Thinking about an OEL VN convention
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Thinking about an OEL VN convention
I've been thinking about this since reading another thread. Can't remember which one, but a handful of people mentioned interest in an OEL VN convention.
Recently, I've gone around researching what it would take to host an event. Unfortunately, it is kind of hard without a rough headcount, so please answer the poll.
I live in the Washington DC metro area, so there are three major airports in the area and plenty of hotels. The problem is, this area isn't cheap and there aren't any cheap hotels with meeting rooms. I have an eye on an older hotel nearby and that is close to the airport, so car rental wouldn't be necessary. I have no idea what the event prices are, once again headcount needed, but they do have smaller meeting rooms. No way in hell I am renting a banquet for a handful of people.
Still, the other problem is what would we do? I mean, there is the meet and greet, but there has to be something else. I certainly don't want people to come and sit in a meeting room quietly staring at each other. I can imagine everyone staring at me and I'd be drumming my fingers saying, "So we're here... uh yeah... um... so..."
Maybe special guest speakers, but then who? The only people I can think of is that guy from Hirameki and Peter Payne, but then they from the translation community, so maybe we wouldn't want them. Maybe US manga artists, but then why?
The only other idea is have people from the community present something. Any volunteers? I can always present my paper titled "Fanservice: What it is and why the world needs it more than ever."
As for the cost, well, like I've said this area isn't cheap. Plane tickets aren't too bad, if you get them ahead of time. Hotel rooms here range from $100 - $200 a night. Cab probably costs $20 to the hotel. Some kind of carpool can be arranged to offset that. Then there is the actual convention cost, but I would charge everyone at-cost. I have no intention of making a profit from this.
Also, I realize a good chunk of the community doesn't live in the US. I would love to have it in Europe or Asia, but it's beyond my ability (and budget) to plan such a thing.
Finally, there is the ultimate question. Is there any actual benefit to such an event? Is it really any different from what is happening here now on this forum?
Recently, I've gone around researching what it would take to host an event. Unfortunately, it is kind of hard without a rough headcount, so please answer the poll.
I live in the Washington DC metro area, so there are three major airports in the area and plenty of hotels. The problem is, this area isn't cheap and there aren't any cheap hotels with meeting rooms. I have an eye on an older hotel nearby and that is close to the airport, so car rental wouldn't be necessary. I have no idea what the event prices are, once again headcount needed, but they do have smaller meeting rooms. No way in hell I am renting a banquet for a handful of people.
Still, the other problem is what would we do? I mean, there is the meet and greet, but there has to be something else. I certainly don't want people to come and sit in a meeting room quietly staring at each other. I can imagine everyone staring at me and I'd be drumming my fingers saying, "So we're here... uh yeah... um... so..."
Maybe special guest speakers, but then who? The only people I can think of is that guy from Hirameki and Peter Payne, but then they from the translation community, so maybe we wouldn't want them. Maybe US manga artists, but then why?
The only other idea is have people from the community present something. Any volunteers? I can always present my paper titled "Fanservice: What it is and why the world needs it more than ever."
As for the cost, well, like I've said this area isn't cheap. Plane tickets aren't too bad, if you get them ahead of time. Hotel rooms here range from $100 - $200 a night. Cab probably costs $20 to the hotel. Some kind of carpool can be arranged to offset that. Then there is the actual convention cost, but I would charge everyone at-cost. I have no intention of making a profit from this.
Also, I realize a good chunk of the community doesn't live in the US. I would love to have it in Europe or Asia, but it's beyond my ability (and budget) to plan such a thing.
Finally, there is the ultimate question. Is there any actual benefit to such an event? Is it really any different from what is happening here now on this forum?
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Never been to a convention before and I live halfway around the other side of the globe from the U.S. so I couldn't go even if I wanted to.
I think a good idea for a convention would be to schedule each OELVN with its fair share in the spotlight. You could have a big screen where the VN is allowed to auto-advance if it's a kinetic novel or someone to operate the pc to follow a set path (the true or best ending path) if it's a branching VN and this would be followed by an open forum where everyone is allowed to voice out their own opinion and give their critique on the particular VN and the author/group is allowed to answer these critiques. It would also be nice to have a panel of authorities from the Japanese vn translation community (aka visualnews. having some guy known as Dan Kim around would be nice too. ) to critique the works displayed. Then at the end of the day, we bring out the B33r and all have a good laugh. The convention could last for maybe four days or a week. Any longer would be overkill. You could also start the convention by using a lecturer for general introduction as to what is a VN and what is an OELVN, history etc. before moving on to viewing the actual works.
