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FanimeCon Events and Discussionmentarianism => General Convention Discussion => Topic started by: M on May 27, 2012, 02:29:53 AM

Title: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: M on May 27, 2012, 02:29:53 AM
Hello everyone,
This is the thread to use for giving your FanimeCon 2012 feedback (programming, concourse food, hotels, etc.). Please abide by the following rules:

* Please remember to respect each other and their opinions. We're all fans of the same things and all have opinions that may differ.
* Please provide as much information as possible so that we can fully understand what you are referring to (i.e. "Event X in Room Y was really bad because it was hard for me to hear what was being played" vs "Event X is bad").
* Always feel free to PM me with issues if you would like to keep it more private.

We always read our feedback posts and ensure that our staffers understand them.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: TheGhostyBear on May 27, 2012, 12:53:18 PM
The waiting time for those who were getting passes onsite instead of getting them online (Procrastination is a horrible thing, something which i plan not to do next year) was horrid. My group and I waited roughly 4 hours and 15 minutes just to register. Overall though the convention was awesome. Looking forward to next year!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Rhornez on May 27, 2012, 04:53:02 PM
Positive:
-pocket schedule was back
-more diverse cosplay
-more metal heads lol


Negative:
-waited 8 hours on Thursday for my badge and turns out they lost it......
-Really humid and hot in the dealers hall, 5 minutes in and i was already drenched in sweat
-growing number of people
(personal point) More couples made me lose some confidence in talking to girls
-a lot more kids than usual
-not a lot of interesting stuff made me leave Sunday which is rare for me to do
-rude people in sailor moon room and gurren lagann movie
Is there any unused rooms that fanime con can occupy to add more events or panels/video rooms?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kaizoku on May 27, 2012, 06:32:19 PM
Speed dating event was very poorly run and unorganized.

People that were accepted and registered ahead of time were not accepted or allowed in because the people in charge were letting walk-ins take the spots.

In my case I was not let in because my name was not on the list, yet I received an email saying I got in and I want to thank the event staff for wasting my time.  ;)
http://imgur.com/lBQ3n

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kaizoku on May 27, 2012, 06:34:41 PM
Quote from: kaizoku on May 27, 2012, 06:32:19 PM
Speed dating event was very poorly run and unorganized.

People that were accepted and registered ahead of time were not accepted or allowed in because the people in charge were letting walk-ins take the spots.

In my case I was not let in because my name was not on the list, yet I received an email saying I got in and I want to thank the event staff for wasting my time.  ;)
http://imgur.com/lBQ3n

Edit: And yes, we were there on time.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: CJ on May 28, 2012, 10:13:11 AM
Lots of positives to note, so I'll save time by bringing up concerns.

1) In the main book for Fanime 2012 it lists "flats" as an acceptable shoe wear for women at the Black and White Ball, and that shoes with heels more than 4 inches would be unacceptable. However, while in line, a Rover told my girlfriend that she would not be allowed to enter because her shoes (which were flats) did not have heels and thus would scuff up the dance floor.

Don't know whether this was fault on part of the Rover, whomever wrote the booklet, or even the ballroom owners. The point is that conflicting information was given, and we were denied entrance (or rather my girlfriend was and I didn't stand for it). It also doesn't help that whether or not a pair of shoes has heels or not is not the end-all reason whether or not shoes scuff good floors.

Speaking of Rovers, however...

2) Multiple times in the con, either myself or my girlfriend would require assistance, and would thus go to a Rover or another equally/further empowered worker. Not once were we given any assistance for two reasons. Either:
a) They would not understand at all what we were asking, making a simplistic, dismissive comment that overlooked our inquiry, or
b) They would point us in a direction to go and talk to another higher authority figure without telling us who/where exactly the person was.

Specifically on the latter, after being pointed three times by three different Rovers to look for three different people in three different places, my girlfriend demanded the fourth Rover to specifically lead her to the person or give her proper instructions on who/where to find (them) and not to point her in a vague direction, at which point he led her to the Game Ops in the 3rd Exhibit Hall, who also attempted to point her to someone else before she again demanded to be helped properly. In the end, the problem that sparked the chain was solved by other helpful con-members before she returned.

Also, for simplicity:
Quote from: Rhornez on May 27, 2012, 04:53:02 PM
Positive:
-pocket schedule was back

Negative:
-Really humid and hot in the dealers hall
Agreed.

Despite the setbacks, our con experience was still very fun, and I hope to do it again next year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: gellenole on May 28, 2012, 11:59:01 AM
Pros:
Lots of Costumes
Dealer's hall was full of diverse things, lots of art books, lots of people who respect unsold items and don't damage intentionally

Cons:
Some places were humid, but dealers room was not AS humid as it was a few years back
a lot of people in such a small room (probably look for another location with a wider open area
Not enough food vendors, and prices were atrocious (6 dollars for a hotdog.......)
speed dating wasn't really organized well, we shouldn't limit the slots available just for walkins.  I registered on day 2 and didn't get a slot, I was wondering how that could have been.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: mdarkpoet on May 28, 2012, 12:18:41 PM
Fanime 2012 Feedback:

Badges:
What the nugget? Waited 6+ hours to get my badge on Thursday, left to grab food for the people I was with only to find out that they refused to give our GROUP LEADER the rest of our badges without our ID's. So the next day we went with our ID's only to find our laminated badges would be given to us on Monday instead. Spent the entire con with a paper badge and went back Monday morning only to find out AGAIN they now have to mail us our laminate badges. What is the damn point? Last year we had the same issue. Waited for 5 hours last year only to find out Swap Meet members got their badges separate. Sorry but the badge system needs to be more organized next Fanime.

Swap Meet:
Loved the swap meet this year, a lot of great people selling a lot of fantastic stuff. My only complaint is that on Thursday when we were selling the rovers were being VERY rude about pushing our items back behind the tape. We were pushed back so far into the people selling behind us who were equally upset. To the rovers, PLEASE be less rude next time.

Game Room:
WARNING the candy crane machine steals your money! Me and a few other people won at the machine but instead of the candy being rewarded the drop bin closes and you're not allowed to get your prizes. This machine should be banned from next Fanime. I watched a BUNCH of people win and not be awarded their prize!!!

Dealer's Hall:
Fantastic selection with better prices than last year. I met a LOT of kind dealers who didn't mind having chats, I forget what one dealer's name was but we talked about my Revy costume for a while. You were so nice, thank you so much ^_^

Artist Alley:
WOW, so many talented artists this year. I found myself returning over and over to the hall to check back because there was just so much wonderful art to see. Best artist alley I've ever been to!

Gong Show:
I love you all so much you have no idea. Love, your awkward Poland cosplayer who works at KFC.


Misc:
Ramune glass on the floor = not fun. I cosplayed a Ryo Ohki with bunny feet and ended up with glass in my foot. PLEASE be considerate to the animal and fur suit cosplayers and be cautious with your glass bottles.
People with rude comments to make : Please wait until you're out of earshot to make those comments, Fanime should be a fun place for everyone and people with bad attitudes and bad comments ruin the experience.

Hotel:
I will make a separate review in another thread. It'll be long.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: WuvMilo on May 28, 2012, 01:10:17 PM
I enjoyed Fanime! It was my first time there and I'll have to say I had a lot of fun. I especially loved the arcade. Playing ninja was hilarious haha! I'm not sure about any of the cons except for the fact that it was really humid. Might be due to so many people being in one place or in the same room and such. Despite that, it was fun! Met lots of new people and played many games, found many things to buy, got many clothing, etc. :3
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: camivette on May 28, 2012, 02:50:48 PM
Pros:
Sailor Moon! There was a panel and a marathon this year, which I really enjoyed.
Events seemed organized(things actually started when and where the booklet said they would).
I thought the temperature was pretty good in all the rooms.
I thought there were great artists in the Artist Alley and more selection in the Dealer's Hall this year!

Cons:
Registration.
If you do pre-reg, you shouldn't have to wait 6 hours in line. I agree that they should mail badges out.
The electricity outage can't be predicted and I think most of the staff did a great job trying to be helpful and keep morale up. However, I was about 5 people away from getting my badge when the lights went out and it took 30 minutes before the staff were given the go ahead to accept our email off of our smartphones. Before that, we were told to come back tomorrow, which is ridiculous for having waited so long already. Once they were given this direction, things went much more smoothly and I think it's cool that they stayed open so late.

I still felt bad every day when I saw the huge line of people unable to enjoy the events because they were still in line for registration. Maybe you should start registration earlier in the day, and maybe it would be faster to have separate lines for the alphabet?

I understand that throwing beach balls could damage property so I wasn't surprised that a staff member confiscated it. I was actually relieved because I no longer needed to look behind me to make sure I didn't get smacked in the head. It bothered me though, when this female staff member took the ball and extended her middle finger and flipped off everyone waiting in line as she walked by. I know that there are a lot of young people volunteering to be staff, so they don't have the level of professionalism you would expect from a paid employee, but there are kids at this event and I thought it was really inappropriate.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: newtype on May 28, 2012, 04:02:19 PM
Fanime should probably consider sending out badges in advance or let people pick them up early.  Totally missed the point of pre-registering, other than a slight discount.  Other than that Fanime was pretty fun and it was the first time I have ever cosplayed (as Yukio) and getting hugged by random strangers was a first for me.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: RinKazami on May 28, 2012, 04:21:54 PM
Cons: Registration. Yes I know that the power outage wasn't the fault of Fanime, however that hour delay at 4pm was awful. Hopefully next year there will be back plans in case things go wrong.

Pros:
Pocket Schedules. This made planning my Fanime experience much easier :D
Staff - They were very helpful with all questions and problems, especially when I lost my reflector.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: themalletofjustice on May 28, 2012, 04:23:49 PM
My feedback is for the one day I attended: Sunday.

Negative:
1. Registration- Took too long. For me it took about 2 hours which is small compared to a lot of other people, but I really feel registration wait time should not exceed 1 hour.
2. table of flyers by Stage Zero- It's kind of an eyesore at the end of the day with all the flyers on the floor. Seems like a lot of it gets wasted in the end too.

Positive:
1. The rovers that were there when I was line in the morning were doing a good job.
2. I really liked the pocket schedules. The artwork on those and on the program was great and went with the theme really well.
3. Artist Alley- I don't know how it was behind the scenes, but as an attendee I loved how huge it was this year. There was such a great variety of artwork, styles, and handmade items.

Other:
- Clockwork Alchemy was pretty cool. I wish it had been in walking distance though. However, I liked the atmosphere over there and maybe if it were right next to Fanime it would've been overcrowded.
-Dealer's Hall- Needs more variety. I don't think there was anyone selling video games there. It was nice to see a few people selling old school stuff, but aside from that it seemed like the same stuff from all the mainstream anime, but obviously that's what they need to sell. lol. ^.^
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ravaznlov on May 28, 2012, 04:44:24 PM
Pros:
Cons:

Overall, out of my three years of attending FanimeCon, I believe this year's was a bit unorganized and disorderly in terms of the registration and events... I didn't really enjoy it compared to 2011 and 2010. However, there were still happy and energetic people who kept everyone in an excited mood :) All of my friends and I still enjoyed attending the convention, and we are definitely attending to next year's Fanime!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: YaoiCat on May 28, 2012, 05:25:03 PM
Hi Fanime staff!

I want to start out by saying that I love Fanime! I have gone every year for the past 5 years, but every year the group of friends who are willing to go with me gets smaller and smaller.  This year, only 3 of my friends attended with me, and I feel that the issues with Fanime were worse than ever this year and my 3 friends have already said that they don't plan to return with me next year.  I want to let you know why they won't be coming back, so that perhaps you can work on the big issues and make Fanime even better than it is now.

The first big issue this year was the registration line.  We can only make it to the con for one day, so we are unable to pre-register.  It would be very nice if people could pre-reg for single day passes, and would make the registration line move much more efficiently.  Also, this year we spent nearly 4 hours waiting in the registration line, which is twice as long as we've ever had to wait.  It was awful,  we stressed to make it to the con bright and early (arrived around 9:30 I believe), but we still missed panels that we wanted to see and had significantly less time than usual so we were unable to take full advantage of everything we wanted to at the convention.  I understand that there were some complications with registration, but it's really expensive to get into the con just for one day, and we feel like we were ripped off because we still paid full price to get in but had less time and missed so much.  We felt that we should have gotten a discount for the entry fee, or that things like the artist alley and dealers hall should have been kept open later to compensate for the line being so awful.

Another big issue with Fanime is the scheduling.  My group of friends and I are always bummed out because we'll pick a day to arrive at Fanime and once we get there, we find out that none of the panels we want to see or events that we want to do are available on that day.  It would be great if we could have the schedule up in advance like many other conventions do, so that we could better choose which day to attend, and schedule our time better.  The program that we receive is also lacking in that it describes amazing panels, screenings, etc., but never mentions the time and place.  It's really frustrating to look through the program and get excited over several panels then find out they are on different days or have already taken place. 

The third big issue, and one of the most frustrating, is the awful organization.  Whenever my friends and I went to get in line for a panel, it was total chaos and 4 out of 5 times, none of the staff could give us clear direction on where we needed to be for a certain panel, or where the line ended.  Also, the lines for all panels were so crowded together that it was confusing as to which line was which.

I really love attending Fanime, but if these issues continue to worsen, I'm afraid that not only will I have a less enjoyable time at Fanime, but I'll have no one to attend with.  Although my friends and I still had fun, these issues made the convention immensely frustrating for the attendees (I imagine frustrating for the staff as well), but I'd love to see some of these problems improved and worked on.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren Schwartz (a concerned Fanime lover)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: epyonzer0 on May 28, 2012, 05:47:05 PM
Pros:  This was my first time at Fanime and it was as orgasmically awesome as I expected it to be.

Cons:

-The pocket schedule was great, but I think either it or the big book that comes in the bag needs to a little more explicitly state when and where the dance(s), MusicFest, the Masquerade, and things of that nature will happen.  
-The consolidated listing of cosplay gatherings was a great help as well, but I wish it had included a legend for all of the location acronyms for first-time Fanime visitors (such as myself).  Also on this note, the one time I asked the cosplay info desk for said legend that it was supposed to have, no one knew what it was.  Admittedly this was probably because everyone who knew was dealing with the protestors and other things.

This is all I can think of for now.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Amoirsp on May 28, 2012, 05:58:00 PM
Actually no point in making that long of a post.

1) Artist alley was great.
2) I was extremely disappointed with eGaming's inconsistent policy implementation leading to dumb things.

The rest of the pros and cons are mentioned in one way or another and were more or less caused by unforeseen circumstances and disorganized information.

Swap Meet unbadged was cool, but let us know sooner. I felt like prior to Fanime there wasn't really any announcements of anything.

I'm just going to say eGaming was so cancerous I'm very much discouraged from returning to Fanime ever again, you can thank them for that. Long lines sucked but that's ok you were understaffed it seemed so messes happened. See you around.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Freeden on May 28, 2012, 06:02:43 PM
Fanime was fun once again this year, but even though I've only gone three years, this was the worst year so far. Obviously there were registration issues. I think everyone is aware of this, and I anticipate that next year there will be solutions implemented.

My main disappointment was with guests. Guests aren't the only reason I go to cons, but they are a huge part of my experience. Obviously the guests are a subjective thing and not everyone will know them/like them/care. However, MusicFest is something I've always looked forward to, and this year was a let down. Between posting guests late, the short guest list, and MusicFest guests that were, imo, a step down from last years powerhouse show of Yuya and FLOW, it was just disappointing. Again, it's subjective, but as I've stated in another thread before the con, with the number of people who now go to Fanime, I expected a higher level of con, and I just didn't see that.

This goes into my overall experience. I understand this is a fan con run by fans, but it also feels like a fan con, both in the good and bad way. I still don't get the feeling that Fanime has embraced it's newfound size, and the problems certainly show. I did say the guests were my main disappointment, but this is somewhat coupled with that. I like Fanime. I've enjoyed it, even this year. I had a lot of fun and can't wait for next year. But I really want to see Fanime step up to the level of other major cons. Everyone who works there does a good job trying to keep things running and create a fantastic event, but parts feel disorganized and, again, it doesn't feel like Fanime has quite gotten to that level of con that it now is.

To sum it up, my feedback is that I like the personal, small con feel, but want to see a big con presentation. Smooth registration and badge pick up, a lot more organization, and bigger guests. Cause if a big name like FLOW can come two years in a row, then I have faith Fanime can get someone else equally as big.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Mantaray3000 on May 28, 2012, 06:20:08 PM
Fanime was okay

The problems:
Lines
Guests
Video Screenings

Lines: I am not going to blame fanime for what happened on Day 0 because of the server crash and blackout but for goodness sake develop a backup plan to registrate people manually should that ever happen again!! And also get more volunteers and registration booths to make the lines go faster!!

Guests: Again for the third time in three years I have to point out the problems with guests. I was talking to a group of people in the dealer's hall and we were all pondering why a con like Sac-Anime can get guests such Jennifer Hale, Tara Strong etc but not Fanime!? What's the point of having a guest suggestion thread on the forum when almost nobody we request ever gets invited to fanime!? Some say fanime doesn't care or doesn't even try and I refuse to believe that. I think Freeden here said it best; guests aren't the only reason I go to cons, but they are a huge part of my experience and with the increasing number of people who now go to Fanime, I expected a higher level of the con, and I just didn't see that. My sentiments exactly!



Video screening room: Some of the staff didn't even know how to use a dvd player which I find frustrating.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: cutiebunny on May 28, 2012, 06:38:19 PM
I attend the convention from Friday - Sunday, so I can only speak for these days.

Pros



Neutral



Cons


Overall

I have to admit that the bar was set pretty high by Fanime 2011, and I had hoped that you would exceed those expectations as you had the previous year.  In that respect, I feel let down.  I was really looking forward to the charity auction(s) and there was nothing.  So while I'm happy that I'll have funds for the other charity auctions at other conventions this year, I'm disappointed that I was unable to vie for any sketches.  Do I feel that I got my money's worth this year?  Yes.  Will I continue to support Fanime?  Yes.  But I can only hope that the things that were kinda rough this year will be a bit smoother next year.  And that Fanime 2013 will return with the same umph that 2011 had.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: InsaneDavid on May 28, 2012, 07:34:15 PM
After swearing off cons years ago due to a number of reasons, I figured I'd give Fanime a try this year since it's local to me.  I've said the same in another thread about the Thursday registration hiccups but show staff did a great job keeping morale up and things from getting out of control during the power outage.  Yeah, the lines were long - the lines were really long since there were long periods of time without any movement and possibly the pickup system needs to be retooled.  However mailing badges out is a completely different can of worms (postage, packaging, dealing with incorrect addresses since registration can begin a year in advance, badges getting lost in the mail, mail theft, etc.) and won't necessarily make all the problems disappear instantly.  Once you got inside the pre-registration room you moved through really fast, which makes the slow moving line make little sense since the actual pickup point was moving rather quickly.

Due to the Day 0 line issues I missed Thursday Swap Meet but Friday's was excellent and the walk over to the Fairmont wasn't nearly as bad as some made it out to be - less than the distance from one end of the convention center to the other.  What was needed were more / better signs in the Fairmont pointing in the direction of the Swap Meet since hotel staff (not Fanime staff) over there didn't know what was going on.  I was disappointed that at the second overflow ballroom, staff (Fanime staff) was MIA for awhile on Friday and many people left the line to get in and walked right into the second room - no being turned away for jumping the line, no badge check.  However the line to get in was fast moving and we gained admittance to the Swap Meet within about twenty minutes.  There were some killer video game buys over there!

Video rooms were great with a nice diverse mix being shown.  I was pleased to see so many people stay for the entire two hour block of Super Dimension Century Orguss, one of my all time favorite series and one I feel is criminally overlooked (even saw a few VHS tapes of the awesome USRenditions dub in the dealer hall).  The video rooms are also, sadly, where I had my biggest issues with the con.  Staff sitting outside the door should understand that they are RIGHT outside the door and everything they say above a regular quiet voice will be amplified into the screening room.  This was also an issue with some of the smaller panels as staff checking badges at the door would get into a conversation with someone that would carry into the room and interrupt the panel in progress.  Staff sanding inside the video rooms should also understand that if they wish to have an extended conversation amongst themselves while a video is in progress, the sound of their conversation is being projected over the sitting attendees.  This was notably a problem in the Nostalgia Critic video screening and we were six rows up from the back.  If you have to talk over the sound from the video, you should probably take your conversation outside the room.  Lastly, don't bump the projectors!  Black Jack Final turned into a game of "fight getting vertigo" because the projector was getting shaken around so much.  Start it and leave it alone, please, no one likes to read vibrating subtitles.  ;)  Usual occasional extreme rudeness in a few of the rooms, namely parts of the Sailor Moon marathon but you have to expect at least a little of that from con-goers and over all it really wasn't much of an issue.

Dealer's Room was great with a nice assortment and most of the dealers were really cool and seemed to be having a great time.  The table at the front middle with all the old school stuff was of particular interest.  There were definitely some rarer items to be had at bargain prices if you really looked.  Artist Alley also had so many talented artists and cool people to chat with and buy wares from.  I heard at least one announcement about problems with Ramune bottle glass and to make sure to dispose of the bottles properly to ensure it doesn't become a banned commodity in future years, so ConOps was on top of that as well.  Panels were very enjoyable and started on time with minimal line issues prior.  Clockwork Alchemy over at the Doubletree was enjoyable but as with the events at the Fairmont they really needed some signs pointing to where things were.  Yes, if you knew what room each event or panel was taking place in you could eventually find it by walking the hotel maze and following the directions on the walls, but a simple sign with arrows leading around to the different events would have made things a lot easier.

The pocket schedules were a great reference to be able to pull out and plan you day or simply to regain your bearings over lunch or dinner.  I'm all for going green but a simple, small, paper reference like this was irreplaceable over the course of the weekend.  The reduced outdoor footprint of the convention center grounds due to construction did make the front of the convention center a bit of a choke point for getting in and out the front doors - but that's what the side entrances and hotel entrances are for.  :)  Both of which, especially the street entrance over by Peets, were the easiest way to get in and out.

So, here it is Monday afternoon after five or so days of craziness at Fanime 2012, years after swearing off cons over ten years ago.  All I can say is that I can't wait for next year and will most certainly be back for the entire convention.  I had a spectacular time and my only regret is that I haven't been attending for the past five years I've lived back in San Jose.  No more of that, see you next year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: royjovero on May 28, 2012, 07:46:20 PM
PROS
-Arcade games. Would've like to see Beatmania IIDX though
-People were generally friendly
-Starbucks served at the Hilton
-Access to lightrail (My group went to Mountain View to eat irrationally large bowls of pho)
-Pocket schedule

CONS
-Day 0 badge fiascos
-Rude Rovers
-People posing in the walkways of Artist Alley and Dealer Hall
-People staring at my girlfriends chest, both when we were walking around together or when she was sitting down
-Elitists on the DDR, ParaPara, Technicka, and DancemaniaX machines, saying that beginners shouldn't be allowed to play
-Price of in-con food (although the 2-for-1 drinks at the taiyaki booth was super-welcome)
-People still don't understand the benefits of proper hygiene
-Poor organization
-Guests, panels, etc. were announced only days before the con

For my first Fanime since 2001, this was fun. I know my girlfriend and I will be back next year, but for how long is still up in the air. Hopefully guests, panels, etc. will be announced a lot quicker next time, as opposed to days before doors open.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: PLUMPKIN on May 28, 2012, 08:20:11 PM
Another Fanime has come and gone.  Anyone also experiencing post-con depression right now? :(  Anyway, here's my list:

CONS

-Registration:  I understand that the electricity went out, but something seriously needs to be done about the registration process.  I had several friends who showed on Saturday before noon and couldn't participate in the convention because it would have been 6pm by the time they got through the day pass line.  My boyfriend decided not to attend at all because of the long registration lines.
  Last year post-con, the idea of mailing out badges was brought out.  It was then immediately shot down by numerous staff members, all stating that they did not want to stuff envelopes (despite offers by several forum members to volunteer).  With regards to getting more people to staff registration, the response was that it's difficult enough getting people to staff Day Zero.  Hence, nothing really changed between last year and this year, and the registration process has continued to deteriorate.
    As someone brought up, ComicCon mails out badges and it seems to work.  With some advanced planning, it's certainly feasible.  Perhaps offer mailed out badges to people who register by March 1 and pay a $10 "processing/shipping fee".  That should be enough to pay for stamps and some food/goodies for those stuffing envelopes.  Yes, there's always a risk for lost badges, but it seems like that happened this year anyway.  
   Unfortunately, as Fanime grows, something needs to be done about registration as waiting 6 hours in line is not acceptable.  One great thing about this year was that those registered at Clockwork Alchemy were able to pick up badges at the Double Tree.  Perhaps dividing up pick-up places (such as getting the badge at the hotel you're staying up) or having more pick-up times might help the process.  These all might sound like horrible ideas to staff members who have insider behind-the-scenes information, but what it boils down to is that things can't just stay the same next year.  The cons of at-con badge pickup are starting to outweigh the pros and drive away attendees.  

PROS

-Shuttle Buses to Clockwork Alchemy:  I was pleasantly surprised by the size and frequency of the hotel shuttle buses.  The longest ever had to wait for a bus was 30 minutes during off-peak times.
-Clockwork Alchemy: Loved the integration of a steampunk convention, especially all the interactive activities.  I also loved the fact that this convention opens Fanime to a new demographic!  Hopefully Clockwork Alchemy comes back next year.
-Stage Zero Info Desk Staff:  When I went to the Info Desk with a question, the person in charge immediately delegated two people to find the answer.  I didn't expect the staff to be so adamant about getting my question answered.  It might have been because my question was about Sunday at-con registration at the Double Tree, but still!  Great professionalism and customer service!
-Allowing people to both enter and exit Artist Alley/Dealers Hall/Gaming Room from both doors: Last year, it was annoying only being allowed to exit from one door.  This year was definitely much better.
-Wi-Fi: The Wi-fi signal in the convention center was amazing.  I walked from one end of the convention to another while streaming video and did not lose my signal.
-Separate Designs for Clockwork Alchemy Badges:  Loved the artwork!

That's pretty much all I have for now.  Will post anything else I think of.  Is it Fanime 2013 yet?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Crizum on May 28, 2012, 08:28:41 PM
Quote-Allowing people to both enter and exit Artist Alley/Dealers Hall/Gaming Room from both doors: Last year, it was annoying only being allowed to exit from one door.  This year was definitely much better.

Really? I was told "You have to exit over there" a few times, they really need to get everyone on the same page :/.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: mdarkpoet on May 28, 2012, 08:53:54 PM
Artist Alley was the only place I was able to enter and exit from both doors. Dealer's Hall and Game Room were very strict about entering and exiting for specified doors.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eri Kagami on May 28, 2012, 09:59:51 PM
Quote from: camivette on May 28, 2012, 02:50:48 PM
Pros:
Sailor Moon! There was a panel and a marathon this year, which I really enjoyed.

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the Sailor Moon panel! <3

The Good
+ Glad all of my panels were a success!
+ Lots of awesome cosplayers
+ I love the San Jose Convention Center venue
+ Easy check in for press / industry (one of my press people ended up with an industry badge? huh?)
+ Masquerade went really smooth and I'm glad it went well
+ I went to a few good panels this year. Yay!
+ Lots of fun stuff at stage zero - game show, fireside chat, angel hearts, etc
+ Maid cafe always delivers. Black forest cake for the win!
+ I love the Fairmont hotel! Nice place to wind down...and take photoshoots
+ Flying Hands massage...oh yeah! XD

The Bad
+ Please publish the schedule a week before con.
+ None of the guests really caught my eye. However, I was much more excited for the TGWTG crew.
+ More of a suggestion - for panel check in, can we phone or text check in? We were trying to get out of the hotel on Monday for checkout so we can make the 10AM panel.
+ I'm not a fan of the "mixer" style dances at the ballroom dance - switching off partners mid-song got annoying
+ In addition, keep the number of exhibitionists down at the ballroom dance. I go to the dance to dance. Save exhibitionists for something like stage zero or any other event.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Mayadesu on May 28, 2012, 10:15:57 PM
I'm just going to re-post this here since the other thread was locked:


I'd say this year was overall better than last year, but I have to agree with the people above about some stuff.

Lines: The biggest problem I had was with the ridiculously long registration lines. I understand the blackout situation, but I think that something should be done about the way badges are handed out, especially now since the population of the con has grown over the years. I really think mailing the badges or having a system where we can just walk by and scan a code or something would save everyone a lot of time and resources. I think my friends and I ended up waiting 7 hours in total.

Rovers: I had much better experiences this year with rovers than I did last year, and most of them were friendly, but there were a couple of them that were rude to a group of us for no reason. A group of us were standing and waiting for an elevator at The Marriott, when some rover from near the peace bonding station came out and started yelling at us for something OTHER PEOPLE DID BEFORE US. She went off on us to not push each other, and literally that whole group waiting wasn't doing anything like that. She said other people were doing it before, but how is that our fault? Also, at one point she said she needed us to: "shut the fuck up". Totally power tripping. Very rude. We weren't even doing anything. Aside from her, the other rovers were quite reasonable.

Construction: I was really sad to see the fountains go (to me they were one of the best assets to the con), and the construction site was pretty ugly, but hey, I'm sure it will look nice once they are finished and I look forward to seeing it.

Elevators: The elevator situation was pretty bad at The Marriott, but I expected it to be like that. Maybe there's some way to make it less of a problem in the future.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: hikanteki on May 28, 2012, 11:03:33 PM
Organization: Despite the registration issues, I thought Fanime was much better organized this year.  It wasn't their fault that the power went out and from what I heard, staff/volunteers handled it extremely well.  This probably had an overflow effect to the next day.  That being said, I got to the pre-reg line at 3 PM on Friday and was done by shortly after 5:11.  2:11 in the registration line is longer than usual but really not that bad.  The line kept moving.  Every volunteer I talked to was extremely helpful.  For a few years it seemed that Fanime was getting a bit bigger than they knew what to do with, but in my opinion they really stepped things up a notch this year.  I do enjoy a bigger convention as long as it doesn't turn into a complete mess.  Crowd seemed a bit younger than usual, but costumes were much better this year.

However -- please post the schedule more than two days in advance!!! But thank you for including the pocket schedules.

Dealer's Hall: Very diverse selection of goods and at better prices than last year...perhaps because the exchange rate has gotten a little better from last year's all-time low.  Lots of Gloomy Bears.  But where was Cartoon Passion?  Also, while I know Fanime doesn't set the prices, I have to vent that $20+ for all T-shirts was a rip-off.

Industry: I appreciated the greater industry presence this year.  This might have been one reason why it seemed "tighter."  The industry video room was awesome and it was great to see the Gurren Lagann, Evangelion, and Fullmetal Alchemist movies.  But the Aniplex Industry Panel was incredibly annoying.  They have such good anime, but the dude in charge was annoying and mispronounced the titles and didn't really seem like he cared that much.  Their slides were pretty amateur.  This is okay for a fan panel.  Not a professional panel.  They also didn't need to tell us every five minutes that we can buy all their moves at _______, ______, and ________ booths.  It seemed more like a bad infomercial than an actual industry panel. 

GOH's: Seemed to be a bit lighter than last year, but that could have been because last year's lineup was so awesome.  But I really liked the different types of guests Fanime brought in (illustrators, directors, etc.)  Yuki Saito's Replay Girls screening & Q&A was a highlight.

MusicFest:  Mai Aizawa and Igaguri Chiba were very nice and fun to watch.  I got to attend Chiba's panel which was pretty awesome.  He his great with his fans.  But the length/non-complexity of MusicFest was a bit of a disappointment.  I know it's kind of a toss-up who Fanime's able to get and yes, I'd much rather have what we had than no MusicFest.  But after Yuya and Flow last year, and Flow and L.Mc the year before, this year just seemed a little bit underpar.  Mai Aizawa only performed like what, three songs?  Chiba's set was better.  But in total the entire show barely lasted an hour.  Some people might have missed Chiba because they expected the opener to last longer and him to come on at 8...but by 8 it was over.  The audience turnout was pretty sad.  There were no real bands with live instruments; just Mai Aizawa by herself and Chiba with two dancers.  Randomly announcing Hatsune Miku was going to appear afterwards as a surprise was awkward and seemed like a last-minute attempt to extend MusicFest. (On the other hand, scheduling Hatsune Miku for the Main Video Room or one of the other Video Rooms would have been a very good idea.)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Mizu on May 28, 2012, 11:07:23 PM
Pros:

Shopping: Artists alley was full of great stuff this year! In previous years it seemed like it was abandoned by Sunday afternoon, but even on Monday it was packed.

Hotel: We stayed at the Fairmont because the convention center hotels were booked, and it was actually far more enjoyable. Close enough to the con that walking wasn't an issue, but far enough away that we didn't have many issues with noise or crowded lobbies and elevators.

Cosplay: It seemed like there was a bit more variety in costuming this year, and the overall quality was up too.

Cons:

Registration: We preregistered and had to wait in the long line on Friday. We packed our bags Friday afternoon, drove there in midday traffic on 101 South, checked into the hotel and got food in less time than it took to get our badges. It took at least 3 hours to get them, and the line wasn't very well managed. We had to ask other con-goers what the huge line outside was for, and there was only one person in the entire staff who took it upon himself to tell us why the line was so long.

Shopping: I'm not sure this is something that Fanime can do anything about, but it seemed like a lot of vendors had not included sales tax in their prices, and they didn't have any signs up to let shoppers know. Some of them were just rounding up sales tax to 10%, too. Even a $20 grab-bag I bought had hiked up tax on it. I kind of feel like it was an "idiot tax" more than anything. Sales tax in this county is only 8.25% so bumping it up has soured my opinion of some dealers a bit.

There also weren't many sales on Monday like in previous years, or I must have missed them all.

It seemed like there wasn't much variety either. It's cool to see things other than anime figurines everywhere, but several wig shops, corset shops, furry raver shops and motorized cat ear shops seemed a bit excessive. Maybe in future years the con would benefit from a separate clothing, costume and accessory dealers room/section.

Cosplayers/photographers: There were tons of great costumes as I said before, but not many people have good photography etiquette. It was very hard to move around the convention center and some of the rooms because people would stop wherever they were for photos, even if it's in the middle of an aisle or directly in front of a doorway.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Asa_Gohan on May 28, 2012, 11:22:21 PM
Cons

As stated above, the power outage, and the line were big problems this year causing people to even miss a lot of events because they were forced to wait 5 hours just to get their badge.  Again though, it's already been said a plenty.

Just putting it out there, but I'd really like it if there was a water station in the gaming room.  There were sooo many times where I felt I was dehydrated and found myself walking out of the game room just to go find one.  Sorry, but paying 4 bucks for a water bottle or some soda is ridiculous.  It would be very convenient as there were people that were playing ninja, break dancing, hacky sack, or things that just get them tired and water is just amazing...

The rave doesnt feel as exciting as it used to be...I can't really put my finger on it, but I just feel that way.  The past years Fanime raves were exciting, these past 2 years haven't really kept up.  Probably the sheer amount of rules and restrictions that were put up.  I know they were put there because of people's stupidity from the previous years but getting some objects banned from the rave just doesnt make it feel like a rave anymore when theyre gone.

Construction, and the loss of the fountain makes me sad face, but what can ya do :\

Disorganized...I felt this year was a bit disorganized.  Though, that could be because I tried to go in line today for next year's registration because it was supposed to be at 12 and I arrive there at 12:10.  However I was then told that it was actually at 10-12, and that they had already cut off the line for next year's Fanime registration.  Saddened I essentially walked away back up figuring I'll just register online for next year only to then hear an announcement a few hours later that it had JUST then closed.  I don't know if it is misinformation or what, but I was very upset about that....

Despite all that, I would have to say that this year was very enjoyable.  Very, very enjoyable.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: blard1 on May 28, 2012, 11:27:37 PM
I very nearly decided against attending this year, owing to the idea that standing in line for several hours for the pleasure of shelling out forty dollars is somehow a good thing. I was talked into going by my wife and my children, whose first exposure to Fanimecon was a wait time Saturday morning of 3 hours, 22 minutes(noted by the lady behind me). I have to say we overall enjoyed the convention, once we finished the registration process and left to obtain lunch someplace with moderately reasonable prices. Sorry, but the in-con food prices are just obscene. The Sailor Moon marathon was a huge hit with my girls, and the Patlabor screenings opened me to a new anime to look up. Most of the volunteers and staff were reasonably helpful and/or polite... most. I can understand the stresses of working a major event(been there, done that), so ok, no big deal. Finding out exact times for the panels, and anything else, really, before getting hold of a pocket calendar at the convention would have been rather useful, but ok, again, no big deal. This brings me, however, to the registration process.

I've worked at, and run events with registration, both at the door and pre-reg, and I honestly have to say this is one of the poorest examples of organization I've ever seen. I can't blame the poor souls standing behind the few laptops used to process the umpteen thousands of people wanting to attend this event; they didn't organize the registration, and I can't even blame the rather large oriental lady who appeared to be a supervisor with the rather severe attitude problem and fascination with exerting her authority over EVERYTHING, no. Allow me to break down the process into steps, to detail my exact concerns:

1) Stand in line to process registration.

Ok, no big thing, everyone's gotta do it, makes sense, not really any way around this. However, given that somebody in charge knows, from past experience, that a LOT of people are going to be standing in this relatively small area for a LONG time, wouldn't it be practical to make arrangements with the building engineers to focus the a/c in this particular area? These people are paying to fund the convention. There are a LOT of people standing in this line waiting to hand over their money, and because of the reg process as a whole, they're going to be standing in line a LONG time. A five minute meeting, an email reminder or some notes would have helped this immensely.

2) Type out name & address into a pre-selected laptop that may or may not be working, to receive a registration number.

Three laptops. That's how many were working a good part of Saturday morning. Five hundred people, with more coming every second, are supposed to process their registration through three laptops, sometime on Saturday. Words fail me at this point. The purpose of the electronic registration, apparently, is to issue each person an individual number, F followed by some sequential number system. With three laptops, to process the thousands of people showing up. Not surprising to me at all that the laptops weren't working properly; I would've done the same, were I them. Here's an idea. Instead of the cost of renting out or buying(and maintaining) these laptops, why not print the registration sheets with the sequential numbers already on them, have each attendee present i.d. at the booth to register, and then go inside to pay? All the volunteers would need to do is verify i.d., make sure the form is filled out, and keep one of the sheets for records. Less stress on the volunteers, no chance of technical issues, and the line would proceed at an acceptable rate. Carving our names on rocks would be faster than the present system. You guys are trying to put on a huge, multi-day extravaganza, we get it. It's complicated and there's no end of issues and problems to deal with, we get that too. This is a perfect opportunity to eliminate one of the biggest issues we as attendees have to face, regardless of whether we pre-register or show up the day of. There's just no need to tie up manpower and resources in this way. It builds frustration on the volunteers and the people footing the bill for the show.

Or, at the very least, provide access to the registration page via the local wi-fi to anyone with a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Would the system get slammed by doing so? Well yeah, obviously. Would providing a separate line for people able to do so speed things up? Yeah, I think it probably would. Again, streamlining the process and minimizing the time people spend in line. Who loses by doing that? Maybe... the janitors? I don't know, it seems like a win for everybody.

3) Pay the fee, and claim a badge.

While standing in line, and listening to the conversations going on around me, I gathered that there was a significant problem with staff giving different answers to the same questions. This happened to me personally, when I asked about the age limit for children, and received three different answers. The problem could be insufficient communication, it could be misunderstood directions, it could be lack of training - I don't know. Personally, though, when this has happened to events I've worked before, we got around it by getting some large sheets of paper, and printing answers for common questions(and solutions for simple problems) and making sure those sheets were easily accessible to all the staff. It elminated the vast majority of issues, and it cost about twenty bucks for the paper, and some markers. A simple, effective solution.


We all come together for this event because of our common interest, there's no other reason so many people trek from across the Bay Area to San Jose on Memorial Day weekend. It's in everyone's best interest for things to run as smoothly as possible. It makes the convention more enjoyable for the fans, and it makes life easier for the staff that's manning the tables and answering questions. The event is enjoyable, nobody can deny that. There are some gaping flaws, though, that are bringing down the quality of the experience as a whole. These flaws aren't all that difficult to sort out, either. It just takes some extra planning and foresight. I'd like to say I plan on attending next year, but, really, there's no excuse for the above problems being allowed to affect the experience as a whole.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Karen on May 28, 2012, 11:30:05 PM
Quote from: camivette on May 28, 2012, 02:50:48 PM
I understand that throwing beach balls could damage property so I wasn't surprised that a staff member confiscated it. I was actually relieved because I no longer needed to look behind me to make sure I didn't get smacked in the head. It bothered me though, when this female staff member took the ball and extended her middle finger and flipped off everyone waiting in line as she walked by. I know that there are a lot of young people volunteering to be staff, so they don't have the level of professionalism you would expect from a paid employee, but there are kids at this event and I thought it was really inappropriate.

The person who did this was not a staff member, but someone waiting in line for their badge.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: BobMakihara on May 28, 2012, 11:44:05 PM
I decided to be more active this time around and play sax, dance all over the place, and generally be more social. It has resulted in my best con experience yet.
The artist's alley was of high quality and absolutely superb!
Dealer's room was pretty cool, too.
Stage zero was the hotness. Well done!
I LOVE that psycho donuts was there. Now if we could only get the Mogo's truck to park at the con all weekend...
So many well designed and exuberant cosplays. Fantastic!
Mini schedule! YES!
Frequent shuttle service! YES!
Cosplay gatherings rocked!

As far as improvements...
This convention keeps getting better, and because of that it keeps getting bigger.

Crowd management. I don't know how many people ended up attending, but I am willing to guess that there was a bigger than normal jump in attendance. There were pretty huge lines on Sunday afternoon, for goodness sake. I have never seen that at another Fanime. The hallways were full of people... how about extending the "no stop zone" next to stage zero all the way through the convention center? You can make it into a highway that has fun exits and everything. ^_^

It is time to revamp the registration system.  Something that can clear more than a few hundred clients every hour. I know the reg staff worked their asses off and had a lot of setbacks that were out of their control, and I appreciate all the staff that stayed until midnight on Thursday even though you were supposed to be outta there at 8. Fanime is growing, and this process needs to grow in a way that prevents 7 hour waits for pre-reg (your most enthusiastic client base) and doesn't burn out the staff. I have every expectation that the Fanime staff will rise to this challenge, as they have improved the con over the years. I love how Fanime has grown, it is still my favorite and hands down the best con on the west coast. Keep up the good work.

