In case you missed it over on the Twitter feed, I was at New York Comic Con all weekend long. I saw panels, cosplayed, met celebrities, became an unpaid booth babe for hire, watched advanced screenings, and talked to tons of fans about their Con experience. The feedback wasn't all positive, either. I was actually quite disappointed on the first day by the new layout that removed significant aisle space on the main floor without expanding to include new content on the floor. They literally took away an entire hall that they clearly had the content for and didn't anticipate how much more traffic would be on the floor at any given time.
This is not to say that it was a bad convention. There were certain procedures put in place that really helped the flow of some events. Test features from earlier years finally came into their own for the first time and the diversity of content was greatly expanded.
To kick off my NYCC 2012 coverage, here's a breakdown of the worst and best aspects of the weekend.
The Worst
1: Pre-Convention Line-Up
On Friday, everyone who showed up before the show floor opened at 10AM was checked for a badge and led into a large empty hall on the bottom floor. We were corralled into six person-wide stanchions and told to wait. This seemed like a great idea until, at 10:20, people were still lined up in the stanchions. Everyone had to go up a single escalator to the main floor before going up another set of escalators to the show floor.
By the time I got up to the main floor, people who didn't line up before the show were allowed to walk right in. There was no crowd outside of the convention center but the pre-show line still had hundreds of people behind me waiting for their turn to pass the stanchions and head inside.
I showed up later on Saturday by forty minutes and got on the floor by 10:10. That seems little off.
Sunday was the worst. Everyone had to line up outside. People who had tickets were forced to go to the back of the "no ticket" line because they wanted to keep the "have ticket" line two or three people wide to the door. Meanwhile, anyone who came to the center early and showed up to the designated entrance for ticket holders early wound up four blocks away from the convention center behind people who were being dropped off in taxis and hopping out of subways after the floor opened.
There are two issues at play: a large crowd and poorly planned traffic. The answer could be the same thing The ticket pick-up line-up really needs to move out of the main entryways to the convention. Press, Exhibitors, and Professionals are isolated from everyone else on the opposite side of the convention; move the ticket pick-up lines to another underused area. There is no shortage of entrances to the Jacob Javitz Center and it would not be hard to have even an entire smaller hall dedicated to ticket pick up. Cut the ticket holders (who paid extra to have their tickets shipped and "avoid the line") out from the people who are picking up tickets and the entrance will run smoother.
2: Event Communication
Last year, they had stacks of programs at each entrance that were handed out by volunteers when the floor opened. This year, if you didn't know where they hid the programs, you weren't getting them. NYCC developed a poorly functioning event app that routinely crashed and had inaccurate information that they wanted people using instead of paper programs. However, behind each vacant information booth--who knows where they moved those volunteers this year?--was a hoard of paper programs. If you don't know the schedule, you don't know what events are happening throughout the weekend.
The communication problem reached its apex around the IGN Theater. The IGN Theater is the 3000 seat auditorium where all the big panels happen. This is where they preview big budget blockbusters, bring on popular panels like the Robot Chicken Q&A, and hold really cool one time only events. The idea of having a separate queuing area for such a large space is great. Too bad you had to actually ask someone in front of the theater where you line up. The queue for the theater had no signs and there were no instructions in the program. You could miss out on the chance of even getting in line for an available seat--IGN Theater allowed all day camping this year--because you found out where the queue was after they already shut it down.
3: The Layout
There were two big issues with the convention layout this year that could have easily been avoided. First, the entrance hallways to the main show floor were very narrow this year. One large path that could take you from the far left to the far right was always clear. Too bad it would take you 20 minutes to go 50 feet to reach it. This was not a problem last year when the main floor was three connected halls. This year, with only two, the ability to walk through the floor was so poor that, even with a four day pass, you couldn't have made it through every booth unless you skipped all the panels and events.
The second big issue was perhaps easier to avoid. NYCC usually has two stages set up for more open events. This is where they'll bring on previews of new geeky musicals, game shows, and large group demos of nerd knowledge and skills. For some odd reason, both stages were shoved in the loudest hall at any convention: the autograph hall. The concrete walls bounced so much sound around that you couldn't hear the performance five feet in front of you broadcast through massive speakers. Both stages could have shared the space with game demos and interactive events (like pick-up Quidditch and Shoot a Storm Trooper). One stage may have survived being in the same hall as the autograph booths. But having all those activities together made every event on the stages a total bust.