There's also the freebies like maybe special posters, buttons, and complimentary autographed boxed copies of the games from the authors who are willing.
This is just a suggestion, since this usually what we do at creative writing/ journalism seminars here in my area.
I think a good idea for a convention would be to schedule each OELVN with its fair share in the spotlight. You could have a big screen where the VN is allowed to auto-advance if it's a kinetic novel or someone to operate the pc to follow a set path (the true or best ending path) if it's a branching VN and this would be followed by an open forum where everyone is allowed to voice out their own opinion and give their critique on the particular VN and the author/group is allowed to answer these critiques. It would also be nice to have a panel of authorities from the Japanese vn translation community (aka visualnews. having some guy known as Dan Kim around would be nice too. ) to critique the works displayed. Then at the end of the day, we bring out the B33r and all have a good laugh. The convention could last for maybe four days or a week. Any longer would be overkill. You could also start the convention by using a lecturer for general introduction as to what is a VN and what is an OELVN, history etc. before moving on to viewing the actual works.
There's also the freebies like maybe special posters, buttons, and complimentary autographed boxed copies of the games from the authors who are willing.
This is just a suggestion, since this usually what we do at creative writing/ journalism seminars here in my area.
How do you make your games? I see. Thank you for the prompt replies, but it is my considered opinion that you're doing it wrong inefficiently because I am a perfushenal professional. Do it my way this way and we can all ascend VN Nirvana together while allowing me to stroke my ego you will improve much faster. Also, please don't forget to thank me for this constructive critique or I will cry and bore you to death respond appropriately with a tl;dr rant discourse of epic adequately lengthy proportions. - Sarcasm Veiled in Euphemism: Secrets of Forum Civility by lordcloudx (Coming soon to an online ebook near you.)
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If there is an OELVN convention, actually I would go, however, I live far from there.
OELVN isn't really a big deal in Indonesia, and many of my friends labeled VN is boring, bad, etc. (unless one of my best friends, he always happy whenever I send him fresh OELVNs), but I keep going.
(Note: one of the reasons I work on my project is to erase the bad remarks of VN in my friends, by creating totally different story from what commonly exists here)
Anyway, I hope it would exist someday. Of course, it is well-planned so it doesn't end up to disappoint participators
OELVN isn't really a big deal in Indonesia, and many of my friends labeled VN is boring, bad, etc. (unless one of my best friends, he always happy whenever I send him fresh OELVNs), but I keep going.
(Note: one of the reasons I work on my project is to erase the bad remarks of VN in my friends, by creating totally different story from what commonly exists here)
Anyway, I hope it would exist someday. Of course, it is well-planned so it doesn't end up to disappoint participators
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I would go, of course, but I like the idea of holding a BoF session at an existing con. (I will probably attend Otakon again, so that's one possible place.)
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Hmmm, I don't know.
First, I think it's next to impossible to set a date that is okay with everyone - unlike a convention in a small country, the OELVN would invite people from literally all over the world - it would be very difficult to make a NorthAmerica-only or Europe-only gathering, but there are those two plus so many more from other and often distant places around the world. The nature of the community is so international, it can't be scheduled and synchronized.
Second, the purpose and content. I think the only thing the convention would do would bring together the people from the forums, from other communities and some of the more known distributor representatives. What would actually be achieved (constructively) is debatable. It would be great to see all the people, I'd go JUST to do that and have a great talk with them, but apart from strengthening the relationships, well, I don't know.
Third, sadly the rentability. For the majority of people this would be financially the equivalent of a vacation - and going just for a couple of days to another continent isn't good value for money - so if people really liked to go, they would probably want to stay a bit longer, when they are already there. Vacation, in other words.
So... unfortunately, I don't see this being a real option
First, I think it's next to impossible to set a date that is okay with everyone - unlike a convention in a small country, the OELVN would invite people from literally all over the world - it would be very difficult to make a NorthAmerica-only or Europe-only gathering, but there are those two plus so many more from other and often distant places around the world. The nature of the community is so international, it can't be scheduled and synchronized.