It would be nice to have a dedicated space for general dancing. There is a significant contingent of lockers, poppers, breakers, kpop, jpop, house, hip hop and etc. dancers at the con. Many circles get started with anything from a small boombox to a full blown mobile DJ set, but then have to be broken up because of the obstruction they cause. I know the standard response would be "that's what the rave is for", but dancers frown on the rave a bit because
-it is too dark to see detailed moves
-the music that is being played may or may not be 'dance-able'
-heat and stench (vomit on the dance floor?! @_@)
Those are the reasons I hear dancers complain about the most. If there was a flexible space set up for instruction (a la ballroom dancing), battles, circles, and performances, then it would prevent disruption from random circles forming in the walkways in addition to creating a kick ass place to hang out and giving fanime DJs more opportunities to show off their skills.

It would be nice to have the con schedule a bit earlier. It would be extra nice if I could have an online version of the schedule in which I could click an event/panel and it would add that event to my google/iOS calendar. Wishful thinking here, it is a lot of information to process and package in such a limited time.

Overall, best Fanime experience I have had. I love the work that the staff puts in to make this event bigger and better every year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Nina Star 9 on May 28, 2012, 11:46:22 PM
Will likely have a more thoughtful and detailed post once I catch up on sleep, but I wanted to put in my opinion on the Swap Meet location, since it's come up.


For me, the distance wasn't a problem. The Fairmont really isn't that far away. I like that the con is willing to use space in non-connected locations for events, since the con is getting very crowded. However, I didn't even attend the Swap Meet for one important reason -- I didn't feel comfortable walking there by myself at night. I'm sure there were a lot of con-goers around, and I was perfectly comfortable walking around either at night with people I knew or by myself during the day. Friday night, though, I was in a somewhat sexy cosplay and felt uncomfortable enough getting hit on just outside of the convention center (in the former fountains area) that I would have been super uncomfortable walking even a short distance down the street to attend an event. I probably wouldn't have felt very comfortable with it even in a less sexy costume (or in regular clothing), but might have managed. Even so, I heard stories about drunk people in that area (on Friday night) bothering people I know who were in non-sexy cosplay in entirely non-sexual ways, so it may have been scary even if I had found someone to escort me. I usually enjoy the Swap Meet and wish that I was able to attend, but I wasn't about to go walk past a bunch of drunk people and potentially get harassed (or worse), no matter what I was wearing, though the sexy cosplay would have made it a lot worse.

Maybe there could be a way to beef up security around the area if the Swap Meet continues to be located off-site? It would probably take a lot of extra staffing, but I felt very uncomfortable at the idea of walking there alone in anything, certainly not in the costume I was in. I don't know how many others felt the same way, but as a smallish woman, I know that my walking alone probably wouldn't have been the best idea.


Also, not really something that Fanime itself can help, and it could just be that I haven't noticed it in my 9 Fanimes prior to this one, but I ran into a lot more drunk congoers than usual. I usually encounter some, but not quite as many as I did this year. It could be because the con is getting so large that there are more in number but the same in proportion, it could be that I just noticed it more, I don't know, but I certainly noticed more overt drunkeness this year for whatever reason. I have no problem with people drinking in moderation, but obviously drunk people at the con can pose an issue. It didn't really even put a dent in my con experience, let alone ruin it, not by a longshot, just an observation.

There also seemed to be more creepers, even in a cosplay that I've been wearing for a few years (so I have a lot of expereince wearing it to compare it to), but that is more than likely just an observational difference and a difference in what I was doing, haha. Again, nothing really that Fanime itself can do about that! Of course, it's to be expected in my Maj. Kusanagi cosplay, but even as Ulala, the one I've worn for a few years now, it seems like I got creeped on a lot more than usual. If anything can be done about it (since educating the entire Fanime population about the proper way to interact with others isn't exactly feasible!), maybe add a small section in the program guide on how to not be a creeper somewhere in between "please shower. with soap." and "this is how you politely ask someone for a photo and not block hallways while doing it"? I doubt it would help much, but I think that a lot of people don't realize they are being creepy! Adding into the etiquiette section a part to remind congoers about how cosplayers are people in costumes and not walking characters or a pretty thing might benefit many different situations, though.


...This was longer than I expected! And sounds way too much like I'm just complaining about being hit on, which isn't how I intended for it to come off at all! Maybe I need to work on that sleep part right now and revise this in the morning. ;)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: KiKi on May 29, 2012, 12:01:11 AM
I would like to also comment on poor planning this year. I must say that it took quite a while for updates to be posted on everything. The convention is getting bigger yet the accommodation are staying the same. It was often times I could hear from staff (of hotel and con) that they were not prepared for this and that. The wait for everything was quite ridiculous and I would suggest looking into either planning for a wider turn out or to limit the amount of tickets sold. I'm curious though as to the reasons why events were not updated and cut back. The viewing rooms seemed like less and the dojo was not well planned either. There were many things I felt were not quite right about the con this time. The help was lacking as well. I even tried texting a rover like the back of the badge said and never received a text yet. When trying ask a question about admission, I was sent to several different tables until I eventually stuck with one help who told me "I don't know." One night my eyes were burning and all I wanted was to used eye drops but was told to wait until a medic was available to come over at the First Aid station. What I did enjoy from my stay was the panels offered. There was a good variety of panels and good to see new and old panels offered. Hopefully next year the con will have way better planning and learn to accommodate for a MUCH larger admission!!!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: KiKi on May 29, 2012, 12:04:39 AM
Quote from: CJ on May 28, 2012, 10:13:11 AM
Lots of positives to note, so I'll save time by bringing up concerns.

1) In the main book for Fanime 2012 it lists "flats" as an acceptable shoe wear for women at the Black and White Ball, and that shoes with heels more than 4 inches would be unacceptable. However, while in line, a Rover told my girlfriend that she would not be allowed to enter because her shoes (which were flats) did not have heels and thus would scuff up the dance floor.

Don't know whether this was fault on part of the Rover, whomever wrote the booklet, or even the ballroom owners. The point is that conflicting information was given, and we were denied entrance (or rather my girlfriend was and I didn't stand for it). It also doesn't help that whether or not a pair of shoes has heels or not is not the end-all reason whether or not shoes scuff good floors.


My friend complained about a similar thing with the ball. There were many contradictions in dress code than what they rovers said were dress code appropriate.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: KiKi on May 29, 2012, 12:25:44 AM
Quote from: Crizum on May 28, 2012, 08:28:41 PM
Quote-Allowing people to both enter and exit Artist Alley/Dealers Hall/Gaming Room from both doors: Last year, it was annoying only being allowed to exit from one door.  This year was definitely much better.

Really? I was told "You have to exit over there" a few times, they really need to get everyone on the same page :/.


Ditto
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: nemuneko on May 29, 2012, 01:11:17 AM
I've been attending Fanime since the 90s, so I'm a long-time attendee. We had a lot of fun this year, but some things could be improved.

We pre-registered, but came on Saturday afternoon to pick up our badges (we didn't stay at a hotel, but commuted from the Concord/Walnut Creek area), so we didn't have any trouble with registration and long lines like a lot of people. By that point, there was no line at all, which was great. I can definitely understand the frustration with waiting in long lines for registration, though (we waited in line 4+ hours last year on a Saturday because my friend didn't pre-register).

PROS:


CONS:


Sorry this was so long, but I just wanted to elaborate a bit on some of the problems we experienced. We still had an awesome time at Fanime and appreciate all the hard work you guys put into it. Keep up the great work and thanks for reading my comments! Looking forward to next year! :D
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SSHPFan on May 29, 2012, 01:36:38 AM
I'll start with the pros so my main complaint looks less bitchy. xD

Pros:

1. Many dealers that sold wigs and books.
2. GREAT MUSIC AT STAGE ZERO.
3. Good places to sneak away and take cosplay photos.
4. The booklet returned from it's tomb. <3
5. Got to see old buds.
6. Most of the rovers were nice and very helpful when I got lost. ><

Cons (dun, dun, dun):

1. Not too many panels interested me. I was hoping for more "advanced" cosplay panels as opposed to basics. That's just my opinion though. ^^
2. Shoving. I broke my shoulder about a week before con and ended up getting hit with a heavy box. I know the person didn't mean to and had no knowledge of my injury, but in EVERY crowd I walked through I was shoved and my husband's coat kept getting pulled on.
3. The arrow walkway had people going up and down the wrong sides.
4. People stopping in the middle of crowded spaces. This isn't the cons fault but it was very annoying.
5. Before I even start this one, let me make myself very clear. I know that weapons and peace-bonding rules are subject to change, but I never once saw an update for what I'm going to complain about. I was resting against a wall in one of the hallways on Monday when a rover approached me and asked if I had taken my cane to get peace-bonded. I replied no and explained that I need it for medical reasons. He then told me I NEEDED to get it peace-bonded, that even Fanime's chairman (who is disabaled I guess) had his peace-bonded.
First of all Fanime posted the following as part of THEIR peace-bonding rules:

"I have a cane, and I actually use it to walk. Does it need to be peace-bonded?
No. If it is medically necessary, we do not have to peace bond it."

Second the exact same rule is printed inside the FanimeCon 2012 Program Guide page 16 under FanimeCon Cosplay and Peace-Bonding FAQ.

Now maybe I missed the memo (highly possible) about this sudden change, but if I am in the right then that rover was just being a douche. I agree with having props peace-bonded if they are props, but if they are medically needed then I see no point in embarassing attendees and demanding them to do such things.

Hope to see those of you who were friendly next year!!

<3
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Gunbuster on May 29, 2012, 04:16:29 AM
Plenty of Pros and cons this year. A lot has been mentioned

Pros:


Pocket Schedule
- It's always great when there's an actual schedule before the con. Having a downloadable version for smartphones was a nice touch.

Masquerade
- The event went smoothly, the host was great, and entertain was provided during judging, which didn't take too long. A highlight event.

Guests - The guest list was small, but good quality. Great seeing Yamaga and Yokota again. Really hope to see them next year as well. Asamiya was a huge draw for me this con as well. I really like the artists that get brought in.

Use of the Fairmont
- While a bit of a distance, it's nice to continue to see all the con space get utilized. It worked well for Swap Meet and Autographs.

Yamaga Party - Always a great event. Especially for those that can't make the panels of the guests.

Tribute to Noboru Ishiguro - I was very happy to see a number of his works not only playing, but highlighted in the schedule.

Midnight Madness - Very happy to see the tradition continue.

Swap Meet open to everyone of Thursday.
- This went a long way to easing the woes over not getting ones badge on Day 0. Kudos.

Neutral/Oddity

My Little Pony Panels
- I want to start off by saying that I'm actually a fan of the show, and enjoyed Friday's panel, so this is not a complaint directed at the panelists. I must question it's place at the con. While I could understand if the show had a very anime like flavor, it does not. The art style is very much classic cartoons, no companies or artists of Japan are involved to my knowledge, and the show hardly, if ever, references anime or Japanese pop culture. Simply put, it has nothing to do with the convention's theme outside of being animated. I know it's popular with anime fans, and cosplayed heavily this year, but I question whether that alone warrants it being highlighted at the con.

Cons

A lot has been said of the lines for prereg, so I won't echo them here. Though I particularly didn't like asking one rover where the end of the line was, going to it, and finding it had already been cut off. Better information to the guests always helps.

Musicfest - I'll start by saying that the guests that performed were great. Mai Aizawa has a great voice and Chiba has a lot of energy and showmanship. However, it was obvious that the event was not what was planned nor even on scale from years before. The event opened with a video of a bunch of performers apologizing for not being there. Who starts a show with a list of who you won't be seeing? I'm told some of the comments weren't even subbed. It was also billed as an intermission video, so again, why open with it? Mai only sang two songs. Two. I was a little late and missed most of it, and with only two performers, that just doesn't seem right. The main act, Chiba, only performed for about half an hour. Seeing him headlined, I would've expected something a lot longer. Worse, the majority of the length of the event was a video presentation of a Vocaloid concert. I wasn't expecting a hologram event, but to switch from the high energy of Chiba to a video screening just killed the energy. Even Vocaloid cosplayers left in droves.

It just seems obvious that plans for Musicfest either feel through (understandable) or the event simply was not prioritized. While I appreciated that something was done to pad the length, an opening act of two songs followed by a main act of about 9 songs and then an hour of video does not make a music event no matter the quality of performers. It wasn't even listed as an event on the website. Ever. Musicfest has been a main event for me since it was called Gakufest, and I really hope to see it shine again next year. I'm not even saying we need A-listers, but past events have been great even with small, obscure bands.

Autograph sessions - The autograph situation really highlights how unorganized or poorly thought out some things were. I echo all of CutieBunny's concerns.

For starters, why only on Saturday and Sunday? I know not all guests stay the whole con, and guest schedules need to be worked out, but having signings on Friday and Monday would really help getting more people autographs.

The scheduling also didn't work. Why schedule autographs of sketching artists right after their panels? Since sketches take time no matter how quick, it guarantees that anyone who attended the panel will not be getting a sketch or even a signature. This is fine for Mai Aizawa and other non-artists, but even an hour apart like on Sunday for Asamiya made attending the panels impossible as anyone who got a sketch had to be in line at least three hours in advance for a maybe. I'm a big fan of Asamiya, and only was able to make his appearance at the Yamaga Party.

The length of the sessions for sketch artists was also too brief to believably allow more than a handful to get anything. If you wanted a sketch, you had to be there for hours. While it was mentioned that Yokota's first signing had a two hour window due to nothing scheduled after it, he stopped after one hour due to other commitments, so it wasn't even used and people would put on priority for the next signing (to quell Cutiebunny's peeve on that, most on that list had indeed waited hours, not minutes). It would make sense to me to devote as much free time to get through the line as possible. While they draw a line, it's not one nearly as long as a voice actor's, so even an extra hour would accommodate much more of the line. Scheduling a session right after their panel and then an interview or something else immediately after for guests that love to draw just doesn't seem well thought out a plan for getting as many happy con-goers, many who've given up the rest of the day to wait in line, including the artists' own panels, their sought out autograph. The room was also huge. Surely another table could be set up to accommodate sketches while other guests sign. Last year, that very thing happened on the fly and it worked very well in a much smaller room.

There also seemed to be plenty of miscommunication during the sessions. Asamiya's line on Saturday was told around 45 minutes in that he'd sketch for another 15 minutes after. Some apparently heard that the next ten would indeed get in (I personally don't recall this, and was among them). 5 minutes before four, we're told the autographs are done. I know he has to get out at a certain time, but why get peoples hopes off just to say something else minutes later? I did appreciate the Sunday Asamiya line being cut off at a reasonable time and people told to not expect sketches at a certain point. The Chiba signing had a 15 minute delay due to missing staffers I was told. Staffers never seemed to know exactly how many could get in, how long things would last and so on. Everything was on the fly. Seeing as Yokota in particular is a repeat guest, sure they know what to expect by now.

The worst of this miscommunication was the website and Musicfest highly promoting the sale of goods of bands that couldn't make it this year with the bonus of signed items. An awesome gesture. They never appeared. Musicfest distinctly said they'd be offered at the autograph sessions. I asked the reseller at Chiba's session after Musicfest. He said they were at the con but they didn't get them to that session in time, so they would be available at later autograph sessions. Not only were they not, the autograph staffers had no info on them at all. One told me that that was all Musicfest's department. I happened to get up to stretch my legs at one point Sunday and glanced through the door to see how it was going as I walked back. A female staffer exiting the room at the time (wearing no badge) inquired if I had a question. While I was not up specifically to ask it, I figured since she asked  I would also inquire her about the Musicfest items. She told me that the sessions they were at had already passed. I told her that I was at those sessions and was told that they weren't there and would be at Sunday's instead.  She said I had had to ask about them at those previous sessions. I said that I had at the same session and was again told they would be there on Sunday. She then said she didn't know where they were nor was there anything she could do about it (no one made any attempt to find out about these items so publicized). She then told me that there's a lot of misinformation going around and that she thought I complained too much and intentionally make myself stand out. I was rather taken aback at this nonchalant insult and even told her that I was sorry and wasn't complaining, I was simply trying to ask a question about something multiple sources had given me details about. She said she simply didn't know. It wasn't a rumor, it was on the website and publicized at the event. Surely asking what happened or if perhaps they meant the dealers room isn't "complaining". I'm utterly aghast that a staffer would be so unprofessional as to outright criticize a member for asking a question she solicited simply because he wasn't accepting the information she had that he (and she since she was present at most if not all the signings) knew wasn't fully correct. I wasn't complaining at the time, but I certainly am now.

The final issue at the signing was the handling of autographs only for Asamiya. They did this at both sessions where they announced about ten minutes in the formation of a separate line for people who only wanted autographs. I understand and approve wanting to get as many through the line as possible, and even get their defense when people took issue with it that it "only takes five seconds". However, it should be understandable that just about everyone that went into that line had been there minutes and were now guaranteed something. It may only take seconds, but when you have staffers scrambling to get people through the line, egging the artist to draw faster, or worried about closing on time, 20 people getting autographs effectively denies at least one person who'd been waiting hours a sketch when they cut twenty minute in advance the day before. No one is entitled, but the concept of first come, first served should be honored. I also heard that staffers got colored sketches right at the start of the Sunday session since he was early. With people waiting, is that truly fair? One guy even joined the autograph only line after it had been both closed and moved into the other room. He poked his head in thirty minutes in and asked if we minded. We told him, like we'd been asked by the staffers to, that it was cut and that we minded. He got one anyway (he assured me that it really only took five seconds).  At the very least, a separate line should've been made much prior to the start. Instead of pulling people from the line, and sending them in first, tell them to wait at the back and send them in last since it only takes seconds and they know no more sketches can be made. Better yet, do what wound up happening on Sunday, late in the session, tell the people waiting what to expect and at a certain point cut off sketches and make everyone after autograph only. That way, those that were late get autographs and those waiting hours don't feel like they were cut off because of the prioritizing of those that just showed up and didn't care as much. I'm happy to hear that everyone waiting on Sunday at least got an autograph, many with a quicker sketch.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: renalcul on May 29, 2012, 04:56:29 AM
Quote from: Gunbuster on May 29, 2012, 04:16:29 AM

Neutral/Oddity

My Little Pony Panels
- I want to start off by saying that I'm actually a fan of the show, and enjoyed Friday's panel, so this is not a complaint directed at the panelists. I must question it's place at the con. While I could understand if the show had a very anime like flavor, it does not. The art style is very much classic cartoons, no companies or artists of Japan are involved to my knowledge, and the show hardly, if ever, references anime or Japanese pop culture. Simply put, it has nothing to do with the convention's theme outside of being animated. I know it's popular with anime fans, and cosplayed heavily this year, but I question whether that alone warrants it being highlighted at the con.
There are more than a few panels that don't directly relate to anime.

Fanime is a con for fans by fans, there are panels about videogames and dating and even a few improv panels, i don't see why ponies can't belong too :]. So i mean, it's not really "Highlighted" so much as just another panel where people can talk about things, make jokes, and have fun.

Also, i'm glad you enjoyed my panel, i've already kinda figured out what to fix if i do it again next year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Gunbuster on May 29, 2012, 05:41:52 AM
While it's true that there are other panels not directly related to anime, most at least relate to Japan (Japanese video games for example) or convention culture (the dating panels tend to be specifically for fans). I'd just like that they all tend to tie in to the theme (though I'm sure there are those that don't, it's not like I can make all of them nor do I have a schedule). Sorry if I singled yours out as an example. 
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eurobeat King on May 29, 2012, 07:57:36 AM
Since I didn't pre-reg. I was fortunate not to wait in that cluster-cuss that was Day Zero, allowing me to be free to take pictures until it was time to head over to the Fairmont for the Swap Meet.  Throughout the day, seeing the lines stretch all the way to the Hilton side and Peet's Coffee, and then out the doors to Almaden Blvd., and then back n' forth inside the convention center, makes me reallllly glad I didn't pre-reg. 

I needed to do at-con registration, so after a long night selling stuff at the Swap Meet, I waited in-line for registration from 4:30am to 8:00am.  Then the servers went down, delaying registration from opening until 8:45am.  Got my badge within 10 minutes after things finally got started.  So total time waiting for me was less than an hour. :)  To clarify, I didn't mind waiting from 4:30-8:00am, since that was the time I chose to get in-line.  I myself count the time when registration opens to the time when I have the badge in my hand. 

I think for next year I will do this again.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Maskenlav on May 29, 2012, 09:03:16 AM
Quote from: Nina Star 9 on May 28, 2012, 11:46:22 PM
Also, not really something that Fanime itself can help, and it could just be that I haven't noticed it in my 9 Fanimes prior to this one, but I ran into a lot more drunk congoers than usual. I usually encounter some, but not quite as many as I did this year. It could be because the con is getting so large that there are more in number but the same in proportion, it could be that I just noticed it more, I don't know, but I certainly noticed more overt drunkeness this year for whatever reason. I have no problem with people drinking in moderation, but obviously drunk people at the con can pose an issue. It didn't really even put a dent in my con experience, let alone ruin it, not by a longshot, just an observation.

I'm guessing it's because the checkpoint to the dance was pushed up to the first double doors rather than inside the hallway so the ravers couldn't sneak in alcohol to get buzzed for the rave which led them to be wasted outside or drink beforehand at their rooms. They did a thorough search through each bag or purse also.


mini Feedback:

pros: extra security on hand, mini schedules, dandy gatherings and sexy as hell cosplayers such as there was this one gal who had only 2 flaps covering her boobs while wearing a revealing top, booty shorts and long boots.

cons: fountain removal really hit me hard when I saw that desert dry garden in person. Whats the deal with that??? The Hilton side tree bed was gone so shade was only on Marriott's side


MORE TO EDIT

Mod edit: its called a dance
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kimlikewhoa on May 29, 2012, 09:09:37 AM
PLEASE mail us our badges if we pre-reg from now on. That way we won't have to wait in line. It'd be like a perk :)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Rizumi on May 29, 2012, 10:24:52 AM
Quote from: kimlikewhoa on May 29, 2012, 09:09:37 AM
PLEASE mail us our badges if we pre-reg from now on. That way we won't have to wait in line. It'd be like a perk :)

May I second this?

Anywho~

- Pros:


- Cons:

Well, this is all I have got to say for now. I'll add onto it if I remember any more.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: le_momo on May 29, 2012, 10:59:24 AM
Quote from: KiKi on May 29, 2012, 12:04:39 AM
Quote from: CJ on May 28, 2012, 10:13:11 AM
Lots of positives to note, so I'll save time by bringing up concerns.

1) In the main book for Fanime 2012 it lists "flats" as an acceptable shoe wear for women at the Black and White Ball, and that shoes with heels more than 4 inches would be unacceptable. However, while in line, a Rover told my girlfriend that she would not be allowed to enter because her shoes (which were flats) did not have heels and thus would scuff up the dance floor.

Don't know whether this was fault on part of the Rover, whomever wrote the booklet, or even the ballroom owners. The point is that conflicting information was given, and we were denied entrance (or rather my girlfriend was and I didn't stand for it). It also doesn't help that whether or not a pair of shoes has heels or not is not the end-all reason whether or not shoes scuff good floors.


My friend complained about a similar thing with the ball. There were many contradictions in dress code than what they rovers said were dress code appropriate.

I apologize that you had such an experience. We will try to clarify the dress code better (in the dress code itself, as well as what the rovers need to know as appropriate/inappropriate attire) in the future. Thank you for the feedback!

- Rebecca
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Freeden on May 29, 2012, 11:08:03 AM
Quote from: BobMakihara on May 28, 2012, 11:44:05 PM
I decided to be more active this time around and play sax, dance all over the place, and generally be more social. It has resulted in my best con experience yet.

You were awesome on that sax dude. It made the con more interesting.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Pyrefly on May 29, 2012, 11:11:37 AM
Obvious registration issues. Some of my friends waited 4-5 hours for their pre-reg badges, and this is simply unacceptable as too many badge-required events were missed. I waited all the way until sunday around noon to pick up my badge when the line had finally disappeared. However, even standing there with literally no one else in line, right at the desk, I had to alert the volunteers to my presence because they guy at the laptop was too busy showing his friend about some anime that had a kangaroo in it. Come on people, you're there to help the customers first, whether there's 5000 or 2 people in line. I literally stood there for a minute right infront of him looking at him and his co-workers and had to say "excuse me, can I please get my badge?" Unacceptable.

The staff photographer "in charge" of official cosplay gatherings... was extremely unpleasant to work with. He started off by telling us he was not at all familiar with our series so we should suggest poses, yet then went on to boss us around in a not-very-nice tone in poses and formations that didn't at all match our characters or what we were trying to do. Please let the cosplayers pose themselves unless they specifically ask for help.

Stage Zero - Our time performing was handled fantastically while we were there. However, the pre-organization and sign-ups MUST be handled much, much more in advance. Some of us plan our entire weekends around which slot we receive. We can't be waiting around until 3 weeks before the con itself to work everything else out. Also really wish they'd leave more spots open for fan-based stuff rather than official Fanime events. Use a panel room for those things for goodness sakes!!

Masquerade - One of the most organized I've participated in, though notorious for running into the late evening hours. Never heard of a couple of the judges that were described as seasoned cosplayers though. Will be sad to see Marisa Price and her crew go. Emcee's opening was a little stale.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Dracil on May 29, 2012, 11:25:23 AM
Badges: Either do what other big conventions do and give the option to mail out badges (I don't care if we have to pay extra, I'd do it to not spend 7 hours in line and miss the Thursday Swap Meet and then be given a paper badge because you didn't get our plastic badges till Monday) or double the number of people doing registration on Thursday/Friday.  Take some of those Rovers playing Move the Line and Make Them Think Things are Moving and get them to do registration instead.  If you were processing badges faster then you wouldn't have to keep moving people around.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Bushido on May 29, 2012, 11:52:18 AM
My main complaint is towards Head Rover Terrance. He wears glasses and has a buzz cut. This man should not be working again as head rover next year. He right off the bat very rude, smug and arrogant. I understand that staff says that he's military but I couldn't care less if he was. It gives no excuse for him to treat me the way he did. Basically this man ruined all of Friday for me as he outright denied my Stormtrooper blaster prop, which was made out of hyperfirm rubber with no working components and is a big piece of rubber, without giving me a chance to explain and prove that it's clearly a fake and ignoring other weapons that looked more real than mine. I also must point out that his examples as to trying to prove his point like when these snipers on the roof tops protecting Obama when he was in San Jose a couple of days ago wouldn't like my blaster, well what kind of idiot would even bring a fake gun or even a cheap $1 squirt gun when the President is around? And no sorry but I also have to call bullshit on police frisking Stormtroopers just because of our blasters. Even as going as far as going on the radio and essentially labeling me a criminal. What's funny is he claims to be a fan of the 501st Legion, an organization I'm apart of, while at the same time as I said treated me like a criminal which not only did he disrespected me but spat all over the good name of the 501st Legion as a whole. I am not the only person who this man had gave crap to. There are plenty of others who understand where I'm getting at. I spent most of my Friday trying to get this mess of a situation resolved so that my fellow garrison members wouldn't have to go through what I had to go through.

Also I think the staff can do a better job not procrastinating. Having per-registration, hotel registration, guest announcements come extremely late is not the way staff should run a con. I understand that there was a staff change but that's not enough to excuse such a poor job.

All things concerned the only major complaint is Terrance. He is the number one example of who not to hire back.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Imagine on May 29, 2012, 12:26:23 PM
Well, aside from the obvious registration problems, I really only have two complaints:

1) The concourse area is complete anarchy. At one point people were blocking off the entire area between exhibit halls 2 and 3 because there were some folks breakdancing, which is fine in itself, but really shouldn't be done in the middle of the busiest area. Also, people running up and down the area screaming for no particular reason is really getting out of hand, and I'm beginning to suspect that there were a lot of people around that area without badges when it got to later at night. Might want to think about checking badges at the entrances of the center, not just the halls/panels.

2) I don't know what happened, but on Sunday night music just started playing out of the concourse speakers. I'm not sure if this happened every night or not, but a few friends and I settled into the Stage Zero area to watch Time of Eve, when suddenly the speakers right above the seats started to go off playing random tunes. It was so disappointing and distracting that (after having complained about it to the staff at Stage Zero and just getting a huh, hadn't noticed that before and then a shrug) we just had to leave because it the show unwatchable.

Other than that, I enjoyed the con. Spent probably entirely way too much money which is always a good sign of enjoying one's self, and the people who I were with who are fairly limited in their anime knowledge had a ball too.

PS: As a personal suggestion from an editor, I'd love to see the FMV contest be moved into the Main Video room instead of having it split right next to each other.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: talisein on May 29, 2012, 12:53:08 PM
My bag didn't have a pocket schedule in it, and the Info desk couldn't give me one. But what would have REALLY helped was placing a link to the online schedule on the front page of www.fanime.com! My cell phone didn't go to m.fanime.com and I had no idea there was an actual, useful schedule online with updates until Monday.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: sushisoap on May 29, 2012, 02:44:19 PM
Pros

-Pocket guide was useful, even though I didn't make it to a lot of the events. It would have been nice to have the large events more noticeable in the guide, such as the black and white ball, masquerade, etc. I can't remember which ones, but some of the larger events didn't have times, and/or locations on the guide!

-The artist's alley was so awesome! One of the best I've seen, I loved the variety and it was pretty cool in there. Dealer's hall was a little hot, but still nice. I mean, what can you do about body heat, honestly. xD

Cons

-The registration line! My girlfriend and I waited over 3, almost 4 hours Friday morning for our badge. Please please PLEASE, mail them in advance! I went to a con last year that msiled the badges, and it's so nice! Fanime is large enough to merit this. At the time, the line for registering was much shorter than the pre reg line. The people who waited to register until they got to con were able to get in hours before thousands of pre reg attendees. Not saying they are to blame, at all, I just think the people who registered first should you know... be able to get in. And not miss some badge only events!

-Not sure how I felt about keeping the location of meetups under locks... you had to go to an info desk to unlock the abbreviations and understand where things are being held. I was in a hurry most con, and ended up missing several events I wished to photograph because it was too much hassle to keep checking the schedule, asking the front desk, and going to the location.

-Food was expensive. I mean not just con expensive, but way inflated. If my gf and I didn't need them so bad, we wouldn't have bought the two small energy drinks that were priced at 5 dollars a piece! They're normally 2 max, retail. It was nice to have a wide variety of food a short walk away, though. The location is fantastic, but there were just SO many people! I also didn't understand why no one could walk on those arrowed walkways either. xD I'm sure if they had worked, it would have been a very good idea.

-Hmm... that's about it. It was a really fun con, and I'd like to say that the organization was pretty good in terms of where each event was held. c: I didn't really have trouble with the rovers, there were one or two very rude ones that made us press nearly flat against the wall while waiting in line (pre reg mostly), which I understand. . . at least be polite, though.

Quote from: Pyrefly on May 29, 2012, 11:11:37 AM
The staff photographer "in charge" of official cosplay gatherings... was extremely unpleasant to work with. He started off by telling us he was not at all familiar with our series so we should suggest poses, yet then went on to boss us around in a not-very-nice tone in poses and formations that didn't at all match our characters or what we were trying to do. Please let the cosplayers pose themselves unless they specifically ask for help.
This. At the Hetalia gathering it was great that he kept calling for more attitude and more expression (which was fantastic, it did help), but some times it would be less helpful and more demanding, especially when the groups are groups that DON'T smile or have a lot of expression. At the old school gathering, he would put people in poses and absolutely NOT let some change, even though he stated several times he had no idea what the series was and what the characters did. If we ever find the photos from that shoot for us we'll never use/appreciate them, because he brought random people in different cosplay into the shot as props. Yes, props.


Overall, it was enjoyable. I know I have far more cons than pros on this list, but they weren't so traumatic that I didn't have a good time. There were a lot of good things, as well.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: OtakuMcGreevy on May 29, 2012, 02:44:55 PM
Pros:
-All of the rovers I came across were extremely helpful! When we didn't know where the MusicFest was being held, a rover at the Fanime info desk walked us alllll the waaay through the con center, across the street, and to the end of the line(which, at that point, was curved around the Tech Museum).
-One staff member in particular was really helpful! My friend lost her badge, and after a while at the info desk, we were told to ask for a specific person at the registration desk.  We ended up being confused and going to the wrong place, but a staff member(I didn't catch his name, but he was handing out pixie stix) was incredibly nice and led us to where we needed to go(and gave us some sugary snacks).
-The con was AMAZING~

Cons:
-Registration line on Thursday. This was the only downside to the con, but even so I realize that it wasn't Fanime's fault that there was a power outage. The only thing is that they announced that early reg had to leave due to technical difficulties, but then, a little while later, they announced that they could process earl reg. But by then, all of the early reg had left, so a lot of people left the line for nothing(many of whom had waited for hours and hours)

All in all, I LOVED Fanime, and can't wait until FanimeCon '13!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: RitsukaUzumaki on May 29, 2012, 02:46:28 PM
This was my first time to FanimeCon.... It was NOT anywhere near as fun as I had expected and was told by others!
Also several of my friends that have attended before said that it was one of the worst Fanime's they've been to.

I'm not sure if it's up to Fanime or the hotel but the Shuttle Bus service was just awful!
I missed almost all of the Cosplay gatherings I was gonna go to because the shuttle bus for my hotel always ran late and waited way too long even after it was almost full.
I'd show up super early sometimes and still it took longer than it said it would.
One of the drivers got out for 20 minutes with no explanation, then came back and sat there waited for another 15 minutes with an almost full bus for no one to show up.

Also the con security was: rude, obnoxiousness, acted like they were above every one and no one else mattered, pretty much on a total power trip. One of them even knocked my friend down and just said "be more careful" and left.

I know there was a problem with the power so the registration had been backed up, but there has to be a better way to organize things.
Putting both Pre-Reg and AtCon-Reg in the same line was totally unbelievable!!
I didn't Pre-Reg just to be stuck in line with all the people who were AtCon-Reg.

The only good things I found at Fanime was the Masquerade, the Black and White Ball, and the fact that I got to meet some amazing people.

I'll still be coming back next year in hope that this year just wasn't a good one and FanimeCon2013 will be much more fun and more organized.


Oh, but one more thing.. no chemical glow sticks in the rave....? Because some idiots decided to drink them?!? If they wanna be stupid, let them, don't ruin the fun for every one else because of some dumb-asses!  Just totally unbelievable..  >:(
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Junon on May 29, 2012, 03:03:18 PM
Positives

- Panels. Many more of them were right up there with my personal interests, so I spent a great deal of time hunting them down and attending. I hope there are more next year.

- Clockwork Alchemy. I found this to be much better than Fanime itself, too bad it was so far away.

Negatives

- 6 hour line of the infinite. As I said in a topic that was locked, I know Fanime has no control over the power outage, but a pre-reg line can be avoided entirely if only badges were mailed out to people before the con starts.

- During the mega line, rovers were starting to break down, communications were not happening, and each one started to deviate from their coordination plans (as over heard many times). As such, a section of line was placed in front of ours, even though those people came in an hour after we showed up. That line added another hour of waiting for the rest of us.

- A Rover (in a makeshift Pikachu cap) allowed people to cut in front of us, not sure if they were his friends or not, but I was pretty ticked off about being in line for 6 hours and these clowns were there for 15 minutes. As stated before I would have stomped them down if only I could feel my legs. Normally I would have started a conflict considering I was already pretty upset about the delays, but fatigue saved that couple.

- Rovers. I didn't have any problems with any of them during the actual con, but just a few during pre-reg. By the front of the line where the next 1+ hour delay hit, rovers started eating food in front of people. A whole group of them. I understand the need to eat, but considering many of us were in line for 6+ hours, it doesn't help to smell food and see them having a jolly good time eating -- as if we were being teased. Surely there was another place to eat.

- Shuttles didn't seem to have a scheduled time on when they would arrive and depart. It was a mess.

- The pocket guide didn't specify that Clockwork Alchemy was at the Double Tree. The panel room names at the Hilton (such as Santa Clara, San Jose, etc) were the same as Double Tree, so we spent a lot of time hunting them down at the Hilton! That caused not only confusion, but even made us miss a panel we really wanted to go to. Asking a rover and showing her the pocket guide, she had no idea what it was either (so I know it wasn't just us). She did point us to someone else who did know, so at least we were helped, by then it was too late.

Suggestions

- I don't see why pre-reg/early-reg badges can't be mailed out to people before the event. Live Nation does it all the time, and they host more people per event than Fanime does. The convention grows in size of attendees, but the registration process remains the same. Even the same amount of registration booths remained the same. Your staff is simply not able to handle the huge load of people in a reasonable amount of time. Standing in line for hours before the con wears me down to the point to where I almost no longer want to be at the con.

- Pre-reg line. The line is huge, but I think it's more to do with the fact that group leaders are tagged along by non-group leaders, standing in line with their friends. I think you guys should check to see if only the group leader is in line to pick up badges and kick everyone else out. It would probably shorten the line significantly.

The actual convention however was fine, it was just getting things going that was really bumpy and those fixes aren't that difficult to implement.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: HiroNoHiro on May 29, 2012, 03:19:19 PM
Hmmm, i want to put out there that it would be pretty cool to set aside a space or corner in the EDM dance rooms for people who want to do stuff like freehanding or stringing with LED sticks without having to worry about smacking people with things. 
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: BobMakihara on May 29, 2012, 03:34:49 PM
Quote from: Freeden on May 29, 2012, 11:08:03 AM
Quote from: BobMakihara on May 28, 2012, 11:44:05 PM
I decided to be more active this time around and play sax, dance all over the place, and generally be more social. It has resulted in my best con experience yet.

You were awesome on that sax dude. It made the con more interesting.

Thank you so much! I am glad I was able to contribute to the experience. ^__^
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: arcadiapandora on May 29, 2012, 04:17:26 PM
Pros:
- Artist Alley let people enter and exit from both doors. When wearing a costume that is extremely limited in mobility, this saved me several precious minutes of walking.
- Lots of costumes this year - more so than I've seen in previous years.
- AA Staff was amazing. Thanks for all your hard work. :)

Cons:
- Pre-reg wait line was...insane on Friday. Can we try mailing badges next year?
- Dealer's hall exit and entrance - only one way while Artist Alley - just 10 feet away - had both open. Also, the Rover who was guarding the exit on Monday was rude. If you have something be an exit, exceptions should not be made - for staff, or anyone. I saw 6-7 people walk through while this Rover was busy texting on her phone, and when I tried to walk through and pointed out the huge group that went in before me when stopped, her answer was "they were staff". Yea, bet you could tell that while staring at your phone, couldn't you. Be fair, Fanime. It's conflicting to people when you let some people go through and not others.
- Elevators in the Marriott. Every year, someone thinks its funny to throw a dance party in an elevator, and then they break the elevator. We had two shut down from Sunday night through Monday. It was ridiculous. Props to the Rover who let us know what was going on - it didn't solve the problem but at least we didn't sit there frustrated.
- Oblivious attendees. Seriously folks, how do you not know you are standing and talking in the middle of the walkway? Is it really so hard to move a foot over to the left? I had numerous "run-ins" with people who just stopped in the middle of a walkway to talk to people or take a picture. It literally takes one second to move slightly aside.
- After hours behavior. I get it - you're at Fanime, you're having fun, and many of you are clearly drunk. I don't really want to be exposed to some of the indecency and over-friendly things that I ran into a couple of nights. No, I do not want to -insert sexual innuendo here-. I'm okay with people having a good time, but it'd be nice - at least on the elevators - for staff to keep regular checks for people having fun at other attendees' expense. Particularly with the breaking of elevators thing. :(

Also - if you're below the 10th floor, realize that there are stairs. Those stuck on the 20th+ floor sort of hate you when you take the elevator up to or from the 5th floor.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Armored-Heart on May 29, 2012, 04:19:57 PM
I haven't noticed anything said about this yet (and quite frankly, trying to even skim through some of these walls of texts is a massive headache!) but I wanted to make a comment regarding the nazi-themed yaoi booth in Dealer's Hall. What the hell, guys? That's incredibly offensive! I understand that some are more sensitive to this sort of thing than others, and some people just don't give a damn at all, but I really don't understand why FanimeCon would allow that sort of merchandise to be sold at the con.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Rosewine on May 29, 2012, 04:32:04 PM
I would love to see staggered hours of operation for dealers hall and artist alley for next year.
It would be a win win win situation where the vendors and artists would see periods of increased traffic [when the other is not open] and the con goers would have longer access to the exhibitors!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: hazelasher on May 29, 2012, 04:47:22 PM
I have been going to Fanime since 2001 and the only negative thing I have to say is the registration lines are simply outdated. My boyfriend and I could only attend for one day, so we arrived at 9:00 AM on Saturday and waited for four hours. There is *NO* reason why you shouldn't be allowed to pre-reg for a one-day only pass and have it mailed out. Or at least have some type of barcode to be scanned at the con for pick-up. The process for registration at the con is so archaic, it's nuts! Here, stand in line for hours, enter your name and number into a computer, print out the info and have your badge picked up. So much time could be saved with a simple letter in the mail! Fanime will only grow in 2013, it's time to implement one-day ticket sales and allow them to be mailed out in advance.

I hope to see this improve in the future. Otherwise, we had a pretty positive experience! I don't know if I'll attend next year if a similar set-up occurs.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SpiritOfKairi on May 29, 2012, 05:36:38 PM
Pros:
- Rovers seemed much friendlier than last year.
- Epic cosplays!
- Wonderful Artist Alley.
- Much appreciated pocket schedules, though it would have been nice to have event end times on there too since my roommate and I were confused about when the Black and White Ball was closing.
- Moving the Ball to the Parkside Hall.  Having it at the Fairmont last year wasn't very convenient since the room was very small, there was a massive 30-45 minute line to get in, there weren't any bathrooms, and if you had to walk out, you had to wait in line again to be allowed back in.  Having it at the Parkside Hall was a VAST improvement though, since the room was easily large enough for all the dancers, there were bathrooms, almost no line, and you could walk out of the room for a couple minutes without being penalized for it.


