If you haven't noticed, I've been trying to incite my Internet solution of creativity always beating everything. Take the Dudebro method and apply it to steampunk Pokemons. Go.
I have only seen the first two Pokemon movies, and as I recall the first one had the better Pikachu short but the second was a better movie. Amazingly, the English version of the first movie is actually better for having cut out a scene where Mewtwo remembers a little girl that has NOTHING to do with the movie. God, that movie sucked!
Wait, what? According to my screen, there are posts from 21 and 22 hours ago following posts from 1 hour ago. I just posted this and it went in between them...
I've only ever seen Pokemon 2000 and Rise of Darkrai. I liked Pokemon 2000, but I haven't seen it since I was six. Rise of Darkrai is horrible, but I'm glad it was made because I can make this pun: "Would you like some Dark Rye? Freshly Risen!" I've always wanted people to make media that parodies their previous work. I think -- if properly executed - that could be very good in the Pokemon world.
We used to get an "Associate" badge, which skipped the reg line and got us into the convention center early for panels. They stopped doing that, but started given panelist ribbons instead, and let panelists skip to a special reg booth. Now, they treat panelists just like normal attendees. We skipped the line each year solely due to shenanigans: we weren't supposed to.
You will learn, my young padawan. You will learn.
I think Geodude can actually open their hands. Though it's funnier to imagine them punching everything they interact with.
Oh goddamnit, I just imagined a geodude trying to pick up a poke-treat and punching it to dust, and getting sad, you bastard.
FYI part of the formula is "Start the movie with a totally sweet pokemon battle with a competent trainer to get the viewers' hopes up and then dash those hopes".
I REMEMBER YOU! HI YOU! How've you been? Anyways, yeah, this mentioned part of the formula holds strong. It's also where the male PC's from the games make cameo's (except Gold who got raped with Excalibur then revived). Also another part of the formula, Ash dies in every film. No, I have not seen most films, BUT THIS IS TRUTH, HE KEEPS DYING. It's how he copes with being in a coma after nearly being killed by PIkachu
Time | Notes ---------+---------------------------------------------------------- 00:00:00 | Intro 00:00:24 | Title translation confusion - Oh Snap! 00:01:34 | News | - Why is the Manga industry so clueless? | - Otakon troubles & Otakon meta 00:23:05 | Things of the Day | - Rym - Dodge the 1UP | - Scott - Sidewalk Tourist Lane 00:29:59 | Meta Moment | - Forum & IDShare confirmation e-mails | - ConnectiCon 2010 panels | - Book Club: Carl Sagan's Cosmos 00:34:35 | Main Topic | - Worst Pokemans Movie Evar! </Simpsons Comic Book Guy> | - Innuendo in Pokemon cartoons (Or, Ash's mom is a 'ho.) | - Movie Analysis (Or, Sense - This Movie Makes None.) | - Pokeballs, how do they work? | - Since this movie was junk, what's the best Pokemon movie? 00:55:34 | Outro
Still getting no love from the powers that be in the Panels department? Or worse, getting grief?
Radio silence.
In comparison, I have a conference call scheduled next week with the programming heads for a convention that doesn't happen until October... I could understand Otakon having trouble and not responding to external queries, but the fact that I, as staff, don't know any more than you do, is worrying to say the least.
I'll preface this by saying that I've never been to an Otakon and will probably never go to one, but just from what you two have said on the show it strikes me as a miracle that they've been able to keep the con running for as long as they have. The lack of planning, execution, and professionalism on the part of the con staff just blows my mind. Hell, it boggles me to even think that they don't mail out the badges for a con of their size. I've been to cons that draw maybe a quarter of what Otakon pulls in and they mailed out the badges with no problems. 99% of the stuff you guys have mentioned that would improve Otakon (or any con for that matter) falls under the "no shit, Sherlock" category. It's so blatantly obvious that these things should be implemented that it leads me to the conclusion that either the workings of the con staff are so byzantine and convoluted that it makes the Gordian Knot look like the bunny ears on a shoelace, or that the con staff is just that damn incompetent. The more you mention lack of communication the more it leads me to believe the latter over the former.
