FanimeCon 2010 Feedback Thread

Started by M, May 29, 2010, 10:37:02 PM

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Aelia

Re: Peace-Bonding Policy
Unfortunately, big cons have to have tight rules. For those of you saying that Fanime has one of the tighter weapons policies, I'm guessing you haven't taken a look at Anime Expo's Weapon's Policy. Admittedly, there were some issues with the 2010 policy, and we have every intention of addressing those we can. The 2011 policy should be up much earlier than this year's, and it will hopefully be easier for everyone to deal with.

As far as signs go (this was a specific comment I saw), we are considering what we can do about it next year. When we allowed nearly any sign, we got a lot of signs which were soliciting kisses, hugs, glomps, etc. Our rule for this year was that if you had a character who carried a sign, it would be ok. Unfortunately, not all of us know all anime, so sometimes things were unclear to some staff, and obvious to others. We did have an internet connection and a laptop in the Rover's base for looking up such things. We hope to expand this to include our table down by gatherings as well (which will be back next year).

Those of you who have additional comments about Props/Weapons Policy, please post in this thread, where I will actually see it. I am considering any and all intelligent suggestions about specific things we can improve. What I mean by that is if you can give me a specific issue, and a good alternative, then it's a potentially useable suggestion. I promise to consider everything suggested in that thread, though I cannot promise to use it.

Re: Rovers
We did grind into a lot of Rover heads that politeness and courtesy above all else was important. Everyone has their bad days though, and unfortunately people tend to notice the bad-days more when it's a convention staff member. I apologize to those of you who had a negative experience because of gruffness on the part of a Rover. We hope to improve even more in 2011.
Director of Operations

Sen

Quote from: Inai on June 02, 2010, 02:52:50 PM
Artist Alley:
A separate section on the forum would be nice. It would make searching for answers that were previously asked much easier. When my friend and I were trying to find answers to our questions, a lot of the time the links were dead. Also the forum where AA info was under, it took a lot of time to wade through all the threads in order to find any information. In addition it would be nice to have registration go up earlier than it did this year. I'm local, but my friend who is the artist is from out of state. It was like a waiting game for her to see when registration would go up, and the price of plane tickets were steadily rising. I think this was previously mentioned, but maps of where artists are located would be great too. Other than that my friend and I had a great time, and we enjoyed how AA was held during the convention.  :)

We completely revamped the Artist Alley registration this year and brought it online which is why it was so delayed. But now that we know how to work it out better, we can hopefully get things done sooner. I'm glad you enjoyed AA though. I think we actually expanded it two times until we had the final layout!!
Claudia

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Jirekianu

#62
Cons[/u]

Gaming Hall

Layout: A lot of wasted space from the lackluster computer gaming section. When I mentioned this to several con staff and asked why there was so little they responded it was supposed to be a fan participation thing.  Yet I saw -no- advertisements or emphasis on that before the con or even until I asked the staff present about it.

Arcade Choices: Some of the arcade machines this year were just bad choices.  Terminator salvation was barely played at all.  Silent scope went untouched.  The rhythm games were welcome as always, but there were too few of them.  Two DDR machines is always a good idea.  However only one machine of Technika kept me and others from playing due to a minimum 20-30 minute wait time at all hours of the day. Two machines or three would've been a vast improvement if it was possible.  Not to mention one more para para machine would've been good to see. I don't play it, but there was almost always a group interested in it.  The biggest problems however were the stacker machines and the barber cut games. I understand they are games of skill.  However, I watched several people play the barber cut/string cutting prize game and get a perfect grip on the string with the razor.  Yet it barely frayed the string.  I was actually standing close enough to see it grip far back on the blade so the entire blade would pull/slice and it barely did anything.  In addition, the stacker machines were blatantly altered from last year.  Last year the stacker machines weren't easy, but it was still possible to win if you were determined enough.  Twice out of the twenty or so times I played I, and several witnesses, saw the final major prize square light up when I hit the button and then jump back to the previous space, which nets me no prize.  I normally wouldn't have a problem with this, even if they shrunk the amount of time you have to correctly react to the timing.  Make the light movement reflect that, rather than jumping back and make it seem like a scam.