Cons:
- I know many others have mentioned this, but the lines were fairly long.  I waited in the pre-reg line for 2 hours (1 1/2 hours longer than I've ever had to wait before) before finally getting my group's badges.  I do realize though that the whole situation likely had to do with the power outage Thursday, and at least the line was moving.  Still, I was just amazed at how long it took in comparison to other years.
- The Swap Meet.  I love going to it, but I don't think having it at the Fairmont was a good decision.  Separating the sellers into two rooms with two different lines was a bit stupid, and waiting in line for 30 minutes to get in wasn't very fun.  Yes there was generally a line when it was done in the gaming hall, but it only took maybe 10-15 minutes max.  Plus, I missed being able to walk among the sellers and also easily slip back into the convention when I was done.  Yes the Fairmont is only about a 5-10 minute walk, but it's nice to seamlessly go from the swap meet to the rest of the con instead of trekking to and fro, especially when it's at night.
- The Dealer's Hall seemed a little flat.  I don't know if it was just me, but it seemed like most of the merchandise was shirts, figures, some plushies, and hair accessories.  That stuff's good and all, but more variety would have been nice.  Maybe a few more food vendors along with movies, music and games.

Overall though it was a great con and I can't wait for 2013 =D.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SweetNiar on May 29, 2012, 05:43:56 PM
Quote from: epyonzer0 on May 28, 2012, 05:47:05 PM
Pros:  This was my first time at Fanime and it was as orgasmically awesome as I expected it to be.

Cons:

-The pocket schedule was great, but I think either it or the big book that comes in the bag needs to a little more explicitly state when and where the dance(s), MusicFest, the Masquerade, and things of that nature will happen.  
-The consolidated listing of cosplay gatherings was a great help as well, but I wish it had included a legend for all of the location acronyms for first-time Fanime visitors (such as myself).  Also on this note, the one time I asked the cosplay info desk for said legend that it was supposed to have, no one knew what it was.  Admittedly this was probably because everyone who knew was dealing with the protestors and other things.

This is all I can think of for now.

They use to have a legend on the same board for at least couple years, but i guess this year they felt no one needed them anymore.  Because i was confused where the Full Metal Alchemist gathering was and didnt know what CPMS meant and no one who were currently at the tables (either side) knew.  So i just passed on going.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SweetNiar on May 29, 2012, 05:51:01 PM
Quote from: hazelasher on May 29, 2012, 04:47:22 PM
I have been going to Fanime since 2001 and the only negative thing I have to say is the registration lines are simply outdated. My boyfriend and I could only attend for one day, so we arrived at 9:00 AM on Saturday and waited for four hours. There is *NO* reason why you shouldn't be allowed to pre-reg for a one-day only pass and have it mailed out. Or at least have some type of barcode to be scanned at the con for pick-up. The process for registration at the con is so archaic, it's nuts! Here, stand in line for hours, enter your name and number into a computer, print out the info and have your badge picked up. So much time could be saved with a simple letter in the mail! Fanime will only grow in 2013, it's time to implement one-day ticket sales and allow them to be mailed out in advance.

I hope to see this improve in the future. Otherwise, we had a pretty positive experience! I don't know if I'll attend next year if a similar set-up occurs.

I dont know about sending badges out in the mail....it would either get lost in the mail, people would loose them or forget to bring them.  I think that Fanime knew this big crowd was coming for a good while and should have set up more lanes for pick up.  At least that way the line might still be huge, but people would have got threw a lot quicker.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ApacheChief on May 29, 2012, 05:51:59 PM
This is just my 2 cents on Fanime this year as a congoer/staffer from what I saw and experienced.

Cons
- Felt like there was not enough pre-reg/reg workers to keep the line flowing faster.
- Massive long waits for the con-goers. (cousin had to wait 3+ hours to get his pre-reg on day 1)
- Marriott elevator is ridiculously long to wait.
- Not much variety of arcade games too choose from.
- Black out made things worse

Pros
- Generous people/staffers
- Noticed the booming of congoers this year..Maybe it is just me?
- AA was a A++! Lots of talented artist and hope to see them next year!
- I bought too many stuff from dealers hall


I have much more to say, but I'll just keep it simple. Hopefully Fanime will be vamped up for next year to keep everyone satisfied. I love Fanime, but there are some flaws to every con that can be improved within the years.  I mean, I love Fanime since it is the only Anime Con ever gone to for the past 3+ years, but this year was just plain crazy both good and bad. Also, I don't blame Fanime for the black out, but I think there should be an emergency plan if anything like this occurs so that no congoer who pre-reg would go empty handed on day 0.  ;)

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Kyokun on May 29, 2012, 05:59:54 PM
I've been going to Fanime for almost a decade now.

1)  Registration was completely disorganized and ridiculous.  We pre-reged and waited for over 2 hours for our badge.  We missed everything we wanted to see on Friday.  Plus they lost my badge, which for me, is the whole point of pre-reging, to get the nice plastic badge, and not the stupid generic printout badge.  Also, because onsite was so out of control, my friend who can only attend one day, could not get any tickets at all, and was therefore unable to attend Fanime.  We travel over 300 miles to attend Fanime and being forced to have to spend time away from the con so we can also hang out with our friend was aggravating.  Please make single day passes available online AND mail out badges.  Or something.  Friday was a complete bust.  By the time we got our badges, it was dinner time, and we were starving, so yeah.  Friday we spent ZERO time at con, minus the reg line.  A complete wasted day.

2)  Schedules coming out the day before the convention was unacceptable.  I'm in charge of planning everything and seeing what there is to do, and having it come out the day before was ridiculous.  I had to stay up extra late researching anime titles and panels and people to see what we wanted to do.  Please make schedules available at least 1 to 2 weeks before the con.

3)  People blocking hallways and aisles and stairs to take pictures.  More off limit photography areas would be nice so that we can actually move around. I'm about ready to give up and photobomb everything by cutting through.

4)  For the attendees: Pushing all the hotel elevator buttons is fucking infantile so knock it off.  Also, stop leaving bottles of pee everywhere.  At the Fairmont, we kept seeing bottles of pee in the elevator, under tables, in corners.  If you guys keep this crap up, the hotels will stop working with Fanime.

5)  Good things:  anime selection, problems with equipment seemed to be handled quickly. Artist's Alley was amazing.  Despite Friday being a waste, we still managed to do more than 2011, so that was great.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Junon on May 29, 2012, 06:33:25 PM
Quote from: SweetNiar on May 29, 2012, 05:51:01 PM
I dont know about sending badges out in the mail....it would either get lost in the mail, people would loose them or forget to bring them.

That can be taken care of in the same manner as lost badges during the con itself.

I want the option to have mine sent to me.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Barnes on May 29, 2012, 06:37:08 PM
Quote3)  People blocking hallways and aisles and stairs to take pictures.  More off limit photography areas would be nice so that we can actually move around. I'm about ready to give up and photobomb everything by cutting through.

That idea was brought up after the Closing Ceremonies: one of the con chairs said something like "we tried that, but people didn't use them."  :( Just pointing that out.

Someone said something about walking canes: huh, I guess I'm lucky that I never got pulled over for my cane  ???

Anyway, my cons were:

Badge pickup at the DoubleTree: I had to go over there, but I wish there was a staffer or two over there on Day Zero to answer questions about when and where exactly our badges could be picked up (I brought this up during the gripe session, as I stuttered XD).

Swap meet on Thursday: A friend of mine got screwed over when a staffer said that he couldn't register for a spot at the meet itself. Ouch. Another dude I walked up to said that he pre-regged for his spot, but still had his given away to someone else. What the ****?

Dealers Room: I wanted some Sekirei, Freezing, or even Maken-ki! merchandise, but nope XD  Oh heck, the room itself does more SOME more non-mainstream and/or obscure anime products to sell. Oh well.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SOawesomeness on May 29, 2012, 06:41:13 PM
Quote from: ApacheChief on May 29, 2012, 05:51:59 PM
Cons
- Felt like there was not enough pre-reg/reg workers to keep the line flowing faster.
- Massive long waits for the con-goers. (cousin had to wait 3+ hours to get his pre-reg on day 1)
Please, please, please if you are a dedicated, reliable, responsible person who is willing, we always need more reg staffers especially on those three days. More people = more booths open and available/more well rested staff = shorter wait times. :D

My personal gripe about dealer's hall: more totoro plushies pleaseeeee. It's a tradition of mine to buy at least one per Fanime. I couldn't find any this year and had to settle for a totoro cell phone charm. D:
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: noticetoappear on May 29, 2012, 06:41:53 PM
Masquerade

Pros:
-Great Performances
-Great Audience Participation
-The host was very smooth
-Showing AMVs at end very good touch

Cons:
-Let in late
-Failure of Staff to watch lines (people cutting in, or saving spots for large groups of their friends). My example given, I was in the first 30 people waiting since 3:15pm, At 6pm there were about 65 people in front of us)
-Mislead multiple times as to when we'd get let in (General announcement made by particular fanime staff "Okay we're gonna open the doors in 4 minutes! Please have badges ready!" (Actual walk-in time was about 35 minutes after his announcement)
-Absolutely NO FOOD OR DRINKS walking in.... okay no problem...
-Absolutely NO FOOD OR DRINKS sold in premise! What happened!? Last year there were refreshments. We wait in line 3+ hours and told not to leave the line without express permission, okay get it, but now expected to sit through a four hour masquerade without any refreshments?! Very bad results....
-One judge had the nerve to walk up on stage displaying his wine glass filled with gatorade. I thought there was NO FOOD OR DRINKS ALLOWED IN PREMISE?! Who is sending the bad message here? And who is policing the rules? The judge came up a SECOND time at the rewards ceremony, still drinking from the same glass. What is this supposed to tell the couple thousand attendees who are banned from any liquids?
-No flash photography. Period. Okay no problem. However....
-Flash photography announced OKAY by the fanime staff over loudspeaker during awards ceremony. Okay! Great! However...
-Completely hounded and threatened by the Civic Auditorium security that NO FLASH photography except by "Press" during awards ceremony. Mixed messages? Not cool to be threatened to be kicked out/camera taken after fanime staff clearly mentioned cameras with flash okay. Very confusing.
-Awards ceremony almost giving away $500 prize to the wrong group. Any rehearsal or anything?
-The opening ceremony of the martial arts team lacked a good show. I was hoping for more than a practice session of their students. Perhaps something grander next year to make the lines worthwhile.


Next topic..

Anime Rooms

Pros:
-Clear picture

Cons:
-Better selection in all the previous years
-Please have an attentive staff (who can actually see the screen) be responsible for switching between episodes and setting subtitles/audio tracks. Every room I went in, there was need of the audience to operate the computers to switch languages and remind the staff which episode we were on.

The con overall:
Lots of obstacles this year, especially the power outage and the construction! But it was great as always and unforgettable. Not the best year but major expectations next year. Pocket schedule super awesome.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kookiekween99 on May 29, 2012, 06:44:05 PM
Pros/What Was Awesome
- Black and White Ball My friends and I had a fun time. Out of the five of us, only one of us actually had the chance to attend any dance lessons beforehand. Even so, we all had fun. The mixers encouraged the three girls without a date to dance with strangers, which really surprised me, since two of them are very shy. My date and I stood by the tables and made up our own dances when we couldn't figure out the dances we were supposed to do. All the staff I met were really nice, and I loved the demonstrations. It was an amazing night, and it was much better than my actual Senior Ball would have been had I gone.

- The artwork for the badges, the program guide, the pocket guide, etc. was really awesome. I was so excited that I got Amber and my boyfriend got Damien on our badges. They're my OTP when it comes to the Fanime characters. :)

- Waterbottles on Thursday. It made me feel a lot better that Fanime started distributing free water bottles to those of us sitting in line after the power went out. It seemed to say "We know this really sucks, and we're trying our best, but here's a free water bottle from our personal staff stash to say sorry!"

- LittleKuriboh 'Nuff said.

Cons/Suggestions
- Clockwork Alchemy ...Eh. I didn't get to go myself, as I wasn't going to waste time waiting for a shuttle, taking the shuttle, exploring Clockwork Alchemy, waiting for a shuttle, and taking the shuttle back when there were 5 bajillion things I hadn't done yet at Fanime. That being said, I talked to my friends who did go, and from what they said, it wasn't very exciting. They told me the Bazaar was very small and everything for sale was around $100 or more, and that half the stuff available was of poor craftsmenship. Now, I can't pass full judgement on this because I couldn't go, but I could offer a few suggestions. 1) Put it in a hotel closer to con. I always room at the Hilton because I don't want to have to waste time on shuttles. However, if it was in reasonable walking distance, I might have gone. 2) Encourage quality control in the Bazaar. My friend witnessed a sale of $75 for a half-finished bracelet. What the hell? 3) Quit acting like it's completely seperate from Fanime and get your staff to work together. Stop competing for my attention. If you're both going to have ballroom dances, schedule them on different nights so instead of having to choose one or the other, I can do both. I understand CA staff want to do their own thing, but please know that your attendees don't see CA dropping the ball on something, they see Fanime dropping the ball on it. If you're going to put your name and money in it, make sure their con is just as awesome as the rest of Fanime.

- Swap Meet I didn't get to go. For Thursday, I understand that you guys couldn't control the power outage and stuff. But you could have let the people in line know that you made the rest of Fanime unbadged for the night. I waited until 10 PM to get my group's badges because I thought they were counting on me because they couldn't get into Swap Meet without my continued dedication to that line. When I finally did get our badges (5 hours in line!), we all rejoiced and headed for the Swap Meet... Only to find out that they closed early because of lack of attendance. Um... Yeah, there was a lack of attendance. Everybody was still in line! I was really disappointed, as Thursday Swap Meet was one of the main reasons I made the effort to come Thursday and not Friday. Anyways, I went back on Friday... and there was a hella long line to get into Swap Meet. At that point, I was like "I am so freakin' done with these stupid long lines!" and went back to Fanime.

- Hentai Night Line I turned 18 back in April, so from then until Con, I was talking about how excited I was that I could finally get to prove my 18-ness and get into a Fanime event I had never been able to get in before. I didn't get to go until Sunday night because the other nights I was doing stuff. But then... A line. I believe the line of Thursday night has now instilled me forever with a fear of lines, as I decided it would be better to watch AMV Hell in Video Main with my underaged friends.

- Confusion over cosplay gathering locations I'm not quite sure why the only place you can find a locations key is by asking one of the staff members at the table. I mean, I can kinda get not wanting to waste paper, but that doesn't explain why the key wasn't available online. I distinctly remember seeing it on the forums, but when I went back to check, I found something online the lines of "It won't be posted here. Only at the table. Please come to the table. We're lonely and you make our job more interesting."

- No wifi? :( The only time I could get an internet connection at all during con was in the hotel room with internet we paid for. I remember last year I could at least get free wifi in the Hilton lobby, but that changed. It would make things a billion times easier for us if you were to provide convention-wide wifi, as not all mobile devices can use 3G.

- No online schedule? Last year, you had beautiful online schedule, but no pocket guide. This year, you had a beautiful pocket guide, but no online schedule. (Putting the pocket guide online doesn't count because it's just as out of date as the book in my hand.) It would be awesome if you could shoot for both next year. :)

- Food On Monday, all the food people closed an hour before Dealers Hall and Artist Alley closed. I didn't get to eat breakfast that morning because I was too busy checking out, and I was really hungry. I ended up having my mom (second of the Info Desk department) snag me some snacks out of Programming Ops to keep me from getting nauseous. If con ends at 3, food should end at 3.


Keep in mind, none of the bad stuff ruined my con experience. The "pros" list is only short because I only listed a few major things that stood out to me this year. If I listed every single

I feel like I had other stuff, but I can't remember right now. If I think of something else, I will definitely post. :)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Xanreo on May 29, 2012, 07:24:09 PM
Cons:

- What was with all the Nazi-themed merchandise at the booth in front of Anime Palace? Hitler Hats? Seriously?

- The swap meet closes way too early.

Since there are too many pros, just assume everything that was not listed were awesome possums.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Aelia on May 29, 2012, 07:50:03 PM
Quote from: arcadiapandora on May 29, 2012, 04:17:26 PM
- Dealer's hall exit and entrance - only one way while Artist Alley - just 10 feet away - had both open. Also, the Rover who was guarding the exit on Monday was rude. If you have something be an exit, exceptions should not be made - for staff, or anyone. I saw 6-7 people walk through while this Rover was busy texting on her phone, and when I tried to walk through and pointed out the huge group that went in before me when stopped, her answer was "they were staff". Yea, bet you could tell that while staring at your phone, couldn't you. Be fair, Fanime. It's conflicting to people when you let some people go through and not others.
I would just like to clarify that wasn't a Rover. It was a volunteer. Rovers do not guard exhibit hall doors.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Kava on May 29, 2012, 07:54:10 PM
Quote from: White Rose Assassin on May 28, 2012, 09:59:51 PM+ More of a suggestion - for panel check in, can we phone or text check in? We were trying to get out of the hotel on Monday for checkout so we can make the 10AM panel.
Actually, we did provide a phone number for panelists to use in the emergency case that they weren't able to make it to the panels lounge in time to check in. Perhaps you missed it in the e-mail about check-ins? We definitely try to provide alternatives for when physically being there isn't possible.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: themalletofjustice on May 29, 2012, 08:08:43 PM
Quote from: Kyokun on May 29, 2012, 05:59:54 PM4)  For the attendees: Pushing all the hotel elevator buttons is fucking infantile so knock it off.  Also, stop leaving bottles of pee everywhere.  At the Fairmont, we kept seeing bottles of pee in the elevator, under tables, in corners.  If you guys keep this crap up, the hotels will stop working with Fanime.

That's so disgusting! >_< Seriously, if the elevators are becoming this much of a problem maybe it's time to station rovers outside of them. I know it would be a terrible job having to stand in front of the elevators all day and people should just know better, but if it's to maintain a good reputation with hotels and other attendees then maybe it needs to be done. It should be highlighted in the rules if it isn't already that your badge could be revoked for causing elevator problems. If being ejected from the con is too severe then maybe individuals who are reported to rovers can have their badge hole punched as a warning. The hole punch will be a visible reminder. A certain number of warnings equals removal from the con.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Kava on May 29, 2012, 08:18:08 PM
Quote from: Gunbuster on May 29, 2012, 05:41:52 AM
While it's true that there are other panels not directly related to anime, most at least relate to Japan (Japanese video games for example) or convention culture (the dating panels tend to be specifically for fans). I'd just like that they all tend to tie in to the theme (though I'm sure there are those that don't, it's not like I can make all of them nor do I have a schedule). Sorry if I singled yours out as an example. 
It's a valid question. :)

Most panels do center around Anime, video games, japanese culture, cosplay etc. However, if there's enough interest in it, and a panel submission is made that looks like it will be a fun panel that will interest everyone attending, we are willing to branch out.

A couple of other panels we had this year that didn't center around what you'd normally expect to find at an Anime convention:
Cthulu for President (which we've had every year for about 5 years now, and is always very popular)
Two Homestuck panels (which were both very popular and well attended - we often will have webcomic panels that aren't related to anime directly, actually)

In previous years, we've also had panels that related to non-anime things but were things our GoH's were involved in outside of their video game/anime interests, such as panels about Avatar when Reuben Langdon was a guest, or about Burlesque when we had Karen Dyer here.

We like to keep the panels schedule as diverse as possible, so that there's something for everyone.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Kava on May 29, 2012, 08:27:40 PM
Quote from: Junon on May 29, 2012, 03:03:18 PM
Positives
- Panels. Many more of them were right up there with my personal interests, so I spent a great deal of time hunting them down and attending. I hope there are more next year.
It's great to hear that you liked the selection!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Tantalus on May 29, 2012, 08:33:03 PM
Quote from: Bushido on May 29, 2012, 11:52:18 AM
My main complaint is towards Head Rover Terrance. He wears glasses and has a buzz cut. This man should not be working again as head rover next year. He right off the bat very rude, smug and arrogant. I understand that staff says that he's military but I couldn't care less if he was. It gives no excuse for him to treat me the way he did. Basically this man ruined all of Friday for me as he outright denied my Stormtrooper blaster prop, which was made out of hyperfirm rubber with no working components and is a big piece of rubber, without giving me a chance to explain and prove that it's clearly a fake and ignoring other weapons that looked more real than mine. I also must point out that his examples as to trying to prove his point like when these snipers on the roof tops protecting Obama when he was in San Jose a couple of days ago wouldn't like my blaster, well what kind of idiot would even bring a fake gun or even a cheap $1 squirt gun when the President is around? And no sorry but I also have to call bullshit on police frisking Stormtroopers just because of our blasters. Even as going as far as going on the radio and essentially labeling me a criminal. What's funny is he claims to be a fan of the 501st Legion, an organization I'm apart of, while at the same time as I said treated me like a criminal which not only did he disrespected me but spat all over the good name of the 501st Legion as a whole. I am not the only person who this man had gave crap to. There are plenty of others who understand where I'm getting at. I spent most of my Friday trying to get this mess of a situation resolved so that my fellow garrison members wouldn't have to go through what I had to go through.

Also I think the staff can do a better job not procrastinating. Having per-registration, hotel registration, guest announcements come extremely late is not the way staff should run a con. I understand that there was a staff change but that's not enough to excuse such a poor job.

All things concerned the only major complaint is Terrance. He is the number one example of who not to hire back.

I second this complaint.  My experience with Terrance in the peacebonding room was extremely unpleasant due to his condescending attitude.  As a paid attendee, I expect to be treated with some level of respect yet was essentially belittled out of the room.  This coupled with a 6 hour long registration line on Day 0 made this convention something I'd much rather forget.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Enkai on May 29, 2012, 08:34:15 PM
Quote from: SSHPFan on May 29, 2012, 01:36:38 AM

Cons (dun, dun, dun):

1. Not too many panels interested me. I was hoping for more "advanced" cosplay panels as opposed to basics. That's just my opinion though. ^^

Just out of curiosity, did you check out mine (Fabric Dyeing and Painting).  I'd consider it more intermediate-advanced than a lot of the cosplay panels I've seen at cons, but it'd be nice to see some outside feedback.  I'm thinking of splitting it up into two panels, beginner-intermediate and advanced next year, especially since I'll have an even wider range of experience with my next big project.

Feedback from myself--sadly, I didn't get to attend a lot of the con because I was locking myself in my house working on my masquerade costume, but *OTHER THAN THE LINES* I enjoyed what I saw.  The lines were ridiculous.  I came in around 8 on Friday to pick up my badge and left because the line was out the door.  I was told it should be lighter around 11-noon.  Hah, fat chance, I spent more than two hours in line.  Can we please mail out the badges?

I loved all the wig booths in the dealer's hall; it was very nice to get to see what certain colors actually looked like (because I'm super picky with what I want for my next big project).  I also had a really good time with putting on my first panel.  What little I saw of masquerade was enjoyable, in spite of the fact that I was crazy depressed up and till our actual skit.  I was exhausted, so after our skit I ended up going home.  

Most of this is ranting, and I do acknowledge that I did not behave flawlessly in this situation either:  I had an unfortunate run-in with an extremely rude rover in the civic center when I was extremely stressed out due to my wings that I spent at least 50+ hours on breaking *during* masquerade rehearsal.  I know he didn't know about that, but he could have at least let me be for a minute when I told him I was waiting for my husband so we didn't get separated, which I don't think was at all unreasonable since the door we were leaving from wasn't clearly marked.  We were sticking around until the end of rehearsal period hoping that we could get a run through with some stage ninjas we recruited last minute to handle my wings, thank you very much.  I understand that they're under a lot of stress too, but anything masquerade prep related is one of the most high-stress areas for con attendees (besides possibly waiting in reg line).  A *little* bit of patience would be nice, kthnx?  We're not trying to make your life difficult, we're trying to handle our own emergencies as well.

I guess my overall comment is to try to screen a little better for patience, if you can do that at all, especially when it comes to the staff that are dealing with anything at all masquerade related.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on May 29, 2012, 08:48:27 PM
Pros...
Welcome back, schedule!

First staff I talked to: a billion kudos.
I walked in Friday morning with a friend around 9AM. Looking for the pre-reg pickup line, I asked a staff member. She told me that the line was "there" (pointing in a general direction), but because the line had snaked around a lot, she would walk me and my friend there. Thank you, kind staffer (rover?) who walked us over--you were a great help! :)

MusicFest GOH policy--YES FOR CONSISTENCY
I've gone to the last couple of MusicFests, and the photo policy was always changing when were waited in line. One minute we were told that cameras and camera phones were okay as long as we kept them in our bags, another minute we were told that cameras and camera phones were straight up forbidden in the civic center. It was a pain in the ass for my friends who had to run back and for to the hotel room to drop stuff up/pick stuff up again and again. I'm really glad that this didn't happen this year--the photog policy was made clear as we entered, and it was also posted on the Chiba MusicFest stand right outside the Civic. Thanks :D

Cons...
You made no sense, schedule!
(MusicFest's time was printed really small in an obscure corner and I couldn't really find it. Because I go every year, I assumed the time wouldn't change, and everything worked out fine. However, my gripe is the autographs. Not only was it not advertised very well, I had to basically stare at the mini-schedule, flipping back and forth, til I realized WHERE it was and WHEN it was. I saw a lot of empty space in the schedule this year, and I'm hoping the space will be used a little more effectively next year. (Ex. the ONLY place in the schedule that told you where the autographs were was on the concourse map with a little obscure arrow that said Fairmont/Regency Ballroom/Autographs. If you're a seasoned Fanime con-goer, you wouldn't even refer to the map in the first place, let alone look for 2012's program information on it.

MusicFest...I love you and hate you this year.
All was well and fun, but we couldn't even call for an encore? ;-; Also, it was ONLY at MusicFest where someone mentioned that goods could be bought at the Fairmont. The location was mentioned, but not the time. Everything about MusicFest seemed so obscure this year, I tried asking staff when goods could be sold and they told me that the goods hadn't come in yet (which is total bull because it was late Saturday. Ugh.) Eventually I found a fellow fan and con-goer who had managed to ask probably the only person/staff who knew when and where that was going down.

REGGING FOR NEXT YEAR
In the little schedule booklet it said reg for next year STARTED at noon, but once I was there, the line CLOSED at noon. I wasn't affected because I got there early, but I ran into many, many angry and frustrated people. The staff making announcements in Dealer's and Gaming were still making announcements to go line up past noon. When other people got to the line and tried to ask staff to explain what the heck was going on, they were pointed to another person and said, "go ask him, he's my boss" etc.
Also, there were two lines this year, one for credit and one for cash/check. We were told that there were 5 stations for cash and only 2 for card, so the card line would be significantly slower. Makes sense, so no problem. But I stood near the front of the card line for a good 40 minutes (THE LINE DIDN'T MOVE AT ALL) before I decided to just pay cash.
Once I was led in for the cash line, I looked at the card line and there wasn't a single person there. The nice reg folks were just chillin'. This is because no one was keeping an eye on the card line and leading more people in to register. Looks like this just totally fell apart this year. There may be other reasons why the card line didn't move at all, but if I am standing in line (along with ~50 other people) that doesn't move for over 40 minutes, I'd like to know why. I don't want to be pointed in a general nondescript direction, nor do I want to hear "ask my boss"--If it's within your ability [as a staff] to find me an answer, please find me an answer.

In all, I'm hoping for FanimeCon to be more cohesive next year. I know it's chaotic with a million and one things going on at once, but there has to be some order to the chaos, right? Communication amongst staff needs some work so that staff<>con-goer communication can be less confusing/frustrating/inconsistent as well.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on May 29, 2012, 08:53:49 PM
Quote from: Kyokun on May 29, 2012, 05:59:54 PM
2)  Schedules coming out the day before the convention was unacceptable.  I'm in charge of planning everything and seeing what there is to do, and having it come out the day before was ridiculous.  I had to stay up extra late researching anime titles and panels and people to see what we wanted to do.  Please make schedules available at least 1 to 2 weeks before the con.

(Lots of information was wrong, too. By lots, I mean the times of 2 of the 5 events I researched and wanted to go to)--
2013 pre-reg:
Schedule says: Starts at noon.
Get there, find out: Closes at noon.

Chiba autographs:
Schedule says: 9-10pm.
Get there, find out: 10-11pm.

Plus, I got asked twice [in the half-hour I was there] at the Fairmont where the B&W ball was. I don't know why this is, but it's a good thing my friend wanted to go so I knew the directions...
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eri Kagami on May 29, 2012, 08:54:55 PM
Quote from: Pyrefly on May 29, 2012, 11:11:37 AM

The staff photographer "in charge" of official cosplay gatherings... was extremely unpleasant to work with. He started off by telling us he was not at all familiar with our series so we should suggest poses, yet then went on to boss us around in a not-very-nice tone in poses and formations that didn't at all match our characters or what we were trying to do. Please let the cosplayers pose themselves unless they specifically ask for help.

I asked this guy to take photos of the Sailor Moon gathering with my camera and he nearly walked away with my camera. Luckily, I was able to find him and get my camera back before he went off. Hopefully, this was a misunderstanding.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Nina Star 9 on May 29, 2012, 09:13:42 PM
Quote from: Barnes on May 29, 2012, 06:37:08 PM
Quote3)  People blocking hallways and aisles and stairs to take pictures.  More off limit photography areas would be nice so that we can actually move around. I'm about ready to give up and photobomb everything by cutting through.

That idea was brought up after the Closing Ceremonies: one of the con chairs said something like "we tried that, but people didn't use them."  :( Just pointing that out.
When and where was this implemented in the past? I've been going to Fanime for 10 years now and have cosplayed every year, yet I hadn't heard about there ever being a closed-off photography area until just now. Was it advertised at all?




As for the cosplay gatherings locations, I even asked at the cosplay gatherings table where the gathering I was attending was taking place...and the staffer working the booth couldn't even read the code. I figured out what it meant before she did. Even after that, I wandered around a bit in the area it was (former fountain area) because I couldn't figure out which seemingly random cluster of people was the gathering (it was the old school gathering, so there was a rather mixed crowd of series and I didn't know all of them to know that they were all following the theme). I had to ask random people outside. When I did figure out where it was, the photographer asked me in an accusatory tone if I was old school. Thankfully, everyone at the gathering seemed to know who I was cosplaying and replied with a resounding "YES" before I could say anything. I agree with the previous posters that the posing he wanted was rather...strange, to say the least. He didn't seem to want individual shots of anyone, just bizzare fighting poses with another random cosplayer, whether they were related or not. I don't even know what character I was pretending to fight against, or why I would need a pose like that.




Quote from: Maskenlav on May 29, 2012, 09:03:16 AM
Quote from: Nina Star 9 on May 28, 2012, 11:46:22 PM
Also, not really something that Fanime itself can help, and it could just be that I haven't noticed it in my 9 Fanimes prior to this one, but I ran into a lot more drunk congoers than usual. I usually encounter some, but not quite as many as I did this year. It could be because the con is getting so large that there are more in number but the same in proportion, it could be that I just noticed it more, I don't know, but I certainly noticed more overt drunkeness this year for whatever reason. I have no problem with people drinking in moderation, but obviously drunk people at the con can pose an issue. It didn't really even put a dent in my con experience, let alone ruin it, not by a longshot, just an observation.

I'm guessing it's because the checkpoint to the dance was pushed up to the first double doors rather than inside the hallway so the ravers couldn't sneak in alcohol to get buzzed for the rave which led them to be wasted outside or drink beforehand at their rooms. They did a thorough search through each bag or purse also.
That makes sense, actually. I guess that's good for people who don't want a bunk of intoxicated people at the dance, but I don't go to the dance, so they were all out harassing me instead (and my friends...and it seems arcadiapandora had a similar issue...).





I only had an issue with one staffer, which was a fairly minor complaint, actually. It was in the pre-reg line of doom on Friday afternoon (around 2PM), close to the Marriott bar area. He would give really vague directions and then rudely yell at everyone for not following his really vague directions. Turns out, he wanted us to keep the doors clear, which is perfectly fine, but he should have just said that instead of telling us to take a step forward or back and not telling us why or where we were going, then getting rude when we were still blocking the doors that we didn't realize we were blocking nor that we shouldn't have been blocking them. Most of the staffers for the line were perfectly fine, and there were even some having fun with it, even high-fiving people in cool costumes or who had figured out by that point not to block the doors, it was just that one that I had issue with.



Since the schedule and times have come up in the past couple of replies, I have to say that I had packed my pocket guide on Monday and only had a program guide that I found on a table (so I don't know if it was in the pocket guide or not), but the program guide seemed to have some times and not others? I was trying to figure out what time the dealer's hall and artist's alley closed, but couldn't find that info. Others must have had the same problem, since I overheard many people asking on Monday when those things closed, and no one seemed to know.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kookiekween99 on May 29, 2012, 09:15:54 PM
Just a random suggestion for how to handle Reg:

When pre-registering, the attendee would be presented with the option to have it mailed to them or pick it up at the convention. Choosing the mail option would increase the price of their badge by, say, $10. The badges for those wanting them to be mailed out would be sent about two weeks prior to con, just after early reg closes. That way, half the pre-reg people would pick it up, cutting the line in half, and Reg staff would only have to mail out half the badges.

I know the idea needs to be tweaked a little, but at least it's a starting point.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: angeljibrille on May 29, 2012, 09:27:52 PM
Quote from: Barnes on May 29, 2012, 06:37:08 PM
Swap meet on Thursday: A friend of mine got screwed over when a staffer said that he couldn't register for a spot at the meet itself. Ouch. Another dude I walked up to said that he pre-regged for his spot, but still had his given away to someone else. What the ****?

Everyone on Thursday got a spot, until the room was full. If you showed up hours late after all the spaces were given out, we couldn't make room because the room has a fire code that we have to follow.

I'm sorry that a few people got "bumped" because they were in registration, we tried to assist as many people as we could who were late, but once we were full... that's all we could do. Sorry :(
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: angeljibrille on May 29, 2012, 09:34:36 PM
Quote from: rhettwhitehill on May 29, 2012, 06:41:53 PM
-Let in late

Sorry about this; the ushers didn't show up when expected and we had to wait until they were in place to open the doors because of our union contract :(

Quote
-Absolutely NO FOOD OR DRINKS walking in.... okay no problem...
-Absolutely NO FOOD OR DRINKS sold in premise! What happened!? Last year there were refreshments. We wait in line 3+ hours and told not to leave the line without express permission, okay get it, but now expected to sit through a four hour masquerade without any refreshments?! Very bad results....

Actually the entire staff was expecting there to be refreshments; this was a decision (as far as I know) made by the Civic itself. I'm not sure why they decided not to sell it this year. That's not something I'm looped in on.

Quote
-One judge had the nerve to walk up on stage displaying his wine glass filled with gatorade. I thought there was NO FOOD OR DRINKS ALLOWED IN PREMISE?! Who is sending the bad message here? And who is policing the rules? The judge came up a SECOND time at the rewards ceremony, still drinking from the same glass. What is this supposed to tell the couple thousand attendees who are banned from any liquids?

We provided our judges with drinks hours earlier, they did all their judging over there during the day. We were not made aware of the "no drinks" rule, and in fact had water and other drinks backstage provided by the Civic. So... yeah. I apologize but I don't have an explanation for the dichotomy!

Quote
-No flash photography. Period. Okay no problem. However....
-Flash photography announced OKAY by the fanime staff over loudspeaker during awards ceremony. Okay! Great! However...
-Completely hounded and threatened by the Civic Auditorium security that NO FLASH photography except by "Press" during awards ceremony. Mixed messages? Not cool to be threatened to be kicked out/camera taken after fanime staff clearly mentioned cameras with flash okay. Very confusing.

This was all the usher staff of the Civic; they probably didn't all get the message. Sorry!

Quote
-Awards ceremony almost giving away $500 prize to the wrong group. Any rehearsal or anything?

At that point, the judges had been working for about 18 hours straight; they were all extremely tired, and it was a very small mishap.

Thanks for your feedback,
Marisa
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: angeljibrille on May 29, 2012, 09:39:20 PM
Quote from: kookiekween99 on May 29, 2012, 06:44:05 PM

- Swap Meet I didn't get to go. For Thursday, I understand that you guys couldn't control the power outage and stuff. But you could have let the people in line know that you made the rest of Fanime unbadged for the night. I waited until 10 PM to get my group's badges because I thought they were counting on me because they couldn't get into Swap Meet without my continued dedication to that line. When I finally did get our badges (5 hours in line!), we all rejoiced and headed for the Swap Meet... Only to find out that they closed early because of lack of attendance. Um... Yeah, there was a lack of attendance. Everybody was still in line! I was really disappointed, as Thursday Swap Meet was one of the main reasons I made the effort to come Thursday and not Friday. Anyways, I went back on Friday... and there was a hella long line to get into Swap Meet. At that point, I was like "I am so freakin' done with these stupid long lines!" and went back to Fanime.

We did have it posted in the forums, but it was not visible enough. It was technically supposed to be badged, but we opened it up to everyone after we were told about the Registration disaster due to the power outage. They made an announcement at Reg, but it was difficult for them to make everyone in the massive line aware of it.

As far as "closed early because of lack of attendance"...? We actually stayed open 2 hours later than planned on Thursday (also due to the power outage), and an hour later on Friday. You may have just missed the room? We actually intentionally stayed open on Thursday and had a full and booming Swap Meet the entire time; it was very well attended on both nights. There was no "lack of attendance". I'm sorry you missed it, but we were running full swing both nights!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: WhentheAngelscry on May 29, 2012, 10:11:37 PM
Okay I have a bit to say about this, and one tiny suggestion which I'm not sure should go in this thread. As a side note this is my 5th time going to fanime.

PROS:
-Dealers Hall: It was truly amazing this year! Like WOW!!!! who ever decided the organization did a splendid job. every booth led me straight to the next and I kept finding new treasures upon further inspection it was like a anime candyland.
-Seating : I found there was a lot more places to sit this year. Which was great!
-Clockwork alchemy : Really cool idea! I hope it shows up again next year! the shuttle was great. Eventually my friends and I just took my car because we're impatient but it was cool all the same! I wish it had been in a closer hotel like the hyatt or fairmount.
- Pocket Schedule was back!!!! I missed it so much.
-Line rovers : They were upbeat and kind. They really helped make the best of the huge reg line! More on other rovers later...
-The anime selection in the viewing rooms! It was really great this year a mix of classic favorites and new hits! It was quite enjoyable mix of nostalgia and discovery.
-Food on site was very good

Neutral/Other;
-I REALLY wanted popcorn in front of the anime viewing area. My reasoning is it would make a lot of money, and draw people over there. two birds one stone. It might be too messy or there could be another reason that it isn't in place there but I spent two hours watching anime WISHING I had the glorious sustenance known as popcorn.
-Tons more people this year. Not a bad thing but changes need to be made for this new development.

Cons:
-Black and White Ball : It felt like the door checkers hadn't read the list of conditions for letting people in, which was strange because the list was posted RIGHT next to them I feel like they turned away a lot of acceptable outfits and let in others that were WAY to informal even if they were cosplays.
- The rovers around the con : They seemed to have a lot of mixed info and didn't collaborate, I was in line for the My Little Pony fan panel and they were slightly late which meant the panel was canceled but one guy said if the panelists arrived in the next 5 min(they did) the panel would be back on. It was very confusing. This could be because they were one day volunteers. Same with door guards for gaming, dealers, and artists halls. half the time they let people leave and enter through the same door other times directed us elsewhere.
-The lines for panels if they grew past a certain point were hard to figure out.
-Online release dates: I wish everything was released earlier. I remember last year and the year before hotels and everything were available in December and the schedule was available 2 to 3 weeks in advance. I'd prefer that cause it allows for more planning. I hardly saw my friends this year(a number of 30 in total) while last year I managed to spend an hour or two last year with the same number of people. I truly believe it was because of the later release of the schedule
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ratcabob on May 29, 2012, 10:12:27 PM
I have been attending FanimeCon for 9 years now (starting in 2002 and only missing one year since) and it is a yearly event I have come to really love. I also expect a certain level of professionalism and organization from one of my favorite conventions, so here is my feedback:

PROS:


CONS:



This is about all I can think of at the moment, and my apologies if it ran a bit long. I really love this convention and hope it will continue to grow, but I really hope that communication and staffing problems get ironed out. FanimeCon needs to be a big and strong convention so it can last for many years to come! :) Thanks for reading. --Ratgirl
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: otakuya on May 29, 2012, 10:48:27 PM
Attending Fanime for 12 years now and saw it all, mostly. You may already know the criticisms and praises, so I'll just cut straight to the points.

Registration
Nothing you haven't heard before. But you do realize that Day 0 and the AM of Day 1 are the most busy days for pre/early reg. Probably have 100% reg staff help and have all booths open. Which brings me to a suggestion:

Day 0
Day 0 is the new Day 1 of Fanime now, so you may as well structure that Thursday like it; meaning start pre-reg in the early AM and have more activities going on like video rooms, arcade, and a longer swap meet.

Space
It is not Fanime's fault, but when the new convention center expansion opens, use every single part of it. Trying to walk from the convention center entrance to the Fairmont and Cosplay Spectacular line was difficult (and driving through San Carlos Street was even worse). Also, you may try to have more events at different hotels, like some more panels at Fairmont and some video rooms at Hyatt for example, to free up space at the conv center hotels.

Misc
I don't know if any one else noticed, but do you think there were more BO problems this year?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: renalcul on May 29, 2012, 11:03:02 PM
Quote from: SweetNiar on May 29, 2012, 05:51:01 PM
I dont know about sending badges out in the mail....it would either get lost in the mail, people would loose them or forget to bring them.  I think that Fanime knew this big crowd was coming for a good while and should have set up more lanes for pick up.  At least that way the line might still be huge, but people would have got threw a lot quicker.
It's one of those things that, while you will always have people where it gets lost in the mail or who try to scam the system. Those would probably be a minority of the attendees. If they did it it would probably cut the line to a third or less of what it was.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Aelia on May 29, 2012, 11:05:01 PM
Quote from: WhentheAngelscry on May 29, 2012, 10:11:37 PM.
- The rovers around the con : They seemed to have a lot of mixed info and didn't collaborate, I was in line for the My Little Pony fan panel and they were slightly late which meant the panel was canceled but one guy said if the panelists arrived in the next 5 min(they did) the panel would be back on. It was very confusing. This could be because they were one day volunteers. Same with door guards for gaming, dealers, and artists halls. half the time they let people leave and enter through the same door other times directed us elsewhere.
This sounds like you actually worked with a few different departments, and not all of them are Rovers.  Panels Staff are the ones who would be determining whether a panel is/was happening. People who had a "volunteer" ribbon on their badges are volunteers who walked in during con. People who have badges, radios and armbands that say "Rovers" are Rovers.

Rovers really don't ever guard doors except at Dance.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kookiekween99 on May 29, 2012, 11:08:09 PM
Quote from: angeljibrille on May 29, 2012, 09:39:20 PMWe did have it posted in the forums, but it was not visible enough. It was technically supposed to be badged, but we opened it up to everyone after we were told about the Registration disaster due to the power outage. They made an announcement at Reg, but it was difficult for them to make everyone in the massive line aware of it.

