Programming for conventions and events
Because I’m doing the same. I’ve signed up for National Novel Writing Month and for nearing halfway through the month, I’m about halfway done. Sadly, it doesn’t look like I’ll be hitting 50,000 words, but if I finish my book, that’s good enough for me.
Since I’m doing this as part of my Otaku Drive Time duties I’m writing under otdt_chris on NaNo’s site. Let’s talk about procrastinating together! \o/
It looks like the 2013 convention cycle has come to an end for me, but I can’t say I’m too disappointed. Considering I was thinking of starting full-scale in 2014, an early con or two is a bonus, really. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it to a lot of shows and make some new friends along the way.
But, just because conventions are done doesn’t mean MP is done. Instead, I’ve been focusing a lot of effort in a venture with some of my friends called Otaku Drive Time. I’ll be blogging and podcasting and all sorts of fun stuff as we take on Japanese nerdity for American sensibilities. I’m even working on a “special project” for later in the year, so definitely stay tuned for that. OTDT is where most of my personal views is going to be, while MP is going to be mostly about the business and promoting what I have to offer.
Like I said, no conventions, but still lots of activity. Hope you all will check it out.
Did you watch the Million Second Quiz? I did. It wasn’t appointment viewing, but it was good enough. It also helps that I don’t have the disdain for host Ryan Seacrest as some people might. (Fun fact: he hosted an American Gladiators spin-off) Regardless, a high-concept game like MSQ can spark one’s imagination, especially if you’re in a position to make panels and games for conventions.
For starters, it’s pretty clear that doing a 1,000,000-second game is untenable at the convention level. That’s nearly 278 hours or 11.6 days. No show lasts that long and I don’t think there is any place in the US that would have conventions on back-to-back weeks. However, 100,000 seconds is actually plausible. At less than 28 hours, it can be easily spread out over three days of programming, and 10万秒QUIZ (read “Juuman-byo Quiz”) kinda rolls off the tongue. The issue is finding enough writing and enough financial resources to pull it off. A Thousand Second Quiz can easily take up a panel, and saves on material, but then you have the issue of trying to distribute 17 minutes of material throughout at 60-minute program.
Will I be doing a Quiz of Definitive Length in the future? Well, if you want me to, sure. Get your favorite convention that they need one, and I’d be happy to work something out. It could just be a mater of time.
Because there’s something brewing in the land of the Internets. It’s not convention-related (although there may be stuff in the works on that front, too) but it’s definitely fun and you’ll just have to wait until to find out what it is >:3
So we are back from Matsuricon, and I must say it was a different experience from what I am used to. I’ve been to Columbus before, but it was for larger shows, so seeing something of Matsuricon’s size in the same event space was definitely a bit of a shock. That being said, it was a good weekend. Pardon me for putting on my Staffer Hat for a bit, but the Matsuricon staff definitely had some good ideas, and get some major points for creativity. I’d also like to thank the Panel Ops staff for being particularly awesome and generally on top of things.
As for what I did at the convention, well, I did my panels, natch, but there was also a bit of rhythm gaming, and I was introduced to Cardfight Vanguard. That may be a thing in the future. >_> The strangest moment was when my friend Dan, who did the Anime Old Enough to Drink panel, called me up to stage an impromptu round of Anime Fight Club with hilarious results. It reminds me of a saying regarding RPGs, “No good plan ever makes it past the players.” Sadly, the A/V gremlins got the better of my programming, so we were unable to film anything, but it will serve as a learning experience for next time.
When is next time? Well you’ll just have to find out. Stay tuned :3
Less than a week away from Matsuricon, here’s list of what I’ll be doing, all in the Grant Room (aka Panel 3)
You can catch a description of all these here. My travelling companions are doing some panels, too, so here’s what they will be doing and where.
There’s lots of fun to be had. Let’s have some together.
Only four weeks remain until Matsuricon, but MP is ready to roll with three fun-filled panels for the Columbus crowd.
I’ll also have a bunch of friends helping out and doing panels of their own, so be sure to check them out after you check us out, and we’ll all have an awesome time.
Did’ya notice the brand spanking new header? You better, because Bunnychan spent several months of patience, effort, toil, and patience in creating it. Now, I did make the pedestal, and it’s a very nice one at that, but without Buns, there is no MP image, so honestly, you need to go and tell her how awesome she is and how you need her art, too.
While I play around with our new panther mascot (and the rest of this site’s appearance) I may as well include that I’ll be at Matsuricon in Columbus, OH at the end of August. I don’t know in what capacity I’ll be there, but even in the worst case scenario, there’s nothing wrong with just being an attendee. Hope to see you there!
You’ve probably heard about “Japanese game shows”, right? Sorry, but after my trip to Japan and seeing their television shows up close and personal, I’m telling you they aren’t what you think. Sure, there’s all types of nonsense that go on mostly during variety shows and season-ending specials, but those aren’t the true Japanese game shows. The true Japanese game shows are, well, a lot like ours. Hell, some of them even were ours. (They were even on the Millionaire bandwagon). Japan has a quiz history that dates back quite far, and some of their offerings have been around longer than I have: Panel Quiz Attack 25 has been running continuously since 1975; Quiz Time Shock has been off and on since 1969 (originally for civilians, now just for celebs); and arguably the longest-running music competition on Earth, NHK Nodo Jiman, started on radio in 1946!
Obviously those aren’t the only games and quizzes to grace Japanese TV screens, which means there’s plenty for MelloPanther Productions to adapt for convention play. After all, what would be cooler than competing on an actual Japanese quiz for actual cash and prizes? There are already a few in the works, so if you want some authentic Japanese flavor to a convention near you, tell me where to go, or better yet, tell the convention.
It’s been a surprisingly productive month here at the secret underwater base and I can’t keep the results just to myself. After all, MP is all about you, the audience, so sharing is almost mandatory. Here is the first thing I will present to you: a picture of all the swag I got on my trip to Japan! It was a heckuva week, and I totally recommend it to anyone who wants to go. (Two caveats: don’t know by yourself, and plan ahead of time.) What’s not in this picture is all the swag I got for myself. That’s right, all this is up for grabs in future MelloPanther events!
I know there will be at least one more convention in 2013 that I plan on going to, and my hope is that I go to three, maybe four if I’m lucky, but 2014 is still wide open. If you know of any convention in either Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, or even New Jersey or Delaware, that you would be 20% cooler with MelloPanther programming, shoot me a line (there’s an e-mail link in the corner now) or better yet, tell that convention!
Now that’s a lot of stuff to offer, but I’m not through yet. There may be a couple other things worth talking about…but not today. Watch this space, though, you never know what news might drop.