$3.50-$4 water: Fortunately, those I came to the con with thought ahead and brought a flat of water so we were never without during the convention, but compared to previous years the water available was dismal by comparison.  The only real water available from the con itself were either sporadic fountains, or the overpriced bottles from the machines/booths.  In previous years there were water dispensers around the con along with small paper/plastic cups, and while I did notice how there were some people leaving a mess here or there it was far outweighed by con goers having easy access to water.  It was missed this year by quite a few.

No signs: I understand the problem that has occurred over previous years with signs soliciting things like free hugs and what not and the drama when someone holding one of those signs gets more attention than they bargained for, or from the wrong type of person.  Those signs being disallowed I completely understand.  However, all signs of any kind? That seems a bit much to be honest.  It even needlessly hit several of the con's cosplayers who would've had signs for their characters but couldn't or had to jump through hoops to be able to have it.  

Pros

FLOW: I never was a strong fan of the band, but I did enjoy their music.  The free concert and the amazing performance however has sold me on any future chance of them attending Fanime.  Please bring them back, they were awesome and put on a great show.

Rovers: I heard very little negative things this year in regards to the Rovers.  Any complaints I heard were from people just chafing against authority at all or commonly refusing to think about it from the con's perspective.  Not the case entirely with everyone, but that's the general sense from any complaints I overheard or came up in discussion.  Overall the Rovers this year were friendly, efficient, and kept things from getting out of hand.

Protester Deflection: The protesters this year not only received less attention, but there were fewer of them compared to last year.  It seems a rather well placed moving van kept the more hypocritical attention obsessed of them from sticking around.  To any and all who either turned the other cheek or otherwise didn't contribute to the anger they represent? Thank you.

Hentai Room: As always this is just perverse but hilarious fun.  Heckling in the hentai room is always a grand time had by most who go, and this year was no different. The only request I could possibly make is have a hentai music video night designated in the schedule.  Sunday night we sat through about an hour of HMV's and they were pretty funny and/or well done.

Overall Verdict= Despite a few shortcomings that a perfectionist like myself didn't just overlook the con was a great success this year. I really look forward to see what the tally was compared to last year, because it was definitely more than 15-18k people.  The press of bodies on Saturday proved that. Thank you to all the staff and I hope things only get better next year, whatever that theme that may be.

Jelly Soup

Quote from: Jirekianu on June 03, 2010, 06:49:14 PM
$3.50-$4 water: Fortunately, those I came to the con with thought ahead and brought a flat of water so we were never without during the convention, but compared to previous years the water available was dismal by comparison.  The only real water available from the con itself were either sporadic fountains, or the overpriced bottles from the machines/booths.  In previous years there were water dispensers around the con along with small paper/plastic cups, and while I did notice how there were some people leaving a mess here or there it was far outweighed by con goers having easy access to water.  It was missed this year by quite a few.

Just as a heads up, there is a Rite Aid within somewhat reasonable walking distance that was having a sale of 24 packs of water.

QuoteProtester Deflection: The protesters this year not only received less attention, but there were fewer of them compared to last year.  It seems a rather well placed moving van kept the more hypocritical attention obsessed of them from sticking around.  To any and all who either turned the other cheek or otherwise didn't contribute to the anger they represent? Thank you.

This was mostly due to people just not messing with them. I actually had a conversation with a few of the protesters last year and most of them felt that they weren't really 'protesting', just expressing their religious opinions (which, honestly, they have the right to do). That is to say, it was a protest because people were treating it like a protest. The ones I talked to did admit that their approach seemed rather confrontational. I noticed a few cosplayers chit-chatting with that one guy with the megaphone on Monday.



Jirekianu

#64
Quote from: Jelly Soup on June 03, 2010, 07:50:59 PM
Quote from: Jirekianu on June 03, 2010, 06:49:14 PM
$3.50-$4 water: Fortunately, those I came to the con with thought ahead and brought a flat of water so we were never without during the convention, but compared to previous years the water available was dismal by comparison.  The only real water available from the con itself were either sporadic fountains, or the overpriced bottles from the machines/booths.  In previous years there were water dispensers around the con along with small paper/plastic cups, and while I did notice how there were some people leaving a mess here or there it was far outweighed by con goers having easy access to water.  It was missed this year by quite a few.