Posts online didn't do much good for those of us in line. There was no wifi available. I checked.

Quote from: angeljibrille on May 29, 2012, 09:39:20 PM
As far as "closed early because of lack of attendance"...? We actually stayed open 2 hours later than planned on Thursday (also due to the power outage), and an hour later on Friday. You may have just missed the room? We actually intentionally stayed open on Thursday and had a full and booming Swap Meet the entire time; it was very well attended on both nights. There was no "lack of attendance". I'm sorry you missed it, but we were running full swing both nights!

Wait, seriously? I sent two of my friends to the Swap Meet while I ran up to my room to grab my wallet, planning to join them as quickly as possible, but when I came downstairs, they told me staff had told them it was already closed. We were getting a lot of mixed messages, as earlier she thought she overheard a staff member saying the Swap Meet would be extended to 1 AM, but then she said that that announcement was for Registration, not Swap Meet. I'm so confused! >_<;
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: PLUMPKIN on May 29, 2012, 11:14:53 PM
Quote from: renalcul on May 29, 2012, 11:03:02 PM
Quote from: SweetNiar on May 29, 2012, 05:51:01 PM
I dont know about sending badges out in the mail....it would either get lost in the mail, people would loose them or forget to bring them.  I think that Fanime knew this big crowd was coming for a good while and should have set up more lanes for pick up.  At least that way the line might still be huge, but people would have got threw a lot quicker.
It's one of those things that, while you will always have people where it gets lost in the mail or who try to scam the system. Those would probably be a minority of the attendees. If they did it it would probably cut the line to a third or less of what it was.

I agree.  There will always be people who try to con the system.  No system is foolproof, but you really have to go with one that works the best.  The current registration system with 3-6 hour waits is FAR from ideal, especially when there are good ideas being thrown around on how to expedite the process (i.e. mailing badges).

For those of you who go to other conventions, how does the registration process work?  Are the wait times as long as Fanime?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SOawesomeness on May 29, 2012, 11:18:09 PM
Quote from: Otakuya on May 29, 2012, 10:48:27 PM
Registration
Nothing you haven't heard before. But you do realize that Day 0 and the AM of Day 1 are the most busy days for pre/early reg. Probably have 100% reg staff help and have all booths open.
We're all volunteers, please don't forget! D: And most of us are students in college, travelling to Fanime. Some are full-time employed people as well. Actually, a majority of us are from Davis/Sac/SF area... so Thursday is the day where we really don't have much staff at all (and it is fairly expensive to book a hotel room for Thursday night too). Some even skip school in order to help out (high school and college students alike... some of us senior reg staff are putting you guys before our education (though we highly don't recommend skipping school)). I guess what I'm trying to say is, we try our very best in hopes to keep you guys happy.

If we guaranteed-ly had the people-power to open up earlier on Thursdays, we might consider it. But as it stands, most of us are all students from the quarter system and it is very extremely hard to keep Thursdays staffed fully.

Personally, I came from LA, skipped school and paid extra to get an earlier flight coming to San Jose in hopes of helping out Reg (I also arranged my school schedule so I'd have Fridays off to get to SJ sooner). I know these sound like excuses (and mayhaps I'm an example of the extreme) but I do want to emphasize that we are not much different from you guys. We love our attendees and I hope you continue to love Fanime!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: hikanteki on May 29, 2012, 11:22:01 PM
Quote from: Mizu on May 28, 2012, 11:07:23 PM
Shopping: I'm not sure this is something that Fanime can do anything about, but it seemed like a lot of vendors had not included sales tax in their prices, and they didn't have any signs up to let shoppers know. Some of them were just rounding up sales tax to 10%, too. Even a $20 grab-bag I bought had hiked up tax on it. I kind of feel like it was an "idiot tax" more than anything. Sales tax in this county is only 8.25% so bumping it up has soured my opinion of some dealers a bit.

I noticed this too, but I don't mind if it's still a good deal after tax.  When in doubt, ask.  Also, I've found many dealers willing to waive tax or round down a few bucks if you buy a large amount (around ~50+ or so) with cash.

I agree that tacking on a flat extra 10% is kind of annoying, though.  I can see it being convenient to round things to the nearest dollar but I've seen some dealers just do it to get every extra penny they can.  For instance, I saw an item for $25.  With tax, it would have been $27.06, pretty close to $27.  But the dealer wanted to say it was $27.50 after tax.  When they do something like this I get all passive aggressive on them and pay with a credit card. ;)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Kyokun on May 29, 2012, 11:25:08 PM
Quote from: PLUMPKIN on May 29, 2012, 11:14:53 PM
For those of you who go to other conventions, how does the registration process work?  Are the wait times as long as Fanime?

The other cons I go to have massive rooms of people handling registration complete with barcodes and scanners and printers.  Not 3 booths staffed with about 5 people.  If Fanime's going to make picking up badges a requirement at con, there really needs to be more people handling it.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: PLUMPKIN on May 29, 2012, 11:35:16 PM
Quote from: Chiri Kcrinh on May 29, 2012, 11:18:09 PM
Quote from: Otakuya on May 29, 2012, 10:48:27 PM
Registration
Nothing you haven't heard before. But you do realize that Day 0 and the AM of Day 1 are the most busy days for pre/early reg. Probably have 100% reg staff help and have all booths open.
We're all volunteers, please don't forget! D: And most of us are students in college, travelling to Fanime. Some are full-time employed people as well. Actually, a majority of us are from Davis/Sac/SF area... so Thursday is the day where we really don't have much staff at all (and it is fairly expensive to book a hotel room for Thursday night too). Some even skip school in order to help out (high school and college students alike... some of us senior reg staff are putting you guys before our education (though we highly don't recommend skipping school)). I guess what I'm trying to say is, we try our very best in hopes to keep you guys happy.

If we guaranteed-ly had the people-power to open up earlier on Thursdays, we might consider it. But as it stands, we are all students from the quarter system and it is very extremely hard to keep Thursdays staffed fully.

Personally, I came from LA, skipped school and paid extra to get an earlier flight coming to San Jose in hopes of helping out Reg (I also arranged my school schedule so I'd have Fridays off to get to SJ sooner). I know these sound like excuses (and mayhaps I'm an example of the extreme) but I do want to emphasize that we are not much different from you guys. We love our attendees and I hope you continue to love Fanime!

Perhaps starting the recruiting process early (like now) would ensure that there isn't a shortage of staff members come May 2013.  Fanime organizers have an entire year to put this convention together.  Similarly, many Fanime attendees plan their entire year around attending Fanime.  My point is yes, we are all busy, but a year is plenty of time gather enough people to help.  I suppose the same logic could be applied to getting schedules out sooner, etc...

Also, when I volunteered for fanime registration, volunteers were not allowed to man computers.  Is this still the case?  Perhaps reverting to manual registration should be another option, especially if there are not enough computers.


One more bit of constructive criticism
:  Hotel room registration was done on a weekday early afternoon this year.  This was a huge inconvenience for those of us who work or have classes until late afternoon.  By the time we got home, all the rooms were essentially booked.  Perhaps have hotel room registration on a weekend day next year to make it more fair for us working people.  I'd rather not use a vacation day to book my Fanime room; I'm saving them for Fanime! :D
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SOawesomeness on May 29, 2012, 11:44:59 PM
Quote from: PLUMPKIN on May 29, 2012, 11:35:16 PM
Perhaps starting the recruiting process early (like now) would ensure that there isn't a shortage of staff members come May 2013.  Fanime organizers have an entire year to put this convention together.  Similarly, many Fanime attendees plan their entire year around attending Fanime.  My point is yes, we are all busy, but a year is plenty of time gather enough people to help.

Also, when I volunteered for fanime registration, volunteers were not allowed to man computers.  Is this still the case?  Perhaps reverting to manual registration should be another option, especially if there are not enough computers.
We try. Currently we are one of /the/ most staffed departments in Fanime but we could always use more people (hint hint hintttt). And although we have a lot of staff, we really do rely on responsible, reliable people as well-- much like Rovers. It wouldn't matter how many staff we had if we didn't have reliable staff. We will see what we can do to better this. We have a lot of ideas but the more ideas we can get, the better. Definitely having creative thoughts will help us in the long run. I thank all of you for your patience and willingness to help us out. (:

Yes, it is still the case. I hope you can understand why... x.x We do, however, allow vols to help out with basically any other area of Reg except payment. Usually the payment booths are fully staffed though.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: InsaneChan on May 29, 2012, 11:56:07 PM
Pros:

-Water available in many locations
-Artist Alley looked great this year, but that's thanks to the great artists who came!
-Pocket guides! Thanks goodness those are back. They are amazing.

cons:

-Guests of Honor...Fanime seemed to really fall short on guests this year. Not to offend guests who were invited, but with such a good track record, Fanime really let me down this year big time. Also, the extremely late confirming of all the guests. It seemed that the GoH team was very unorganized and waited too long to try and get guests to come at all.  

-I know I don't need to say it, but registration. This is the first year this has ever been a problem, but I hope it doesn't happen again next year.

-No music playing throughout the concourse this year

---

I don't have much else to point out, but this year really let me down. I'm sorry Fanime, I still had fun, but I really hope you step up your game and win us back over next year. Otherwise, I'm going to keep my money and start going down to AX instead.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi) on May 29, 2012, 11:59:44 PM
To anyone talking about the doors in gaming, We are very well aware of this.  This is already in the discussion list and a future response will be mentioned for 2013.  =)

Quote from: Amoirsp on May 28, 2012, 05:58:00 PM2) I was extremely disappointed with eGaming's inconsistent policy implementation leading to dumb things.

I'm just going to say eGaming was so cancerous I'm very much discouraged from returning to Fanime ever again, you can thank them for that.

I'm sorry to hear your disappoint, but what exactly happened?  Please mention in detail so we can figure out the best solution to this.

Quote from: Aktsuko on May 29, 2012, 10:24:52 AM
  • Gaming room was tons of fun! I'm glad that they had more tables out (at least I think they had more tables than last year). I really liked the computer area, please bring a few more computers! Also, I am very pleased with the staff in the game room because they were very nice and responsive (probably because a few were friends outside con). But they did help us fast when problems did occur. (which I will say in the con list)
Digital Storm (http://www.digitalstormonline.com/) was very happy with the outcome of PC Gaming.  I'll send them this note.  Feel free to contact them about your FanimeCon experience with them.  =)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Nyanko on May 30, 2012, 12:20:21 AM
Honestly my only complaint is..........DAY 0 LINE *ooooo shock lol*
ya, waiting around for ooooo 5 hours to then get to the front, have a power outage and then be told that no you cant register with your reg. email on your smart phone SUCKED, big time, and to then have to berate a rover to then speak to a manager just added to the stress level. Now let me be clear about this, i am SO SO appreciative to ALL the staff of Fanime, and i despise having to get mean and ugly with them, i know you guys are tired but so are we and i hated having to do that but i refused to have stood in line for that long to then be told "well the powers out so no you can't use your smart phone, so you can just sit here if you like but you won't get in, just come back and wait in line tomorrow"..........seriously? My badge name matches my id, my address matches my id...just...ugh.
-I know this has been mentioned quite a few times and i agree, every single person i talked to at the con and all my friends who came all agree too: give the option to mail out badges. I would be MORE than willing to pay extra to get my badge in the mail. Because that line, the wait, ick ick ick. Please Fanime staff, please please please consider doing this, lots of other cons do it and Fanime is getting bigger every year and it's only going to be bigger next year.

-There seemed to be a serious level of miscommunication with rovers, now i expect that with the volunteers cuz they don't have the fancy head-sets but rovers? You guys/girls have direct lines to like..everyone! So it got very tiring to have to ask a rover, who then gave an answer that made no sense to which i questioned to which they called another rover who gave a different answer who then argued with rover #1 who then called over another rover in which they proceeded to argue, to which i then just said "nevermind" walked away, asked a con-attendee who perfectly answered my question. I know there were alot of attendees this year so it must of been stressful but, chill out (and on a second note, not a single rover i talked to was nice, NOT ONE, which was just, well, poopy) and if you don't know the answer just say you don't, it's cool, im going to be all "RRAAWWRRRR!", honestly if a rover replied with that i would of said "oh ok, well could you call someone who would know please?". Simple, you don't know or arn't 100% sure you ask someone who does, no big deal, better to have the right answer than a 'uuhhhh' kind of answer.

-OH yes, another CON i had. Black and White ball attire consistencies...So naturally i got checked for my shoes and the checker-in person "hm well let me look at your shoe *grabs my foot and inspects it* ya, i guess thats ok"......ok, violating, but w/e i brushed it off, i made sure to buy proper shoes this year. Get in to ball, then proceed to see at least 20+ other girls with 5inch stilettos...wait i thought those wernt ok? How did they get in? If those kinds of shoes then i wouldn't have needed to spend extra money getting 'proper' shoes, and then why did i have to be so inspected when it was clear i had the proper stuff on. LOVED the venue btw. But cmon now, lets be consistent.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: le_momo on May 30, 2012, 12:27:30 AM
Quote from: cbellsoup on May 30, 2012, 12:20:21 AM
-OH yes, another CON i had. Black and White ball attire consistencies...So naturally i got checked for my shoes and the checker-in person "hm well let me look at your shoe *grabs my foot and inspects it* ya, i guess thats ok"......ok, violating, but w/e i brushed it off, i made sure to buy proper shoes this year. Get in to ball, then proceed to see at least 20+ other girls with 5inch stilettos...wait i thought those wernt ok? How did they get in? If those kinds of shoes then i wouldn't have needed to spend extra money getting 'proper' shoes, and then why did i have to be so inspected when it was clear i had the proper stuff on. LOVED the venue btw. But cmon now, lets be consistent.

I apologize that you were treated in such a way. There was some breakdown in communication as to what was allowed and what was not between the staff and the rovers. We're working on ideas as to how to solve this issue early on so it won't be happening next year. I'm glad you liked the venue, though! You're definitely not the only one. :P

Thank you for the feedback!
- Rebecca
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Nyanko on May 30, 2012, 12:48:29 AM
Quote from: le_momo on May 30, 2012, 12:27:30 AM
Quote from: cbellsoup on May 30, 2012, 12:20:21 AM
-OH yes, another CON i had. Black and White ball attire consistencies...So naturally i got checked for my shoes and the checker-in person "hm well let me look at your shoe *grabs my foot and inspects it* ya, i guess thats ok"......ok, violating, but w/e i brushed it off, i made sure to buy proper shoes this year. Get in to ball, then proceed to see at least 20+ other girls with 5inch stilettos...wait i thought those wernt ok? How did they get in? If those kinds of shoes then i wouldn't have needed to spend extra money getting 'proper' shoes, and then why did i have to be so inspected when it was clear i had the proper stuff on. LOVED the venue btw. But cmon now, lets be consistent.

I apologize that you were treated in such a way. There was some breakdown in communication as to what was allowed and what was not between the staff and the rovers. We're working on ideas as to how to solve this issue early on so it won't be happening next year. I'm glad you liked the venue, though! You're definitely not the only one. :P

Thank you for the feedback!
- Rebecca

I figured thats what happened, but i know you peeps will work on that and i really really wanted to commend you guys on the venue choice, it was so nice to have room to stretch my dancing legs, i love love loved it, and all my friends did too!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Maskenlav on May 30, 2012, 01:40:27 AM
I think fanime should have a complete Rover revamp. They should recruit complete fresh faces for 2013 cause having the same Rovers over and over will seriously add frustration to many attendees eventually. Try to accept more new applicants than favoring returnees? :D
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eurobeat King on May 30, 2012, 01:59:45 AM
Did the power-outage on Thursday affect anywhere else besides the Convention Center?  My friend who's staff, texted me and asked if the Fairmont had lost power or not.  By that time I was already setting-up my spot in the Swap Meet, and didn't know there was a power-outage happening.

If one good thing came from the power outage, it was allowing the Swap Meet to remain open until 1:00am, instead of 11:00pm.  :)

On Friday, I packed-up all my stuff from the Swap Meet around 10:00pm, since I sold almost everything that was going to sell.  Did the Swap Meet close at 11:00pm as stated, or did the hours also get extended on Friday night?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: mDuo13 on May 30, 2012, 02:10:45 AM
The Good
* Staff and rovers were courteous and helpful the vast majority of the time
* GAINAX panel was awesome as usual
* Lots of chairs and more tables in the gaming area, put to good use
* Mai Aizawa was a surprisingly good singer!
* New location for Swap Meet worked out well. Sort of out of the way, but the carpet was nice and there was a decent amount of space available. I liked it better in the game room, but it was getting way too crowded for that at Fanime's current rate of growth.
* Yokota Mamoru continued to be a great guest (sketches, Artist Alley; and probably the night panel if it was anything like last year's)
* Video rooms seemed well organized and mostly running on-time. (I didn't spend much time confirming this though)
* The new(?) anti-alcohol rules seemed to help deter some of the most brazen drunkenness.
* Pocket schedules and program guides ready and provided in the pre-reg baggies!

The Bad
* Excessively strict rules on cosplay props, egaming BYOC, dance DJs
* Boring selection in Dealer's Room again. Apparently high prices of booths (or dealer badges) are deterring some potential sellers who might make for more variety
* Yokota Mamoru's Sunday autograph session became a big mess after a while. It was nice of him to stay and sign everything, but the way they reorganized the line (eventually jumping people from the back of the line to the front based on having the same character) was frustrating. I'd encourage people who want full sketches of particular characters to commission him in Artist Alley, and limit the (free) autograph session to a quick pre-decided sketch that's basically the same for everyone. Yokota-san's daytime panel also still sucked (his answers were short and unenthusiastic and several questions seemed to get lost in translation).
* Igaguri Chiba was a disappointing guest; nobody at his panel seemed to know anything about him, and his performance lacked the punch of a real headliner. It was more of a gag than a real concert.
* Mai Aizawa only sung two songs! Between that and Chiba-san, it was a really short and disappointing music fest. Showing us the video of a Vocaloid concert (which by its nature was sort of a video anyway) felt more like an insult than a treat.
* In general, it seems that Fanime got its stuff together much later than usual this year -- pre-reg, hotels, guests of honor, and so on. I hope next year everything isn't so last-minute. I think it can't be an accident that so many notable would-be guests sent us their condolences in videos at MusicFest, when equally big-name guests made it to smaller cons held around the same time.
* Elevators at both Marriott and Hilton sucked, as usual.
* I never went to Clockwork Alchemy at all, and most people I know didn't spend much time there. It seemed like more of a distraction and a diversion of Fanime's time and money than a worthwhile contribution.

The Ugly
Registration. 'nuff said.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: nanashirt on May 30, 2012, 02:56:55 AM
Quote from: mDuo13 on May 30, 2012, 02:10:45 AM
The Good

* The new(?) anti-alcohol rules seemed to help deter some of the most brazen drunkenness.


Um... believe it or not FanimeCon has always been a dry convention. We just get random drunk people stumbling onto the concourse... Never fails. xD
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Enkai on May 30, 2012, 06:31:51 AM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 30, 2012, 01:59:45 AM
Did the power-outage on Thursday affect anywhere else besides the Convention Center?  My friend who's staff, texted me and asked if the Fairmont had lost power or not.  By that time I was already setting-up my spot in the Swap Meet, and didn't know there was a power-outage happening.

I don't know about other places, but I live in a neighborhood just across the 87 from the convention center, and we didn't lose power at all.  That's part of why I didn't even bother with Day 0 lines and chose to just work on my costume at home.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Makoto on May 30, 2012, 09:22:47 AM
Pros

*Dealer's hall was pretty nice this year.
*Although personally the Swap Meet was a bit disappointing for me, I am amazed at the space given.
*Had a pocket schedule.
*The gaming area was great as well.


Cons

*Horrible, horrible registration process. This happened last year as well, with the giant line. Please give more thought into it next time.
*GoH. It may just be myself, but they were extremely disappointing this year. Aizawa was okay, but the rest felt rushed and unwanted.
*Although we had a pocket schedule this year, it wasn't exactly helpful. Not organized enough and had me going back and forth.
*Pointless flyers scattered across tables. Why?
*Although this isn't exactly a problem for Fanime, I want to point out that it'd be better if the dealers in Dealer's hall would start selling merchandise from this year's anime seasons? I'm a little sick of seeing the same old things over and over again.

That's probably it.
I am a bit saddened that Fanime is less about anime and Japanese culture and more about the fanbase of MLP, Homestuck, and Steampunk.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Luca Cantellano on May 30, 2012, 09:32:25 AM
I really loved this year, but it went by alot faster than the previous years. Looking back, I tried to figure out why... Then I remembered.

* ) The Musicfest... what happened? Was there a problem getting people?
* ) SO MANY PEOPLE. So, there seemed to be twice as many people this year. Should we expand Fanime?
* ) Thursday? (although the power outage would stop this) Can we have more to do on Thursday?
* ) Badge Pictures - I love the pictures-... but it would be amazing if there was an open way to submit our own artwork for this. Maybe an open competition/vote?
* ) San Jose makes it impossible to give away bags at Dealers hall- but can't we buy them for $0.10? At one point, I forgot to bring a bag- but dealers weren't allowed to help.
* ) Fanime is by fans, for fans. However, you can only help if you work or volunteer for Fanime. What if we had polls on the forum or main website? For smaller desicions that we would like to have our own input in?
* ) -while I stare type- It would be amazing if we updated the forum layout/style. Haha, this plain layout is starting to hurt my eyes... :'D
Being anime fans, many of us are talented in graphic design, digital artwork, etc. However, I haven't seen anything that asks for our input or assistance? Many of us would love to decorate the forum, artwork, etc!  :D

EDIT: I noticed everyone complaining about the line? If there are so many people, what do you expect? I think the only way to improve this would be to have a line on both WEDNESDAY and thursday. With both days open, it would cut time for Day 0.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Luca Cantellano on May 30, 2012, 09:43:30 AM
Quote from: Makoto on May 30, 2012, 09:22:47 AM

*Pointless flyers scattered across tables. Why?
*Although this isn't exactly a problem for Fanime, I want to point out that it'd be better if the dealers in Dealer's hall would start selling merchandise from this year's anime seasons? I'm a little sick of seeing the same old things over and over again.

I am a bit saddened that Fanime is less about anime and Japanese culture and more about the fanbase of MLP, Homestuck, and Steampunk.
The flyers were open advertisement for people. It would be better if a few people spent 20 mintues each night re-organizing the tables- but that's what it's for.

As far as the Dealer's hall, they will only supply things they think will sell, or have open access to. I'm sure you could suggest something to some of the dealers that come next year, but it might be easier to buy the newest items on the internet. c;

However, I completely agree with this part. There was so much Homestuck, MLP, and Adventure Time... That's fine, but why is it more popular than the anime? It's fANIME, for goodness-sake! The fans are like sheep- what is popular on the internet, they will become obsessed as well. It would be amazing if we brought more attention to fanime- but that is up to the people in artist's alley, as well. If they sell more MLP, the MLP fans will grow stronger.... like a virus! (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: GokuMew2 on May 30, 2012, 10:30:31 AM
Chiming in on behalf of Guest Relations.

No one organizes a con with the goal of not meeting con-goer expectations so I am sorry to hear some of the comments that have been posted here.

Please allow me to make one thing clear though-- Late announcements are NOT due to procrastination. I did not know this until I started doing pre-con work for GR, but there is a hell of a lot of stuff to go through to get a guest, and I don't think attendees realize how difficult it is.

We would love to start announcing guests at least a couple months in advance but unfortunately it did not go that way, even though it was our goal. Just because someone says they can/want to go does not mean we can immediately invite them, or add them to our roster and announce them. (Yes, I/we do read the guest suggestions thread.)

So I'm sorry that some things may have not lived up to expectations, but it's certainly not because we don't try or because we start on things last minute. Confirmations and approvals can take a lot of time, especially for those who are actively working and have a tight schedule.


Quote from: Bushido on May 29, 2012, 11:52:18 AM
Also I think the staff can do a better job not procrastinating. Having per-registration, hotel registration, guest announcements come extremely late is not the way staff should run a con. I understand that there was a staff change but that's not enough to excuse such a poor job.

Quote from: InsaneChan on May 29, 2012, 11:56:07 PM
cons:

-Guests of Honor...Fanime seemed to really fall short on guests this year. Not to offend guests who were invited, but with such a good track record, Fanime really let me down this year big time. Also, the extremely late confirming of all the guests. It seemed that the GoH team was very unorganized and waited too long to try and get guests to come at all.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: c2chaos on May 30, 2012, 11:12:32 AM
Quote from: Maskenlav on May 30, 2012, 01:40:27 AM
I think fanime should have a complete Rover revamp. They should recruit complete fresh faces for 2013 cause having the same Rovers over and over will seriously add frustration to many attendees eventually. Try to accept more new applicants than favoring returnees? :D
The problem with having completely all new Rovers every year is that they are inexperienced and cannot identify problems nor handle a problem as well as a veteran would. Although, every Rover is taught a necessary set of skills and guidelines. It's not always that they get them down the first time or before the convention. Those skills and guidelines are like nutrients for a small sapling of a Rover until he/she becomes as strong as a mighty oak that can withstand the harsh winds of discord. We accept new applicants every year, many who already have some experience with us through the Volunteers department, a few through actual frustration at Rovers, and some just because they want to see the works of a convention. Rovers have also begun recruiting for next year already if anyone feels that they can make a change and like helping people, sign up please. :)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Aelia on May 30, 2012, 11:24:38 AM
Quote from: c2chaos on May 30, 2012, 11:12:32 AM
Quote from: Maskenlav on May 30, 2012, 01:40:27 AM
I think fanime should have a complete Rover revamp. They should recruit complete fresh faces for 2013 cause having the same Rovers over and over will seriously add frustration to many attendees eventually. Try to accept more new applicants than favoring returnees? :D
The problem with having completely all new Rovers every year is that they are inexperienced and cannot identify problems nor handle a problem as well as a veteran would. Although, every Rover is taught a necessary set of skills and guidelines. It's not always that they get them down the first time. Those skills and guidelines are like to nutrients for a small sapling of a Rover until he/she becomes as strong as a mighty oak that can withstand the harsh winds of discord. Rovers have also begun recruiting for next year already if anyone feels that they can make a change and like helping people, sign up please. :)
For this specific issue, this ^^^

To address Rovers Complaints (in General):

Rovers had approximately 150 applicants, of which approximately 130 were accepted -- the 20 who were dropped were either not accepted due to being unqualified, unavailable for a full 24 hours, or due to past issues -- 80% of accepted Rovers were new. During the 48 hours immediately before Con our number dropped to 115 Rovers... to help approximately 20,000 attendees. There is no way we can turn people away without having good reason, because there are not enough of us to go around without me kicking 20% of my incredibly hard-working team out of my department.

That said, Rovers is taking note of complaints, and when we can verify that it was, in fact, a Rover, we use it as training exercises to help avoid the same issues in the future. (And when we can identify the specific Rover we either have a long conversation about appropriate/acceptable behavior, or we inform them they are no longer welcome on our staff.)

Quite a few of the complaints about "Rovers" are actually... not Rovers. We will be working to raise our visibility in the future so when it is a Rover, you can immediately recognize them, but just because they have a staff badge and a radio does not mean they are Rovers.

The gripe which keeps coming up is about "rudeness" and "lack of communication."

For the "rudeness" we try to resolve that annually by striving to bring Rovers toward customer service. Rovers who do not work with us toward our goal of being Customer Service representatives are not invited back.

As for the "lack of communication," there is a complicated tech thing involving the location of our radio repeater and President Obama being in the Fairmont on Thursday preventing us from getting our repeater up there, so we actually could not hear ourselves about half the time.  The repeater shouldn't be an issue next year.

I know this is not going to resolve every complaint, but we are paying attention and taking note of what we can work on in the future.

If you want to help Rovers move in a positive direction, join our number. We are recruiting. (http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,17489.0.html)

~ On a more positive note, to those of you who had a good experience with Rovers, I am glad to hear that.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Shi_Musouka on May 30, 2012, 12:06:36 PM
Shoot, if these posts had a "Like" button, I would have liked 90% of all these comments by now.

I had a slightly different experience because I was mostly awake at night(FYI - The views expressed here are mine and not reflective of staff)

Pros
Tabletop Gaming - Good bonding time. Could have been a bit more organized with the sign out process, but overall I learned more about new board games and met new congoers from the board games. Gaming halls didn't smell as bad as I was expecting so that was good.

LittleKuriboh - What kookiekween99 said...

Panels - I pretty much loved all of the ones I went to. I can't really put it into words, but I gained a lot of valuable career insight in the art/voice-acting/gaming industries.

Cons
There were a lot of really really RUDE people out there. I remember taking the elevator down and this guy was talking down on this girl who took the elevator on the 5th floor on the Fairmont to go to the 4th floor. Plus, one my friends had her cell phone stolen by congoers from the Marriott. They threatened to flush her phone if she kept calling it and they left it under the piano of the Fairmont instead of returning it to her in person at the Marriott. I know it's not within the con's control, but that was a really big turnoff in my con experience.

Registration - I found out my friend was stuck in line for 6.5 hours waiting for his badge and didn't get it until 12:30. Not fun. I think everyone else summed it up well with the whole registration situation. The con isn't getting any smaller, lines aren't obviously getting any smaller, and I feel as though Registration has done their best to make the process as concise as humanly possible. I would have to support allowing for preregistration of day passes or mailing of all passes and pretty much just treat the preregistration booth as a Will Call for people who decided to save money on shipping.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Teca on May 30, 2012, 12:25:14 PM
Pro's:
- The Masq department is amazing. Everyone working there is nothing short of wonderful people who try to be understanding and supportive as possible. I heard a rumor that this is Marissa's last year and I hope that the department manages to stay together instead of falling apart like the rest of the con seems to have done. You guys were the one shining light of this terrible year.

- I had a run in with an absolutely wonderful Rover. There were several of us in costumes with prop weapons who had gotten stopped in the convention center for photos. When there was a lull, a Rover came over, politely asked if we'd had our props peace bonded and when we said no, but we know it's on the 2nd floor Marriott side and we're on our way there, she said thank you, told us to enjoy our con and walked away. I was so happy to be treated like the well-behaved adult I was and not the wildly flailing child that security always fears every cosplayer to be that I would have asked her for her name so that I could recommend her to train others if we hadn't gotten stuck for more pictures as she was leaving. As soon as it calmed down, we all made our way over and got our props taken care of. Again, thank you for treating me like an adult.


Cons:

- Female Con Staffer working the farthest Pre-Reg kiosk to the right on Friday at 10:32 am : This girl single-handedly nearly started a riot in the line. Yes, we all are aware that the power going out was not Fanime's fault, that the computers being fried made a bad situation worse and it was general chaos of Thursday. The staff were stressed, the attendees were tired and grumpy from the 5+ hours already spent in line but we were all just trying to work through it together. However, I lose all forms of understanding when one of the staff suddenly jumps up from her position checking people in, yelling, "A Doctor Who cosplayer!" and runs from the station to go take a picture, without the other staff members behind her even bothering to stop her or take her position to continue checking people in. The ONLY reason I can't give you her name is because another staffer would not let me go through the door she bolted out of and she had not returned by the time I & my other friends in line had (FINALLY) gotten our badges. It was, quite frankly, insulting and set an extremely poor tone that the con simply never was able to recover from.

- Guests : Please, PLEASE tell me that some major parties fell through because that is the only way I can somehow justify how terrible the guests this year were. The music guests were extraordinarily disappointing; little known artists who did not have many songs released even in Japan. I was also disappointed that the other guests were mostly people who had already been to Fanime multiple times. The real frustration was how LATE everything was announced. I understand that the staff can't very well be like, "Everyone we wanted couldn't/wouldn't come so we're trying to get anyone we can" but if this WAS the planned Guest List, then I will probably not be returning to Fanime. Guests aren't everything but they certainly are SOMETHING and with the other problems the con is having, poor Guests just don't balance out the plane and hotel costs.

- The Male Staffer Running (?) Photoshoots on Sunday Morning : At the Hetalia photo shoot, there was some confusion about when it was supposed to start; some people thought 11, some people thought 11:30 but the result was that there was a huge unorganized crowd around 11:15 trying to figure out what was going on. A staff member, understandably, asked the group to move back against the wall so that we'd be out of the way as much as possible. Then the photographers started taking pictures because we were all grouping together to get out of the way, so a few of us tried to at least get people to kneel if they were in front. A Gathering Staff member came bolting through the photos to corner two of us who were asking a few people to kneel to demand if we were in charge. When we said no, he then demanded, and I do mean DEMANDED, why the photoshoot was starting early since it was supposed to be at 11:30. We said we had no idea, we weren't in charge, but we can tell people to stop taking photos if that's what he wants us to do. He then mumbled something about having to check with con staff and disappeared. Maybe I didn't read the gathering rules close enough, but if it's really THAT big of a deal if photographers start taking photos early, I think then that staff needs to have an official policy about it. I don't appreciate being confronted about an issue that the said staff member doesn't even know how to handle in the first place.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: GokuMew2 on May 30, 2012, 02:02:23 PM
Quote from: Teca on May 30, 2012, 12:25:14 PM
- Guests : Please, PLEASE tell me that some major parties fell through because that is the only way I can somehow justify how terrible the guests this year were. The music guests were extraordinarily disappointing; little known artists who did not have many songs released even in Japan. I was also disappointed that the other guests were mostly people who had already been to Fanime multiple times. The real frustration was how LATE everything was announced. I understand that the staff can't very well be like, "Everyone we wanted couldn't/wouldn't come so we're trying to get anyone we can" but if this WAS the planned Guest List, then I will probably not be returning to Fanime. Guests aren't everything but they certainly are SOMETHING and with the other problems the con is having, poor Guests just don't balance out the plane and hotel costs.

Please see my post above.

Please don't think we don't try to get some big names. Heck, there are a lot of big names even I would like to get. However there are several factors that affect both sides and things will not work out for both of us most of the time. But hey, we try again the next year. Keep in mind the timing of FanimeCon as well. The end of May is when the industry is either wrapping up spring series or working on upcoming summer series. That means many people are busy and can't add the con into their schedule. (Some of our guests this year had to bring their work with them!)

Sorry if it seems like we let you down, but we do the best we can with what we have to work with and it's hard to satisfy everyone. If you think you can help out, GR's an open department like all others. ;D

Please also keep in mind that every con operates differently and has different resources. Oh, and I work with international guests so what I write doesn't always apply to domestic guests.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Teca on May 30, 2012, 03:21:05 PM
Quote from: GokuMew2 on May 30, 2012, 02:02:23 PM
If you think you can help out, GR's an open department like all others. ;D

Considering I am out of state, I very much doubt that I would be of any use in helping out getting better guests to come to the con as the option for out-of-towners is to work volunteer time at the convention because staff members must attend staff meetings, unless I am reading the volunteer/staff application FAQ incorrectly. Even if there is another option, the implied problems that it sounds like you and your department ran into this years would have not been avoided by having a few more people anyway, since many of the reasons are about the timing of the con or the individual choices of the potential guests themselves.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: AR-99 on May 30, 2012, 03:38:28 PM
Organizing my feedback by topic in alpha order:

Autographs
I spent all of my Saturday and most of my Sunday in line for this so much of my feedback will be on this subject.

Having the signings at the Fairmont for the most part worked out. Because the line was in the Regency ballroom it didn't get as congested as it did the past 2 years thus it didn't create fire code issues. The big drawback was that it was separate from the rest of the con. It was also pointed out earlier that the projector in Regency was on and the big screen was down, but nothing was airing. I don't know if it this was done because something was supposed to be shown to those waiting in line or what, but staffing fell through. The projector was on and the screen was down for the entire time for both days. I'm not saying that something should have been shown but maybe at least turn the projector off? It was helpful though that the water coolers in the room were stocked. However I did hear that one of the restrooms nearby opposite the stairs and escalator were locked.

I was surprised to see that this year signings were only on Saturday and Sunday and not also on Monday as they were the past 2 years. I am making a big assumption that this was tied to being able to reserve the 2 ballrooms at the Fairmont from Thursday-Sunday only because that was where swap meet and the lines for the signings and the signings themselves took place. If it can be done next year, can the signings go back to being on Monday as well? There are some benefits to this:

-Less con-goers, which usually means shorter lines unless it is a major guest (IIRC LM.C from 2010 still had a massive line on Monday as it was their only signing).
-Spaces out the signings, especially if the guest is an artist who is also sketching. It would have affected the artist guests, all of whom were at Closing Ceremonies.

This ties into the scheduling, especially for the artists. Not enough time was given for all of them especially when all of them were doing sketches. Yokota did have a 2 hour window for one signing but Koyama and Asamiya otherwise each had an hour allocated each time for both days. The Yokota signing on Saturday was actually cut short because he had an interview to do at 2! Because of the time and effort they were putting into their sketches, those who were at the head of the line got the best quality ones when the guests were able to put in the time and effort and weren't rushed. As time went on they had to be hurried up by staff and eventually the autograph-only people would get pulled out of line and sent ahead, leaving everyone else who wanted a sketch waiting. When the hour was up it was tough luck and some people who had been waiting for hours in line got nothing whereas people who had not been in there for as long or were late at least were able to walk away with an autograph. For the Yokota signing on Saturday those of us who missed out were put on a priority list for Sunday and moved to the head of the line on that day. I heard that it didn't happen for Asamiya and am not sure if it happened for Koyama. So some miscommunication happened here. I talked to my fellow fans in line about why not have the artist just do a quick monochrome sketch for everyone so the process will go faster and maybe they will get through everyone in line instead of it taking 15 minutes for 3 people. However I'm not sure how feasible it would be to ask the guest to do this before the signing starts. On the first day Koyama initially took some requests but then switched to doing a specific drawing of Chuck from PSG that he then would personalize for each person so everyone got something different. He did this on the second day as well.

The only autographs I didn't get were Aizawa (her line was quite long and I prioritized Asamiya over her) and Chiba (no interest). Each of them only signed on Saturday as they left the following day. I support the idea of passing around a list if the artist is taking requests in order to filter out anything non-relevant. This was done on the second day for Yokota's signing.

I know that the staff handling the signings on both days tried their best and had to deal with both the guests and people waiting in line for hours. They also had to work with the guests' schedules and any conflicts that came up that may have prevented them from staying longer. On the second day Asamiya actually stayed beyond his allotted time, which was greatly appreciated. Scheduling too impacted what staff could and couldn't do, but the apparent lack of anticipation of things going much longer than expected and having to deal with things on the fly each and every time this happened could have been alleviated. Please keep in mind for next year especially for the artists guests to attempt to space out their signings and give them more cushion time (maybe 2 hours minimum or not have anything occurring for them right after) because the nature of their signings is different from the other guests. If Monday is available again, try to schedule things in the morning if possible because people will show up for the signing. Given the experiences noted above I hope that this years' experience will translate into and lessons learned and improvements for next year.

Con shirts
As someone said in another thread art is subjective, so this is purely my own preference. I wish that the same artist who did the mascot characters for the program book and badges had also worked on the shirts. If they actually did, I didn't notice this. I was all psyched up to buy my first con shirt when I saw the design, thought about it, and changed my mind. I like the number 12 as a player number, but didn't like the front design. Sorry.

Dealers' hall
Did all of my shopping on Monday. Was there a reason why it was open til 8 on Friday but only til 7 Saturday and Sunday.

Food
Not as big of an issue for me because I didn't starve and packed water, snacks, and had half a footlong for lunch and the other half for dinner Saturday and Sunday. However it would be helpful to those who may not know that there's a McDonald's a few blocks away or a Subway around the corner to have a list of local restaurants and markets within 3-4 blocks where they can get food and drinks and save more money for everything else. Such a list could be at the Info Desk and provided upon request. Even a food truck parked out front for a few hours would help out a lot, but I don't recall seeing any in the downtown area so maybe there's a reason why.

Guests
It was mentioned earlier in the thread that someone would like to see more domestic VAs. Personally I would love to see all Japanese VAs so I'm not sure how you could balance both sides of the fandom.

Personally I don't mind some of the same guests repeating each year (I think I've gotten used to the regulars), because this adds a degree of stability to the con year in and year out. E.g. Yamaga has been a guest since like forever and now hosts the Yamaga Party and even extended an invite to a tea party for people who attended his signing. I've seen Yokota for the past couple years and know what to expect when he shows up in terms of sketches, so for next year I need to watch something that he worked on other than Macross F. However variety of course is also good. Major props to GR in particular for landing Asamiya. He may not be familiar to many folks because 2 of the works that he is known for are older series (Silent Mobius, Nadesico), but for me he falls into the category of "I don't think they'll ever come to a con unless it's a big one like AX or something." I was really surprised to see him on the guest list and was also lucky enough to get 2 sketches from him. Good job as well on getting Koyama.

No comments on Aizawa, Chiba, or Vincent. The lack of musical guests this year was not that big of an issue for me.

Masquerade
I was expecting Ric Meyers as usual, but Tadao Tomomatsu did an awesome job hosting. The event continues to be one of the highlights of the con for me.

Pocket schedule
A big help since it saved having to pull out the program each time, and it was in color. I don't have a smartphone so lack of an online schedule didn't impact me as much.

Reg
I decided to pick up my badge on Day 1 instead of Day 0 this year and was told that if I had been there at 4 on Thursday I might have gotten my badge despite the blackout. If I had gone I would have arrived closer to 5 so maybe it was good thing that I didn't show up on Thursday. However I did get to spend 3 hours in line on Friday, which overall was tolerable and I had no problems other than the wait and being on my feet for that long.

I don't know how feasible this would be to implement or if it has been previously suggested but I'm throwing it out there, so please just bear with me. My impression is that one of the key reasons for in-person reg is to verify the identity of the badge holder. It has also been mentioned multiple times that people would be willing to pay more to get mailed their badges. For an extra $10 to cover priority shipping and processing I say hell yes since it beats 2-3 hours of being in line. If there is a way to verify identity electronically without someone needing to stand in line to show their ID to staff all the better, such as by sending them a verification code to their cell phone or email, similar to e-banking. They could then resubmit the code securely by logging into the Fanimecon website to verify identity. The badge is then mailed out via priority mail requiring both a signature for delivery and a proof of delivery. You now have proof that the badge didn't get lost and it was delivered.

Staff
Overall my interactions with staff were positive. I want to give a shout out to the dealer hall staff who helped me on Monday determine that Anime-Link was not in the hall although he was actually down on the list. Unfortunately I can't recall their names. The first person referred to a list which did list Anime-Link but his spot was taken by JS Anime. He then suggested that I ask the head of dealers room and he confirmed that Anime-Link had withdrawn at the last minute. Autograph line staff could have used a lot more organization and help (see above).