The reason they don't bother is that their current primary demographic (11-15 year old casual anime fans) will attend regardless. Equally popular to our panels are such classics as "girls in costume make gay jokes on stage between fits of screaming and quiet mumbling" and "guys make in-jokes on stage and talk to the front row without their microphones to the front row." Nevermind "dudes spend the first third of the panel failing to get their laptop to work."
The primary demographic of Otakon will attend no matter what panels they have.
I think Otakon exists purely based on inertia at this point. Because they are already big, thanks to excellent years in the past, they stay big. The last time they had significant growth was '04 and '05. You might look at their numbers and say that they grew in '08. The fact is that they had a cap that was lifted in '08. Without the cap and such, they probably would have had 26k every year from '05-'09.
When you're already gigantic, it takes a whole lot of bad stuff happening to bring you down. In the real world, big organizations fail very slowly. Newspapers are still around. They were just so big to start with that they are still alive and kicking, even though they were shot in the head over a decade ago, and haven't been to the hospital.
Thus, Otakon can fuck up, a lot, and will keep on keeping on for quite some time, almost no matter what they do.
Thus, Otakon can fuck up, a lot, and will keep on keeping on for quite some time, almost no matter what they do.
All they'll do is slowly distill their attendees until it is solely excitable kids under the age of 15. The thing is, if they're not careful, they'll eventually be outpaced by cons that cater to those kids AND to other anime fans AND to professionals (on the back-end).
Otakon is still an awesome con. Its problems are few and specific. To be sure, look at this list. This is EVERY problem I could come up with. Otakon is pretty fucking awesome aside from these few points. But for us, they're fast becoming dealbreakers. That reg line is alone enough reason for us not to attend as attendees or panelists.
External-facing problems:
1. They will likely never mail the badges. 2. Their lower-level staff are, on average, poorly trained and ill-informed at the con. 3. They have some very good panels, but also allow a lot of very unprofessional or poorly performed content in year after year. 4. They are extremely resistant to change that could greatly enhance Otakon at little cost to them (MC'd showing rooms, new event ideas, etc...), leading to stagnation. 5. (Not Otakon's fault) The BCC's security staff are a fucking joke. 6. (Not Otakon's fault) Baltimore is not a nice place to be. 7. (Not Otakon's fault) The dealer's room is basically obsolete with the advent of Amazon. 8. They will likely never mail the badges. (Remember, this alone was the dealbreaker for many people this year).
Back-end problems:
1. They, by and large, treat their panelists very poorly compared to most other conventions. 2. They almost never seek out professional or known good content from other conventions or events, and rely almost entirely on unsolicited fan submissions. 3. They are extremely inflexible in all aspects (press access, panels, etc...).
Internal problems:
1. Staff drama is utterly, utterly insane. I was aghast at the general meeting I attended. Almost nothing was accomplished. 2. The organization is frighteningly top-heavy. 3. Seniority seems to matter far more than competence. 4. Communication within the staff seems very poorly managed. 5. They make it basically impossible for new competent people to join the staff. 6. They start working on the next Otakon several months too late.
The end result of all this is as such:
1. The demographic skews younger and younger, as more and more of the professional content (people like us) they normally get can't deal with the red tape and drama.
This end result is the reason nothing changes: it doesn't have to. So what (from their perspective) if this happens? They'll still fill the BCC year after year, possibly forever. If we stop presenting, the hole will be filled by another Hetalia panel, and our crew will be replaced by some more screaming kids, and the world continues to revolve. What we offer isn't more attendance, it's just different attendance. Most of my anime con eggs are drifting more and more toward the NYCC/NYAF basket. Say what you will: they listen to us, and they try new things. They see problems, and try to address them. But most important: they act like adults. Like professionals.