Just as a heads up, there is a Rite Aid within somewhat reasonable walking distance that was having a sale of 24 packs of water.

I understand that there are places nearby to pick up flats of water.  My complaint/con point was that there was very little complimentary water available at the convention center itself, unlike in previous years where water dispensers and cups were available.  Some people did make a mess once or twice with the cups, but over all those years the water was appreciated.  Especially since people didn't want to pay the three to four dollars for a bottle of water.

Quote
QuoteProtester Deflection: The protesters this year not only received less attention, but there were fewer of them compared to last year.  It seems a rather well placed moving van kept the more hypocritical attention obsessed of them from sticking around.  To any and all who either turned the other cheek or otherwise didn't contribute to the anger they represent? Thank you.

This was mostly due to people just not messing with them. I actually had a conversation with a few of the protesters last year and most of them felt that they weren't really 'protesting', just expressing their religious opinions (which, honestly, they have the right to do). That is to say, it was a protest because people were treating it like a protest. The ones I talked to did admit that their approach seemed rather confrontational. I noticed a few cosplayers chit-chatting with that one guy with the megaphone on Monday.

Well the whole point is they were being very confrontational.  It was less a sharing of an opinion and more of a condemnation of what we enjoy.  Hence why I say protest rather than demonstration. They have every right to lawfully demonstrate/protest, but it doesn't change the fact that it's irritating. I didn't take any strong offense, it just annoyed me. As for this year the guy on the last day preaching through the megaphone was actually pretty calm through it.  He wasn't screaming and shouting with hatred or vitriol which was alright.  From what I saw this year as a whole the demonstration/protest was more relaxed.  The protest from last year was angry as hell (no pun intended.)

BenihimeSama

I agree with anyone who thinks we should bring back an Asian drama room. We could do a Asian Drama/Movie room to make space efficient. I recently got into Asian dramas and it was rather disappointing that there was no Asian Dramas section..
Venus Benihime-Sama
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AR-99

Quote from: Jirekianu on June 03, 2010, 09:19:33 PM
I understand that there are places nearby to pick up flats of water.  My complaint/con point was that there was very little complimentary water available at the convention center itself, unlike in previous years where water dispensers and cups were available.  Some people did make a mess once or twice with the cups, but over all those years the water was appreciated.  Especially since people didn't want to pay the three to four dollars for a bottle of water.
Technically not in the convention center, but accessible, there were water dispensers on the Hilton side where the autograph signings were. Not the same as in the convention center itself, of course. Not sure about the Marriott side, was only there once.
FanimeCon '97, 2K, 2005, '09-
Evangelion Virtual Museum

otakuya

Especially on hot and humid days, the complimentary water would be a hit, but it would be kinda messy due to demand. There's always the Market Safeway (drinks there are about $1 or less, depending on the drink)

Jirekianu

The water complaint over all wasn't that big for me.  It was mostly just something I made a mental note about.  The game room issues I think are the bigger problem.  I remember a friend brought in his own ps3 and his own soul caliber and controllers to use on one of the TV's because the game wasn't provided.  Also, there were a few complaints from my friend and overheard from others about how the game library was only cobbled together and was never finished.  Though I don't know how true that is about sunday, since I heard that on saturday night.

Somebody

Big Events/Concerts/Program Guides: Curiosity here, was it mentioned in the program guide that cameras were not allowed into the FLOW and LMC concerts? I looked through it this morning and didn't see anything, but I could have easily missed it, but if it wasn't there I think it should be as far as concerts in the future go. Found someone on youtube that sadly recorded a small clip of it while I was looking for Fanime slideshows and she claims she wasn't told at all that cameras weren't allowed into FLOW. Hoping to figure this out!  :-[
Cosplay 2013
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xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi)

Quote from: Jirekianu on June 04, 2010, 10:14:23 AM
The water complaint over all wasn't that big for me.  It was mostly just something I made a mental note about.  The game room issues I think are the bigger problem.  I remember a friend brought in his own ps3 and his own soul caliber and controllers to use on one of the TV's because the game wasn't provided.  Also, there were a few complaints from my friend and overheard from others about how the game library was only cobbled together and was never finished.  Though I don't know how true that is about sunday, since I heard that on saturday night.

