My Pros and Cons of the...Con!

[Cecil]

I liked the overall atmosphere of the con. It seemed everyone was generally having a good time, which is the most important thing. Here were a few of my observations though that could definitely be improved for upcoming years:

- Guest panels opposite the cosplay contest. The cosplay contest is, for a lot of people at least, the capstone event for any convention. When I checked the schedule this year, I noticed that a guest panel for Chris Cason and Monica Rial was scheduled directly opposite the cosplay contest. Now, I can understand having panels and other events opposite the cosplay contest for other things to do because not everyone goes, but I wouldn't schedule a guest panel opposite this event because the con spends good money flying these people in and you definitely want to have the most people you can attend these panels when possible while not conflicting with other major events.

- Cosplay intermission took way to long. Between the character auction and amv contest winners showing, in my opinion at least, it took way to long to announce the winners after the masquerade was over. By the time the convention staff was ready to hand out awards, well over 2/3rds of the room had left to go do other things so few people got to actually see who won. And when the winners were announced, they were nowhere near the stage so it took them a good while to get back to accept their awards. Definitely might not be a bad idea to have people who participate in the masquerade to be positioned closer to it when awards are ready to be handed out.

- Cosplay contest seemed a little unbalanced. There were several entries, in my opinion at least, that were in the beginner category that probably could have been in intermediate or advanced and vice versa. Now, I didn't exactly look at the specific cosplay rules and to what criteria were used to judge this, but there were definitely some amazing looking cosplays in the beginner category that just based on look and design, could have been better served in the advanced categories.

- What do you get for a bid at the character auction? I know it was announced previously on the con site before the convention, but there was no mention in the program guide or before or during the auction itself as to what a winning bidder actually got by bidding on someone. There were definitely a lot of minors in the room, but it couldn't have hurt for the 18+ people that were in attendance to know exactly what they were going to get if they bid and won someone. A lot of people might not have known you get a date to the rave and what not.

- Technical and sound issues. I know it's not easy putting together a main programming that size, but there were several sound issues including no or quiet audio for music, no or low microphone volume, and wrong stuff being played during intermission.

- Minimal signage to main programming. One thing I noticed with the con being so spread out was it wasn't very easy to locate main programming. Outside of one sign by an escalator that wasn't overly easy to spot, I didn't see very much in the way of pointing the way to main programming. A few more signs pointing the way definitely wouldn't have hurt.

- Some security staff should be a bit more tactful. It seemed that there were at least a few security staffers who definitely should have been a bit more cordial to the con goers when it came to checking badges. I understand they have a job to do, but it almost seemed like they were taking things WAY to seriously and being borderline rude to people coming into areas like the rave. I know it's not easy to deal with a lot of hyper teenagers, but showing a bit of restraint and cordiality to them when checking badges could have gone a long way imo to improving attendee/staff relations.

Overall, AMKE was a good weekend. There was a lot to like. The VGR, arcade, and table gaming rooms were well put together imo. There is definite room for improvement for any con though, and for the first time in being in a hotel and away from the UWM campus, the con staff put on a very large event and worked as hard as they could putting on a con that everyone could enjoy. I don't fault con staff for things like elevator crowding and hotel issues. For any con of this size, theres always going to be problems in that regard that are beyond control of convention staff.

[Kokoro]

Ah! I forgot. About the game room. Now, the coats you could put at the coat check, but the bags? WHEEEERE? What about purses? I don't wanna leave my purse (or bag of merchandise) somewhere just to play a game. Makes me feel soooo not safe. Also, where were we expected to put the bags? I was wondering why this rule existed - were people stealing from the game room? So I only went into the game room once (before they put up a "no coats or bag" sign).

[ProfessorPher]

To add to what Cecil said:

I did indeed contact your panel head about the cosplay contest vs guest thing. I understand it caused some less than satisfactory opinions of me, for which I apologize. But I don't think it's ever a wise decision to put rather high-demand guests, whom I imagine got paid to come to the con, against a really popular event like the cosplay contest.

I really liked the new location. Any time a con is located at a hotel is bound to be a good time. Karaoke was a blast, as were some of the gaming events.

I would suggest that in the future, the vendors/artists maaaaybe be divided up a little better. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was who.


I do plan on attending next year, because the staff really did a fantastic job with the huge space
that was available. I think next year will be the year you guys have it locked down and I foresee
an absolutely awesome con.

EDIT: One other thing- I had a problem with the fact that the hentai vendor was the first vendor to the right of the door and he was able to peddle his wares uncovered. If it's a family-friendly con, he should really cover it up. I don't have a problem with the presence of such merchandise, as I'm all for buying whatever you please, but it shouldn't be out for children to see.

[Kokoro]

Whaaat? There was a hentai vendor? Or just a vendor WITH hentai merchandise, among other things? I agree that it should be somewhat covered up in an "adults only" section of his/her table, but I didn't see it personally.

[earthia]

The vendor to the right of the door had Hentai, but it was against the wall. Not saying it wasn't very visable.

I have a question to staff: Was the coat check a hotel policy? Because that was a slight annoyance and because of it my group wasn't motivated to go to the dance or video game room, which is a shame, because they looked fun. Just not fun enough to wait in a long line to check stuff for.

[Kokoro]

Oh, the guy with all the videos?

I know my favorite vendor, Cartoon Passion, had those sexy bed sheets hanging up. Haha. But at least the women on them were clothed.

[Minami_Kaome]

Ah! I forgot. About the game room. Now, the coats you could put at the coat check, but the bags? WHEEEERE? What about purses? I don't wanna leave my purse (or bag of merchandise) somewhere just to play a game. Makes me feel soooo not safe. Also, where were we expected to put the bags? I was wondering why this rule existed - were people stealing from the game room? So I only went into the game room once (before they put up a "no coats or bag" sign).

Let me clarify this as one of the ones who were volunteering with the video game. The rule of coat checks was not put in place by due to theft, we did not have any. We were only following the protocol that Milwaukee put in their program books for the whole con.

[Kokoro]

The coat check I didn't really have a problem with. Didn't want to lug it around anyway. But the bag check?! That's a big N-O. I am NOT putting my bags of merchandise and purse containing my wallet (with credit card), cell phone, etc in the hands of anyone but myself. Totally not safe. And again, where were we expected to put it? I didn't have a room at the Hyatt. The rule of no bags prevented me from entering the game room and the rave.

[orion]

Cons

- The low volume of the movies/shows playing in the video rooms. It was so hard to hear, even in the front rows.

A sound check was performed every day for both rooms and I checked back often thru out the day and night and could hear the videos from the door. If there was a volume issue, then the people with the issues could have told the room operators to increase the volume.

However, since the barrier between the rooms wasn't sound proof, there is a limit as to how far the volume is able to be turned up. At times, sound from Gilpatrick A was able to be heard in Gilpatrick BC by me. It wasn't at a level that disturbed viewers in Gilpatrick BC.

- Don't talk while people are trying to watch a show or movie! This was a major problem for me. The volume was already low, and I often couldn't hear it over people making what they thought were funny, sarcastic comments. No one came to hear your so-called "wit." If you wanna talk, leave the room.

That was an issue in Gilpatrick A. I am sorry that you had a less than desirable viewing experience. I did encourage the other viewers to be quiet when I went thru my rounds. We will try not to let it happen again.

[Kokoro]

I believe the sound was already as high as they would turn it up. I was in the second row and had to strain to hear every word, and my hearing isn't bad.