Swap meet
I went on Friday. From a buyer's perspective I thought it went well. However whereas the Regency ballroom at the Fairmont was like a circus, the smaller Regency II was much quieter and when I set foot in there about a third of them had already left. This would have impacted the sellers in that room more because most of the foot traffic passed through Regency, from which didn't look like any of the sellers had left.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on May 30, 2012, 05:28:38 PM
Oh yes, though this is probably very trivial in comparison to the other feedback that's been left thus far, I was wondering if this would be possible for next year:

Every badge has a 'fan number', and some people make it a point to get as low as number as they can (I must admit, it's pretty cool to be like 00007 or something), and the faster you pre-register, the lower the number. But the people who pre-reg at-con the year before end up having the highest numbers because they're processed last in the registration process...Would it be possible for the people who pre-regged at-con to get the first few numbers this year? Considering those people DID register the earliest...Seems like it's only fair to those who reg that early to get a little something for supporting Fanime that early.

Again, rather trivial, but hopefully something worth considering...
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SOawesomeness on May 30, 2012, 05:31:47 PM
Quote from: chifunii on May 30, 2012, 05:28:38 PM
Oh yes, though this is probably very trivial in comparison to the other feedback that's been left thus far, I was wondering if this would be possible for next year:
oh i was not aware of this. This is actually pretty important to me as well for you guys to have. Ill make a note of it and hopefully The system will have it implemented next year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: bsan89 on May 30, 2012, 05:34:49 PM
San Jose local & SJSU student here! 5th year going to FANIME!
Went from Thursday to Sunday. :)

So, as you know the San Jose Mercury Convention Center is Expanding with the new $120,000,000.00 USD building.
Not sure if they going to re-innovate the rest of the convention. (double check, yes they are!)
(https://forums.fanime.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc634653.r53.cf2.rackcdn.com%2FSJCC%2520Exterior-12-02-11-600x300.jpg&hash=7e931b9fd5b3c8383c02c31df47554afd8ded8f5)
ETA: FALL 2013. So it unlikely for FANIME 2013 but FANIME 2014!!!

Anyway one of the most noticeable thing is FANIME is getting larger EVERY year.
I will try not to repeat too much of what has already been said here.
Though this year does feel too much of the same thing, & a bit laggy than usual.
What's gets me through is the social aspect of FANIME, and a bit lacking in the actual anime department.

It grows and it goes. "Crescit Eundo"
With the new expansion and re-design, FANIME will be getting MUCH MORE attendee every year.
I hope FANIME will be able to change with the re-innovation. Not just more room to stuff attendee.
We need much more content, decals, tons of more vendors, moar! :)

P.S:

Oh, I don't I seen anybody post this yet.
But if you like to dance or break dance at the con.
DON'T BLOCK THE HALLWAY! I love dance, but its super hard when you have hundred of ppl funnel past your huge dance circle.
Upstairs or Downstairs. Outside I don't care.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Shi_Musouka on May 30, 2012, 05:55:45 PM
Quote from: Tantalus on May 29, 2012, 08:33:03 PM
Quote from: Bushido on May 29, 2012, 11:52:18 AM
My main complaint is towards Head Rover Terrance. He wears glasses and has a buzz cut. This man should not be working again as head rover next year. He right off the bat very rude, smug and arrogant. I understand that staff says that he's military but I couldn't care less if he was. It gives no excuse for him to treat me the way he did. Basically this man ruined all of Friday for me as he outright denied my Stormtrooper blaster prop, which was made out of hyperfirm rubber with no working components and is a big piece of rubber, without giving me a chance to explain and prove that it's clearly a fake and ignoring other weapons that looked more real than mine. I also must point out that his examples as to trying to prove his point like when these snipers on the roof tops protecting Obama when he was in San Jose a couple of days ago wouldn't like my blaster, well what kind of idiot would even bring a fake gun or even a cheap $1 squirt gun when the President is around? And no sorry but I also have to call bullshit on police frisking Stormtroopers just because of our blasters. Even as going as far as going on the radio and essentially labeling me a criminal. What's funny is he claims to be a fan of the 501st Legion, an organization I'm apart of, while at the same time as I said treated me like a criminal which not only did he disrespected me but spat all over the good name of the 501st Legion as a whole. I am not the only person who this man had gave crap to. There are plenty of others who understand where I'm getting at. I spent most of my Friday trying to get this mess of a situation resolved so that my fellow garrison members wouldn't have to go through what I had to go through.

Also I think the staff can do a better job not procrastinating. Having per-registration, hotel registration, guest announcements come extremely late is not the way staff should run a con. I understand that there was a staff change but that's not enough to excuse such a poor job.

All things concerned the only major complaint is Terrance. He is the number one example of who not to hire back.

I second this complaint.  My experience with Terrance in the peacebonding room was extremely unpleasant due to his condescending attitude.  As a paid attendee, I expect to be treated with some level of respect yet was essentially belittled out of the room.  This coupled with a 6 hour long registration line on Day 0 made this convention something I'd much rather forget.

This sounds oddly familiar...

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,5371.0.html
Not sure if it's the same guy though. Their attitudes seems the same.

Oh, and for clarification Terrence is actually not a Rover nor was he this year's Rover Head. I actually forget what he does >.>
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SSHPFan on May 30, 2012, 06:16:30 PM
Quote from: Enkai on May 29, 2012, 08:34:15 PM
Quote from: SSHPFan on May 29, 2012, 01:36:38 AM

Cons (dun, dun, dun):

1. Not too many panels interested me. I was hoping for more "advanced" cosplay panels as opposed to basics. That's just my opinion though. ^^

Just out of curiosity, did you check out mine (Fabric Dyeing and Painting).  I'd consider it more intermediate-advanced than a lot of the cosplay panels I've seen at cons, but it'd be nice to see some outside feedback.  I'm thinking of splitting it up into two panels, beginner-intermediate and advanced next year, especially since I'll have an even wider range of experience with my next big project.

Feedback from myself--sadly, I didn't get to attend a lot of the con because I was locking myself in my house working on my masquerade costume, but *OTHER THAN THE LINES* I enjoyed what I saw.  The lines were ridiculous.  I came in around 8 on Friday to pick up my badge and left because the line was out the door.  I was told it should be lighter around 11-noon.  Hah, fat chance, I spent more than two hours in line.  Can we please mail out the badges?

I loved all the wig booths in the dealer's hall; it was very nice to get to see what certain colors actually looked like (because I'm super picky with what I want for my next big project).  I also had a really good time with putting on my first panel.  What little I saw of masquerade was enjoyable, in spite of the fact that I was crazy depressed up and till our actual skit.  I was exhausted, so after our skit I ended up going home.  

Most of this is ranting, and I do acknowledge that I did not behave flawlessly in this situation either:  I had an unfortunate run-in with an extremely rude rover in the civic center when I was extremely stressed out due to my wings that I spent at least 50+ hours on breaking *during* masquerade rehearsal.  I know he didn't know about that, but he could have at least let me be for a minute when I told him I was waiting for my husband so we didn't get separated, which I don't think was at all unreasonable since the door we were leaving from wasn't clearly marked.  We were sticking around until the end of rehearsal period hoping that we could get a run through with some stage ninjas we recruited last minute to handle my wings, thank you very much.  I understand that they're under a lot of stress too, but anything masquerade prep related is one of the most high-stress areas for con attendees (besides possibly waiting in reg line).  A *little* bit of patience would be nice, kthnx?  We're not trying to make your life difficult, we're trying to handle our own emergencies as well.

I guess my overall comment is to try to screen a little better for patience, if you can do that at all, especially when it comes to the staff that are dealing with anything at all masquerade related.


I'm sorry about that! I should've explained myself a little better. >< I was more so talking about advanced wig styling and such. No, dyeing and painting I would consider advanced. ^^
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Aelia on May 30, 2012, 06:34:19 PM
Quote from: Shear_Trigger on May 30, 2012, 03:38:28 PM
Food
Not as big of an issue for me because I didn't starve and packed water, snacks, and had half a footlong for lunch and the other half for dinner Saturday and Sunday. However it would be helpful to those who may not know that there's a McDonald's a few blocks away or a Subway around the corner to have a list of local restaurants and markets within 3-4 blocks where they can get food and drinks and save more money for everything else. Such a list could be at the Info Desk and provided upon request. Even a food truck parked out front for a few hours would help out a lot, but I don't recall seeing any in the downtown area so maybe there's a reason why.
Actually, there were maps in the past, and I know I saw them in the Marriott when I checked in this year. They're pretty nifty, listed by food type with coordinates on the map to tell you where it is. They just may not have been publicized very well.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Firefury Amahira on May 30, 2012, 07:13:57 PM
Just an oddball observation here:

I thought it was a really bad idea to put the big flyer tables right alongside the "do not stop" traffic lanes by Stage Zero. People are supposed to keep moving, meaning either they have to clog up the lanes or just get a brief passing look at the flyers on the table. Makes it hard to check for stuff people are interested in taking, doubly so when the tables are a completely disorganized mess by the end of Day 2.

I think it might be better for the flyer tables to be placed near the exits to stuff like the Dealer's Hall or Artist Alley; it seemed to me that the exit areas were generally much less traffic-intense overall and people stopping briefly there to check out flyers would be less of a traffic impediment.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Bushido on May 30, 2012, 07:36:56 PM
Quote from: Shi_Musouka on May 30, 2012, 05:55:45 PM
This sounds oddly familiar...

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,5371.0.html
Not sure if it's the same guy though. Their attitudes seems the same.

Oh, and for clarification Terrence is actually not a Rover nor was he this year's Rover Head. I actually forget what he does >.>

I don't think that's the guy in the picture. All I know for sure is that he wrote the rules for the peacebonding weapons policy, so he claims to have. And from what I'm told, he's a military sergeant? Regardless this man has ruined my Friday and has done something the most attendees would probably see as the worst, being labeled as a criminal when you did nothing wrong. If he is not a rover, then why is he walking around being one? His conduct towards me and towards many others cannot go unpunished or overlooked. I have been told that he has been told to fix his attitude towards the attendees but who knows if that actually happened. In any case the damage has been done. He should not be allowed to come back as staff for Fanime 2013. Even though Fanime does not request 501st Legion appearances, we still support Fanime by going every year. As someone who recently joined the 501st, I was happy to troop (show up) at this con with my movie accurate Stormtrooper costume. Only to have day 1 for me to be an utter disaster because of one man.

I sincerely hope that if more people had issues with this guy please speak up. Who knows what he would do next year if he returns.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: otakuya on May 30, 2012, 09:00:35 PM
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this earlier, but it regards the registration rates. I don't want to have to pay around $60 for access to the same areas as someone without a badge can go to; which is about everywhere else: like outside the convention center, most of the ground and main floors of the convention center. With a badge, you can access the dealers room, panels, artist alley, video rooms, dance, and main events. But the majority of FanimeCon happenings occur in the general public where you don't need a badge to access. What can justify $60 registration value, versus where I can experience it for free and no one can notice? Of course I pre-register and attend FanimeCon for the last 12 years because I support everything the convention and the staff goes through and the fandom of otaku-dom and gamers.
Maybe better enforcement of badges and actual boundaries of events?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: nurikowindchaser on May 30, 2012, 09:57:09 PM
Quote from: Rosewine on May 29, 2012, 04:32:04 PM
I would love to see staggered hours of operation for dealers hall and artist alley for next year.
It would be a win win win situation where the vendors and artists would see periods of increased traffic [when the other is not open] and the con goers would have longer access to the exhibitors!

This, a million trillion times!  I had a table in the artists alley, which meant that 90% of my con experience was spent solely in that room... I got to shop in the dealer's room for a grand total of fifteen minutes before it closed on Monday.  And the lack of retail therapy makes me a saaaaaaaaaaaaad panda.

Pros:

Cons:
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Freeden on May 30, 2012, 11:52:50 PM
Quote from: GokuMew2 on May 30, 2012, 02:02:23 PM
Quote from: Teca on May 30, 2012, 12:25:14 PM
- Guests : Please, PLEASE tell me that some major parties fell through because that is the only way I can somehow justify how terrible the guests this year were. The music guests were extraordinarily disappointing; little known artists who did not have many songs released even in Japan. I was also disappointed that the other guests were mostly people who had already been to Fanime multiple times. The real frustration was how LATE everything was announced. I understand that the staff can't very well be like, "Everyone we wanted couldn't/wouldn't come so we're trying to get anyone we can" but if this WAS the planned Guest List, then I will probably not be returning to Fanime. Guests aren't everything but they certainly are SOMETHING and with the other problems the con is having, poor Guests just don't balance out the plane and hotel costs.

Please see my post above.

Please don't think we don't try to get some big names. Heck, there are a lot of big names even I would like to get. However there are several factors that affect both sides and things will not work out for both of us most of the time. But hey, we try again the next year. Keep in mind the timing of FanimeCon as well. The end of May is when the industry is either wrapping up spring series or working on upcoming summer series. That means many people are busy and can't add the con into their schedule. (Some of our guests this year had to bring their work with them!)

Sorry if it seems like we let you down, but we do the best we can with what we have to work with and it's hard to satisfy everyone. If you think you can help out, GR's an open department like all others. ;D

Please also keep in mind that every con operates differently and has different resources. Oh, and I work with international guests so what I write doesn't always apply to domestic guests.

I believe I read, before Fanime, that there was a common contracting company many major cons use to get guests, specifically music guests, from Japan. I think it would benefit Fanime to use something like that. I've said it before, but I will say it again, Fanime is huge now. In 2011, it was the 8th largest anime con in the U.S. That big of a con comes with expectations, including certain expectations towards the kinds of guests we will see at the con. I hope, for next year, you will consider looking into what cons like Anime Expo and Otakon do to get guests. I realize that Fanime is smaller, but it's also big enough that it should be able to bring in major guests. Heck, if a smaller con like Animazement can get Kotoko, then I have no doubt Fanime can repeat the fantastic musicfest of 2011 with Yuya and FLOW.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: PyronIkari on May 31, 2012, 12:38:01 AM
Quote from: nurikowindchaser on May 30, 2012, 09:57:09 PM

The lack of close-by food - My mother insists on real food when we go to conventions, which meant that this time we were constantly spending way too much time trying to find food, time which could have been better spent actually seeing stuff at the con.  ^.^;;
I don't want to reply to this thread but this one bothers me. There's like 18 restaurants all withing 10 minutes of walking. Price ranging from 3$-150$. All kinds of food of all kinds of types. I am honestly baffled by this comment. I ate Pita Pit, Iguana's, Subway, Pizza My Heart all for under 6$ a meal and all of them were filling and good for me. I also went to a number of nice sit down restaurants for dinner. Do a little research, there are a lot of places to eat around the convention.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Gunbuster on May 31, 2012, 01:55:26 AM
I forgot to add another positive; I love seeing full art on the front of the con shirts this year like 2003 and 04. I've never been fond of the chest logo types that have been common of late.

Still wondering whatever became of the Nightmare/Megumi merchandise. Did it ever actually go on sale?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: lilfry14 on May 31, 2012, 02:25:57 AM
Pro:
New Black and white ballroom was awesome!
The extra game stations and tables in the gaming room were great.

Con:
I didn't see the martial arts/weapons demo in the schedule, so I missed out on that.
Too many west coast swing songs at the black and white ball. I guess it's everyone's favorite, but I'd like to see more Waltz, Tango, and Samba. I think there were only 2 samba songs.

It was very crowded in the walkway between stage 0 and the dealers room entrance. Maybe we could NOT put a food vendor at the entrance. Maybe put the directional tape  on the ground (not that people seem to follow it, but it'd hopefully prevent stopping, or encourage people who want pictures to step to the side.)

I didn't understand that clockworks alchemy was at another location which you could take a shuttle bus to. Maybe there could be a little explanation in the pocket schedule. It said there was a shuttle, but didn't say where it was picking up from, that it was for con goers. i thought the shuttle was for people who were staying at the double tree/ holiday in hotels, not for people trying to go to clockworks alchemy.

I missed having intermediate dance lessons, there were only beginner ones.

Suggestions:
Maybe we could have recycling for the cups at the Black and White Ball. I noticed the cups were recyclable, but were just getting thrown in the trash cans.

For the video game tournaments, maybe we could get a projector on a wall/screen, or a TV placed above everyone's head level so that spectators can easily watch, at least for the final rounds.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 10:10:01 AM
Quote from: Wiccat on May 31, 2012, 08:31:53 AM
Pros:
-And now speaking of the swap meet.  Thursday went off without a hitch, it was perfect.  But Friday was a disaster.  The information desk told me that swap meet check in was at 6pm.  It was at 5pm.  Luckily, I was still able to get a spot.  The head of the swap meet was incredibly rude, when I brought up the change in time, she snapped at me that the information was in the program guide.  I read through the whole program, as did my friend.  It wasn't. 

The Swap Meet check-in time for Friday was 5:00pm.  It was posted on the convention website , and on the forums in this thread for a while before the convention:

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,16971.0.html

If you checked this thread like most of the sellers did prior to Fanime, you would've known ahead of time of the check-in time rather than wait until the con and rely on asking the information booth or what was stated/not stated in the program guide. 
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Wiccat on May 31, 2012, 10:15:46 AM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 10:10:01 AM
Quote from: Wiccat on May 31, 2012, 08:31:53 AM
Pros:
-And now speaking of the swap meet.  Thursday went off without a hitch, it was perfect.  But Friday was a disaster.  The information desk told me that swap meet check in was at 6pm.  It was at 5pm.  Luckily, I was still able to get a spot.  The head of the swap meet was incredibly rude, when I brought up the change in time, she snapped at me that the information was in the program guide.  I read through the whole program, as did my friend.  It wasn't.

The Swap Meet check-in time for Friday was 5:00pm.  It was posted on the convention website , and on the forums in this thread for a while before the convention:

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,16971.0.html

If you checked this thread like most of the sellers did prior to Fanime, you would've known ahead of time of the check-in time rather than wait until the con and rely on asking the information booth or what was stated/not stated in the program guide.  

Sure, it was posted around before the convention, but if the information desk at the convention told me 6pm and I don't have internet access, how was I supposed to know they were mistaken and there wasn't a last minute change in check in time?  There were many at-con changes that occurred this year, such as the swap meet allowing in non-badged attendees on Thursday.  I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't specifically asked one of the rovers/volunteers, so I am thankful for them that I didn't have to spend hours in line and miss the swap meet.  As someone who is selling in the artist alley from 10am to 8pm, I rely on volunteers and the information desk to keep updated information like that.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 11:17:03 AM
Quote from: Wiccat on May 31, 2012, 10:15:46 AM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 10:10:01 AM
Quote from: Wiccat on May 31, 2012, 08:31:53 AM
Pros:
-And now speaking of the swap meet.  Thursday went off without a hitch, it was perfect.  But Friday was a disaster.  The information desk told me that swap meet check in was at 6pm.  It was at 5pm.  Luckily, I was still able to get a spot.  The head of the swap meet was incredibly rude, when I brought up the change in time, she snapped at me that the information was in the program guide.  I read through the whole program, as did my friend.  It wasn't.

The Swap Meet check-in time for Friday was 5:00pm.  It was posted on the convention website , and on the forums in this thread for a while before the convention:

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,16971.0.html

If you checked this thread like most of the sellers did prior to Fanime, you would've known ahead of time of the check-in time rather than wait until the con and rely on asking the information booth or what was stated/not stated in the program guide.  

Sure, it was posted around before the convention, but if the information desk at the convention told me 6pm and I don't have internet access, how was I supposed to know they were mistaken and there wasn't a last minute change in check in time?

I got there a little after 5:00pm on Friday.  With my spot being in the 20's, I knew I wasn't going to be checked-in until probably 5:20-5:30pm.  I personally would rather get to an event early, and if there were any changes I'd rather let the staff of that event tell us, rather than trust the Information Booth of a convention in-case of any mis-communications. :)

Also, you said in your previous post that the head of the Swap Meet was very rude to you.  Are you referring to Maryssa, AKA AngelJibrille?  She's always very busy running the Swap Meet each year (as-well as the Masquerade.)  My friend, who was also selling on Friday showed up later to check-in around 6:00pm.  My friend had to attend a funeral that morning, and by the time she got to the con, she had to wait in-line for badge pick-up which took a few hours.  Maryssa was very kind to allow her to check-in.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: GokuMew2 on May 31, 2012, 12:48:47 PM
Quote from: Freeden on May 30, 2012, 11:52:50 PM
I believe I read, before Fanime, that there was a common contracting company many major cons use to get guests, specifically music guests, from Japan. I think it would benefit Fanime to use something like that. I've said it before, but I will say it again, Fanime is huge now. In 2011, it was the 8th largest anime con in the U.S. That big of a con comes with expectations, including certain expectations towards the kinds of guests we will see at the con. I hope, for next year, you will consider looking into what cons like Anime Expo and Otakon do to get guests. I realize that Fanime is smaller, but it's also big enough that it should be able to bring in major guests. Heck, if a smaller con like Animazement can get Kotoko, then I have no doubt Fanime can repeat the fantastic musicfest of 2011 with Yuya and FLOW.

MusicFest is a different entity within Guest Relations and I'm not part of the MF group, so I wouldn't be able to comment. It sounds to me like your concerns are mostly over music artists rather than general guests?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Somebody on May 31, 2012, 01:10:10 PM
I'm not sure if Gaming Staff comments go here, but I had one tiny thing to mention.
Monday when the staff closed gaming, I completely missed the warning calls over the loudspeakers, so that's my fault. The music to the game I was playing was terribly loud and knowing time was nearing up, I probably should have stepped away and asked (not to mention my friends who were sitting nearby should have come and gotten me off when they heard it). However, when staff came and surrounded my game to escort me out, I didn't know what was going on until one of them started yelling and snarling at me. I completely understand that he was doing this to get my attention and not be rude or harsh, but it scared the living daylights out of me! I scrambled off the machine and tried to grab my stuff as quickly as I could, but almost dropped my phone and bag as we were what felt more like chased than escorted out.

Is there any other way they could bring a halt to the game? If I had seen him stick his hands in front of the screen or his face moreso in front of me rather than just around the sides I feel I would have noticed him sooner and left. Because he was standing on the side out of my direct eyesight, I thought he was just my friend taking photos again- I wasn't trying to be difficult or ignore him!  :-[
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Siddy on May 31, 2012, 02:38:42 PM
Comments: I was happy to see the pocket schedule return this year. It was very difficult to find anything last year without it, causing some of the panels to go unnoticed. The entertainment panels put on by the con were entertaining, though not as many as there were last year IIRC. It's easy for me to say that I had a great time while I was there; however, what bothered me the most was the mishap at the pre-registration line for Thursday. It's not cool that some of us get there as early as 11a-1p and have to wait even longer due to an issue, but I understand that it can't always be helped. I heard various rumors as to the reason for the delay that lasted over an hour, such as a database problem or an angry attendee trying to pick up their badge. If anyone can dispel those rumors, it would be appreciated.

Thoughts: What I also found interesting was that the line to purchase passes for the convention was shorter than the pre-registration line at times, though it could have been coincidence on my part. I thought the point of registering early was to avoid the line, as well as the price increase. What would be required to mail passes to people that pre-registered? Or what would be required to allow for temporary/permanent passes, possibly with a barcode system, to be printed out at home? It may or may not be within the con's budget, but I'm curious as to what it would entail.

Another thing that I find interesting is the lack of whichever theme the convention chooses, and it's a little disappointing to not see the con be more active with it. If there is going to be a theme, wouldn't it be fun to have events and more decorations related to the theme? Since the theme was high-school sports, couldn't there have been morning and afternoon exercises in the front of the convention center, 100-meter dash on the lower floor, or possibly some cosplay dodgeball in one of the satellite halls (with signed waivers of course)?

Anyways, despite what happened, I look forward to next year's convention.
tl;dr: Good pocket guides, lines were long, needed more sports theme.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: keitoghostie on May 31, 2012, 03:10:46 PM
Pros:
- Mai Aizawa as a guest
- The dealers' hall, gaming hall, and artist alley were the most organized and lively in all 6 years I've gone
- The "walking info desk" volunteers were wonderful and very helpful!
- There was a local sandwich shop that gave me and my group a 10% discount on our food for having Fanime badges - I don't know how much say anyone had in informing local businesses of the convention but it definitely was a positive part of my convention experience

Cons:
- Hallways and walkways were crowded even on "quieter" days like Friday and Monday
- Schedule not being out until just barely before the convention
- As many others have said, the registration lines, PARTICULARLY the lack of air circulation in the zig-zag part of the pre-registration line - I'd totally suggest putting up a couple fans to just move the air around because it got pretty stuffy when I wasn't near the hallway (this was around 3-5pm on Friday)
However I have to say the pre-reg line was structured in a wonderful, Disneyland-esque way that made me think I was closer than I was (which was a nice morale boost!)

Also re: badges/registration, what's the merit of having personalized badges?
When I went to WonderCon in 2011, the process was very streamlined since the only distinction was by badge type and there wasn't any actual registration - I'm wondering if that'd be beneficial for Fanime.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Ska_Kitti on May 31, 2012, 03:56:20 PM
Quote from: Somebody on May 31, 2012, 01:10:10 PM
I'm not sure if Gaming Staff comments go here, but I had one tiny thing to mention.
Monday when the staff closed gaming, I completely missed the warning calls over the loudspeakers, so that's my fault. The music to the game I was playing was terribly loud and knowing time was nearing up, I probably should have stepped away and asked (not to mention my friends who were sitting nearby should have come and gotten me off when they heard it). However, when staff came and surrounded my game to escort me out, I didn't know what was going on until one of them started yelling and snarling at me. I completely understand that he was doing this to get my attention and not be rude or harsh, but it scared the living daylights out of me! I scrambled off the machine and tried to grab my stuff as quickly as I could, but almost dropped my phone and bag as we were what felt more like chased than escorted out.

Is there any other way they could bring a halt to the game? If I had seen him stick his hands in front of the screen or his face moreso in front of me rather than just around the sides I feel I would have noticed him sooner and left. Because he was standing on the side out of my direct eyesight, I thought he was just my friend taking photos again- I wasn't trying to be difficult or ignore him!  :-[

Hihi, Gaming Hall Manager here. I remember giving out specific reminders to those throughout the hall. I was the voice calling out the members and staff over the loudspeaker throughout con. If you have a specific description of the person/people who were acting out while we were escorting others out, then please PM me their descriptions so I can take care of them myself. There is no way I or my staff are allowed to touch any of the arcade cabinets; only our Arcade vendor are allowed to touch the machines as far as powering down or performing maintenance.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on May 31, 2012, 04:21:46 PM
Quote from: Gunbuster on May 31, 2012, 01:55:26 AM
Still wondering whatever became of the Nightmare/Megumi merchandise. Did it ever actually go on sale?

So here's the story with that...
Other than being announced at MusicFest like it was a passing thought, there was probably only one staff member at the entire convention who knew WHEN and WHERE this was happening. I had to google and tumblr my butt off looking for anyone who knew, and it turns out I ran into the ONLY PERSON who asked that one staff member (after questioning many other people and waiting a long time) online. I asked her where, and it was actually at the autographs room on Sunday after the last autograph session. So in approximation, this was around 6pm (and I heard it was supposed to go until 9pm). But because, you know, nobody knew about this, that girl and I were the only people there--Probably for the entire 3 hours the staff guy was there at the table he set up with all the goods.

Saadfaceee. I'm sure there would've been more people had people known when and where to look. :/

I had to leave, but it seems like the girl I met with ended up having a short talk with the staff member, and she will be taking orders, I believe, in cooperation with the staff guy, for those goods that were available Sunday night. Whether or not it is just Nightmare goods or not, I am not sure. Though, if there is interest, I can find out and post here.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SweetNiar on May 31, 2012, 04:50:38 PM
Quote from: Wiccat on May 31, 2012, 08:31:53 AM
-Lastly, why aren't anyone following the arrows on the floor in the main convention lobby?  It's not that hard.  The mass chaos of crowds going on was overwhelming and it happens every year.  Maybe a few volunteers in that area for traffic control would help!

Thank You!! XD I was wondering the same thing how empty this year those walk way lines were and why no one wanted to use them.  There was so much room.  Maybe a sudden allergy or disgust toward arrows??
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Gunbuster on May 31, 2012, 05:36:19 PM
Quote from: chifunii on May 31, 2012, 04:21:46 PM
Quote from: Gunbuster on May 31, 2012, 01:55:26 AM
Still wondering whatever became of the Nightmare/Megumi merchandise. Did it ever actually go on sale?

So here's the story with that...
Other than being announced at MusicFest like it was a passing thought, there was probably only one staff member at the entire convention who knew WHEN and WHERE this was happening. I had to google and tumblr my butt off looking for anyone who knew, and it turns out I ran into the ONLY PERSON who asked that one staff member (after questioning many other people and waiting a long time) online. I asked her where, and it was actually at the autographs room on Sunday after the last autograph session. So in approximation, this was around 6pm (and I heard it was supposed to go until 9pm). But because, you know, nobody knew about this, that girl and I were the only people there--Probably for the entire 3 hours the staff guy was there at the table he set up with all the goods.

Saadfaceee. I'm sure there would've been more people had people known when and where to look. :/

I had to leave, but it seems like the girl I met with ended up having a short talk with the staff member, and she will be taking orders, I believe, in cooperation with the staff guy, for those goods that were available Sunday night. Whether or not it is just Nightmare goods or not, I am not sure. Though, if there is interest, I can find out and post here.


Thanks! To think I was actually there around an hour before. I even asked about it and was told I complained too much. I'd definitely love some info on order information if that includes the Megumi stuff.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: UminoJenia on May 31, 2012, 08:08:24 PM
Also re: badges/registration, what's the merit of having personalized badges?
When I went to WonderCon in 2011, the process was very streamlined since the only distinction was by badge type and there wasn't any actual registration - I'm wondering if that'd be beneficial for Fanime.
[/quote]


I totally agree with this suggestion - having just a plain badge (no 'personal' or 'fan' name or even badge #) would reduce the long lines, the constant problem of losing someone's badge, or having to print out and bring the verification letter/post card - You could still have a nice design and the date/year on the badge, but it would still be a generic style for a 3-day pass  or a 1-day pass.

I also think it's time for the organizers to hire some professional event coordinators to help them with next year's convention - the pros can certainly guide the staff with much better strategy on how to be better organized AND help train the 'volunteers' (aka the younger folks) - teach them to be more responsible and attentive to the attendees and not spend time on their smartphones or talking to their friends when a fan is asking a question or needs help - you gotta be responsible, volunteers, and realize this is a type of job training for the 'real world' when you actually get paid to work - No excuse for you to NOT know what's going on at Fanime - no  more "I don't know" or "go ask that guy" responses -- You are representing the Fanime family, so show some good work ethics and do your best - and don't volunteer just to get a free badge or free hotel room!!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: TheMaKaKi on May 31, 2012, 08:47:16 PM
Quote from: kaizoku on May 27, 2012, 06:34:41 PM
Quote from: kaizoku on May 27, 2012, 06:32:19 PM
Speed dating event was very poorly run and unorganized.

People that were accepted and registered ahead of time were not accepted or allowed in because the people in charge were letting walk-ins take the spots.

In my case I was not let in because my name was not on the list, yet I received an email saying I got in and I want to thank the event staff for wasting my time.  ;)
http://imgur.com/lBQ3n

Edit: And yes, we were there on time.


Just to clarify and explain the course of events that transcended on Friday night...
We did register people who were accepted in their specific time slots (those who received a congratulatory email) on Friday. Many pre-registered people came and some did not, consequently forfeited their spot by tardiness or absence. In the email we did say to come 10 minutes before the event- meaning 7:50PM. We, the Staff, did not let walk-ins register until 5-10 minutes after 8PM (and we did this for every event, waiting 5-10 minutes after the hour). Meaning if you came late, did not come forward, and register at 7:50PM, then you lost your spot. We even waited until after 8PM to ensure that all pre-registered, confirmed members were in the event first. We apologize if you were confused or not registered first, but I remember that day, walking up and down the line, asking for confirmed pre-registered Speed Dating attendees to come to the front to be enrolled first.

We will appreciate and consider all feedback into account to improve Speed Dating next year. We will email out Confirmed Congratulatory acceptance emails and emails for people who did not receive a time slot next year to address any confusions.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: meowrei on May 31, 2012, 08:56:24 PM
Quote from: UminoJenia on May 31, 2012, 08:08:24 PM
Also re: badges/registration, what's the merit of having personalized badges?
When I went to WonderCon in 2011, the process was very streamlined since the only distinction was by badge type and there wasn't any actual registration - I'm wondering if that'd be beneficial for Fanime.


I totally agree with this suggestion - having just a plain badge (no 'personal' or 'fan' name or even badge #) would reduce the long lines, the constant problem of losing someone's badge, or having to print out and bring the verification letter/post card - You could still have a nice design and the date/year on the badge, but it would still be a generic style for a 3-day pass  or a 1-day pass.

[/quote]

WonderCon (ComicCon) does require pre-reg to have a print-out and depending on when you arrive, the lines can be quite long. Plus unlike Fanime, WonderCon (ComicCon) does not allow a group leader to pick up badges for others.   <== Looking at an old email, they did let me be group leader for others.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on May 31, 2012, 09:06:44 PM
Quote from: UminoJenia on May 31, 2012, 08:08:24 PM
teach them to be more responsible and attentive to the attendees and not spend time on their smartphones or talking to their friends when a fan is asking a question or needs help - you gotta be responsible, volunteers, and realize this is a type of job training for the 'real world' when you actually get paid to work - No excuse for you to NOT know what's going on at Fanime - no  more "I don't know" or "go ask that guy" responses -- You are representing the Fanime family, so show some good work ethics and do your best - and don't volunteer just to get a free badge or free hotel room!!

Dunno about the rest of the suggestions UminoJ made, but for this ^, yes like yes like forever yes. Is it so hard to go find me an answer? You working for Fanime (as staff or volunteer) sets you up for an onslaught of questions about con, 90% of which you won't know the answer to. But as part of the inner workings of Fanime...at least try to be mildly helpful. ><;


edit: not to say that there weren't totally spectacular, applause-worth staff members and volunteers. There were. Just saying there were quite a few that weren't.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: cottoncandymuffin on May 31, 2012, 09:10:23 PM
This is a small issue, but I don't know if it was addressed earlier: I was volunteering for registration lines and a LOT of people registering at-con couldn't seem to figure out the difference between the registration and the payment line. Maybe it could be a little clearer next year so that those waiting for their friends/family to finish don't accidentally wait inside the registration room (and annoy the staff inside)?

Also, in general, instead of mailing out badges, can we simply expand the number registration booths (which might require moving to another location) so that even if the line is long, it would move super fast? I was lucky and only waited 2 hours Friday afternoon for mine, but I know for others they weren't so lucky :\

On a positive note, Artist Alley and Dealers Hall was absolutely amazing! I think I circled it a few times each day because I couldn't pick what I wanted to buy (without blowing my budget)! xD And the Swap Meet and pocket schedules were totally awesome :D Love that Swap Meet was expanded to the Fairmont ^^
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: cottoncandymuffin on May 31, 2012, 09:18:27 PM
Quote from: chifunii on May 31, 2012, 09:06:44 PM
Quote from: UminoJenia on May 31, 2012, 08:08:24 PM
teach them to be more responsible and attentive to the attendees and not spend time on their smartphones or talking to their friends when a fan is asking a question or needs help - you gotta be responsible, volunteers, and realize this is a type of job training for the 'real world' when you actually get paid to work - No excuse for you to NOT know what's going on at Fanime - no  more "I don't know" or "go ask that guy" responses -- You are representing the Fanime family, so show some good work ethics and do your best - and don't volunteer just to get a free badge or free hotel room!!

Dunno about the rest of the suggestions UminoJ made, but for this ^, yes like yes like forever yes. Is it so hard to go find me an answer? You working for Fanime (as staff or volunteer) sets you up for an onslaught of questions about con, 90% of which you won't know the answer to. But as part of the inner workings of Fanime...at least try to be mildly helpful. ><;

edit: not to say that there weren't totally spectacular, applause-worth staff members and volunteers. There were. Just saying there were quite a few that weren't.
As a volunteer, I think this isn't so much of the volunteer's problem, but more of the staff's because they never really tell us these kinds of things until it's too late :( I had to redirect a lot of people to a staffer because I honestly couldn't answer their question.They might assume that people would ask either a staffer or go to the info desk since there's a difference between the two (and staff sounds more official I guess xP).

This might take a bit of time, but maybe when people sign up to volunteer they can give us a booklet or something of common questions that people may ask (ex: what to do if I lost a badge -- I got this one asked a few times)? Volunteers don't get any training beforehand, so it would probably help at least a bit ;)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Aelia on May 31, 2012, 09:33:29 PM
Quote from: cottoncandymuffin on May 31, 2012, 09:18:27 PM
This might take a bit of time, but maybe when people sign up to volunteer they can give us a booklet or something of common questions that people may ask (ex: what to do about lost badges -- I got this one asked a few times)? Volunteers don't get any training beforehand, so it would probably help at least a bit ;)
I was going to make an "If ___ then ___" cheat sheet for my staff. It might be worth passing along to volunteers. I'll talk to them and see if we can't have something setup for next year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on May 31, 2012, 09:45:09 PM
Quote from: cottoncandymuffin on May 31, 2012, 09:18:27 PM
As a volunteer, I think this isn't so much of the volunteer's problem, but more of the staff's because they never really tell us these kinds of things until it's too late :( I had to redirect a lot of people to a staffer because I honestly couldn't answer their question.They might assume that people would ask either a staffer or go to the info desk since there's a difference between the two (and staff sounds more official I guess xP).

This might take a bit of time, but maybe when people sign up to volunteer they can give us a booklet or something of common questions that people may ask (ex: what to do about lost badges -- I got this one asked a few times)? Volunteers don't get any training beforehand, so it would probably help at least a bit ;)

I gotta agree with you here...so I take back some of what I said.
Usually if I have a question/problem, I go looking for staff anyway, so it's not so much as the volunteers saying "go talk to that guy", but rather, other staff directing to other staff.

If it's circumstantial (like the reg line opening or closing at noon disparity), then it makes sense to get the higher ups to make a decision about stuff, but if it's something with a direct answer (ex. about lost badges...or where the registration line is...or where the B&W ball is this year, etc.) I'd like to get a little more direct help.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Michi on May 31, 2012, 09:53:51 PM
I would gladly pay extra to get my badge mailed. I waited about 3 1/2 hours for my pre-reg badge on Friday afternoon, nearly missing swap meet deadline as a seller. If I didn't have friends on staff to contact about my situation while I was in line, I would have been screwed.

But worse than that? Last year, my boyfriend had to wait a couple of hours for his badge when he arrived Saturday afternoon. I was upset, but hey, it was the afternoon on Saturday and registration was busy. This year, he got in line at 10:30 am and did not have his badge until AFTER 3 pm. He was ONLY getting a ONE DAY Saturday badge. That is nearly 5 hours of programming time he missed on his only day at the con because of a registration line. I felt like he should have been comped a full weekend badge at that point, or given a discount. Seriously.

If absolutely nothing else is changed to registration, please make a separate one day badge line. If this doesn't happen I'll just pay extra to get him a full weekend badge and pick it up for him as a group thing. It's just ridiculous how much he had to miss. Thank goodness the con is 24 hours and we could still do things like video rooms at 11 pm.

That said, there definitely needs to be more space dedicated to registration. 4 booths that could handle 8 guests at a time with pre-reg is not nearly enough. Maybe have special reg lines at each hotel? Mail out? Attach with hotel check-in? Something, please!

Those lines really put a damper on my weekend. But I still adore that the con is 24 hours, loved the new swap meet area (especially since my room was booked at the Fairmont), and was very happy to see the return of pocket schedules. As for that last one, I even have a smart phone now this year but still definitely preferred the paper booklet!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Maskenlav on May 31, 2012, 10:33:16 PM
Quote from: Otakuya on May 30, 2012, 09:00:35 PM
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this earlier, but it regards the registration rates. I don't want to have to pay around $60 for access to the same areas as someone without a badge can go to; which is about everywhere else: like outside the convention center, most of the ground and main floors of the convention center. With a badge, you can access the dealers room, panels, artist alley, video rooms, dance, and main events. But the majority of FanimeCon happenings occur in the general public where you don't need a badge to access. What can justify $60 registration value, versus where I can experience it for free and no one can notice? Of course I pre-register and attend FanimeCon for the last 12 years because I support everything the convention and the staff goes through and the fandom of otaku-dom and gamers.
Maybe better enforcement of badges and actual boundaries of events?


DUDE I WAS THINKING OF THIS! Paying to go see free games/artists/events for $50+ is so trucking wierd. I guess thats just the way fanime exists. Pay to see free things???
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Tsu on June 01, 2012, 12:41:57 AM
The Good:

-Pocket Schedules! I'm so glad to see these back. It made things much easier to find, though the format was a little difficult at times.

-The Dealer's Room and the Arcade seemed to be pretty good this year.


The Bad (though I will mention some good aspects):

-Registration. It's been said over and over again, but I don't care- I stood in it, so I'm going to complain about it. I stood in line on Friday to get my badge for just over 3 hours. While the line seemed to be moving more than it did last year on Thursday, it was MUCH longer. Thankfully the people in line that I encountered seemed well behaved and friendly (unlike last year, with a lot of line-cutting going on) but otherwise it was terrible. We missed screenings we wanted to see, barely got in to the dealer's room for 15 minutes before it closed. Like others have said, I would gladly pay a fee to have my badge sent to me OR to have the equipment improved/staff increased/whatever in order for the lines to be shorter and the technology more modern. I will note that once we got inside the registration area that the people there were really nice and extremely efficient. I'd barely handed over my paper and ID before my group's badges were handed over. It startled me how fast it was!

-Schedule mishaps/changes/access. The online/mobile schedule was said to be the most up to date, current schedule available, except that no links were made on the main fanime website to the schedule! And my phone didn't send me to the mobile site. So I had to go back to my room, find the programming books and look to see if there was a website listed for it. There was. But that's goofy. How hard would've it been to put up a news post saying "Here's the mobile schedule/online schedule!" on the main page, or twitter, or facebook, or SOMETHING? :/

Additionally, there were schedule mishaps that bothered the heck out of me. The programming booklet said that the FMV Awards were going to be at 5 pm, but the full information book (what's it called? the pretty big one that came in our bag) said 2 pm. I get the impression that the schedule was changed somewhere in development, but having the two official schedule/informational things say two different things was irritating. (Thankfully the coordinators were awesome and personally emailed me when I asked to inform me of the change.)