If Otakon mailed the badges, I would probably attend every year. I wouldn't even consider not going.
I think Otakon exists purely based on inertia at this point... Thus, Otakon can fuck up, a lot, and will keep on keeping on for quite some time, almost no matter what they do.
The body keeps going even though the head is already dead, eh? I have to wonder how much of their annual attendance is made up of /b/tards and people who don't realize how much bullshit goes on behind the scenes. You two have mentioned "the line" multiple times; that alone would have been a deal-breaker for me the first time I had to wait over an hour, and I would not have come back the next season. I realize that there's a whole lot of awesome that goes on at Otakon, but the more I hear about it the more I think the awesome doesn't outweigh the bullshit. Enough people snap out of it and realize this and you end up with a con that'll die a slow, lingering death.
Otakons bullshit has cost the hotels several hundred dollars of business from my friends and I this year. A couple people bailed and what remained decided it wasn't worth our money to stay, we can just drive to and from DC.
See, if it's behind the scenes, who cares? That drama only affects people like us, and in no way directly detracts from the con experience.
Yeah, but indirectly it does detract from the con experience, and as such the attendees should care.
e.g.: Otakon Con Staff drama occurs -> panelists pull out for the next season (or possibly even that season) -> attendees notice that panelist they wanted to see is not present for the event -> attendee that actually gives a damn finds out why panelist pulled out -> word of mouth spreads through attendees -> (possibly small amount of) attendees don't bother going back and instead switch to attending a better con -> further word of mouth spreads that the other con is better than Otakon -> Otakon staff finds out what's up with the attendees who aren't going to be there next season, either ignores it and continues with further staff drama or begins a blamestorming session -> con drama runs rampant, resulting in further people who have a clue pulling out of being con staff -> feedback loop ensues, resulting in lower quality Con and decreasing attendance in future years, and the eventual death of the con.
Now granted, it may not be all that neat and tidy, and there are plenty of loopholes in that structure (such as clueless con attendees that really don't give a crap so long as they can stand in line and shout memes at each other while waiting, or n00bs who have only heard about how cool the con is and as such are wearing blinders), but I think I got my point across. Con Drama = bad for everyone: the con itself, the staff, and the attendees.
See, I actually had a REALLY fun time at Otakon last year. I am saddened to find them being stupid this year. Oh, Well just means more people will have money to go to my Anime Convention in March..
See, I actually had a REALLY fun time at Otakon last year. I am saddened to find them being stupid this year. Oh, Well just means more people will have money to go to my Anime Convention in March..
Or more money to take a non-con related vacation. ^_~
Comments
I guess I like these 2 because they go places and deal with things that the animes/games cant/wont.
Geeknights 20100609 - Spell of the Unown
Expanded Show Notes - Show Run Time: 56:33
Time | Notes
---------+----------------------------------------------------------
00:00:00 | Intro
00:00:24 | Title translation confusion - Oh Snap!
00:01:34 | News
| - Why is the Manga industry so clueless?
| - Otakon troubles & Otakon meta
00:23:05 | Things of the Day
| - Rym - Dodge the 1UP
| - Scott - Sidewalk Tourist Lane
00:29:59 | Meta Moment
| - Forum & IDShare confirmation e-mails
| - ConnectiCon 2010 panels
| - Book Club: Carl Sagan's Cosmos
00:34:35 | Main Topic
| - Worst Pokemans Movie Evar! </Simpsons Comic Book Guy>
| - Innuendo in Pokemon cartoons (Or, Ash's mom is a 'ho.)
| - Movie Analysis (Or, Sense - This Movie Makes None.)
| - Pokeballs, how do they work?
| - Since this movie was junk, what's the best Pokemon movie?
00:55:34 | Outro
In comparison, I have a conference call scheduled next week with the programming heads for a convention that doesn't happen until October... I could understand Otakon having trouble and not responding to external queries, but the fact that I, as staff, don't know any more than you do, is worrying to say the least.