Who said we didn't have Soul Calibur IV?
eGaming Head / FanimeCon, SacAnime, Y-Con, Kintoki-Con, Deceptikon
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Jelly Soup

Quote from: xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi) on June 04, 2010, 12:20:21 PM
Quote from: Jirekianu on June 04, 2010, 10:14:23 AM
The water complaint over all wasn't that big for me.  It was mostly just something I made a mental note about.  The game room issues I think are the bigger problem.  I remember a friend brought in his own ps3 and his own soul caliber and controllers to use on one of the TV's because the game wasn't provided.  Also, there were a few complaints from my friend and overheard from others about how the game library was only cobbled together and was never finished.  Though I don't know how true that is about sunday, since I heard that on saturday night.

Who said we didn't have Soul Calibur IV?

I would assume that if someone had to go grab a PS3 for the express purpose of playing SC4, a lot of someones said you didn't have it.



xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi)

Quote from: Jelly Soup on June 04, 2010, 12:26:54 PM
Quote from: xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi) on June 04, 2010, 12:20:21 PM
Quote from: Jirekianu on June 04, 2010, 10:14:23 AM
The water complaint over all wasn't that big for me.  It was mostly just something I made a mental note about.  The game room issues I think are the bigger problem.  I remember a friend brought in his own ps3 and his own soul caliber and controllers to use on one of the TV's because the game wasn't provided.  Also, there were a few complaints from my friend and overheard from others about how the game library was only cobbled together and was never finished.  Though I don't know how true that is about sunday, since I heard that on saturday night.

Who said we didn't have Soul Calibur IV?

I would assume that if someone had to go grab a PS3 for the express purpose of playing SC4, a lot of someones said you didn't have it.

Hmmmm, I'll have to check on this information and figure out which staff member said we didn't have it.
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mdarkpoet

Wondering if anyone else has any ideas or suggestions based off this year's con to improve next year's con

chifunii

I'd love to see straight-up no-nonsense information about events/things happening. Probably having them up online earlier too.

MusicFest had some wishywashy rules that were not set in stone (aka on paper or online offcially), like the no photos, LM.C only signing official goods...etc.

And also for the weapons peace bonding policy...that went up really last minute dontcha think? I know the con doesn't really come together until crunch time, but havig rules and regulation stated earlier would cause less havoc at-con. :)
FanimeCon attendee: 2008-

PyronIkari

Quote from: chifunii on June 04, 2010, 01:36:41 PM
I'd love to see straight-up no-nonsense information about events/things happening. Probably having them up online earlier too.

MusicFest had some wishywashy rules that were not set in stone (aka on paper or online offcially), like the no photos, LM.C only signing official goods...etc.

And also for the weapons peace bonding policy...that went up really last minute dontcha think? I know the con doesn't really come together until crunch time, but havig rules and regulation stated earlier would cause less havoc at-con. :)

Although staff would like to do things like this, you have to understand it's difficult when guest don't tell staff things *they* want. The LM.C official goods thing for example, you can't blame that for not being in the rules or told to everyone ahead of time, if staff wasn't even told about it ahead of time.

It's hard to understand, but a lot of things, staff totally agrees with you guys with. They'd like to do a lot of things that are asked, but it's just not possible if they themselves aren't told about it, or they aren't given confirmation. Things change a lot, and there's not much staff can do about it, try to understand that.

chifunii

Quote from: PyronIkari on June 04, 2010, 05:03:49 PM

Although staff would like to do things like this, you have to understand it's difficult when guest don't tell staff things *they* want. The LM.C official goods thing for example, you can't blame that for not being in the rules or told to everyone ahead of time, if staff wasn't even told about it ahead of time.

It's hard to understand, but a lot of things, staff totally agrees with you guys with. They'd like to do a lot of things that are asked, but it's just not possible if they themselves aren't told about it, or they aren't given confirmation. Things change a lot, and there's not much staff can do about it, try to understand that.

Mm, I see what you mean. But if possible, have info where people can see as soon as possible (like when the band management finally makes their decision). Like for the LM.C official goods, I saw it in one little forum post probably on Thursday night before the con. I was a lucky one to have found the info, since many people didn't know until they were atthe front of the line trying to get something signed...