4: Cosplay Rules
Why even have printed cosplay rules and an alleged weapon check if you aren't going to follow them? I saw real metal wrenches, hammers, and chisels on the show floor being brandished about again and again for photo ops. People had real functioning projectiles and water pistols loaded with liquid and were firing them at will. These are all against the rules for cosplay at NYCC and no one running the show cared.
At the costume contest on Saturday night, they gave the prize to Captain America and Hawkeye after Hawkeye fired custom built Nerf arrows into the audience; aside from the projectile rule, you were not allowed to leave anything behind when you showed off your costume in the contest. Though the entrance had a weapon and badge check, I only saw people with swords and huge weapons stopped to make sure they weren't going to hurt anyone. Small dense metal objects and mysterious liquids in water pistols are just as dangerous.
Best
1: The Vibe of Smaller Halls
Last year, NYCC made a big deal about The Block, a collection of handmade art vendors with a really cool alternative vibe. Yet, they were barely an event on their own, separated by a small black curtain and sign. This year, The Block took center stage in the smaller show floor hall and it was incredible. The booths were large, the pathways were open, and even the structures and carpet had a different design to separate out The Block. I spent more time in that section than anywhere else on the show floor because it was so well-planned.
Artist's Alley had a similar transformation, though I still think the location was poorly chosen. Last year, Artist's Alley was in the third hall on the main floor; this year, they were in an annex hall that used to hold autographs and one of the stages last year. I thought it was a bad idea until I saw how it was set up. Artist's Alley was constantly packed with people throughout the weekend. There was enough space to walk through the floor but the paths were narrow enough that the artists could banter with each other in every direction. It felt more like a really packed art walk than a fan convention and really worked. Now NYCC just needs to vibe it up to the same level as The Block to really sell it as a must-see event.
2: Relaxed and Intimate
My disappointment on the first day stemmed from how much smaller the show floor was. However, once I got to check out the panel hall, autograph hall, and all the other annexes at the convention, I started to really dig the feel of it. The main floor was too crowded, sure, but the whole convention just felt more relaxed. There was no high stress "gotta have it" panicking. Dealers seemed more comfortable dealing with a steadier flow of people to their booths. Even the fans seemed to lose the "too crowded must run" edge once they got out of the narrow entrance ways.
The smaller, relaxed feel led to more interaction. I just felt a lot more comfortable talking to dealers, guests, volunteers, and con-goers who chose to be in that hall at that time. Dealers and volunteers aside, these people chose to hang out by the panels or near the phone charging station. You're there, they're there, why not engage in some friendly conversation? Last year felt like awe at the altar of the fan; this year felt like everything was okay because we were all there for the same reason.
3: Panel Queuing
Despite the issues with opening the floor and the IGN Theater, NYCC was really on top of organizing the events of the day. The panels were spread out all over the bottom floor. Large spaces broken up into five or six rooms last year were only split into two or three to seat more people. With very few exceptions, there was always room at the panel you wanted to see.
Larger rooms also meant (with one exception they handled very well) that every panel had a clear queue line. On one side, you were lined up in stanchions connected right to the door. On the other side, you lined up against the wall and around the corner next to the door. The one exception had security staff manually creating a safe and efficient queue line in the middle of the hall that allowed traffic to pass to the other rooms unobstructed. The panels just flowed so well because of this larger room choice.
4: The Staff
What can I say about the amazing volunteers and employees at NYCC this year? They were great. They knew their positions like the back of their hands. They were kind, courteous, and able to calm down even the most agitated guest. Though their positions throughout the convention didn't make the most sense (why were the information booths vacant most of the time?), they were easily able to help you once you found them.
A convention lives or dies based on the conduct of their staff. There are conventions I will never go to again because their volunteer staff were so rude or poorly trained. NYCC this year had the best volunteers I've encountered since Fangoria last had a convention in the NYC years ago.
I'm going to have a ton of NYCC coverage this week. Did you make it to the con? What were your overall thoughts. Share them below.