-Traffic/crowding. I personally think the lanes near Stage Zero do a great job- I remember the clusterblargh that was there in the years before those lanes, but the overall crowding around Stage Zero is dreadful. Can something be done to move the crowd to either side, at least? Sometimes during the big events it would be pushing back all the way into the lanes and make it almost impossible to get around.

-Pre-Reg. In the mini-schedule it listed pre-reg as STARTING at Noon. My plan was to swing by on the way back from the arcade, only to have the loudspeaker come on and inform us AT Noon that pre-reg had closed. This was extremely frustrating.

Overall, I think if big changes are made to the schedule, I think they should be posted on the main page- or a link should be on the main page with all changes attached to it. When I did finally find the mobile schedule I noticed that it listed some changes, but not all- such as pre-reg and the FMVs. One can't always make it to the info desk, especially when it's right next to the huge crowd that is Stage Zero.

Overall:

I will most likely return to Fanime next year. I'm a fan of the con overall, but this year was definitely a disappointment. I sincerely hope something is done to provide relief to the lines next year. I was relieved to hear that other conventions have found ways to alleviate the length and time spent in the lines, because I'm sure Fanime can follow suit. Also, I know that our complaints are always listened to and usually acted upon, so I hope that this upcoming year is no exception.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Chronopunk on June 01, 2012, 12:46:24 AM
Having read the entire topic to ensure that no one else has touched on exactly what I want to touch on, I have decided to go ahead and make this post. Before I begin:

- Please understand that while I was incredibly frustrated with my experience, I was not angry. The two are entirely different things.
- I have been attending and working conventions for twenty four years. That's since I was 16. You can do the math.
- What I am about to write is an attempt to help and improve a bad situation that will only get worse if left unchecked. Please, Fanime Staff, understand that "it's always been done this way" does not mean that it's the best way. If a method is broken, the proper solution is to mend it, and perhaps even replace it, not let it continue to be broken.
- I mentioned some of these things on Friday after picking up my (replacement) badges to a lady who identified herself as the "person in charge" of the registration team. I did not get her name. I want to say she was polite, courteous, and professional. It was clear to me that she was stressed and worried about the situation of registration as a whole. It is because of the concern she showed that I am writing this.

I want to help you make next year better. I believe that you can do this, and I wouldn't give your convention my money if I didn't.

Okay. Let's get to it.

Fanime Pre-Registration Is Broken

There is no simpler way to put it. This is not an accusation. It is a statement of fact. As well as my own experience (which I will discuss shortly), I heard repeatedly, throughout the weekend, that many artists, swap meet sellers, and the like (at least one dealer was saying similar things - I'm not aware of the state of dealer reg), were forced to wait through the pre-reg line. Artists having to go through the pre-reg line? They've got sales to make. They can't afford that wait. Swap meeters? Well, okay, they're technically con-goers, but they're also there to make money. This is a symptom of the sickness, which is:

- The method by which you distribute badges is flawed. Currently, we get into line, wait, get to a small series of booths, and give someone our ID. They then check our ID against the database, find our member number, and tell it to another person, who goes to a series of tables and proceed to hunt and peck through piles of badges to find those numbers. This takes unnecessary time and energy, and is inefficient. It adds time to the process, and requires more resources than it should.

How Do You Fix This?

Many suggestions have been made. I'd like to repeat the concept of charging an additional fee (I would suggest no more than $5, or no one will use it) for pre-convention mailing. I have heard the "none of our staff wants to stuff envelopes" counter-argument, and to that I say: Bollocks. Working at a convention means you frequently have to do something you "don't want" to do, but you do anyway because you're there to help. I apologize if I sound brusque, but that answer is simply short-sighted and is not in the best interests of your attendees. I have stuffed envelopes for more conventions than I care to count, and been happy to do it, because it cut down the at-con registration lines, it made our attendees happy, and gave us more cash-flow to work with. But let's for a moment not deal with that, and deal with a method of on-site resolution.

- Assign multiple dedicated booths and sites for pre-registration. Nearly every other convention I have ever worked has had pre-reg broken out into sections, as follows:
  * Dealers - All Dealers confirm registration at the entrance to Dealers Hall.
  * Artists - All Artists confirm registration at the entrance to the Artists Hall.
  * Groups - All Group Registrations queue at the dedicated Group Registration table.
  * Everyone Else - Assign five tables/booths/kiosks/what-have-you, broken out alphabetically (A-E, F-J, K-O, P-T, U-Z)

 At ALL tables, provide ALL appropriate badges (so table A-E would have all badges for that grouping), and assign two staff members. One staffer checks registration details, the other sorts and slip-covers the attendee's badge(s), then hands them their packet. If and when one table runs out of badges to hand out, those staffers move to the table with the most registrations remaining to disburse. This method has been implemented at nearly every convention I have worked at, and it has worked marvelously. Dealers get their registrations quickly, Artists get right in to set up their tables, and everyone's happy.

 I realize this will require a complete reworking of how you're doing things now. It will require 16 staff members to pull off properly. But it will cut time-in-line, frustration, and your overall pre-reg difficulties in half, if not more.

Further registration thoughts:

*Confusion on where badges were to be picked up* - When I finally got to the head of the line, I found out that my badges had been shipped to Clockwork Alchemy. This was especially confusing because my registration confirmation e-mail (received on May 22) instructed me to pick up my badges at Fanime itself. When I got to the head of the Fanime pre-reg line, I was met with confusion by the staff and roughly ten minutes of waiting while the issue was sorted out. The official Fanime communication told me to pick my badges up at Fanime, and apparently my badges were shipped to the sister-convention, and no one could explain why. I would later find out from the various con-goers I spoke to throughout the weekend that this was more common than I'd like to have thought. I was able to hop a shuttle bus and grab my real badges (And thank you to the reg staff for getting me some replacements - I dutifully left those at the CA reg desk, so as not to abuse the system) in roughly 20 minutes once the issue was discovered, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

*On-Site registration is unnecessarily complex and tedious* - People registering on-site should have the option of getting a single-day wristband for a single-day price. Simple, quick, painless. Use a different color for different days to avoid people gaming the system. Attendees wishing to attend for more than one day can therefore be funneled into a separate line in which they can provide further personal details (name, fan-name, etc). One-day attendees should be able to sign up for convention-related communications at their discretion. It should not be mandatory. Provide the one-day con-goers with a simple pay-and-play solution, and you'll make many people very happy.

*Minors need to be clearly marked as such* - I realize that Fanime is a dry convention, but frankly, I have seen more intoxicated minors in the past two years than I care to think about. I have attended and worked several conventions where "Minor Markers" were placed onto badges or wristbands so as to be clearly visible and unable to be removed without destroying or damaging the badge. These markers assist staff in keeping an eye on attendees and helping keep the convention out of any legal entanglements. There are other advantages to these markers, which should be clear to anyone with a few moments of thought.

Non-Registration thoughts:

*Please send out progress reports* - The only reason I knew about Clockwork Alchemy was because I followed a link on your home page. The only reason I knew about any of the events I attended was because of those same links. If Fanime had a regular progress report sent out via e-mail (Again, I do not know why you buck the trend that so many other conventions follow), containing information on events, guests, schedule changes, and the like, you'd see event attendance go up, you'd have happier attendees and a greater participation rate.

*Please Patrol the floors more frequently, and do something about traffic blockages* - More than once, the upper concourse between the Artists Alley, Dealers Entrance, and Gaming/Maid Cafe areas was blocked off by people having impromptu dance-battles, DJ sessions, or other general tomfoolery. These create fire hazards and safety code violations, and can get Fanime some serious guff from the authorities. Put simply, they need to be stopped - or at least corralled into their own, more open and accessible, areas. I'm not against people having fun - I go to conventions to have fun! - but when people are unable to safely and freely move between function rooms because the only space to do so is a ten-foot wide partition of the concourse, because the other thirty feet are blocked off by a throng of people watching a dance battle... something is very wrong.

*Open both doors for Dealers and Gaming to all traffic* - The excuse I hear every Fanime as to why the doors are single-direction traffic only is that it's a "Fire Code" issue. This is simply not true. If it is, then the San Jose Fire Code has changed since the last convention I worked in the McEnery Convention Center - and further, it changes depending on whether or not Fanime is at the site. Honestly, the only reason to have the one-way doors is traffic control, and we all can see this. Traffic control is fine, but please, call it what it is, and don't blame the civic codes. However, having both doors to the Artists Alley bidirectional this year not only reduced congestion, but it enabled people with large or difficult costumes to more easily get in to the function room without added walking distance (as has been mentioned before).

*Hire security staff that are actually security trained* - I don't know if you do currently, but please hire people for security that actually have their valid, current guard cards. You will be happy you did, and you will have far fewer "communication issues" with your security staff.

The Good Stuff

I'm not all gloom and doom (although I hope my criticism is seen as constructive!). I particularly enjoyed the panels I got to (the cosplay armor panel especially), and I was glad to see the roving info desk out and about. Artists Alley was pretty fabulous, and although Dealers was exceptionally muggy and humid (what was up with that?), it was full of awesome. I'm especially grateful for the snack bar being open in Dealers, as it kept me on my feet for quite some time when I needed it.

The staff at Info Desk, and the staffers in the Dealers and Artists were very courteous and polite, and pretty much every time I needed help, there was someone nearby to point me in the right direction.

Clockwork Alchemy needed more promotion, but was fun and I was quite pleased with it as a freshman effort. I'd like to see it return.

That's about all I have to say. I hope it's been useful.

Thank you. :)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: spycker on June 01, 2012, 12:52:00 AM
It was good but it needs more tweaking! Where was I able to find the " combat with weapons teaching ? " and " how to make your own armor ? " Ive looked throughout the book numerous times and couldnt find nothing! For next year can we please seperate the kids and the older people from the raves? I wouldnt be happy to be grinded up against with a minor, im not saying it happend im just saying since im 24. overall, fix your systems and mark down where this and that is going to be located! thanks!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SOawesomeness on June 01, 2012, 01:33:27 AM
Quote from: Chronopunk on June 01, 2012, 12:46:24 AM
- What I am about to write is an attempt to help and improve a bad situation that will only get worse if left unchecked. Please, Fanime Staff, understand that "it's always been done this way" does not mean that it's the best way. If a method is broken, the proper solution is to mend it, and perhaps even replace it, not let it continue to be broken.
- I mentioned some of these things on Friday after picking up my (replacement) badges to a lady who identified herself as the "person in charge" of the registration team. I did not get her name. I want to say she was polite, courteous, and professional. It was clear to me that she was stressed and worried about the situation of registration as a whole. It is because of the concern she showed that I am writing this.
We have noted your ideas and will definitely keep them in mind- I stand very much so by the phrase "By Fans, For Fans" and as thus, we are listening to your feedback. These ideas are definitely creative thinking as well, so thank you for taking time out to write feedback. I can tell you care deeply about FanimeCon, its staff, and about Registration as a whole! (:
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: meowrei on June 01, 2012, 02:50:45 AM
Pros
~ Pocket Guide!!!!!!
~ Artist Alley rocked this year!
~ Shuttles!!!  The drivers were all very friendly.  Only went to the Doubletree  – no problems.
~ Keeping Thursday Swap Meet open till 1:00a. Since I was group leader, I stayed in line while my boyfriend checked it out and pick up some things for the both of us.
~ Marathon, Nostalgia and Asian Film Room
~ Stage Zero
~ Hiroyuki Yamaga
~ Cosplay Gatherings
~ Clockwork Alchemy – loved it. When I wanted to get away from lines and chaos, we would head over to CA. Artist Bazaar had a nice mix of vendors. Love that one of my favorite vendor from Dickens Fair was there.

In spite of the problems with registration this year, I'm looking forward to next year. Looking into buying a small folding stool to make the wait in all the lines next year a little less painful for my feet & knees. :)

Suggestion
For Clockwork Alchemy, please place a map of the schematic of where things are located and the hours of the Artist Bazaar in the pocket guide.

In front of the convention center, it would be nice if the shuttle stop and line were clearly marked - hopefully this will cut down on mob rule mentality. Also, the front of the center was constantly clogged with waiting vehicles and often times caused a HUGE problems for the shuttles. Sometimes the shuttle was forced to dropping off and picking up people at the bus stop. Maybe the shuttle stop should move to a different location, like maybe to the Hilton side of the convention center.

Not fond of the idea of having the badges mailed out. So many things can and will go wrong. I've attended several cons where this idea was a MAJOR FAIL, even when badges were mailed (according to postmark) out 2-3 weeks prior to con time. Here a few problems my friends and I have ran into:
- badges that did not arrive before people had to fly out or their badge arrive just as they were about to head to the airport
- several times badges were mailed out to the wrong people
- and the worst was when several thousand never received their badges
HUGE fiasco!  Luckily each time we all had our receipts/printout to show proof we paid. 

Do like the idea of dividing up the Pre-reg/Early reg/At-Con/Groups lines.

Cons
People cutting in line. Don't mind those that are group leader and their friends are checking on them (bringing drinks &/or food) but on Thursday I witnessed several people letting their friends cut into line causing the line to grow. At one point, some young girls cut into the line ahead of a young girl and her father who were just behind us. Later this same girls let in several of their friends. One of the guys tried to push me out of line. He backed off when I refused to move or to make way for him. Very rude and inconsiderate.

Day Zero Registration Line, didn't care for the rover/staff/volunteer that made announcements like we were all at an Occupy Protest. I guess because I didn't play along (shout back what he said), he came up to me and tersely asked if I have my printout & ID out and ready to show. I pulled my printout & ID out of my pocket and showed them to him. He then said something to the fact, "Okay. Good." and walked away. After that, I figured things were not off to a good start and it would wise to just avoid rovers/staff/volunteers as much as possible.

It was hard to found the varies Cosplay gatherings. What was up with the cryptic secret coding for the varies locations.

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: renalcul on June 01, 2012, 04:56:31 AM
Quote from: meowrei on June 01, 2012, 02:50:45 AM
Not fond of the idea of having the badges mailed out. So many things can and will go wrong. I've attended several cons where this idea was a MAJOR FAIL, even when badges were mailed (according to postmark) out 2-3 weeks prior to con time. Here a few problems my friends and I have ran into:
- badges that did not arrive before people had to fly out or their badge arrive just as they were about to head to the airport
- several times badges were mailed out to the wrong people
- and the worst was when several thousand never received their badges
HUGE fiasco!  Luckily each time we all had our receipts/printout to show proof we paid. 
I've only ever experienced having badges mailed when dealing with PAX, and it worked beautifully for me.

I mean, if that's your concern, wouldn't it just be an optional alternative, rather than something that happens with everyone?

If they fear their badges showing up before they leave or after they leave, i'm sure they could just choose to not have them mailed to begin with and just pick them up at the con.

I just figure that if there is an option to mail the badges for a slight extra fee, the amount of incidents that would happen would either be so major that they'd all end up just picking up their badges at the con anyway, or they would be so minor that the lines would probably be cut in half or more.

BUT I'M NOT REG STAFF SO THIS IS ALL SPECULATION AND OPINIONS
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: svatoid on June 01, 2012, 09:57:07 AM
Loved Fanime.  Kudos to the organizers. Video presentations were great.
Only complaint--registration. Got there at around 9:30 AM friday and had to wait 2+ hours to get my badge.  Organizers need to think about mailing out badges next year. I would be willing to pay extra for that service.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Wiccat on June 01, 2012, 10:23:34 AM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 11:17:03 AM
I got there a little after 5:00pm on Friday.  With my spot being in the 20's, I knew I wasn't going to be checked-in until probably 5:20-5:30pm.  I personally would rather get to an event early, and if there were any changes I'd rather let the staff of that event tell us, rather than trust the Information Booth of a convention in-case of any mis-communications. :)

That's all well and good, but remember I'm also working the artist alley and I don't have the luxury to go track down the staff of the event or to get there early.  I had expected things to go as they did on Thursday - we got there at the time told to us, we lined up in order according to our numbers (my number was #2), and we get to pick our spot.  It might not seem important to those who don't come to Fanime to conduct sales, but good time management is very important to me.  If I leave my table early, a missed sale could be a difference of up to $85 profit, depending on what the customer wished to buy. 

Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 11:17:03 AM
Also, you said in your previous post that the head of the Swap Meet was very rude to you.  Are you referring to Maryssa, AKA AngelJibrille?  She's always very busy running the Swap Meet each year (as-well as the Masquerade.)  My friend, who was also selling on Friday showed up later to check-in around 6:00pm.  My friend had to attend a funeral that morning, and by the time she got to the con, she had to wait in-line for badge pick-up which took a few hours.  Maryssa was very kind to allow her to check-in.

That is good for your friend, I'm glad she was able to still get into the swap meet.  But just because Maryssa was nice to some people doesn't mean she was nice to everybody.  It doesn't cancel out the negative experience I had with her or make her rudeness to me any less important.  It doesn't make all the other complaints about her go away.  And I would prefer my complaint about her to be heard rather than for it to be challenged.

This is my feedback in a feedback thread, so please stop trying to dismiss my opinion.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eurobeat King on June 01, 2012, 10:57:14 AM
Quote from: Wiccat on June 01, 2012, 10:23:34 AM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 11:17:03 AM
I got there a little after 5:00pm on Friday.  With my spot being in the 20's, I knew I wasn't going to be checked-in until probably 5:20-5:30pm.  I personally would rather get to an event early, and if there were any changes I'd rather let the staff of that event tell us, rather than trust the Information Booth of a convention in-case of any mis-communications. :)

That's all well and good, but remember I'm also working the artist alley and I don't have the luxury to go track down the staff of the event or to get there early.  I had expected things to go as they did on Thursday - we got there at the time told to us, we lined up in order according to our numbers (my number was #2), and we get to pick our spot.  It might not seem important to those who don't come to Fanime to conduct sales, but good time management is very important to me.  If I leave my table early, a missed sale could be a difference of up to $85 profit, depending on what the customer wished to buy. 

Quote from: Eurobeat King on May 31, 2012, 11:17:03 AM
Also, you said in your previous post that the head of the Swap Meet was very rude to you.  Are you referring to Maryssa, AKA AngelJibrille?  She's always very busy running the Swap Meet each year (as-well as the Masquerade.)  My friend, who was also selling on Friday showed up later to check-in around 6:00pm.  My friend had to attend a funeral that morning, and by the time she got to the con, she had to wait in-line for badge pick-up which took a few hours.  Maryssa was very kind to allow her to check-in.

That is good for your friend, I'm glad she was able to still get into the swap meet.  But just because Maryssa was nice to some people doesn't mean she was nice to everybody.  It doesn't cancel out the negative experience I had with her or make her rudeness to me any less important.  It doesn't make all the other complaints about her go away.  And I would prefer my complaint about her to be heard rather than for it to be challenged.

This is my feedback in a feedback thread, so please stop trying to dismiss my opinion.

Done.  Sorry you had such a bad time on Friday at the Swap Meet. 
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Dracil on June 01, 2012, 11:03:52 AM
Quote from: renalcul on June 01, 2012, 04:56:31 AM
Quote from: meowrei on June 01, 2012, 02:50:45 AM
Not fond of the idea of having the badges mailed out. So many things can and will go wrong. I've attended several cons where this idea was a MAJOR FAIL, even when badges were mailed (according to postmark) out 2-3 weeks prior to con time. Here a few problems my friends and I have ran into:
- badges that did not arrive before people had to fly out or their badge arrive just as they were about to head to the airport
- several times badges were mailed out to the wrong people
- and the worst was when several thousand never received their badges
HUGE fiasco!  Luckily each time we all had our receipts/printout to show proof we paid.  
I've only ever experienced having badges mailed when dealing with PAX, and it worked beautifully for me.

I mean, if that's your concern, wouldn't it just be an optional alternative, rather than something that happens with everyone?

If they fear their badges showing up before they leave or after they leave, i'm sure they could just choose to not have them mailed to begin with and just pick them up at the con.

I just figure that if there is an option to mail the badges for a slight extra fee, the amount of incidents that would happen would either be so major that they'd all end up just picking up their badges at the con anyway, or they would be so minor that the lines would probably be cut in half or more.

BUT I'M NOT REG STAFF SO THIS IS ALL SPECULATION AND OPINIONS

Yep, by default PAX mails out all badges.  They had 70000 attendees last year.

But PAX has a *huge* line on opening days too.  Oh wait, it wasn't a line for badge pickups.  It was just a line to go in.

Also, I've heard from staff that the reason registration is so bad is because of stupid union rules (hey SJ residents, vote against the unions for being stupid! :P).  So maybe consider doing Day 0 registration pickup *off-site* then so you don't have to deal with them.  Maybe at SJSU?  Or have half the registration at the doubletree site since obviously a place people could pickup badges (just group it by numbers, numbers X and below at one spot, X+1 and above at another spot)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: aetherltd on June 01, 2012, 11:11:59 AM
OK, obviously reg has to be fixed.  With web sites and smart phones, standing in line is so last-cen.

I'm from the Clockwork Alchemy side. I'm the guy behind the Telegraph Office (http://www.aetherltd.com), with the antique equipment printing messages and messengers delivering telegrams around CA. CA went well, but it was slow.  Friday was totally dead. Not enough people from Fanime found Clockwork Alchemy. I asked a few random people at Fanime if they'd seen CA.  Most said they knew a steampunk convention was around somewhere, but they weren't sure where or how to get there. The original plans for CA included some kind of outpost/info desk over at the convention center, but that didn't happen.  Oops. Big arrows with "Bus to Clockwork Alchemy this way" and stuff like that would help.

(Incidentally, our telegram service is free. You text in a message and we print it and deliver it within CA.  It's been pointed out to us that some Fanime members were afraid they'd be billed on their cell phone or charged for delivery.  We don't do that. We do this for fun, as cosplay.  We'll make this clearer next year.)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Wiccat on June 01, 2012, 01:55:11 PM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on June 01, 2012, 10:57:14 AM
Done.  Sorry you had such a bad time on Friday at the Swap Meet. 

Thank you. I just wanted to bring to attention that the Information Desk should be the ones to have accurate, up to date information.  Otherwise it defeats the purpose of having an Information Desk if I need to look online or elsewhere to get the information I need.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Yuu on June 01, 2012, 02:04:09 PM
  Good-
Peace Bonding It looks like my complaints on being harassed over peace bonding last year were taken to heart.

The people at the peace bonding booth were polite and once I had my sword peace bonded I was not bothered even once. I am very impressed. Thank you.

Dealers Hall


I usually don't bother even going to the dealers hall.-at any con, not just Fanime-the crowd is not worth looking over he same stuff that I could by at a nearby store or online.

This year i was surprised to find a very nice variety. The down side, of coarse, is that I actually spent money.

Even more amazing was the lack of crowding and shoving. I wasn't even ran into once. Nor did I have to shove anyone out the way myself. Very nice.

Bad- It's only one but it's a BIG one.

The Masquerade. I usually don't attend but this year I was convinced to do so. I was not convinced that I should ever go again.
The contestants ARE told that this isn't American Idol right? I say 'American" and not 'Japanese" because while I am so very, very, sick of going to see creative skits and costume only to see MOE cosplayer in skimpy outfits murdering my ears with some  high-pitched, grating song and dance,  those ARE at least relevant .

What was up with #28? They didn't  have costumes. Of ANY kind. The song didn't have anything with anime. NONE of it had anything to do with anything really.

Am I back in Seattle where we can't say 'no' because we don't want to huwt thew witto feewings? I expect better quality control from Fanime.
Having said that, the skits that were actually about the costumes were very impressive. I also approved of the guest announcer. I am now aware of the terrifying  mind control powers of the   'Manamana"

mod edit: profanity
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Eurobeat King on June 01, 2012, 02:42:10 PM
Quote from: Yuu on June 01, 2012, 02:04:09 PMBad- It's only one but it's a BIG one.

The Masquerade. I usually don't attend but this year I was convinced to do so. I was not convinced that I should ever go again.
The contestants ARE told that this isn't American Idol right? I say 'American" and not 'Japanese" because while I am so very, very, sick of going to see creative skits and costume only to see MOE cosplayer in skimpy outfits murdering my ears with some  high-pitched, grating song and dance,  those ARE at least relevant .

What the fuck was with #28? They didn't  have costumes. Of ANY kind. The song didn't have anything with anime. NONE of it had anything to do with anything really.

I'm still reminded of FanimeCon many years ago (i think it was 2000 or 2001) when I was fortunate enough to be able to watch a rehearsal of all the skits before the actual show.  The Masquerade staff called up each group, and let them perform their skit once in-front of little to no audience, to make-sure their audio was in-sync, lighting, etc.  

One group, three guys wearing either T-shirts or bare-chested, did a skit from the anime "Fist of the North Star" but all it was was them punching each other, doing "moves" that Kenshiro does, and instead of blood, they threw confetti into the air.  It was absolutely pointless and boring, and after I saw that I said "why is this even allowed in the Masquerade?"

Well, when the show commenced, and I was dreading that the FOTNS skit would come up, low-and-mf-behold: it was axed!!  ;D

I'm unsure to this day if the guys dropped out at the last minute, or if the Masquerade Staff found the skit to be too plain/boring/idiotic/etc. so they canned it.  Sure, everyone is allowed to sign-up for the Masquerade each year, but having a dress-rehearsal if there's time to let the Masquerade Staff determine if a skit is appropriate or not and disqualify any skit they see fit, would be nice to have.

I recall a couple of years ago when one contestant stood on-stage wearing a Smiley-face mask from "Ghost In The Shell", normal clothes, and held a Zion flag from "Gundam", and just stood there for 3-5 minutes, while the "Mighty Mouse" song was being played.  Just terrible.. (I know Anime Central used to have a big GONG they used to use to get contestants off-stage when they were dragging, they no longer do, but that was one example where the skit needed to end.. and quickly.)  :P

Which brings me to this year's Masquerade.  Being backstage in the photo-area, I saw all the contestants before they went on-stage, but didn't get to see their skits.  One group, entry #6 "Pokemon Men" had 4 guys and 1 girl.  Two of the guys were half-naked, and the one Power Ranger(?) had holes in his costume in certain areas that were quite disturbing.  Once they stood in-front of us photographers, they immediately started doing poses where they grabbed each other, like one guy stood behind the other, and lifted the other's legs.  Just overall pretty distasteful..  

Here's their skit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17_9ipJMEKc

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: InsaneDavid on June 01, 2012, 02:59:19 PM
Quote from: meowrei on June 01, 2012, 02:50:45 AM
Do like the idea of dividing up the Pre-reg/Early reg/At-Con/Groups lines.

This. All kinds of this.  Pre-Reg should be treated as the VIP's of the line and registration process.  They were the first con-goers to put money down on their membership.  They register at the earliest possible times.  Part of that reason is so that they can have a smoother transition into the con.  Pre-Reg should have a completely separate check in area and it should open up way before the other registration options can get their passes.  Start Pre-Reg pickup at 10am and Early-Reg pickup at 4pm or something.  Pre-Reg and Early-Reg shouldn't be mixed together.  Pre-Reg should really be pre-con with Early-Reg being handled along the lines the current Day 0 smash gets now.

Quote from: Dracil on June 01, 2012, 11:03:52 AMAlso, I've heard from staff that the reason registration is so bad is because of stupid union rules (hey SJ residents, vote against the unions for being stupid!

If only we had such control.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Dracil on June 01, 2012, 03:14:51 PM
I'm assuming SJ is like SF and occasionally there are ballot measures that affect unions.  I was quite happy when they eliminated the pay guarantees for Muni operators (before that, they were guaranteed to be #2 best paid in the country.  Seriously dumbest thing ever for a bunch of employees who love to take a bunch of unannounced leaves).

Any SJ measure that would weaken union ability to bargain would probably make things less ridiculous in the future.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Gigantor on June 01, 2012, 03:16:52 PM
First off, Thank you all Fanime Staff for pulling off another good year!

Just my feedback. I tried to be thorough but maybe I got a little too thorough. Haha.


Pros:

Cons:

Overall I still had a pretty good time! FanimeCon is the first convention I went to out of a great many and I have stayed strong since then. I always think the staff does their best with what they have and always manage to pull off a great convention!

Thank you so much for this year and I can't wait for next year!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ttyls on June 01, 2012, 03:19:30 PM
Quote from: Armored-Heart on May 29, 2012, 04:19:57 PM
I haven't noticed anything said about this yet (and quite frankly, trying to even skim through some of these walls of texts is a massive headache!) but I wanted to make a comment regarding the nazi-themed yaoi booth in Dealer's Hall. What the hell, guys? That's incredibly offensive! I understand that some are more sensitive to this sort of thing than others, and some people just don't give a damn at all, but I really don't understand why FanimeCon would allow that sort of merchandise to be sold at the con.

Thank you for bringing this up. While I was in the Artist Alley most of the con and didn't get a chance to see the Dealer's Hall, I am HORRIFIED to hear that something of such an offensive nature is allowed! My reaction is the same as yours: WHAT THE HELL? That is extremely, extremely offensive and I am so upset to hear Fanime let someone have a booth with something like that. It's a very real piece of history that affects many of us closely still, not a joke. It should not be allowed, period.

Also, that Megaman LMFAO skit... I don't even know what to say. It saddens me that masquerade is comprised of skits like that. Distasteful is the right word.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Chronopunk on June 01, 2012, 03:20:43 PM
Quote from: Dracil on June 01, 2012, 03:14:51 PM
I'm assuming SJ is like SF and occasionally there are ballot measures that affect unions.  I was quite happy when they eliminated the pay guarantees for Muni operators (before that, they were guaranteed to be #2 best paid in the country.  Seriously dumbest thing ever for a bunch of employees who love to take a bunch of unannounced leaves)

If we could leave politics out of this thread, I'd be very appreciative. It is not constructive, nor conducive to helping the Fanime staff garner feedback.

Further, I've worked many conventions in that convention center (more than I care to count, really), and the Union workers have never had, and should never have, any input on what the convention staff and employees do and do not do in regards to registration. I would hazard to say that anyone who implied any "fault" regarding registration difficulties toward the union workers at the convention center had absolutely no real proof, and was merely looking for someone to grind their axe against.

I humbly suggest your information was flawed and erroneous, and should be given up in favor of facts.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Dracil on June 01, 2012, 03:26:14 PM
Quote from: Chronopunk on June 01, 2012, 03:20:43 PM
Quote from: Dracil on June 01, 2012, 03:14:51 PM
I'm assuming SJ is like SF and occasionally there are ballot measures that affect unions.  I was quite happy when they eliminated the pay guarantees for Muni operators (before that, they were guaranteed to be #2 best paid in the country.  Seriously dumbest thing ever for a bunch of employees who love to take a bunch of unannounced leaves)

If we could leave politics out of this thread, I'd be very appreciative. It is not constructive, nor conducive to helping the Fanime staff garner feedback.

Further, I've worked many conventions in that convention center (more than I care to count, really), and the Union workers have never had, and should never have, any input on what the convention staff and employees do and do not do in regards to registration. I would hazard to say that anyone who implied any "fault" regarding registration difficulties toward the union workers at the convention center had absolutely no real proof, and was merely looking for someone to grind their axe against.

I humbly suggest your information was flawed and erroneous, and should be given up in favor of facts.

Let's see, few years back, they shut down a live broadcast of a MusicFest (which the artist was fine with) because they wanted $3000 to do some sort of network setup that the attendees were already doing on their own just fine with their own equipment.

In regards to reg, the staff member mentioned they had to go through the union to set up network stuff for registration AND they weren't allowed more than X computers per square footage because of union rules.

Basically every significantly negative experience I've had at Fanime has always led back to union rules.  If it was an axe to grind, it's funny how random unrelated people have axes to grind.  Do you have facts to the contrary?

My point is if union rules are really hamstringing the on-site registration process, then maybe they should move as much of it *off-site* as possible.  Either by mail, or at another location.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ewu on June 01, 2012, 03:34:39 PM
Hello all,

Lets keep this to feedback only. Evaluating feedback and the factual accuracy chills further contributions and not only keeps us staffers from hearing the issues but prevent what would otherwise be good ideas from coming out and implemented.

Please put your thoughts and ideas out there, but please refrain from criticizing or responding to the feedback.

Thanks,
Eric
Mod and power hungry servicer of fans...
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Yuu on June 01, 2012, 03:39:34 PM
Quote from: ttyls on June 01, 2012, 03:19:30 PM
Quote from: Armored-Heart on May 29, 2012, 04:19:57 PM
I haven't noticed anything said about this yet (and quite frankly, trying to even skim through some of these walls of texts is a massive headache!) but I wanted to make a comment regarding the nazi-themed yaoi booth in Dealer's Hall. What the hell, guys? That's incredibly offensive! I understand that some are more sensitive to this sort of thing than others, and some people just don't give a damn at all, but I really don't understand why FanimeCon would allow that sort of merchandise to be sold at the con.

Thank you for bringing this up. While I was in the Artist Alley most of the con and didn't get a chance to see the Dealer's Hall, I am HORRIFIED to hear that something of such an offensive nature is allowed! My reaction is the same as yours: WHAT THE HELL? That is extremely, extremely offensive and I am so upset to hear Fanime let someone have a booth with something like that. It's a very real piece of history that affects many of us closely still, not a joke. It should not be allowed, period.


i can see how that would be disturbing to some people.

Just like
rape.
or MOE
and watching little girls get beat up/raped by monsters.
and just about every other fetish you could find that is so casually shown in anime/manga.
It's disturbing from the other side isn't it? Yah, welcome to our world.

I will say that making the 'Nazi' bit so easy to see-if it even was- is a bad idea.
I sure as hell didn't see it and I was looking at yaoi. Unless your referring to that ONE fanart ass Aizen dressed in a Nazi uniform. If that' the case...I don't even know how to respond.

Some guys do LOOK for these things so that they can bitch and try to get them banned. Just do what most woman and look the other way..oh wait When we do we're greeted with some other fetish.

Either everything is okay, or nothing is. You can't pick and chose just because YOU find something offensive.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: TripleM on June 01, 2012, 03:50:31 PM
This Fanime was pretty stressful and lackluster for me individually, but I felt there were a few major convention slipups:

Registration: Chronopunk's post pretty much said it all as politely as possible. I'm very willing to join staff and try and help for next year, so please let me know when signups go up. Also, I think it would be nice if at least attendees with hard plastic badges (aka PreReg Only) were mailed their badge next year. That way, there'd be enough time to both print and send everything. If there's not enough time now, I suggest ending the preregister period early enough (say, start in November and end in February?) to allow for that processing time. (I also volunteer my tongue and fingers to lick and mail those thousands of badges, XD)

Panels: As others have said, lines were messy at times. I was also saddened that there were a decent amount of cancelled panels this year.

Foot Traffic: While I liked that the entrances for both Gaming and Dealer's Hall were in the same area, it did give that area a bit of a swell/surge while walking. Also, there were many people who entered and exited as they pleased, even ignoring directions of staff/volunteers. Very frustrating. Hopefully there can just be an entrance and exit side to both the doors next year.

MusicFest: While I did not attend MusicFest this year (neither of the performers appealed to me), I did hear how it ended fairly early. Maybe next year, there can be some local bands invited to extend the length?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Armored-Heart on June 01, 2012, 08:59:02 PM
Quote from: Yuu on June 01, 2012, 03:39:34 PM
Quote from: ttyls on June 01, 2012, 03:19:30 PM
Quote from: Armored-Heart on May 29, 2012, 04:19:57 PM
I haven't noticed anything said about this yet (and quite frankly, trying to even skim through some of these walls of texts is a massive headache!) but I wanted to make a comment regarding the nazi-themed yaoi booth in Dealer's Hall. What the hell, guys? That's incredibly offensive! I understand that some are more sensitive to this sort of thing than others, and some people just don't give a damn at all, but I really don't understand why FanimeCon would allow that sort of merchandise to be sold at the con.

Thank you for bringing this up. While I was in the Artist Alley most of the con and didn't get a chance to see the Dealer's Hall, I am HORRIFIED to hear that something of such an offensive nature is allowed! My reaction is the same as yours: WHAT THE HELL? That is extremely, extremely offensive and I am so upset to hear Fanime let someone have a booth with something like that. It's a very real piece of history that affects many of us closely still, not a joke. It should not be allowed, period.


i can see how that would be disturbing to some people.

Just like
rape.
or MOE
and watching little girls get beat up/raped by monsters.
and just about every other fetish you could find that is so casually shown in anime/manga.
It's disturbing from the other side isn't it? Yah, welcome to our world.

I will say that making the 'Nazi' bit so easy to see-if it even was- is a bad idea.
I sure as hell didn't see it and I was looking at yaoi. Unless your referring to that ONE fanart ass Aizen dressed in a Nazi uniform. If that' the case...I don't even know how to respond.

Some guys do LOOK for these things so that they can bitch and try to get them banned. Just do what most woman and look the other way..oh wait When we do we're greeted with some other fetish.

Either everything is okay, or nothing is. You can't pick and chose just because YOU find something offensive.

Just to clarify, I do not think rape is okay, and I'm not really a fan of moe or tentacle porn (yuck). I'm not really sure how the sexual fetish realm intersects with the traumatic history realm (although rape is certainly traumatic and I do not condone anime viewings that perhaps contain this sort of content.) And I also don't "look for things to bitch about." If you like yaoi or yuri or hentai, hey, it's none of my business! I really don't care! And I actually had a fantastic Fanime; but I was disturbed by this booth in particular at both Fanime AND Sakura Con. But I digress.

I feel like there's a difference between anime viewings involving the above things you listed and the nazi booth. Hentai rooms require ID and more or less remain within that viewing room. The nazi themed booth sold items such as nazi-styled armbands that said "YAOI" or "SEME" or "UKE" etc that I saw con-goers wearing around and even outside of the con, potentially offending others who may or may not have been directly affected by the Holocaust. I believe that Fanime should be conscious that it is a family-friendly con and should not be allowing a vendor to encourage that sort of thing. The Holocaust is not something that should be turned into a joke.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Mom on June 01, 2012, 10:52:15 PM
I would very much like my passes mailed if I register really early, I will pay extra
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: OniCourseMusha on June 02, 2012, 03:02:04 AM
Quote from: mDuo13 on May 30, 2012, 02:10:45 AM
The Bad
* egaming BYOC
I can explain the 3 reason why our department  won't allow having other attendees bringing their own console and set up their own games:

1. Legal liability issues.  Lots of contract forms to sign (both for eGaming and logistics/ConOps), inventory re-checkup, equipment confusion (especially with PS3/XBox360/Wii that has DLC content).

2. Conflicts with arcade, if said game(s) are shown in the Arcade, like Super Street Fighter IV Arcade, DDR, etc.  No setting up console nor use games that Arcade has which some attendees might do.

3. Illegal content.  People most likely will bring hacked console.  This also applies to Laptop being displayed such as if someone does set up Stepmania publicly connecting a usb converter with a ddr pads.  People even set up illegally download arcade hacked to pc that Arcade has which can violate what said in #2.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: dealerJason on June 02, 2012, 08:11:29 AM




As head of infodesk, I have to apologize for this.  The parking discount information came to us on Friday morning and we did not follow up on where and how attendees could get this discount.  We will strive next year to try an house as much of this information as possible at infodesk.  Thank you for your valuable feedback!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi) on June 02, 2012, 11:08:51 AM
Quote from: OniCourseMusha on June 02, 2012, 03:02:04 AM
Quote from: mDuo13 on May 30, 2012, 02:10:45 AM
The Bad
* egaming BYOC
I can explain the 3 reason why our department  won't allow having other attendees bringing their own console and set up their own games:

1. Legal liability issues.  Lots of contract forms to sign (both for eGaming and logistics/ConOps), inventory re-checkup, equipment confusion (especially with PS3/XBox360/Wii that has DLC content).

2. Conflicts with arcade, if said game(s) are shown in the Arcade, like Super Street Fighter IV Arcade, DDR, etc.  No setting up console nor use games that Arcade has which some attendees might do.

3. Illegal content.  People most likely will bring hacked console.  This also applies to Laptop being displayed such as if someone does set up Stepmania publicly connecting a usb converter with a ddr pads.  People even set up illegally download arcade hacked to pc that Arcade has which can violate what said in #2.


I believe he was referring to BYOC as Bring-Your-Own-Controller, I think.  If that's the case, then if there's people that made it too hard for people to plug in controllers, then let me know the names.  The way it is setup, all that needs to be done about this was notify a staffer and that's it.  Supposedly, we are more lenient towards this as most people who bring in controllers are only bringing in harmless stuff like Fightsticks.

If it's Bring-You-Own-Console, then yeah.  This sums up the most part and I'll be happy to elaborate it further as to why.  If people really want bringing their own console, then a lot would have to be done months prior to the event, NOT last minute for obvious reasons.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: MikeTSA on June 02, 2012, 05:35:04 PM
First, I want to say thank you to the panel staff for being amazing this year. You all helped me avoid potential issues by being very quick to have tech support help out or being prepared in general to prevent any potential issues. If I could make one suggestion, is that maybe it's time to perhaps get projectors that support HDMI input? Otherwise, had a great time hosting panels again.

Since I didn't have to endure the registration fiasco, I won't comment on it other than I would highly suggest its time to seriously rethink the process, and research the various alternatives to find one that's better suited to handling the volume of con-goers FanimeCon attracts.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: XeNo on June 02, 2012, 11:23:39 PM
I think Fanime 2012 was mostly excellent. I had no problems with anyone overall here, the rovers were excellent at barking out directions to places when I asked and kept lines going smoothly.

Some interesting points:

*The pocket schedule was cute and handy.

*Why is the "Masquerade" called "Cosplay Spectacular" now? At first I thought they had completely done away with "Masquerade" until I read the info about the Cosplay Spectacular. Although, after seeing the massive line outside for it, I didn't bother going.

*I liked how the Swap Meet was moved into another hotel. I miss it being in the gaming room and going back and forth from playing games to browsing people's stuff, but I know there is a TON more people doing swap meet, so the two pretty big rooms in the other hotel was a great idea! Got some great deals on things!

*The Manga Library was a surprising relaxing place to just chill back on a bean bag and read a book while waiting for the next major panel or showing.