I know what you mean when the higher ups take their time with decisions when everyone else is under a severe time crunch. Perhaps I'd edit my suggestion to have edits posted not SOONER, but have them put in a standardized place (like the Guests page) or have it over Twitter as a reminder...?
FanimeCon attendee: 2008-

AR-99

PyronIkari, do you know if things like the no photography policy during concerts for x band or only official goods will be signed stipulation are mentioned as part of an agreement that the bands sign with FanimeCon?  I'm assuming that all GOHs sign contracts, or are the arrangements not as formal?

Autograph signings
In addition to putting up the schedule in the Hilton, also put up signing restrictions, especially if they are strict like with LM.C's in that the GOH will sign official goods only.  Also if the rovers could let people in line know about things like this.  They did make announcements with things like # of items, no flash, no posing with the guests, etc. when applicable.  Otherwise if it wasn't said, it went or was asssumed.

MusicFest
If possible post the policies as soon as they become known on the main section of the website and update the MusicFest section to let people know about this too.  Also if the rovers could communicate the no photography policy as people come into line, as there usually was someone monitoring where the end of the line was, and to advise either stashing cameras in cars or rooms or have them out of sight to avoid getting booted after waiting for hours, which I heard happened.  If announcements are made at MusicFest about signings, mention that they will only sign official goods too so you let the people who are most likely to show up know or to remind them.



FanimeCon '97, 2K, 2005, '09-
Evangelion Virtual Museum

PyronIkari

Quote from: Shear_Trigger on June 04, 2010, 05:48:06 PM
PyronIkari, do you know if things like the no photography policy during concerts for x band or only official goods will be signed stipulation are mentioned as part of an agreement that the bands sign with FanimeCon?  I'm assuming that all GOHs sign contracts, or are the arrangements not as formal?

Autograph signings
In addition to putting up the schedule in the Hilton, also put up signing restrictions, especially if they are strict like with LM.C's in that the GOH will sign official goods only.  Also if the rovers could let people in line know about things like this.  They did make announcements with things like # of items, no flash, no posing with the guests, etc. when applicable.  Otherwise if it wasn't said, it went or was asssumed.

MusicFest
If possible post the policies as soon as they become known on the main section of the website and update the MusicFest section to let people know about this too.  Also if the rovers could communicate the no photography policy as people come into line, as there usually was someone monitoring where the end of the line was, and to advise either stashing cameras in cars or rooms or have them out of sight to avoid getting booted after waiting for hours, which I heard happened.  If announcements are made at MusicFest about signings, mention that they will only sign official goods too so you let the people who are most likely to show up know or to remind them.

I can't talk about contracts, but I'll level with you. Contracts are contracts, but when a guest makes a request, you pretty much comply with it, or they say "K' we're not going to do anything else". Also some guests are fickle(or rather their management is) to work with. Some will allow photos sometimes, but not other times. Some will allow things, but sometimes they won't. Trust me when I say, staff does try to get this information out to you as soon as they possibly can.

Jirekianu

#79
I remember the conversation basically outlining the fact that no televisions in the game room on Friday day and night or Saturday day had soul caliber on them supposedly.  I can't say this for certain since there were obviously gaps of time where I was not present while other friends were there quite a bit more than myself.  Apparently, they requested from several of the video game staff/volunteers if they could play soul caliber and they were told it wasn't available.  Hence why my friend brought in his own console and game and set it up on one of the few available televisions. 

I always try to leave room for doubt, but from the other problems I saw with the console gaming that I've mentioned it's feasible.

Oh, and I just remembered something.  While the swap meet squares were well taped off I noticed there was no walkway available between rows so you had to walk the entire breadth of the room in order to get to one of the ends to walk around to another row or further into the gaming hall.  Most people were either stepping over some of the more sparsely populated swap meet squares or walking through empty ones.

For those wondering, yes I will nitpick everything that comes to mind as being somewhat significant.  I mention it because the traffic issue resulted in the clearly placed borders being violated for the sake of understandable desire for convenience.  I didn't see any example of it in person but I can easily see how the whole stepping through semi-occupied squares bit would cause some of said swap meet square occupants to be upset at potential damage or hopefully unlikely theft.