Second, the purpose and content. I think the only thing the convention would do would bring together the people from the forums, from other communities and some of the more known distributor representatives. What would actually be achieved (constructively) is debatable. It would be great to see all the people, I'd go JUST to do that and have a great talk with them, but apart from strengthening the relationships, well, I don't know.
Third, sadly the rentability. For the majority of people this would be financially the equivalent of a vacation - and going just for a couple of days to another continent isn't good value for money - so if people really liked to go, they would probably want to stay a bit longer, when they are already there. Vacation, in other words.
So... unfortunately, I don't see this being a real option
It's better to have a Visual Novel Creation panel at an anime convention. There aren't enough people that would warrant renting out convention space. And you'd really need the help of the J-list and VisualNews folks just to increase the headcount, which probably means the JP scene will have to dominate.
I remember attending a new digital media convention in Singapore which felt overprepared...sure there were excellent speakers, hosted lunches and everything, and enough people attended, but I just felt a little sorry that perhaps the discussion could have been carried out on a public forum with much less expenditure.
I remember attending a new digital media convention in Singapore which felt overprepared...sure there were excellent speakers, hosted lunches and everything, and enough people attended, but I just felt a little sorry that perhaps the discussion could have been carried out on a public forum with much less expenditure.
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Oh really? Which one was it? I might have been there... was at X|Media|Lab and the AGDS last December...DaFool wrote: I remember attending a new digital media convention in Singapore which felt overprepared...sure there were excellent speakers, hosted lunches and everything, and enough people attended, but I just felt a little sorry that perhaps the discussion could have been carried out on a public forum with much less expenditure.
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Creator of Lakeside Sunset (finished 2006).
Can't remember the name right now... it was 2004 in September, the venue was some hotel in Orchard Road. I need to go home to see if I still have the write-up for it on my hard drive.dizzcity wrote:
Oh really? Which one was it? I might have been there... was at X|Media|Lab and the AGDS last December...
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I'd really totally absolutely love to participate, but I'm afraid America is too far away for the moment in very many ways... I think this question explains it quite well: Would you let your young teenage daughter travel from Europe to America, where she has never been, alone, to meet people that she has never seen IRL, and pay all the expenses? Yeah, you absolutely wouldn't. And my mom and dad won't let me do it either.
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Yeah, I think it's more feasible to have panels at a few different anime cons than to try to have an OELVN-specific convention. If you do panels at anime cons, then anime fans who haven't heard of OELVNs will be more likely to come along and find out about the scene, too ^.^
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I refuse to go to anime cons, I hate them. I went to one and it sucked.
A VN con is definitely a good idea, but it would have to be over the summer if it was on the East Coast.
Why not have an IRC or AIM chat "convention" in the meantime? :P
As for con events, though, it would provide people an opportunity to sell stuff, discuss their games, see the faces behind the projects, etc. Also, the creators who have a talent for public speaking could do something like that. There could also be idea forums, classes, etc.
On the subject of classes, I am actually considering teaching a class on the history and process of making renai games at my college as part of our student-run classes program sometime within the next few years or so.
A VN con is definitely a good idea, but it would have to be over the summer if it was on the East Coast.
Why not have an IRC or AIM chat "convention" in the meantime? :P
As for con events, though, it would provide people an opportunity to sell stuff, discuss their games, see the faces behind the projects, etc. Also, the creators who have a talent for public speaking could do something like that. There could also be idea forums, classes, etc.
On the subject of classes, I am actually considering teaching a class on the history and process of making renai games at my college as part of our student-run classes program sometime within the next few years or so.
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hmm... now that's an idea. Anyone care to make an official irc channel for us creators?Why not have an IRC or AIM chat "convention" in the meantime?
we could schedule specific games for discussion for certain days.
How do you make your games? I see. Thank you for the prompt replies, but it is my considered opinion that you're doing it wrong inefficiently because I am a perfushenal professional. Do it my way this way and we can all ascend VN Nirvana together while allowing me to stroke my ego you will improve much faster. Also, please don't forget to thank me for this constructive critique or I will cry and bore you to death respond appropriately with a tl;dr rant discourse of epic adequately lengthy proportions. - Sarcasm Veiled in Euphemism: Secrets of Forum Civility by lordcloudx (Coming soon to an online ebook near you.)
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