I am in my room now. I will get my badge early Friday morning, since I am not pre-registered.
Meeting up Friday around 1:30 would work for me, not 1 because I'll probably be at the Madhouse panel. From there, I have nothing to do until 4:30. Saturday at 2 or 3 would not work for me, Vic Mignogna's Q&A is at 3 on Saturday.
The news on the Twitter is that there is effectively no line. WTF??
UPDATE: Conflicting report says that the line is inside the building due to weather.
1) Why wasn't the line inside the building ever before? 2) If people fail to find the line due to its inside-ness, the Friday line will be double nightmarish.
Another factor: many airlines are delayed, and many people are saying that they were waiting for the weather to clear before getting in line (and probably didn't check it themselves). I predict that the Friday line will be crazy.
Another factor: many airlines are delayed, and many people are saying that they were waiting for the weather to clear before getting in line (and probably didn't check it themselves). I predict that the Friday line will be crazy.
Another factor: many airlines are delayed, and many people are saying that they were waiting for the weather to clear before getting in line (and probably didn't check it themselves). I predict that the Friday line will be crazy.
Totally showing up just before my panel and shenaniganing my way inside.
What if I got there by 7-ish? Would that beat the crowd?
No, but it would beat more of the crowd than showing up at 8. You'll be waiting in line a long time no matter when you get there; early enough to beat the crowd just means waiting in line for hours for reg to open.
Okay, I'm really fucking tired and want to say some notes about meeting up with FRCers at Otakon.
1. The line for Friday may take some time, but I don't think it'll ruin a morning. Do bring a media player. I'm arrive in Baltimore around 7:30 AM and hope to get my hotel and in line. 2. To know what I look like, go to the Photos forum and just find my name. I will be wearing a Blue 8-Bit tie. 3. As for where we meet up, I suggest we meet at a Panel at 11:00 or so, outside of the door. We can stay in the panel, or grab lunch when everyone is there. I think after that, since they give us physical schedules, we can come with plans at Lunch.
I'm thinking we meet up outside of the HD Theater at that time, when they are showing Ponyo or at the enterence of Panel 6 at that time, where Neito has his panel. (I think most of us will be able to distinguish each other, lol)
Actually, because of some weirdness, our panel's getting out at 10:15. I still think that it's a good place to meet right after our panel, tho. I'm probably going to bring Bauccus' Banquet. I managed to stuff my Big Bag o' Games into the car before we left home, so if anyone would rather I bring Catan or Dominion, speak up.
The line for us was maybe half an hour, 20 minutes of which was waiting for the reg to open.
I'm really curious to know if the short line was due to the longer window, the rain, the many flight delays, or what. Today's line will tell the whole story. Keep us informed. ^_~
Actually, because of some weirdness, our panel's getting out at 10:15. I still think that it's a good place to meet right after our panel, tho. I'm probably going to bring Bauccus' Banquet. I managed to stuff my Big Bag o' Games into the car before we left home, so if anyone would rather I bring Catan or Dominion, speak up.
I've arrived in my hotel. Just need phone to charge, once it gets up to 75% or so. (Lame ass Palm Pre) If I do not reach the outside of Panel 6 by 11 AM, does anyone mind whispering or e-mailing me or posting on here where the FRCFers are going to eat?
Sigh... Around this time, we'd be at that little bagel cafe taking breakfast.
Some of the crew were over last night discussing their lack of Otakon attendance this year, and badge-mailing aside, the consensus was sadly very simple. To paraphrase:
Otakon's programming is geared primarily at fan and meta-convention culture: there's almost nothing for a knowledgeable anime fan or animation professional to bother with. There are few panels that don't have identical or better content replicated elsewhere (Super Art Fight instead of Iron Artist, for example, or proper lectures/professional panels/roundtable discussions). The attendees are largely intolerably immature. There's almost nothing for me as an animator/professional/educated fan. "I learn nothing new from Otakon's programming."