*I loved Hot Yaoi Nights this year! They actually showed some decent stuff and I was fighting to stay awake the whole night to watch it. But Antique Cafe (Live action Korean movie) was actually surprisingly good. (When I saw it was live action, I thought i'd be making fun of the acting but I didn't, I really enjoyed it) And they had a remake of the Yaoi anime-ish movie I saw back in 2010 called: Ai No Kusabi. When I saw that title at Yaoi nights 2010, it was so bizarre, that I thought I was on drugs and having a stoner dream while watching it. To see a remake of that same yaoi this year was just awesome.

Negative points:
*I REGISTERED for Speed Dating, but didn't get in and I lined up about 20 min before my time slot at 2pm Sunday. Apparently the girl next to me, wasn't able to get in the day before for her slot, so she was coming back. And the guy in front of us didn't even register but was praying he'd get in >_> None of us got in, but I heard people who didn't register at all, got into the event. I wasn't TOO set on the event so I immediately left, even when the staff invited us to wait 2 more hours to possibly get into the next time slot (when a new batch of people should be having their turn).

*The Badge Lines were ridiculous. Of course more and more people come to Fanime every year (I've been going every other year since 06). And I understand the issue of the power outage the night before. But maybe like other people mentioned, it would be a good idea to mail out badges a month or so before the con? Other major events like E3 mail them out beforehand. It took me 2 hours and 40 minutes exactly to get my badge in the At Con registration line on Friday (got in line at 1:50 and got my badge at 4:30-- my friends that pre-reg'd got their badges about 20 mins before me and we lined up at the same time). Of course I've waited longer than that for concert lines and other things ;D I should just remember to bring my MP3 player and DSi next year.

*I heard about discounted parking for the convention center (Some people said it was $10 a day with validation, idk if this is the case?). But I didn't bother to ask where to find it (so that's my bad) so I simply paid the $65 for the weekend xD

*Some panels filled up waaay too fast. I had never tried to go to a panel before at Fanime in past years that was too full to get in, so that surprised me. I'll line up earlier for panels next year. Most of the panels I did attend, however were quite amusing. The Zelda Debate panel was professional. The Feenels Late Night Dreamworld panel was really unexpected but hilarious with over-exaggerated audience games of "Who's that Pokemon?"

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Amoirsp on June 03, 2012, 12:11:50 AM
I'll try to be as civil as possible. I will try my best not to sound like I'm trying to attack anyone. I was simply discouraged.

Please excuse the run-on sentences, the poor grammar structuring, or if I inadvertently offended anyone.

The reason why I was so angry at eGaming also had to do with wrong place wrong time. Basically the incident happened on Friday morning, before most of the events/hall/panels were even open. Due to rules/regulations/policies that felt either inconsistent, somewhat invisible like fine print on a cloud, or poorly implemented ruined my day so badly I literally got fed up and went home. I just said out loud "I've had it, I'm going home" and unfortunately the source cause was eGaming despite the volunteers being remotely helpful. That was it for Friday, completely cut the evening off, missed interesting panels, whatever. I reluctantly went back Saturday since I got to see a friend who finally joins me at Fanime after trying to get that person to come (and hadn't seen the person in two years), but my mood turned sour by then and I boycotted the gaming room entirely.

Quote from: OniCourseMusha on June 02, 2012, 03:02:04 AM
Quote from: mDuo13 on May 30, 2012, 02:10:45 AM
The Bad
* egaming BYOC
I can explain the 3 reason why our department  won't allow having other attendees bringing their own console and set up their own games:

1. Legal liability issues.  Lots of contract forms to sign (both for eGaming and logistics/ConOps), inventory re-checkup, equipment confusion (especially with PS3/XBox360/Wii that has DLC content).

2. Conflicts with arcade, if said game(s) are shown in the Arcade, like Super Street Fighter IV Arcade, DDR, etc.  No setting up console nor use games that Arcade has which some attendees might do.

3. Illegal content.  People most likely will bring hacked console.  This also applies to Laptop being displayed such as if someone does set up Stepmania publicly connecting a usb converter with a ddr pads.  People even set up illegally download arcade hacked to pc that Arcade has which can violate what said in #2.


I'm too dumb to know how to quote two people at the same time, but if the head xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi) is willing to make adjustments or improvements, then I tip my hat to you and will rescind my earlier statement.

So, basically the 3 major pointers mentioned here is what I learned after arguing with your division on Friday morning. Now it was entirely possible I was more easily annoyed because of the 3 hour morning wait and the fact that the other two exhibition halls weren't open until 2. Hence the only hall open at the time was the gaming room.

I'll be honest, all I wanted to do was play an electronic game in the game hall in peace. No, that's not what happened at all.

So basically back in Fanime 2010 and Fanime 2011 as a relatively new attendee, my impression as an unaware fan is like "oh hey eGaming has a cool variety. They got smash, they got old games/classics, they even have starcraft." During that time I also couldn't possibly have been aware of how much trouble eGaming had gotten by with the 3 reasons listed above due to attendees that clearly violated the rule (illegitimate copies or whatever hack stuff). During that time I thought hey Fanime is pretty cool to exercise gaming variety, particularly ones not often seen. Since I'm not into the big name games, I respected that.

Basically in 2011 I noticed some people weren't permitted to play some games. Ok, from what I heard it was basically "yeah you can't play a game that's already on the arcade since it dissuades users from the arcade". OK that makes sense. To confirm my suspicion, before Fanime 2012 I made sure to ask Fanime during 2011 "OK, can I play a game that ISN'T on the arcade, that isn't already visible or even a remote conflict to any tournament/arcade/whatever?" The answer I got was YES so I took out my laptop and played it for like 30 minutes. There was no conflict at the time. Why? Well either it was invisible or it was because at that time PC Gaming was BACK and you guys used to have a website dedicated to the 2011 version that's no longer there. It specifically linked to a 2010 forum post where bringing in PCs or Laptops were clearly implied as possibilities. Also, PC Gaming for 2011 was not really (as pointed out on there or MAYBE IT IS) too restricted, as it was newer and since there was an influx of demand to encourage more PC game variety, it was more open.

Even on the general section of eGaming at that time said as follows: "FanimeCon eGaming is always open in Exhibit Hall 3! Bring a friend or make new friends while playing through FanimeCon's wide collection of new and classic games. Here you can simply play for fun, or you can compete in one of our many video game tournaments for glory and prizes!"
So the mentality I had going into Fanime 2012 was initially similar to this. Well, what a shell shock after I did come in. I should have taken the keywords FanimeCon's wide collection of new and classic games because of the newfound restrictions I came to quickly realize in 2012 which do not very clearly show up anywhere.

Perhaps when I was asking Fanime for more information, I generally inquired registration or the generic Fanime email which as you can tell, has absolutely nothing to do with eGaming, so whatever answers I got relating to electronic policy or registrations was rather moot.

Had I known about the liability issues and more on that end more in detail, this would have made more sense. But no, when you promote the eGaming section you detail the tournament information, the general but important rules, the games that will be featured, all the positives. Not the history of liability issues or why the rule came to be. (After I learned about the reason, yes I can fully understand and it's totally the offender's fault. What I didn't like is that the enforcement also indirectly pseudo-locked away things that weren't as clear and distinct).

Since Fanime 2012 was so late on updates, guess what? The only information I can go by was 2011 as a starting point. When I inquired about it by email I was referred back to the site which shows the same 2011 information! (This happened even on things in general, hence I was also frustrated with 2012 being so last minute). I'm like look I wanted 2012's policies but your websites and all that all have old 2011 information, am I seriously supposed to rely on last year's data if it's subject to change (and I have no idea when, even if it is)? This was long, long before March 2012 when xxxplizit (pogi1kenobi) posted the 3.0 version. At the time I only used the forum for registration questions because I had no issue with eGaming in 2010 nor 2011.

I'm not going to do a laptop argument. The 3.0 revision distinctly said no laptop. The only thing I can say here is can you please make it much more obvious either at the eGaming tables themselves, or make the Fanime website put it up on code of conduct, or even mention it on your twitter even though the point of the tweets is to promote the events not repeat the rules? This is what your staff literally told me: In the eGaming section you're limited to eGaming enforcement. Hence, you basically told me oh you can try playing the laptop elsewhere not at eGaming, like the tabletop area, if they allow it. Well, they didn't, and it makes sense because it's not a tabletop. Alright, so outside the gaming area was implied too. Ok, a rover on the outside of the facilities said no, you can't play your laptop here, you have to play it in eGaming or the gaming room.
Congratulations, you gave me an infinite loop equation. After learning you guys are separate departments, it makes sense why I got redirected infinitely like that, and also why Fanime didn't have a generic disclaimer since the rules are different in each section. Since the Hilton hotel and stuff were basically also under the con's jurisdiction I basically get the message that I can't use my laptop, at all. (I had the computer on me for secondary functions like ... maybe checking the saved map files or maybe go online outside of the exhibit hall to see if I could find online any new last minute 2012 changes.)
Again thinking on the con end of it it makes a lot of sense. On a casual fan end of it, no it wasn't really pleasant at all.

On another note it's nice that the city regulation things come to light since that is why you had the rovers behave the way they did. Why Fanime structured things seemingly terribly when actually there were a lot of city and law limitations. While it's not necessary for Fanime to disclose these things, the seemingly disorganization and all that actually do have source causes that make sense when you think on the business end.
However, on a casual fan spectrum again it just looks like terrible management or the con going downhill or disappointing when really that's not all there is to it at all.

Ok anyhow instead of mumbo jumbo I narrowed a full wall of text (which I ended up doing anyways) complaints into a few things that I just want a simple answer so I don't get told one answer and get enforced the opposite. That's where I keep saying the policy was inconsistent. After thinking about it, in your shoes it makes a LOT of sense, but in a casual fan aspect, without knowledge of the source reasons, it just makes your division sound like *insert a word we're trying not to use that implies controls and limitations*

First thing I want to know, and this is the least important: I was notified in the gaming room there were like 3 more additional PC setups and people were playing Diablo III. If this was sponsored by Digital Storm, I don't have a problem with this. If this was NOT sponsored by Digital Storm, I have a problem with this, unless the eGaming division approved it. I don't see "tournament" making sense with that game.

See, one thing is that I don't know which games are approved. From the end of 2011 it was very clear what message I got from eGaming: Don't play a game that exists on the arcade. The arcade always changes but I can assume IDAS, Tekken, SF, BB, whatever games you'd typically find in an arcade game would apply. In 2011 you guys did not show any sort of qualms whatsoever with me playing on my laptop for the short duration that I did. At the time, the rulesets did not particularly specify laptops. It is true that bringing your own console rule was very clear in 2011 hence it was very easy to apply in 2012. It's possible I played on my laptop for such a short duration that it did not stem any relevant problems even if I did accidentally violate one of the rules. Since my item in question wasn't an arcade game whatsoever, I originally thought "oh hey I can play my favorite game with people I haven't seen in literally a year or even new found faces at the con." You know, cuz it's fun when you have passerbys that say oh I recognize that, oh I want to play with you, oh I remember that game! Yeah none of that joy could surface, thanks for ruining it unintentionally.

Second thing: alright, no PC/laptop setup. ok sure I won't take out my laptop and there will be no problems. Except when I was notified about this rule I was told you can't bring your own electronic devices. Then I had a small problem with that. You're covering consoles, PC, laptop (note the outside eGaming restriction called rovers) all as electronic devices. But since I'm trying to take your staff's explanation to heart, you're also completely telling me handheld electronic devices and mobile app games on a phone also constitute electronic devices not allowed in eGaming. Enforcement on that? Not really from what I saw. Hence I cry foul on inconsistency either on implementation or getting a more straight policy answer. If someone is using a handheld device or a mobile device to play say, Street Fighter (or not street fighter aka not a tournament game), then the rule of the Arcade condition is being broken. This was probably bypassed or ignored because the devices are very small. I'm not arguing the implementation, but at that point I thought the principal at this point looked more to me like "don't see don't tell" and something dumb like that happened (aka if my laptop was magically tiny it's probably passable, but no I want to at least try to follow the rules).

I basically didn't like how your enforcement basically weeds out electronic devices, but not really, but yes really, but not really. In the end these are more like rants so I don't expect this to change, so whatever.

Third thing: Ok this one I actually did have a problem with. Since the games on the eGaming tables were not only restricted to what Fanime brings with those arcade rules, but you apparently are also subject to Fanime's limited supply of discs to actually play the games. This I actually wouldn't mind you improving on.. Let me do a direct example.

It was like, 11:00 AM, I just got out of the long pre-reg line. I see a tournament for say, Blazblue Extended at 12 PM. Alright, what's the first thing I have in mind? Hm, practice for the tournament, or play the game, since it's on the allowed list and is upcoming. Here was the problem: I was notified by the staff the head of the eGaming division was the only one with the only Blazblue Extended copy on hand was too busy to get around to lend the game because he was preoccupied with another tournament. I think by the time I got back from lunch at 2 PM the game still wasn't available and the tournament ended anyways.
Ironically you had an earlier version of Blazblue, which I was told totally plays differently. It's like playing Smash Melee to play Smash Brawl.
The part I found dumb, while it makes sense liability wise, was that I couldn't simply put my own copy of Blazblue Extended, an already approved Fanime game into the console in front of me, which I also got authorization to use on free play.
Your rule set very clearly said you can't bring your own console. Please also put you can't bring your own copy of the game.
It's probably implied you won't bring your own copy of the game if you can't bring your own console. But then you encourage people to bring their own controller (I won't even get to how my PS2 controller wasn't even compatible with your consoles. You had the older Blazblue game which is PS2 playable, and back in 2011 with Fanime eGaming's LARGE number of N64s and PS2 TOTALLY gave me the idea it could appear in 2012. Well ... no not really.)

Again, when thinking on a liability standpoint, with your rules and such, it makes sense. But when your mind just says "I just want to play one of the Fanime approved games on this TV with this console in front of me ready to free play" and the reality says you can't, it's just very discouraging. That's how my day and overall experience got completely ruined to the point that I would dare say words like cancerous or even "can the eGaming division". I was so mad I was thinking ok if there was no eGaming and people just brought PC/laptop at risk to an empty but distinctly free use table area ... well first off, the PC is so big one wouldn't dare be away from his/her own PC and the laptop is portable. Consoles well you can think a similar mentality. [Obviously this doesn't happen now that the liability and other major reasons came to surface, and naturally Fanime doesn't really put "reasons why we don't allow these things". This isn't like code of conduct which is more like common sense and to make the place safe.]

I mean yes I'll admit if eGaming had to put a large sign saying "yeah we're not allowing console/PC/laptop due to liability issues" and the whole reasoning behind it, it's like excessive disclosures. However, if you don't put any indication to the real reason it just looks like you're limiting what people can play, and that's what happened. True you made things safer and less liable, but you also negated who can play what almost all the way. Also when the tournament games were under way, so much attention and focus for the staff and fans was redirected to the high level competition, it's probably possible for people to sneak in bad things like setups on free play. [This is why I went ballistic when I heard about people playing Diablo III on 3 (additional?) computer setups during the tournament. But I assumed it was not approved. Chances are it were, but how would I know? There's no way to know.]

My negative energy gave me words like "Fanime just did Bait & Switch on you." "This was False Advertising." "I do not see these fine print rules you are trying to enforce. It seems to be in this invisible cloud and even your staff admitted it." I mean sure, most of the rules were there but it just felt like a good chuck turned wishy washy, especially when people aren't looking or noticing, then it just gets weird.

tl;dr I felt eGaming was unorganized and inconsistent. Since the rule set only applies to eGaming itself, limitations on PC/laptop/setup elsewhere not called eGaming is subject to jurisdiction not called eGaming. Therefore one gets hit by different sets of rules. It may be correct in each division and properly implemented, but as a whole Fanime experience it just feels like a bad redirecting loop.
I don't mind complying to rules but I sure hate it when it could be evident the same rule is broken in pretty large fashion. Since Friday before 2 PM pretty much Exhibition 3 was the only hall that was open, to basically be told "yeah you can't play this via our rules" just gave me the feeling I paid Fanime to tell me I can't play what I want to play with people I'd see not even annually. That sure sucked, even if I misinterpreted a billion things, I sure got the wrong message so my impression was darn awful.

I did way too many run on sentences and ranted too much. You can ignore most of what I said, but the confusion and weird implementation feeling/messages and all that was seriously, seriously discouraging. I wanted to file a complaint, I wanted a refund. I was seriously irate. I even considered looking at the law spectrum despite that being a terrible idea. I asked myself why did I come to Fanime to wait for hours for nothing (Thursday), still wait as long on Friday, get restricted by what is there (eGaming), and then feel like I got pooped on?

I'm just venting on the principal as the enforcement implementation felt weird. It's so rattling confusing that I can't even talk about it straight. Fans can't see the contractual stuff, the behind the scenes stuff, so it looks terrible on real time reality even though there are very plausible reasons. When it's all said and done it all makes sense, but during real time it's a big downer losing all that time or being limited.

EDIT: My sentence structure is still terrible.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: klmedia on June 03, 2012, 12:54:05 AM
First of all, I'd like to thank the staff and volunteers at Fanime.  Sorry, I forgot to do that at the feedback panel.  Even with the hiccups, it was an enjoyable Fanime.  I'm from Canada, but I'm definitely looking forward to attending Fanime again.

Black & White Ball: Location was great this year (the Fairmont hotal last year was crowded).  Please use Parkside Hall again.  Didn't notice any long lineups, there was room to dance about, and the music selection was better than last year.

Schedule: Please upload something to the website earlier.  I don't care if it's version 1, version 2, or even a draft.  Put a giant "CAUTION - SUBJECT TO CHANGE" on the first page if you have to.  I find it hard to believe that every panel/event is approved a day before the con.  Just post something up a week beforehand, so that we can at least have an idea on what to expect, and start working on our schedules.

Registration lines: I was in that 6 hour line on Thursday.  Even Friday and Saturday had huge lines.  Looks like more attendees than last year?

Panels: I didn't attend many panels, but those lines at the Marriott looked messy.  Hopefully the convention centre expansion will offer more space for panel lineups.

Cosplay Gatherings: My biggest gripe is with one of the staff photographers (the big, tall guy).  Dude, please give us SOME TIME TO TAKE the photos, BEFORE you start the 5-second countdown.  Especially with the large gatherings when there might be 10+ people in a pose.  As a photographer, I'm trying to shoot more than just one pic, ie: a wide group shot, a few individual portraits, and a video clip).  Also, let the gathering orgranizers dictate the flow and poses.  They can ask you for help if they run out of ideas.  Isn't the job of the staff photographer just to observe and snap some shots of the gathering?

Fanime's group gatherings are one of the biggest thing that I look forward to, even more than Anime Expo's gatherings.  This year, I felt so disappointed that the staff photographer rushed all of the poses at the group gatherings.  5 to 10 seconds before the countdown would be appreciated.  As long as the gathering finishes on time for the next group, what's the hurry?

See you all next year!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: OniCourseMusha on June 03, 2012, 11:54:21 AM
Quote from: Amoirsp on June 03, 2012, 12:11:50 AM

I'm very sorry about your experience.  We do our best to try to have games available to play and make it fair for the Arcade so there's no conflict as friendly as possible.  Keep in mind that the standard policy is no refund are issue.  We will take note of your complaints so we can improve and work on our weakness.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Amoirsp on June 03, 2012, 10:55:14 PM
Quote from: OniCourseMusha on June 03, 2012, 11:54:21 AM
Quote from: Amoirsp on June 03, 2012, 12:11:50 AM

I'm very sorry about your experience.  We do our best to try to have games available to play and make it fair for the Arcade so there's no conflict as friendly as possible.  Keep in mind that the standard policy is no refund are issue.  We will take note of your complaints so we can improve and work on our weakness.

Thank you for your fast response in this matter. I'm aware of the standard policy, but as you can imagine, going to eGaming to play, then realizing I can't, then not even being able to play one of your tournament hosted games, is a sickening feeling. That or being told ok you can't play something but then later on in the con you visibly see someone playing something that was stated as prohibited and getting away with it for a full duration (PC/laptop)

Thus instead of ratting more, I would just recommend bigger signs, particularly one that says perhaps how much is in stock. Maybe even who owns what game, because knowing the disc for the game being available didn't matter if the staff that owned the game was too busy to even rent through the rental agreement. Now I'm sure it won't go that far since that's too much information, but I'd like to be less clueless.

Or just say you can't bring/use your own PC/laptop/console/game/device AT ALL. Just prohibit all of it but the controller, because that's what it felt like. The games that were played at eGaming were either eGaming approved or brought by Digital Storm (or both). Even then, the only games that could be played are the staff owned (or Digital Storm owned) games. [Definitely specify this]. If this isn't true then you weren't being consistent on this matter. I can understand no setup/device/console/etc. I can understand I can't load a game that's not Fanime approved, but not being able to load a game that IS Fanime approved was outright awkward (until someone explained to me the liability reasons only then did it make sense).
Yeah, it felt like restricted play, not free play. Again it was all bad timing since the head was too busy running tournaments for the next x hours so I couldn't even proceed to actually play/rent via the rules so I didn't bother wasting my time after that waiting for essentially nothing.
The more I think about it the more it was "last minute stuff" more than "eGaming did wrong" so it's just a giant compound effect that was just horribly unpleasant.

Going through eGaming 2011 information as my only source of information prior to eGaming 2012 sucked. Perhaps a distinct section saying "changes to 2013" I would say would help. Or big signs saying who is the head, who is running what tournament, who on volunteer/staff actually is relevant to inquire about eGaming. Otherwise I fear eGaming which was intended to be fun, turns out no fun. [Well, again it was just bad timing, because even when 2 PM rolled around, the Artist Alley and Dealer's Room looked half empty because artists/dealers were still stuck in line at the time.]

Even playing the Arcade, which was a different division, wasn't too thrilling when the quality of the sticks on the arcade weren't up to par, and there weren't USB options to plug in .. what do you know ... your own controller/stick.

... or maybe have a completely free play distinct room where you can BYO(whatever item) but it's all self risk with a huge disclaimer saying Fanime isn't liable for whatever happens in there. Though, that idea probably was thrown out and discussed but deemed not wise.

In short:
Prohibitions stated on forums is cool, but perhaps have a gigantic sign that's even more visible.
Let the fans know what can be played or how much is available in stock. You had a Tournament of BB:Extend so naturally attendees thought your free play PS3s could play it, but you guys had exactly one copy (and a million BB:CT copies) available but also not available because the , which only staff would know who owns what anyways. It may be privy information but to an oblivious attendee it just looks like weird hoarding.
If there's a huge difference to a previous eGaming year, note it in advance somehow. I don't want generic explanations, I have read the rules as best I can and the parts that bothered me were like invisible exceptions/rules.
Digital Storm promoting Diablo III seemed fine on a PC standpoint, but eGaming (and Arcade) seemed to promote "tournaments" or some form of competition, so having that there seemed rather awkward. It's like having a staff member playing his/her own copy of a PS3 RPG game at Fanime. Nice promotion, but weird reality. Almost feels like an exclusive member zone or something.

On a positive note, the fact that you had those online-only-for-the-most-part Blizzard games active also means you had internet connection. Cool, since the room if I recall basically didn't have internet in previous eGaming years.
As stated to death, the liability explanation makes the situation make much more sense. But prior to that, before learning why, it does look really ridiculous to someone who merely wanted to play an electronic game at Fanime.
And it's fine to have a good up to date topic on forums but ... perhaps better relocation from the main site? The main Fanime site looked empty many times and was not the right place to look for eGaming information for the most part.
Not allowed to play your own electronic device? Fine. Trying to play an approved game? Ok let's try that. Last year it felt like there was a surplus of free play devices and a good variety, while this year it felt like there was a huge shortage of like, everything. That's when the reality of eGaming seemed to take a nosedive. It's like uh this has nothing to do with anything, why am I here again?

Well, as long as improvements are done, I say good luck and hope it works! I won't be here to see it but it'd be nice to hear positive commentary on eGaming when I talk with people.



On a completely different feedback note, I wasn't too thrilled that Fanime resource on pre-registration had a Bill Me Later option. The concept of it was fine, until I realized when I clicked "I agree" I thought it was just a continue button (or "yes I read this"), NOT a "congratulations you just signed up for Bill Me Later, with an account number you don't know of yet, with a website you haven't seen yet. Also we credited $50 to this account. You can't go back and change into a credit card payment option for Fanime resource and they can't help you either since they already got paid hahaha."

I might have been blind but I don't remember seeing this thing manifest in my previous two registrations.

Fanime was paid, which was fine, but I had an outstanding balance of an account number I didn't know of. My information is with a third party I'm unfamiliar with. Checking with Fanime registration didn't help too much, as FanimeReg confirmed it's paid. I'm sitting at my computer back when I paid going like ok, where did this $50 go? What just happened? Oh my goodness. I went paranoid for the next few days because I didn't have a clue where to pay down the $50, and I know I had not paid $50. That and Bill Me Later doesn't take credit card (which was what I intended to do in the first place) so I ended up linking my bank account to Bill Me Later much to my dismay because I didn't get a statement until later.

I hope nobody that clicked the Bill Me Later option forgot to pay that third party back.
Probably nothing bad happened but I wouldn't be surprised if it caught one person off guard. The nasty things that could happen don't manifest until like, 6+ months pass anyways, and Fanime isn't liable either.

That's about it. Props to the staff for EFFORT because the reality was there were too many things going on for the staff for them to take care of everything. It was a lose-lose situation, not a "hmph screw you" or "I don't care" attitude thought it did look like that on several occasions, it probably is cause and effect.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: TheMaKaKi on June 03, 2012, 11:33:51 PM
Quote from: XeNo on June 02, 2012, 11:23:39 PM


Negative points:
*I REGISTERED for Speed Dating, but didn't get in and I lined up about 20 min before my time slot at 2pm Sunday. Apparently the girl next to me, wasn't able to get in the day before for her slot, so she was coming back. And the guy in front of us didn't even register but was praying he'd get in >_> None of us got in, but I heard people who didn't register at all, got into the event. I wasn't TOO set on the event so I immediately left, even when the staff invited us to wait 2 more hours to possibly get into the next time slot (when a new batch of people should be having their turn).




Hello Xeno,

Just to clarify, we had over 400 attendees register for Speed Dating. But if you did not receive a second email directly from Speed Dating Staff, stating "CONGRATULATIONS" with instructions and a specific time/date, then you did not receive a secure spot for the Sunday 2PM event. We had made sure to ask repeatedly the attendees in lines if they had a Congratulatory confirmed registration email from us to proceed to the front and sign-in with us right away. For the people who did not register at all but got into the event, they were attendees who probably waited for hours and they took the spots of the said confirmed/accepted attendees who were absent or late. We apologize if there was any confusion and hope you will sign-up with us again! We appreciate the feedback and are continually expanding and improving.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Luca Cantellano on June 03, 2012, 11:43:12 PM
Quote from: PyronIkari on May 31, 2012, 12:38:01 AM
Quote from: nurikowindchaser on May 30, 2012, 09:57:09 PM

The lack of close-by food - My mother insists on real food when we go to conventions, which meant that this time we were constantly spending way too much time trying to find food, time which could have been better spent actually seeing stuff at the con.  ^.^;;
I don't want to reply to this thread but this one bothers me. There's like 18 restaurants all withing 10 minutes of walking. Price ranging from 3$-150$. All kinds of food of all kinds of types. I am honestly baffled by this comment. I ate Pita Pit, Iguana's, Subway, Pizza My Heart all for under 6$ a meal and all of them were filling and good for me. I also went to a number of nice sit down restaurants for dinner. Do a little research, there are a lot of places to eat around the convention.
I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh at this. PyronIkari is right! Not only is there a HUGE abundance of places to eat, but there is a Safeway less than 2 minutes walking from the Fairemont. If you have a problem finding nearby food, go your hotel's front desk, and ask about nearby places to eat. Usually, the person at the front desk will pull out a map, and circle the places nearby you can eat at. If you would rather not do this, just ask someone at the con. Many of us live around the area, so we would be happy to point you to a good place to eat. I got a huge amount of food at the nearby Baja Fresh for under $2... Just ask fellow con-ers, or even the staff. Food is a necessity, and is readily available in downtown San Jose! C:
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Luca Cantellano on June 03, 2012, 11:48:24 PM
Quote from: XeNo on June 02, 2012, 11:23:39 PM

*Why is the "Masquerade" called "Cosplay Spectacular" now? At first I thought they had completely done away with "Masquerade" until I read the info about the Cosplay Spectacular. Although, after seeing the massive line outside for it, I didn't bother going.

I could probably answer this one for you~
Well, we have been calling it the Masquerade, but this name gets very confusing for people interested in the Black & White Ball. I have dozens of people ask me "what's the difference between them?" Also, when you are standing in line, and you say "Masquerade," people that do not know the different will either look at you confused, or respond happily before joining the line... only to realize an hour later that they weren't in line for their Ball afterall... With all the confusion, a name-change had become the best alternative.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: OniCourseMusha on June 04, 2012, 12:17:05 AM
Quote from: Amoirsp on June 03, 2012, 10:55:14 PM
Thank you for your fast response in this matter. I'm aware of the standard policy, but as you can imagine, going to eGaming to play, then realizing I can't, then not even being able to play one of your tournament hosted games, is a sickening feeling. That or being told ok you can't play something but then later on in the con you visibly see someone playing something that was stated as prohibited and getting away with it for a full duration (PC/laptop)

Thus instead of ratting more, I would just recommend bigger signs, particularly one that says perhaps how much is in stock. Maybe even who owns what game, because knowing the disc for the game being available didn't matter if the staff that owned the game was too busy to even rent through the rental agreement. Now I'm sure it won't go that far since that's too much information, but I'd like to be less clueless.

Or just say you can't bring/use your own PC/laptop/console/game/device AT ALL. Just prohibit all of it but the controller, because that's what it felt like. The games that were played at eGaming were either eGaming approved or brought by Digital Storm (or both). Even then, the only games that could be played are the staff owned (or Digital Storm owned) games. [Definitely specify this]. If this isn't true then you weren't being consistent on this matter. I can understand no setup/device/console/etc. I can understand I can't load a game that's not Fanime approved, but not being able to load a game that IS Fanime approved was outright awkward (until someone explained to me the liability reasons only then did it make sense).
Yeah, it felt like restricted play, not free play. Again it was all bad timing since the head was too busy running tournaments for the next x hours so I couldn't even proceed to actually play/rent via the rules so I didn't bother wasting my time after that waiting for essentially nothing.
The more I think about it the more it was "last minute stuff" more than "eGaming did wrong" so it's just a giant compound effect that was just horribly unpleasant.

Going through eGaming 2011 information as my only source of information prior to eGaming 2012 sucked. Perhaps a distinct section saying "changes to 2013" I would say would help. Or big signs saying who is the head, who is running what tournament, who on volunteer/staff actually is relevant to inquire about eGaming. Otherwise I fear eGaming which was intended to be fun, turns out no fun. [Well, again it was just bad timing, because even when 2 PM rolled around, the Artist Alley and Dealer's Room looked half empty because artists/dealers were still stuck in line at the time.]

Even playing the Arcade, which was a different division, wasn't too thrilling when the quality of the sticks on the arcade weren't up to par, and there weren't USB options to plug in .. what do you know ... your own controller/stick.

... or maybe have a completely free play distinct room where you can BYO(whatever item) but it's all self risk with a huge disclaimer saying Fanime isn't liable for whatever happens in there. Though, that idea probably was thrown out and discussed but deemed not wise.

In short:
Prohibitions stated on forums is cool, but perhaps have a gigantic sign that's even more visible.
Let the fans know what can be played or how much is available in stock. You had a Tournament of BB:Extend so naturally attendees thought your free play PS3s could play it, but you guys had exactly one copy (and a million BB:CT copies) available but also not available because the , which only staff would know who owns what anyways. It may be privy information but to an oblivious attendee it just looks like weird hoarding.
If there's a huge difference to a previous eGaming year, note it in advance somehow. I don't want generic explanations, I have read the rules as best I can and the parts that bothered me were like invisible exceptions/rules.
Digital Storm promoting Diablo III seemed fine on a PC standpoint, but eGaming (and Arcade) seemed to promote "tournaments" or some form of competition, so having that there seemed rather awkward. It's like having a staff member playing his/her own copy of a PS3 RPG game at Fanime. Nice promotion, but weird reality. Almost feels like an exclusive member zone or something.

On a positive note, the fact that you had those online-only-for-the-most-part Blizzard games active also means you had internet connection. Cool, since the room if I recall basically didn't have internet in previous eGaming years.
As stated to death, the liability explanation makes the situation make much more sense. But prior to that, before learning why, it does look really ridiculous to someone who merely wanted to play an electronic game at Fanime.
And it's fine to have a good up to date topic on forums but ... perhaps better relocation from the main site? The main Fanime site looked empty many times and was not the right place to look for eGaming information for the most part.
Not allowed to play your own electronic device? Fine. Trying to play an approved game? Ok let's try that. Last year it felt like there was a surplus of free play devices and a good variety, while this year it felt like there was a huge shortage of like, everything. That's when the reality of eGaming seemed to take a nosedive. It's like uh this has nothing to do with anything, why am I here again?

Well, as long as improvements are done, I say good luck and hope it works! I won't be here to see it but it'd be nice to hear positive commentary on eGaming when I talk with people.



On a completely different feedback note, I wasn't too thrilled that Fanime resource on pre-registration had a Bill Me Later option. The concept of it was fine, until I realized when I clicked "I agree" I thought it was just a continue button (or "yes I read this"), NOT a "congratulations you just signed up for Bill Me Later, with an account number you don't know of yet, with a website you haven't seen yet. Also we credited $50 to this account. You can't go back and change into a credit card payment option for Fanime resource and they can't help you either since they already got paid hahaha."

I might have been blind but I don't remember seeing this thing manifest in my previous two registrations.

Fanime was paid, which was fine, but I had an outstanding balance of an account number I didn't know of. My information is with a third party I'm unfamiliar with. Checking with Fanime registration didn't help too much, as FanimeReg confirmed it's paid. I'm sitting at my computer back when I paid going like ok, where did this $50 go? What just happened? Oh my goodness. I went paranoid for the next few days because I didn't have a clue where to pay down the $50, and I know I had not paid $50. That and Bill Me Later doesn't take credit card (which was what I intended to do in the first place) so I ended up linking my bank account to Bill Me Later much to my dismay because I didn't get a statement until later.

I hope nobody that clicked the Bill Me Later option forgot to pay that third party back.
Probably nothing bad happened but I wouldn't be surprised if it caught one person off guard. The nasty things that could happen don't manifest until like, 6+ months pass anyways, and Fanime isn't liable either.

That's about it. Props to the staff for EFFORT because the reality was there were too many things going on for the staff for them to take care of everything. It was a lose-lose situation, not a "hmph screw you" or "I don't care" attitude thought it did look like that on several occasions, it probably is cause and effect.
I hope you can still come back and you're welcome to come to me and have a great conversation so we can have a better understanding about the situation in a friendly matter.  I feel you when policies gets very complicated to follow that can limit our freedom of choices and what we want to play that can ruin our experience.  Policies will always change every year.  We will review this.  Thanks for the very detailed feedback.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: OniCourseMusha on June 04, 2012, 12:25:03 AM
Quote from: Luca Cantellano on June 03, 2012, 11:48:24 PM
Quote from: XeNo on June 02, 2012, 11:23:39 PM

*Why is the "Masquerade" called "Cosplay Spectacular" now? At first I thought they had completely done away with "Masquerade" until I read the info about the Cosplay Spectacular. Although, after seeing the massive line outside for it, I didn't bother going.

I could probably answer this one for you~
Well, we have been calling it the Masquerade, but this name gets very confusing for people interested in the Black & White Ball. I have dozens of people ask me "what's the difference between them?" Also, when you are standing in line, and you say "Masquerade," people that do not know the different will either look at you confused, or respond happily before joining the line... only to realize an hour later that they weren't in line for their Ball afterall... With all the confusion, a name-change had become the best alternative.
I like the change in the name because that's how Sakura con named their cosplay event "Cosplay Contest" instead of "Masquerade".  Because their formal dance is called the "Masquerade Ball".
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: CosplayDevotee on June 04, 2012, 07:45:18 PM
The Good: I wanted to mention this because there's been so many complaints about day zero (and I do agree with most of them but) that despite the problems I was very happy with a young blonde haired female rover/volunteer. I recall her wearing yellow, maybe a pikachu item? I forget, but she was extremely helpful even though she looked completely over worked. My husband and I had a very low number for the day zero Thursday swap meet and we were fortunate to think ahead so that I was the group leader in case something happened. My husband snagged her with a quick "excuse me" while she was running by because the line had JUST started moving. She didn't know the answer to our question regarding whether or not my husband needed his ID for the swap meet line but boy did she get to the bottom of it for us. She went on her headset while (I'm sorry I'm just gonna say it, annoying as HELL teenage kids were berating her specifically about how slow the line was) and said it wasn't needed so I could take it for the badge pick up. I would love it if someone could tell me her name or something so I can personally thank her and maybe request for her to come again if she was willing? Just my two cents there.

I also wanted to mention something that was a very interesting surprise. I feel horrible because I didn't get his full name, but while walking around aimlessly on Saturday (or Friday, it was one of the two) my husband and I took a seat at stage zero when an African American/Japan living gentleman named Rob got on stage and pretty much told his life story as well as clued us in on an Anime program he as well as others had started up within the last few years. It was a very refreshing thing to listen to considering (at least to me) that stage zero is mostly game shows and AMV's which I am by no means complaining about. He also brought up the male Chun Li cosplayer that goes by Cookie who did that spectacular martial arts display last year at the masquerade. Just wanted to say that I really appreciated the experience and would urge more things like this to be on stage zero during lul periods of Fanime.

The Iffy I know this isn't something Fanime staff can control, but on Thursday at 10am my husband and I showed up at the Marriott to check in. We were fully aware that most of the hotels don't allow check in until 3:00ish but will take some luggage for safe keeping so we weren't expecting a rediculious red carpet treatment. When we walked up to the front desk where a female employee ushered us forward to speak I started to explain that we were hoping to check in and I provided a print out of our Fanime hotel confirmation number....to...be...nice. Not only was she OBVIOUSLY unhappy with my casual Death the Kid attire but she also literally hastily thrust the print out back towards me and said "I DON'T need THAT" as if it were something filthy. I'm sorry when did courteous behavior fall by the wayside?! I'm 25 years old, not some annoying child of 14 that's jumping up and down screeching "Fanime ROCKS!!!" There was absolutely no reason for her to treat my husband and I that way and before someone says "well you WERE in cosplay..." ....it's FANIME I'm not cosplaying on March 11th smack in the middle of rush hour traffic doing the Cha Cha where yes, granted, anyone would have cause to look at me sideways. We did get checked in after she took down our information but seriously that was rediculious.

Another iffy thing this year: what happened to the rovers or volunteers that keep the hooligans away from the religious protestors? If there were some and I just missed them I apologize for that, but they could have done a better job if so. I know that some people think its funny take photos with them or hold up signs next to them but some kids were actually TOUCHING and POKING them. Aren't these crazy fanatics known for sewing people for much less than that? I just don't want the con to suffer because kids without a much needed adult there to dissuade their antics go too far and actually assault the protestors. And on the positive side, the less you talk to them, the more likely they are to leave right?

The Bad

1. Day zero line ya, you all have heard it but seriously cutting was a HUGE issue this year.
2. I saw someone else state this before on this topic but SMOKERS! seriously don't sit down right next to me and light up okay? Have some curtesy to at LEAST stand a few feet away from me! Just cuz u don't care about your lungs doesn't mean you can force me to breathe it.
3. I was happier with peace bonding this year but honestly, don't talk to me like I'm 5 okay? I had a prop every single day of the con and the same 2 women were working each time I went in and I KNOW they must explain the rules each time thoroughly and I can't expect them to recognize me from the days prior, but I'm obviously not younger than 20 so this talking to me in a condescending tone thing....not appreciated. I handed them my props, explained each one thoroughly, allowed them to bond some of them shut with no loud obnoxious behavior etc...but when handed my items I was told in a tone reserved for small children and DOGS "don't go swinging it around okay?" .....it's a gun....do people SWING guns? I thought they Pointed them. This complaint also goes for only one of the lost and found staff. Older lady with long grey hair was very short with me when I went in everyday to see if my lost gloves were found and turned in. I get that some people might pull the "ya lost a large money clip with 300 bucks in it" gag but these were brown fake leather gloves...sorry I had the audacity to ask after my favorite gloves I've used since I got my first car...jeez. They never did turn up either, I can't believe ppl would steal gloves ugh.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kookiekween99 on June 04, 2012, 09:09:01 PM
Quote from: Affliction on June 04, 2012, 07:45:18 PM
I also wanted to mention something that was a very interesting surprise. I feel horrible because I didn't get his full name, but while walking around aimlessly on Saturday (or Friday, it was one of the two) my husband and I took a seat at stage zero when an African American/Japan living gentleman named Rob got on stage and pretty much told his life story as well as clued us in on an Anime program he as well as others had started up within the last few years. It was a very refreshing thing to listen to considering (at least to me) that stage zero is mostly game shows and AMV's which I am by no means complaining about. He also brought up the male Chun Li cosplayer that goes by Cookie who did that spectacular martial arts display last year at the masquerade. Just wanted to say that I really appreciated the experience and would urge more things like this to be on stage zero during lul periods of Fanime.

I believe that was Rob Miles.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: CosplayDevotee on June 04, 2012, 09:44:16 PM
Quote from: kookiekween99 on June 04, 2012, 09:09:01 PM
Quote from: Affliction on June 04, 2012, 07:45:18 PM
I also wanted to mention something that was a very interesting surprise. I feel horrible because I didn't get his full name, but while walking around aimlessly on Saturday (or Friday, it was one of the two) my husband and I took a seat at stage zero when an African American/Japan living gentleman named Rob got on stage and pretty much told his life story as well as clued us in on an Anime program he as well as others had started up within the last few years. It was a very refreshing thing to listen to considering (at least to me) that stage zero is mostly game shows and AMV's which I am by no means complaining about. He also brought up the male Chun Li cosplayer that goes by Cookie who did that spectacular martial arts display last year at the masquerade. Just wanted to say that I really appreciated the experience and would urge more things like this to be on stage zero during lul periods of Fanime.

I believe that was Rob Miles.

Yes that was it. Thank you!
Title: Swap meet at Fairmont hotel feedback and garage!
Post by: Hachimitsu on June 05, 2012, 01:31:39 PM
Quote from: XeNo on June 02, 2012, 11:23:39 PM


*I liked how the Swap Meet was moved into another hotel. I miss it being in the gaming room and going back and forth from playing games to browsing people's stuff, but I know there is a TON more people doing swap meet, so the two pretty big rooms in the other hotel was a great idea! Got some great deals on things!