The primary demographic of Otakon will attend no matter what panels they have.
When you're already gigantic, it takes a whole lot of bad stuff happening to bring you down. In the real world, big organizations fail very slowly. Newspapers are still around. They were just so big to start with that they are still alive and kicking, even though they were shot in the head over a decade ago, and haven't been to the hospital.
Thus, Otakon can fuck up, a lot, and will keep on keeping on for quite some time, almost no matter what they do.
Otakon is still an awesome con. Its problems are few and specific. To be sure, look at this list. This is EVERY problem I could come up with. Otakon is pretty fucking awesome aside from these few points. But for us, they're fast becoming dealbreakers. That reg line is alone enough reason for us not to attend as attendees or panelists.
External-facing problems:
1. They will likely never mail the badges.
2. Their lower-level staff are, on average, poorly trained and ill-informed at the con.
3. They have some very good panels, but also allow a lot of very unprofessional or poorly performed content in year after year.
4. They are extremely resistant to change that could greatly enhance Otakon at little cost to them (MC'd showing rooms, new event ideas, etc...), leading to stagnation.
5. (Not Otakon's fault) The BCC's security staff are a fucking joke.
6. (Not Otakon's fault) Baltimore is not a nice place to be.
7. (Not Otakon's fault) The dealer's room is basically obsolete with the advent of Amazon.
8. They will likely never mail the badges. (Remember, this alone was the dealbreaker for many people this year).
Back-end problems:
1. They, by and large, treat their panelists very poorly compared to most other conventions.
2. They almost never seek out professional or known good content from other conventions or events, and rely almost entirely on unsolicited fan submissions.
3. They are extremely inflexible in all aspects (press access, panels, etc...).
Internal problems:
1. Staff drama is utterly, utterly insane. I was aghast at the general meeting I attended. Almost nothing was accomplished.
2. The organization is frighteningly top-heavy.
3. Seniority seems to matter far more than competence.
4. Communication within the staff seems very poorly managed.
5. They make it basically impossible for new competent people to join the staff.
6. They start working on the next Otakon several months too late.
The end result of all this is as such:
1. The demographic skews younger and younger, as more and more of the professional content (people like us) they normally get can't deal with the red tape and drama.
This end result is the reason nothing changes: it doesn't have to. So what (from their perspective) if this happens? They'll still fill the BCC year after year, possibly forever. If we stop presenting, the hole will be filled by another Hetalia panel, and our crew will be replaced by some more screaming kids, and the world continues to revolve. What we offer isn't more attendance, it's just different attendance. Most of my anime con eggs are drifting more and more toward the NYCC/NYAF basket. Say what you will: they listen to us, and they try new things. They see problems, and try to address them. But most important: they act like adults. Like professionals.
If Otakon mailed the badges, I would probably attend every year. I wouldn't even consider not going.
e.g.: Otakon Con Staff drama occurs -> panelists pull out for the next season (or possibly even that season) -> attendees notice that panelist they wanted to see is not present for the event -> attendee that actually gives a damn finds out why panelist pulled out -> word of mouth spreads through attendees -> (possibly small amount of) attendees don't bother going back and instead switch to attending a better con -> further word of mouth spreads that the other con is better than Otakon -> Otakon staff finds out what's up with the attendees who aren't going to be there next season, either ignores it and continues with further staff drama or begins a blamestorming session -> con drama runs rampant, resulting in further people who have a clue pulling out of being con staff -> feedback loop ensues, resulting in lower quality Con and decreasing attendance in future years, and the eventual death of the con.
Now granted, it may not be all that neat and tidy, and there are plenty of loopholes in that structure (such as clueless con attendees that really don't give a crap so long as they can stand in line and shout memes at each other while waiting, or n00bs who have only heard about how cool the con is and as such are wearing blinders), but I think I got my point across. Con Drama = bad for everyone: the con itself, the staff, and the attendees.