The badges were only the straw that broke the camel's back (and weren't an issue until the crew saw how PAX did things). The deeper problems have been there for a while. Scott and I could easily sidestep them, as our primary interest was running the content. But were we attending just as non-novice fans of animation, little was worthwhile except for things like:
The concerts
Panels like Rakugo
Panels run by people like Anime World Order
Artist's Alley
The (non-voice-actor) guest panels (despite having to cringe at the low attendance and poor questions from the audiences)
Hanging out with our friends
So, the FRC stopped attending Otakon because they once attended PAX.
Man, the way you two rag on Otakon all the time, you need to start recording a "These are the things we remember and can't stand about Otakon." XD
That would give the impression that there aren't any good things. There are many good things, such as the artist alley, the art show, the epic dealer's room (even if you don't buy anything), the few awesome panels, the violent movies late at night, seeing the opening animation and the music video winners at closing ceremonies, seeing people that we only see once or twice a year,concerts (when they are bands we want to see), seeing the unique and/or clever cosplays in the halls, video gaming, and more.
It's simply that our friends aren't going, we live in NYC and have no cars (so travel is different), other conventions are treating us better, and they failed at programming. If any one of those hadn't been true, we would probably still be going.
Man, the way you two rag on Otakon all the time, you need to start recording a "These are the things we remember and can't stand about Otakon." XD
I was listening to our old Otakon reviews over the years (there are many, to the point that in the old system, Otakon had its own category). Much of what we had to say and what we enjoyed is still true. But, in going back and listening to the Rym and Scott of several years ago, we never did much with the con itself, and attended very little actual programming. Most of the fun, we brought ourselves. It's a Beyond Dungeons & Dragons situation: if you're bringing the fun, why bother with this game over another? Maybe we need a Beyond Otakon panel. ;^)
We also had almost no perspective of how other cons worked. Otakon was so much bigger and better than all of the other cons we attended that it made them look pathetic. In every aspect, Otakon did the same thing bigger and better. But as GeekNights grew, and we expanded beyond just Ohayocon, Katsucon, Otakon, Anime Central, Ubercon, AnimeNEXT, we discovered aspects we'd never considered before. PAX made Otakon look the way Otakon made Ohayocon 2 look. We realized that Otakon was the best in things where other conventions, even anime conventions, do different things. We realized that Otakon was static.
My first Otakon blew me away. But years of perspective from other cons have led me to realize that Otakon is not advancing along with the pack. It's getting stale. Where it once was waaaay over the line of "should I attend," it is now just barely below that line. Any one thing going better, and I'd be there in a second. It just saddens me that, for all the worth of the high bar that Otakon set, they've left that bar right where they set it years ago, and bars elsewhere continue to rise.
I recently took a look at old convention schedules, to compare and contrast and remember what I attended. At conventions like PAX I was almost always in a main event, or a panel. What little spare time I had between I was playing a tabletop game. I didn't even make it to the PC area of PAX East to see the modded cases because I just didn't have time. Anime Boston was also quite similar. I spent a great deal of time in panels (running or attending) and only had time for one trip to the dealer's room/AA the entire weekend.
Otakon I had tons of free time. Huge blocks of the schedule where there were simply no panels or main events of interest. There were two Otakons where we had AA tables. Both of those Otakons I spent much of the con chilling at the AA table, and did not miss a single thing on the program that I wanted to see. The only time I missed something at Otakon was when a panels I was running was scheduled against the JAM Project concert.
A good convention schedule should be so awesome that at any given moment there is at least one or two things in main events or panels that a person wants to do. Connecticon and PAX are definitely that way. As I ran around checking in on panels I often saw multiple awesome panels running simultaneously. Even the last NYAF is starting to get there with their Tomino keynote and such. I'm sure the combined NYAF/NYCC is going to be nuts.
Maybe I'll get the Otakon 2010 schedule and figure out which panels I would have gone to, as a point of reference.
