The Weekend that Was

[eurydicebound]

So, I went to A-Kon. Thought I couldn't go at the last minute, but then my friends offered to feed me and put me up, so it all worked out.

Gaming Cons are NOT the same as Anime Cons.

This is probably not a news flash to anyone but me, but it bore mentioning. It's a wholly different feel, different crowd, and different purpose. Very odd, but very cool. Though I'm naught more than a casual anime viewer, I'm already making plans to attend next year. It has sucked me in entirely. Of course, the downside is that I got very little sleep, also worked the con, and ended up standing up wilthoughts entirely. I didn't even remember we'd made plans to meet until I was driving home on Monday. We're planning a public grovel sometime in the future so I can make up for it.

I got to sit on some panels on writing, and that was very cool. Much higher turn out than at the gaming cons I go to. Got compliments on the panels and advice and such, and people asked me to sign books! I was all abashed and stuff over it. I managed not to feel like I was signing someone's high school yearbook. It was good.

And can I just say how good it felt to be able to socialize with my friends again? I've effectively been living in a hole down here for so long that I'd forgotten what it was like to have people you could just hang out with. At one point, me and two other girls who were there went down to the bar to get a drink and sit and just chat for a while with other women. It was amazing. I haven't been able to do anything like that for years.

In other news, David has upwards of 150 resumes out to date, but nothing in the way of responses yet. We all got haircuts yesterday (YAY haircuts!) and I managed to get some new sandals to replace the ones that had fallen apart. They even have a bit of a heel, which feels frighteningly daring. I've really got to get out more.

Comments

[themoocow.livejournal.com]

Hair cuts are for the weak.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Or the excessively shaggy.

[metallian.livejournal.com]

This is probably not a news flash to anyone but me, but it bore mentioning. It's a wholly different feel, different crowd, and different purpose. Very odd, but very cool.

As a fellow gamer-but-casual-anime-viewer, I am intrigued. Care to elaborate?

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Sure. Now, this is probably not as great a divide at the smaller gaming convention level as it is at the Origins/GenCon level, but it seems to me it's still there.

At gaming conventions, there are two main drives for attendance: buying stuff (less so at the smaller ones) and gaming. Mostly gaming. At anime cons, the drives for attendance are a) finding out more about anime, b) seeing more anime, and c) partying and celebrating anime, whether through cosplay, J-pop, fan fiction discussions, buying manga and DVDs, etc.

Gleaning this wholly from my experiences, it seems that the anime-con attendees are more diverse (in age, gender, ethnic background, and sexuality), more willing to publically embrace that diversity, more socially inclined (I sat in on a GREAT panel entitled "Sex in Fancom" that discussed the finer points of social cues, getting laid, and what not, specifically at conventions), and really less inhibited about the stuff they love.

Their hobby/obsession invites participation, though costuming, writing, film, music, general discussion, art, etc. Game conventions seem more focused: they're about gaming, but in a very consumer-oriented way. It's all about what's coming out, how you play with it, what are these companies doing, etc. It's rarely about new stuff the fans are doing with the game, new art they're drawing for it, new costumes they've made to dress up like a character in the game, new adventures they're writing, etc. Part of this is undoutedly because it's a lot harder to get a grasp on something so nebulous as opposed to the art-based visual medium of anime, but it's there nonetheless.

I mean, the panel selection is a good example of the differences. They had life drawing workshops, media arts workshops, writing workshops, stuff on getting professionally published and working with editors, voice acting workshops, etc. All very much participation-oriented. I sat on two writing/editing panels, one about the game industry specifically, one about just general writing life habits. Both were far better attended than any similar panel I've been to at Origins or GenCon. The rooms were roughly 75% full for both, if not more.

Another example: A-Kon had an arcade brought in. I don't even want to think about how much money the DDR machines alone brought in. They had a whole section set up for Lazer Tag. They have a whole computer gaming center as well, but I don't think it got nearly as much play as the video games and Lazer Tag did. They had more traditional gaming areas too, but most people wanted to get out and actively do stuff. The LARPS were very well attended, probably more than the regular gaming from appearances.

Also, while there were a few non-bathers, the number of people exhibiting less-than-welcoming hygiene were pretty few. Con Stank was only really present in the elevators, which were terribly overworked (typically with 12-14 people in one at any given time) and had no climate control or ventilation inside them. Most of the con attendees I saw (and had to ride in an elevator with) were within a healthy weight range and took care with their appearance, even if they weren't cosplaying. I mean, picture trying to fit 12-14 of your average gaming-con attendees into an average size elevator, for one. It'd be a rare thing.

[metallian.livejournal.com]

Wow! That sounds interesting, and thanks for the detailed reply! You should make that into its own entry so everyone will see it (and so it will be included in any LJ backups you may make).

Now I'm all intrigued, though I don't know how much participating I'd do at such a con, given that I don't have room for many more hobbies. Then again, you had fun without being a mega-otaku, so I'd probably have fun, too.