I’m really glad that they’re taking it on,” Davis said, “and I’m glad to see the concert be such a big and powerful thing within itself and be its own event.”

Davis, or Kadesh, his musical persona, will still have a presence at PixelCon this year, as he is performing at PixelCon Live! Davis will perform for the show for the third time, but without the backing of his usual band, The Perfect Strangers, due to scheduling conflict. He’ll branch more into his personal remixes of video game music and raps, including “Dragonborn,” a Skyrim rap of some YouTube acclaim.

“I’ve always been into not just video games, but video game music,” said Davis. “And now, people really take it more seriously, and that’s really exciting to be part of, in a way.”

A senior double majoring in general music and visual journalism, Tiara Dees is the co-founder of PixelCon and at the head of PixelCon Live! this year, after coordinating PixelCon 2011. Dees acknowledged some difficulties around fundraising and coordination but said she was pleased with how the Con has come together and collectively made the decision to give the concert.

This year will feature Kadesh, an a capella group, a new woodwind quintet, individuals playing video game music and one student performing his own chiptune music, featuring specially programmed Gameboys as instruments. However, Dees was most excited to again showcase Danny Wiessner, a musician from Washington whose song “The World Is Saved” has brought him industry and enthusiast acclaim after being featured by the popular gaming news website IGN.com, and a performance of Aria Di Mezzo Carattere, a piece from the Final Fantasy VI opera.

“Usually, the concert is the highlight of the convention,” Dees said. “I think it’s a unique opportunity that the music school hasn’t seen before.”

According to Lauren Liebe, president of ABXY, the convention’s schedule spreads a mass of video game tournaments, culturally related panels and an assortment of other video, card-based and live action games throughout the Ferguson Center.

Saturday’s events begin with their opening ceremonies at 10 a.m., followed by the opening of free play (non-competitive) games at 10:30 a.m. and the beginning of tournaments at 11 a.m.

“This year, we have so much more going,” said Liebe. “It’s everything we’ve had before but with new events and a bigger focus.”

According to the PixelCon schedule, available on their website, the main bill of video game tournaments is divided between fighting games, first-person shooters, sports games and Super Smash Bros. brackets. Any student may register for these tournaments online, through PixelCon’s University website, with a required $10 entry fee before the event. Students may also register for other free tournaments or events, such as a Magic the Gathering: Dark Ascension card tournament, a cosplay contest and a new game of Live Action Mario Party.

The new “Mystery Challenge” pits the 16 top players of a qualifying puzzle game into a four-round bout, featuring a racing game, a music game, an action game and a final game of an unannounced genre.

Throughout the day’s schedule are also student panels on video game-related topics from “Cosplay 101” and “My Little Pony: Friendship is Memes” to the often debated “Legend of Zelda Timeline” and “Gaming and Morality” panels.

Admittance into PixelCon Live!, PixelCon and its non-tournament events are free of charge. Photo ID is required for free-play gaming rental, and registration for all tournaments begins at 10 a.m., Saturday, and ends at the time the tournament is set to begin.

“There’s something here for everyone,” said Liebe. “If you like playing games at all, you have to come down and see what it’s all about.”