*I heard about discounted parking for the convention center (Some people said it was $10 a day with validation, idk if this is the case?). But I didn't bother to ask where to find it (so that's my bad) so I simply paid the $65 for the weekend xD


1) Porblems / ANSWERS TO SWAP MEET::::
Why we moved to The fairmont hotel::::::
Marissa said::
I can't answer that, you would have to ask the senior staff at FanimeCon. They made this decision.
However, believe me, the reason this has taken so long is this was the *absolute best* I could do for the Swap Meet. I apologize that I could not do better for everyone. If you have suggestions, complaints, concerns, etc.... I know them, to be honest, and brought them up. The people who can make a difference and need to hear them are here :http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/board,37.0.html (http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/board,37.0.html)

Not announcing and breaking their own rule!
I was abit shocked arriving at (thursday)9pm and found out the swap meet is full. We were in line still at a very early time to pick up our badges because rule states "you must have a badge on thursday in order to come in /or to registered for swapmeet.
I check the announcements to see if swap meet changed a ruling that it's okay to visit by without a badge but all i got was the announcement for the black out and handing out free bottle waters!

got the badges at 8:45pm we got all the stuff from my car to the hotel and was surprised swapmeet was full, even if my name was on the list! then around 9:15pm they made announcements that the swap meet is now open for those without a badge!

--My biggest dissapointment is: They DID NOT FOLLOWED THEIR OWN RULINGS nor make any changes/announcements to the forum/website that (thursdays) swap meet is a badgless event!
really appreciated if they had the time to add a quick announcement to the rovers at registrations!
--constantly getting harassed by swapmeet rovers since I was exhausted and needed 20 minute break! (we are not selling, we are just taking a break! come on...)

2) Convention parking:::::
Garage Discount parking:
it's actually a multiipass your buying... The Multi-pass was i think $50-$60 (could'nt remember) from Thursday - Monday(11:59pm)
you can come in and out as much as you want, but just as long you still bought a Multi-pass..

I found this out after paying $10 to leave the garage, came back on 2am.. then after swap meet ileave again and paid 20 (before the day ends), then came back and then i had topick my friend who recieved a distress call so instead of paying another 20 on saturday, i bought a multi-pass for $30..... and constantly shift in and out of the garage as many times as I want to within a certain day that expires!...
I felt sorry for the guy who had to spend $90 (50 for the entire weekened, but then lost it and had to pay $40 around friday!)
I assume the pass cost about $50-$60 dollars at least..

THE ONLY DOWNSIDE with the pass is if your going out and comming back in! the parking spot you once had will be taken and the slots for parking Does indeed get full which kinda puts you in a difficult spot!

Hope this helps the answers Some of the problem!

-to Marrisa, thank you for still bringing swap meet back because i know the chances of finding a quick room at a reduce amount of time is hard!, just please next time, Announce the changes as soon as you can!
Title: Re: Swap meet at Fairmont hotel feedback and garage!
Post by: eralston on June 05, 2012, 01:44:12 PM
Quote from: Hachimitsu-ink on June 05, 2012, 01:31:39 PM


Not announcing and breaking their own rule!
I was abit shocked arriving at (thursday)9pm and found out the swap meet is full. We were in line still at a very early time to pick up our badges because rule states "you must have a badge on thursday in order to come in /or to registered for swapmeet.
I check the announcements to see if swap meet changed a ruling that it's okay to visit by without a badge but all i got was the announcement for the black out and handing out free bottle waters!

got the badges at 8:45pm we got all the stuff from my car to the hotel and was surprised swapmeet was full, even if my name was on the list! then around 9:15pm they made announcements that the swap meet is now open for those without a badge!

--My biggest dissapointment is: They DID NOT FOLLOWED THEIR OWN RULINGS nor make any changes/announcements to the forum/website that (thursdays) swap meet is a badgless event!
really appreciated if they had the time to add a quick announcement to the rovers at registrations!
--constantly getting harassed by swapmeet rovers since I was exhausted and needed 20 minute break! (we are not selling, we are just taking a break! come on...)

I'm sorry you didn't get the updates but I did update the website (http://2012.fanime.com/2012/05/24/power-outage/) at 7:38pm and the forum (http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,17406.0.html) at 8:25pm. Do you have any ideas on how I could make future at-con announcements more visible?
Title: Re: Swap meet at Fairmont hotel feedback and garage!
Post by: Stormfalcon on June 05, 2012, 11:44:36 PM
Quote from: eralston on June 05, 2012, 01:44:12 PM
Quote from: Hachimitsu-ink on June 05, 2012, 01:31:39 PM


Not announcing and breaking their own rule!
I was abit shocked arriving at (thursday)9pm and found out the swap meet is full. We were in line still at a very early time to pick up our badges because rule states "you must have a badge on thursday in order to come in /or to registered for swapmeet.
I check the announcements to see if swap meet changed a ruling that it's okay to visit by without a badge but all i got was the announcement for the black out and handing out free bottle waters!

got the badges at 8:45pm we got all the stuff from my car to the hotel and was surprised swapmeet was full, even if my name was on the list! then around 9:15pm they made announcements that the swap meet is now open for those without a badge!

--My biggest dissapointment is: They DID NOT FOLLOWED THEIR OWN RULINGS nor make any changes/announcements to the forum/website that (thursdays) swap meet is a badgless event!
really appreciated if they had the time to add a quick announcement to the rovers at registrations!
--constantly getting harassed by swapmeet rovers since I was exhausted and needed 20 minute break! (we are not selling, we are just taking a break! come on...)

I'm sorry you didn't get the updates but I did update the website (http://2012.fanime.com/2012/05/24/power-outage/) at 7:38pm and the forum (http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,17406.0.html) at 8:25pm. Do you have any ideas on how I could make future at-con announcements more visible?

Perhaps posting to the Fanime Twitter account as well might help?
Title: Re: Swap meet at Fairmont hotel feedback and garage!
Post by: beyourgravity on June 06, 2012, 12:13:57 AM
Quote from: Hachimitsu-ink on June 05, 2012, 01:31:39 PM
--My biggest dissapointment is: They DID NOT FOLLOWED THEIR OWN RULINGS nor make any changes/announcements to the forum/website that (thursdays) swap meet is a badgless event!

Hi, we apologize for the issue you had with the lack of information being disseminated properly. I staff in Programming Ops, we will be working hard to coordinate with the web team, social media, info desk, stage zero, rovers and other relevant departments for Fanime 2013 to ensure that all departments will have the most up to date information as they occur. ^^
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: TifaIA on June 07, 2012, 05:07:40 PM
First time attendee. If it weren't for friends and cosplay hangouts, I probably would not have enjoyed myself. As a whole, the convention was disorganized. Between the cancellations, lack of information for panel/event locations on the website and in the pocket guide, not all events being listed in the guide, it was just a mess. I was lucky to get to one panel during the weekend. On Monday. The last day of the convention. Because that was the only one I could find that was listed and hadn't been cancelled.

If it weren't for friends to help point the way, I would have been lost.

The positives:

Though I couldn't stay up for most of it, the nostalgia room was fantastic. I love the idea and was happy to see support for old school anime.

Smart use of traffic flow in and out of the dealers/artist/gaming rooms.

Staff always seemed attentive and helpful.

Love the integration of the theme into the convention with events.

Lots of respect given to cosplayers and photographers. Fanime to me was very much a cosplay convention. I really like that you have cosplay staff that works with the convention to create a system for photo gatherings without people stepping on one another. (My only suggestion is if we can please keep up the acronym cheat-sheet on the website or forums during the con? Even my friends who have been longtime attendees had no clue what they meant and it was causing a lot of traffic to stop by the info desk with the reg line every time.) I'd love for this tradition to continue.

Big fan of the Artist Alley. I have never seen so many artists in one place before, and it's the first time that I've attended a con and spent more money in AA then in the dealer's room. It was refreshing to see a convention support so many artists. Whatever you have been doing to attract people to buy tables, keep it up.



Negatives:

I won't continue poking the dead horse so I'll make this short. Registration clearly was an issue that you all are aware of and will look into fixing for next year. I can sympathize with the power outage, but a backup should have been in place from the get-go.

Little information in the program guide and pocket guide. As I've stated before, there were panels listed online without times/locations. You went to the pocket guide and they were nowhere to be found. Sure I had a full listing of what's up in the video rooms, but looking up panels was like pulling teeth. I also didn't like that there weren't any paper printouts of the schedule available (or if there were, there were so few that I never saw any). I know it's cool to be green and Earth friendly, but as a new attendee it was frustrating to not know what was going on when. I don't mind asking staff, but I shouldn't have to for everything. I know my friends probably didn't find it enjoyable either, and they were equally as lost about the schedule.

Note: I like the concept of the pocket guide, but it really should have provided more information. Like when the Cosplay Contest begins. Sure doors open at this time, but with the large space available people could opt to go in at the last minute for the "cheap seats" and be happy but didn't know when the show actually began.

I realize that the pocket guide was also online, but half the time it didn't load and again, not all information was listed. The website's layout for panel information pre-con was great. If a time/location had been tacked on that would have been fantastic!

In general, it felt like there was a lack of organization. Excluding the power outage (because you can only plan for so much) and the construction, events and content were never really well publicized. If you hadn't been to Fanime before, you were out of luck.

Overall, it was discouraging for a first time attendee. I was really excited for the convention, but this felt more like a hangout and my badge was pretty much useless. I'd hate to be one of those people who doesn't buy a badge and help support the con, but should I return next year I may consider it.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Admiral Donuts on June 07, 2012, 10:29:34 PM
More signage. there needs to be an entire department dedicated to signage.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kookiekween99 on June 08, 2012, 10:13:14 AM
I'm not sure what you guys are planning to do with the expansion in 2014 and beyond, but I just wanted to throw my two cents in.

According to SanJose.org (http://www.sanjose.org/content/san-jose-convention-center-expansion-and-renovation-opening-fall-2013), the new ballroom has ~35,000 square feet of space. From the same website (http://www.sanjose.org/plan-a-meeting-event/venues/parkside-hall), I found that Parkside Hall has ~30,000 square feet of space. So it would be totally feasable to move Black and White Ball in there.

Another idea is to move Swap Meet in there. I'd prefer having it inside the convention center rather than having to walk to the Fairmont.

Or you might be able to do both. Have Swap Meet Thursday and Friday, then spend Saturday redecorating for Sunday's B+W Ball.

Just some suggestions from a fan. :)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Yuu on June 08, 2012, 12:24:06 PM
Quote from: Eurobeat King on June 01, 2012, 02:42:10 PM
Quote from: Yuu on June 01, 2012, 02:04:09 PMBad- It's only one but it's a BIG one.

The Masquerade. I usually don't attend but this year I was convinced to do so. I was not convinced that I should ever go again.
The contestants ARE told that this isn't American Idol right? I say 'American" and not 'Japanese" because while I am so very, very, sick of going to see creative skits and costume only to see MOE cosplayer in skimpy outfits murdering my ears with some  high-pitched, grating song and dance,  those ARE at least relevant .

What the fuck was with #28? They didn't  have costumes. Of ANY kind. The song didn't have anything with anime. NONE of it had anything to do with anything really.

I'm still reminded of FanimeCon many years ago (i think it was 2000 or 2001) when I was fortunate enough to be able to watch a rehearsal of all the skits before the actual show.  The Masquerade staff called up each group, and let them perform their skit once in-front of little to no audience, to make-sure their audio was in-sync, lighting, etc.  

One group, three guys wearing either T-shirts or bare-chested, did a skit from the anime "Fist of the North Star" but all it was was them punching each other, doing "moves" that Kenshiro does, and instead of blood, they threw confetti into the air.  It was absolutely pointless and boring, and after I saw that I said "why is this even allowed in the Masquerade?"

Well, when the show commenced, and I was dreading that the FOTNS skit would come up, low-and-mf-behold: it was axed!!  ;D

I'm unsure to this day if the guys dropped out at the last minute, or if the Masquerade Staff found the skit to be too plain/boring/idiotic/etc. so they canned it.  Sure, everyone is allowed to sign-up for the Masquerade each year, but having a dress-rehearsal if there's time to let the Masquerade Staff determine if a skit is appropriate or not and disqualify any skit they see fit, would be nice to have.

I recall a couple of years ago when one contestant stood on-stage wearing a Smiley-face mask from "Ghost In The Shell", normal clothes, and held a Zion flag from "Gundam", and just stood there for 3-5 minutes, while the "Mighty Mouse" song was being played.  Just terrible.. (I know Anime Central used to have a big GONG they used to use to get contestants off-stage when they were dragging, they no longer do, but that was one example where the skit needed to end.. and quickly.)  :P

Which brings me to this year's Masquerade.  Being backstage in the photo-area, I saw all the contestants before they went on-stage, but didn't get to see their skits.  One group, entry #6 "Pokemon Men" had 4 guys and 1 girl.  Two of the guys were half-naked, and the one Power Ranger(?) had holes in his costume in certain areas that were quite disturbing.  Once they stood in-front of us photographers, they immediately started doing poses where they grabbed each other, like one guy stood behind the other, and lifted the other's legs.  Just overall pretty distasteful..  

Here's their skit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17_9ipJMEKc



You mean they DON'T have rehearsals for the judges approval? I thought that would have been mandatory.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: OniCourseMusha on June 08, 2012, 03:15:14 PM
Quote from: Jeimizu on June 07, 2012, 10:29:34 PM
More signage. there needs to be an entire department dedicated to signage.
As long it doesn't point people using sign for cosplay purposes such as myself (see Brain Age cosplay).
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Stormfalcon on June 08, 2012, 07:25:19 PM
I'm not going to rehash what's already been commented on before.  I think everyone gets the point that the pre-reg situation needs a lot of work at this point, with the con being much bigger than it has been over the years.

What I would like to raise up is the arrangements for storing people's belongings on the last day of the con.  It's an interesting idea having it taken out of the hands of the hotels and centralizing it in the convention center itself (though I suppose the folks at the Hilton were probably less happy about the location than the Marriott folks).  However, it would've been nice to have the closing time pushed back an hour or two.  The way it was this year, staffers in charge of the storage area were telling us that, while they were scheduled to close up at 4, they wanted people to start picking their stuff up at 3.  Doesn't sound too bad, unless you want to go to closing ceremonies/gripe session without having to drag your bags into the room with you.  For me, it was like having to leave Fanime earlier than need be.  Perhaps in the future we can have the hours expanded a little later to accommodate people wanting to hit up closing ceremonies and the gripe session?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Tsukino Sora on June 09, 2012, 11:00:28 PM
Can I start off by saying that I liked registration this year? I'm not sure if they've done this in the previous years because this was my first time going to pick up my pre-reg badge on Friday instead of Thursday, but I really liked how they split the line in two for pre-reg, and at-con-reg, despite the fact that it meant I was separated from my friends and had to entertain myself for 3+ hours while they waited in line (And that was after they hopped the line, which I didn't know they did until after the convention).

Pros:
Mini-schedule in hand-out bag
Splitting the registration into two lines
The dance being in two different rooms

Neutrals:
The speed of the pre-registration line


Cons:
The lines for at-con registration
The lines for panels (We were waiting for our friend to get out of one, and they kept having us move around because there wasn't enough space for their lines)
The line for the dance
The humidity and heat in the Artist's Alley and Dealer's Hall (Two of my friends were on the verge of a heat stroke after walking around for 10 minutes)
The "Yaoi Nazi" in the Dealer's Hall
The non-inclusion of males for the Maid Cafe (Yes, I know it is a "Maid" Cafe, but I feel like Fanime is discriminating against us guys)
Not enough notice for changes

As with most everyone, I got the feeling that this Fanime was the most unorganized. Now, that being said, I'm not going to complain without doing anything, so I'm going to offer my help this year. I just don't know which department helps organize everything... :/
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: TheMaKaKi on June 10, 2012, 12:43:38 AM
Quote from: Tsukino Sora on June 09, 2012, 11:00:28 PM
As with most everyone, I got the feeling that this Fanime was the most unorganized. Now, that being said, I'm not going to complain without doing anything, so I'm going to offer my help this year. I just don't know which department helps organize everything... :/

Check this thread out!

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,17555.0.html

Rovers and Con-Ops always need good people on the Staff :) We love them! Registration might recruit later as well. We will probably start later but please keep it in mind! Thanks for offering :D

Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Alexie828 on June 10, 2012, 04:57:37 PM
I cannot say much in terms of Fanime overall since I was in Artist Alley, full time, for all 4 days. However, I do have a few words to chime in~

Pros:
-Artist Alley: The AA team was absolutely superb this year! Sign ups were quick, efficient, and there were no massive site crash like last year. The team was prompt with answers to questions. Check in was simple and fast, and everyone seemed to know what to do. Bravo, Artist Alley Team! 
-I'm not sure if the Artist Alley was better ventilated this year, of if it was because I was closer to the entrance, but I thought it was easier to sit there comfortably and not sweat a bucket's worth of my body's water for a whole day.
-What's up with all the talented artists this year? I seriously regret not giving myself more than 45 minutes to go through the whole alley this year! ;A;
-It was a might pity that I was not able to attend, but I heard the Black and White ball was fantastic this year, with more space for more people to attend. People seemed to enjoy the new location a lot better. I heard the Tuxedo Mask dance instructor was a huge hit. xD
-I was lucky enough to not have any problems with my registration. Good thing too, since I was in charge of 24 badges. I was pleased to see that all of my badges were grouped together, and not scattered throughout so the people working at badge-pickup didn't have to go through each pile of badges to find mine. I'm not sure if this was the case last year, but it was very nice.

Con:
-Timeliness: I feel like Fanime 2012 was just running late on a lot of things this year. Events, guests, panels, etc etc. Hopefully everything won't be as last minute next year. I understand this was probably in part to the Chair team being new. 
-Organization: I understand organization was weak this year because the Chair team was completely new, so I'll let you guys slide on the issues this year. Running a con as huge as Fanime, especially since it just got a whole lot bigger this year, is no simple feat. I hope all the feedback given so far serves the Chair team well for next year. To sum it up: The team should be able to anticipate technical failures with the pre-registration black-out and figure out what to do in case of an emergency like that would be ideal. Also, it would have been really nice if the website had a better explanation of the issue with many Day 0 people not receiving their badges due to the massive delay from the blackout, so that all those people had to get their badges on Day 1. If I had known, I would have had club members who had gone early to the con to stand in line so that when I got there, I wouldn't have to wait 2 hours to get my 24 badges for my club. A fair warning about the lines would have been nice, although I suspect the reason fro not saying so was because of the bad publicity?
-Cosplay Gatherings: It seemed like they were running last minute on a lot of the prep this year, like with many parts of the con. Online organization of the gatherings was relatively smooth, and even at con, my questions were answered easily. However, my KHR gathering was held at the Mariott side, but the gatherings table sent all my cosplayers to the HILTON side. I was wondering why no one was showing up until about 15 minutes after when about 20 people showed up telling me that they were sent to the wrong side. I dont' know what happened, but I was rather displeased by this. I hope this was just a slip-up that won't happen again.
-Communication: I think overall communication was the problem. Many of the rovers gave different answers to questions or did not seem to know what they were doing. Volunteers or not, it doesn't help anyone if they're giving inaccurate assistance. A lot of workers there were having problems helping con-goers because it seemed like they have no idea what to do, which can be helped by better communication, or at least more clear instructions before they start their jobs. Also, my friend and I were the unfortunate people that had a kid vomit his breakfast all over the floor in front of our tables. They at least got a rover to stand guard over it to ensure con-goers were not stepping in it, but the janitor did not arrive for THIRTY minutes. It was absolutely disgusting to have that mess in front of our tables for half an hour. I hope that next year, janitor services would come more quickly and promptly. There are thousands of people walking around, and I'm sure seeing a pile of vomit is not something they want to remember from their weekend.
-Mariott: I will go back next year because of the cheap price, close proximity to the con, and excellent room. However, the elevators, as mentioned, were horrible. I think one of the major issues was that people tried to cram TOO many into one elevator at a time, so the elevators were breaking down. My friends were stuck in one for 10 minutes with 8 other people. That was lucky for them. The next day, that same elevator was stuck for an hour with 14 people in it. Mariott should have the elevators checked before a major convention to ensure that they are in working condition, and they should post some kind of sign to indicate maximum capacity, because people just cram themselves in there like there was no tomorrow. I did take the stairs more than I took the elevator, but walking up to the 20th floor, not once, but THRICE, was not pleasant. Nor was coming down from there with heavy luggage. TWICE.
This is not to the con staff, but the con-goers on the lower floors taking elevators. I never exercise or even get out of a seat for more than a couple minutes a day. If I can go up 40 flights of stairs, I'm sure most of you, if you don't have some problem with your legs, lungs, or heart or carrying heavy luggage, are more than capable of going up to the 5th or 7th floor on your legs. So I beg you, please just take the stairs if there are a lot of people waiting for the elevator. Poor saps on high floors are just as tired as you are and really need the elevator. The wait time for taking the stairs is shorter than the elevator. It was proven by my friend.
Otherwise, I really like the Mariott.

I think that's all I really have to say. It was good overall, and my friends and I are all expecting to return next year. :)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Amoirsp on June 10, 2012, 05:14:54 PM
Quote from: OniCourseMusha on June 04, 2012, 12:17:05 AM
I hope you can still come back and you're welcome to come to me and have a great conversation so we can have a better understanding about the situation in a friendly matter.  I feel you when policies gets very complicated to follow that can limit our freedom of choices and what we want to play that can ruin our experience.  Policies will always change every year.  We will review this.  Thanks for the very detailed feedback.

Since the purpose of the feedback is to provide constructive criticism on cons and continue to do pros and other improvements, I'm interested in this.

See you next year.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Amanojaku on June 11, 2012, 07:47:08 PM
Quote from: mDuo13 on May 30, 2012, 02:10:45 AM
* Igaguri Chiba was a disappointing guest; nobody at his panel seemed to know anything about him, and his performance lacked the punch of a real headliner. It was more of a gag than a real concert.
This remark indicates to me that the one unfamiliar with Igaguri Chiba is you, and not those who attended his panel.  Myself and others around me knew exactly who he was, and asked relevant questions.  I was at both panels.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Rubica on June 12, 2012, 04:08:32 PM
I want to enter in the Masquerade next year, but the rules and categories are very confusing and convoluted. At other cons I'm used to a more straightforward Novice, Journeyman and Master categories and then first, second etc in each for both craftsmanship then Performance. I'm not saying Fanime should copy these rules exactly but the rules about individual versus group and designer awards seems really strange. The way I read is is that a person who made 3 costumes can win a design award, but not a more prestigious Individual craftsman award? I like the advanced versus non-advanced categories but everything beyond that is baffling.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: dancingpenguin on June 13, 2012, 04:03:08 PM
Pros:

Swap Meet: What a way to kick off Fanime and it's at The Fairmont too! :D Anyways, I loved it this year, so many good stuff and the price was totally worth it. My only small problem is that my boyfriend and I were waiting around in front of where the Swap Meet was going to be at (along with other people) until a rover tells us that there is a line for the Swap Meet. My boyfriend and I (along with the other people sitting around) were just annoyed that they told us this, LAST MINUTE. So we got in line and the Swap Meet was almost delayed for another 30 minutes but thankfully we only had to wait 10 minutes in line. Next time there's a "line" we need to be in, please let the rovers know so that way they can direct us to said line instead of saying it at the very last minute.

Pocket Schedule:Thank goodness for this! I'm glad you brought this back! But next time, can you please be a bit clearer with where certain events are such as the Guests of Honor Autographs.

Video Room: I loved the animes and movies that were playing this year! Sailor Mooon, Bleach, Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0, Hetalia, Durarara, etc. It was nice sitting in there and taking a break from walking around. :D  My only complaint is that while watching Bleach, these guys were being so loud and insensitive that I was starting to not enjoy the show. Also, with some of the people in charge of the set up they could've at least skipped the opening and ending songs because it gets repetitive and slightly annoying when you have to keep hearing and seeing the OP and ending again and again.

Artist Alley: So many good artist this year that I kept coming back for more and more!  :)

Dealers Hall: My experience with Dealers Hall was better than last year, the vendors this year were just as energetic as I was and were fun to converse.

Neutral:

Rovers: My experience with rovers this year was not as bad as last year, but some of them were still rude while I'm asking a simple question. Although, my boyfriend and I witnessed a rover taking away a badge, and we're just wondering if rovers actually have the power to do that or was that abuse of their "power."

Guest of Honors: As much as I enjoyed David and Mai, compared to this year the Guests didn't seem to catch the attention of many people. When I saw that SacAnime was going to have Johnny yong Bosch, Michelle Ruff, etc. My heart sank a bit because I wondered how come FanimeCon doesn't have guests like SacAnime. And overall, these Guests of Honors seemed like a last minute pick. :(

Pre-registration: I know there was a lot of technical difficulties, but I was so surprised at how the pre-reg date was up, usually it's always up around the fall time, but this year, it wasn't up till winter. I'm glad I got to order it, but still, please try to have it up earlier.

Cons:

Lines: By the end of the Con, I was highly annoyed with lines. Too many lines. I know you guys are trying to keep things organized but it's obvious to see the disorganization. Please... LESS LINES NEXT YEAR.

Registration: Thankfully, I missed the power outage, and I got there early enough to get mine and my boyfriend's badge within an hour; however, I honestly do feel that, for those who pre-ordered shouldn't have to wait in line, you guys should just mail them out instead. Waiting in line for many hours gets tiring and it gets really stuffy in there to the point where the B.O. just fills up the area.


Overall, I still had fun, but please Fanime, make 2013 AWESOME and fix all of the problems we had this year! Also, try to be more organized and announce things earlier and please bring in some of the guests that we've been asking or else what is the point of having a forum of guests that we want to see and don't see the people we want to see.

Thank you.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Yuu on June 13, 2012, 04:49:22 PM

Oh my post was deleted. But I think it was constructive, it made it very clear my feelings on how strongly. Fanime > Sakuracon. And most other cons that I have been to. As long as i got say so I'm happy.

I do want to give my two cents on the reg line. I was very impressed with how the situation was handled.

Even with the issues which were beyond their control they handled it far better than a..ehem.. certain other con  where the lines are 7 hrs long due to sheer stupidly and no unforeseen acts of God/Nature

There was nothing they could have done about the power outage.

Could they have done something about being two hours late? Probably.

However in the end they more than made up for it by competence and efficiency. When I got inline I started  more than a block away. It was maybe a half an hour before I was inside.

And best of all, when I got inside my friend took over for me  because we did group reg.

No it, was not perfect. But just consider how much worse it could have been if not for the experience of the staff and the Godsend that is group-reg.

I see no reason to give the staff any crap about it.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Dagger-6 on June 15, 2012, 05:32:20 AM
QuoteRovers: My experience with rovers this year was not as bad as last year, but some of them were still rude while I'm asking a simple question. Although, my boyfriend and I witnessed a rover taking away a badge, and we're just wondering if rovers actually have the power to do that or was that abuse of their "power."

Rovers do not pull badges.  If a situation warrants a badge pulling, a second or head of the Rover department should be on hand to address the situation first, and ultimately the badge pull would need to be approved by Wolfgang.  If a Rover at any time threatens to pull a badge, Rover staff needs to be notified so we can deal with them appropriately.

If you can better describe the situation, time, and person we will do our best to look into the matter.

All Rovers are authorized to confiscate fake badges.

We'll continue to try to implement better ways to encourage our Rovers to be good customer service faces for Fanime.  A good attitude is something we stress, and it is considered just as important as sound judgement when deciding who to retain for next year's staff.

Dani
Rover Shift Lead
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: xenzii on June 16, 2012, 03:32:15 AM
Pros:
LOTS of people this year! Very friendly people as usual that let me take ridiculous pictures with them :)
Loved how even though on Monday people usually start to pack up and leave, there was still sooo many people around! And really awesome cosplays! :D

Cons:
Registration. Everyone has stressed about it. I heard about the black out but I came in on Saturday and my only issue was that even though I was group leader, each person had to have their ID in order to get the badge.
Just. why. Even my younger cousin had to show her ID, and she was only 11! Luckily she had a student ID on her though.

Organization? I feel like things were very rushed this year. Like their website and the hotels. Usually hotels open around Jan-Feb but this year it was pretty late and we ended up with the Hyatt (Which....was OK. Could've been better, could've been worse!)

Other than that I still love going to Fanime and had a good time.
For some reason I was really tired this year and I felt like a lot of money got put into it lol but it's fine. It was enjoyable as always!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: oagjia on June 19, 2012, 01:30:43 PM
Being that this was my very first convention (yay pooped my con cherry  ;D)  I felt that they did not make it clear enough where people should go to for their badges.  I registered in Feb, and than I waited over 3 and a half hours to find out that I was in the line for people had not even registered, and than after that I was sent to the back of another line where i waited 2 hours and than registration closed down. 
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Kaylyn on June 22, 2012, 07:14:41 PM
It'd be great if there was a map of the Dealer Hall and Artist Alley with the names of vendors and artists on them with the table. Just in case people are trying to remember their names and where they are. It would be incredibly useful if we got that every year, I'm trying to find the name of a booth but I just can't remember!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: furufeisu on June 25, 2012, 09:43:39 PM
It was my first time attending fanime con, and I enjoyed it. Any issues i had were not with the con, but with some people who attended which of course is no ones fault. Over all I enjoyed it and thank you for bringing Chiba <3
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: taki on July 05, 2012, 11:10:57 AM
Ah Fanime was pretty good for me I went to the swap meet which was pleasant and the first time I ever attended it, this year the only con was the registration line I never remembered waiting that long before unless my memory jumbled. Also not too sure where to post this but I had commissioned a digital piece from an artist at the artist alley this year, she even has my phone number and email and yet she hasn't contacted me at all. I desperately did try finding her deviant art and tumblr, but I keep finding her friends who just gives me her email-so I emailed her back and no answer yet. Even contacted her tumblr but it looks like she's not active there. I don't want to leave a bad report of her cause she did show me progress and  :-[ was nice.
I found a picture of her table, http://www.flickr.com/photos/59668498@N03/7301957364/sizes/l/in/photostream/ I think she shared it with her friend but all I remember is she sold a reimu print.
Her table was on the left side which looks like where the ao no exorcist, KH print if you look closely. Sorry if this is the wrong place to post it!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Glitch on July 18, 2012, 11:49:45 AM
I've always enjoyed hentai night, but people really need to be notified not to take it seriously. Like a staff member making that announcement right before people enter. We've had a few years where people would "ssh" people around them because they are trying to "pay attention". This year, somebody actually turned around and told my friend "shut the f*** up!". For goodness sake, you watching porn!
So yeah. You'd think it would be obvious to laugh during this event but some people are just that dense.
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ewu on July 19, 2012, 09:39:16 PM
thanks for the feedback, can we keep it to that and leave conversation to other areas. thanks!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: ministrychick77 on November 26, 2012, 03:14:16 AM
first off... this was my first big con, and overall i had a great time!!

pros
- lots of awesome cosplayers.. i even got a pic with D. Piddy!!
- watching the marvel vs dc cosplay gathering. lots of fun...
- amv hell.. omg this was awesome!! i now own all of them
- gaming room. everything about this.
- hentai night. found some rather interesting stuff, and the hand checks were funny
- clockwork alchemy.. walked around as Gir that day.. mainly got recognized there.  the belly dancing was fun
- quick replies on twitter. driving down late from sacramento. asked if day zero events were badged and got a quick reply. made me very happy
- the 2 volunteers i met wearing wrestling shirts (one with the daniel bryan 'yes' shirt and the other guy who wore the edge shirt and the zach ryder shirt).. thanks for letting me take your pics!!


cons
- reg line. i think we only waited about 3-4 hours, but the group around us were rather friendly. plus i got pics of some cool cosplayers
- the sports cosplay meetup i think on friday or saturday. we only had about 4-5 people. we got our pics taken (can't find where they were posted.. i was the female cm punk) and that was bout it.
- the drunk people. rather annoying.
- no flyers about close food places in pre-reg bags. had to ask around, but thankfully i got good info.
- the swap meet. walked into the smaller room and wandered. got a zim poster for 50 cents.. went to get into the bigger room. line was MASSIVE!! yeah, didn't last there.

overall was fun. only checked out 1 panel (zelda timeline due to 2 friends really being into the game), the amv hell stuff and hentai nights. also the belly dancing lessons (that i had a hard time finding).
lots of delicious foods..
overpacked on food.. lol..

also.. sax dude.. you rocked!! had lots of fun wandering the halls at night.

suggestions:
- maybe have aa & da open later?
- anything for pre-reg. though i do like the plastic badges.
- if a time is changed on something, post on twitter/fb as well?
- less confusing signs for cosplay meetups? that code was confusing.. and posting when they're happening in big areas..
- i heard about some confusion on peace bonding.. maybe clarifying that to everyone might help


congrats to everyone who helped though... totally coming back for 2013!! already know what 2 cosplays i'm doing!!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: DayDreamerNessa on January 10, 2013, 02:53:51 PM
CONS

-SWAP-MEET LOCATION Can you please move it back to the convention center? I didn't go to the swap meet at all, due to the far location away from the convention center.

-registration (sorry i know this is well known) maybe fanime should make up for it this year in some way as an apology? I know tons of people who had 4 day badges including myself who didn't even get use out of all 4 days.

-STAGE ZERO- THE STAGE ITSELF IS NOT GREAT I did a performance on stage zero, and is it possible to have a better quality temporary stage?

-Guests can fanime please get more industry guests that are illustrators or character designer base? It'd be great to have more guests that have a huge part of the characters conception or artists of series in general

-------

GOOD
-MASQUERADE Well-run by Marisa I hope fanime can find just as good of a coordinator as her.

Dealers hall great vendor selection~
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: spycker on January 14, 2013, 09:26:23 PM
PROS: EVERYTHING, I miss the Steampunk works, hope its back again!

CONS: being told I cant bring any sort of airsoft/nerf/water/lights weapon! yet if you take a look at my facebook fanime album, you can clearly see people with them!
shame! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150931615342888.442249.504852887&type=3 (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150931615342888.442249.504852887&type=3)
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: squitwert on January 21, 2013, 07:52:59 PM
Positives:
Dance was a blast!
Hentai room was great.
Events were free

Negatives:
There wasn't much to do.
The smell in some room was just unbearable, there should be some BO awareness.
Rovers at night thought everyone was on drugs or something.
People working the con didn't know anything outside the con. I asked them where I could find a Bank of America and some sort of corner store and they couldn't tell me cause they didn't know. Plus where they were at said info.

Suggestions:
More nightly activities
Helpful staff
Rovers need to take a chill pill
Febreeze or something to get the smell of must out of the air.
Do something about all the sleeping people in the hallway.
Cooler themes

mod edit: dance terminology
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: kookiekween99 on January 21, 2013, 09:24:39 PM
Quote from: squitwert on January 21, 2013, 07:52:59 PM
People working the con didn't know anything outside the con. I asked them where I could find a Bank of America and some sort of corner store and they couldn't tell me cause they didn't know. Plus where they were at said info.

Was this someone at an Info Desk? Or just a random staff member?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Saki Usagishi on January 24, 2013, 03:49:49 AM
First Off Happy 2013!!!
This is going to be a long post about 2012 from me!!! So sorry in advanced! T^T

Positives:
*Really good turn out of cosplays.
*Good use of space during the construction of our convention center and near by areas.
* THANK YOU FOR BRINGING BACK THE POCKET GUIDE!!! That was fantastic! Do it again for 2013!!!
* Liked how the Black and White Ball was in a huge space. Lots of dance room and space to chat.
*Good after hours entertainment.
*Liked the sewing room to fix cosplay, and just to have a breather.

Negatives: ( This where things get detailed! c:)
*Day Zero.....That was just a huge nightmare like always but OH MY GOKU!!! 2012 was the worst ever pre-reg badge pick up. I know it wasn't all Fanime's fault, but it was just unacceptable. The line on Thursday was crazy long like every year, but 2012 you waited even longer because first was system crash and then power outage. Definitely recommend that 2013 they prepare for the worst and maybe make more lines than just one huge long one. (side note: happy that they kept passing the badges to please the masses, and passed out free water bottles to keep us hydrated. Thank you!)

*Music Fest....I can't even describe it because I saw no point in going because it was that bad. You had FLOW for 2 years come and perform!!! FLOW!!!! Me and my husband went to watch the Hatsune Miku Concert near Psycho Donuts to be entertained, and paid $15 each to see it! The Miku people said Fanime didn't want them to perform in concert. I expect Fanime to top itself every year with amazing singers. Fanime has had numerous well known and loved performers in the past, and 2012....it just was unbearable. Bring FLOW back!!! At least they will entertain me, rather than some clown throwing crackers (idk I heard he threw crackers into the audience)

*Locations... A couple of things moved around in 2012. The swap meet was held in the Fairmont which seemed like a bad move because: lots of people didn't know where it was, what room it was located, and the room was very cramped. (There was two guys with a sign to show where but they seemed to mostly goof off and talk and then occasionally yell "swap meet go here!!!") Secong switch was the Black and White Ball. Normally it's held in the Fairmont ,where I stayed, so me and my husband walked the halls all over in out spiffy attire to find it with other couples. We asked everyone and their mother (literally) where the ball was. We used smart phones to call friends and check updates on the website. Finally a friend said it was across the street. The only way you would have found it was by the balloons attached to posts, and sadly lots of people took the balloons. When we left the ball later on we had to direct a lot of couples how to get there. ( side note: One of my friends from a friend couldn't enter because of her shoes. I'd just like to point out we all can't be Cinderellas and make glass slippers appear. SO if you say flats are ok don't suddenly change your mind.) Also another thing I didn't like was how confusing it was to find the coslay gatherings. I had no clue where they were located. I saw a board in the sewing room with times and stuff, but even the operator of that room couldn't help me find the gathering I wanted (lolita tea party?). It was really hit or miss. Which made my husband, the photographer, grumpy because the one gathering he wanted to see he couldn't find at all O_O

Food....I'm glad I never eat at the Con. Heard that food was over $6 a piece. Kinda sad though that they didn't have coupons for near by places like they did in 2011.

Hotels....2012 was mine and my husband's first time staying at a hotel for Fanime because we actually live in San Jose O - O
We wanted to experience the night life rather than going back and forth from families homes and wasting gas. No problems with the hotel really. Just minor miscommunication on check in, but it was ok. The elevator was hell on Monday for everyone I think. One thing that was kinda bad was how the baggage hold line for one of the hotels bleed into the bottom level of the convention. It was terrible being pushed and shoved trying to exit a side door to the street.

ROVERS...Most of them are very polite and helpful, but some of them are just...wow. You would ask them a question and they just wouldn't have any idea in the world. Some of them were real jerks though. I know that badge checking is necessary but if your hurting the person yanking on the badge to forcibly take it out of the sleeve O_O Also I didn't like the weird questioning at the dances. Like: "what's your first name, last name, badge name?", "How many fingers am I holding up?", "2+2=?", and more crazy questions. Not everyone drinks before the dance so I don't think there should be like a makeshift alcohol test with random questions. Just card people like hentai nights, and take away their food and liquids.

Artist Alley... There was good artists there, but it wasn't as great as years before. I remember seeing a couple of empty tables there. I talked to the amazing Jeff Thomas, creator of Pon and Zi, and he said he was super lucky he got a table! His stuff is famous!!!! I just think it could of had more artists. I even seen some people sitting on the floor near walls trying to sell their artwork because they weren't able to get a table.

Timing....I found myself trying to kill time a lot during Fanime 2012. I had to wait usually a couple hours for a panel or video room I wanted to see. Then on the other hand I was literally torn between choosing which to miss to do something else. I do recommend that autograph sessions be schedule like an hour or 2 after the Guests panel because I know I would want to hear what they say, but then go wait I want to get them to sign my book too!!!!

Just some last thoughts to sum up 2012.

2012 was good, but to me it just wasn't great. It wasn't on par with the previous years. It felt like it just wasn't organized right. Things were really late all around. I wish that they had more well known guests and more descriptions of their work. The music has to be higher grade artists again. FanimeCon is known for being one of the largest anime conventions, and it needs to own up to that title. If it doesn't step up it's game it will loose con goers to AX, or even dare I say it SacAnime.(Never been to either but AX is supposed to be the best, besides Fanime, and SacAnime is starting to get bigger) I really want 2013 to be the best, and know you all do to! Me and my husband even say 10 years down the road we want to take our kids there to enjoy it together >3<
So keep making it better!!! <3


Mod edit: dance terminology
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: chifunii on January 24, 2013, 08:08:32 PM
Quote from: SOawesomeness on May 30, 2012, 05:31:47 PM
Quote from: chifunii on May 30, 2012, 05:28:38 PM
Oh yes, though this is probably very trivial in comparison to the other feedback that's been left thus far, I was wondering if this would be possible for next year:
oh i was not aware of this. This is actually pretty important to me as well for you guys to have. Ill make a note of it and hopefully The system will have it implemented next year.

I'm wondering, now that registration is up, will something like this be implemented this year...?
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: maria534 on January 24, 2013, 09:22:36 PM
ok i know my feedback is a tad late lol but i just want to say my experince of fanime 2012 was good.  Got to see a lot more cosplayers and love going into the dealers room! the only thing that i would have to say is that musicfest was a great let down, i would have guess you guys would have someone who was well know to the anime/jpop comunity like someone like FLOW and yuya but overall i had a great time and im excited to come to this year! ;D 
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: SOawesomeness on January 25, 2013, 05:37:06 PM
Quote from: chifunii on January 24, 2013, 08:08:32 PM
I'm wondering, now that registration is up, will something like this be implemented this year...?
Ewu reminded me of this last night. I'll work on this, but it's on my radar! Thanks for the reminder. ^______^
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: Zero on February 25, 2013, 08:05:32 PM
Well this review is late, and I'm not going into detail with topics that were already brought up.

Pro's

Con's

So overall this con seemed OK, but compared to 2011 it was certainly a step backward :(. However, I will be attending Fanime 2013!
Title: Re: FanimeCon 2012 Feedback
Post by: GokuMew2 on March 06, 2013, 06:25:04 AM
Quote from: Zero on February 25, 2013, 08:05:32 PM2) They said that items for the artists that couldn't make it would be available to buy at the con, only problem no one knew where? I ended up finding out on Monday were it was and by that time it was to late.

I know a lot of people have said that they didn't know where goods were being sold, but after the video messages were shown at the beginning, the MC told everyone (twice) where goods for those people could be bought. Or did you miss the beginning of MusicFest?