Comments
Meeting up Friday around 1:30 would work for me, not 1 because I'll probably be at the Madhouse panel. From there, I have nothing to do until 4:30. Saturday at 2 or 3 would not work for me, Vic Mignogna's Q&A is at 3 on Saturday.
UPDATE: Conflicting report says that the line is inside the building due to weather.
1) Why wasn't the line inside the building ever before?
2) If people fail to find the line due to its inside-ness, the Friday line will be double nightmarish.
Plus nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A. Today was a good day
1. The line for Friday may take some time, but I don't think it'll ruin a morning. Do bring a media player. I'm arrive in Baltimore around 7:30 AM and hope to get my hotel and in line.
2. To know what I look like, go to the Photos forum and just find my name. I will be wearing a Blue 8-Bit tie.
3. As for where we meet up, I suggest we meet at a Panel at 11:00 or so, outside of the door. We can stay in the panel, or grab lunch when everyone is there. I think after that, since they give us physical schedules, we can come with plans at Lunch.
I'm thinking we meet up outside of the HD Theater at that time, when they are showing Ponyo or at the enterence of Panel 6 at that time, where Neito has his panel. (I think most of us will be able to distinguish each other, lol)
Some of the crew were over last night discussing their lack of Otakon attendance this year, and badge-mailing aside, the consensus was sadly very simple. To paraphrase: The badges were only the straw that broke the camel's back (and weren't an issue until the crew saw how PAX did things). The deeper problems have been there for a while. Scott and I could easily sidestep them, as our primary interest was running the content. But were we attending just as non-novice fans of animation, little was worthwhile except for things like:
- The concerts
- Panels like Rakugo
- Panels run by people like Anime World Order
- Artist's Alley
- The (non-voice-actor) guest panels (despite having to cringe at the low attendance and poor questions from the audiences)
- Hanging out with our friends
So, the FRC stopped attending Otakon because they once attended PAX.I would probably be way more bummed about not going to Otakon if I hadn't gone to CTcon this year.
It's simply that our friends aren't going, we live in NYC and have no cars (so travel is different), other conventions are treating us better, and they failed at programming. If any one of those hadn't been true, we would probably still be going.
We also had almost no perspective of how other cons worked. Otakon was so much bigger and better than all of the other cons we attended that it made them look pathetic. In every aspect, Otakon did the same thing bigger and better. But as GeekNights grew, and we expanded beyond just Ohayocon, Katsucon, Otakon, Anime Central, Ubercon, AnimeNEXT, we discovered aspects we'd never considered before. PAX made Otakon look the way Otakon made Ohayocon 2 look. We realized that Otakon was the best in things where other conventions, even anime conventions, do different things. We realized that Otakon was static.
My first Otakon blew me away. But years of perspective from other cons have led me to realize that Otakon is not advancing along with the pack. It's getting stale. Where it once was waaaay over the line of "should I attend," it is now just barely below that line. Any one thing going better, and I'd be there in a second. It just saddens me that, for all the worth of the high bar that Otakon set, they've left that bar right where they set it years ago, and bars elsewhere continue to rise.
Otakon I had tons of free time. Huge blocks of the schedule where there were simply no panels or main events of interest. There were two Otakons where we had AA tables. Both of those Otakons I spent much of the con chilling at the AA table, and did not miss a single thing on the program that I wanted to see. The only time I missed something at Otakon was when a panels I was running was scheduled against the JAM Project concert.
A good convention schedule should be so awesome that at any given moment there is at least one or two things in main events or panels that a person wants to do. Connecticon and PAX are definitely that way. As I ran around checking in on panels I often saw multiple awesome panels running simultaneously. Even the last NYAF is starting to get there with their Tomino keynote and such. I'm sure the combined NYAF/NYCC is going to be nuts.
Maybe I'll get the Otakon 2010 schedule and figure out which panels I would have gone to, as a point of reference.