Well... I was talking about location. Which was HOTTNESS.
Indianapolis = BEAST location.
Now.. if we're going to go on about the event itself..
Sound System:
I'm, somewhat, of a sound tech. So, the first thing that bothers me about Pokemon events is the lack of a decent sound system setup.
This is very simple. You mount a seperate sound system on each playing area. Speakers need to be a, both, the front AND rear of the play areas for a clean, understandable
delivery of sound.
Ceiling speakers are not appropriate for NATS; you simply need a PA on each play area (1 on Masters and 1 on Seniors/Juniors)
A clean system will not need to be YELLED into. You can whisper over everyone if it's set up correctly.
VENDORS ....
That's a bit of a sore spot for me.
I wondered why Collector's Cache and Troll and Toad weren't considered for last year.
This year, I understood why Gathering Grounds got the nod.
I would LOVE to see Gathering Grounds return because they had a SSSSSSICK amount of Pokemon merchandise and their prices were very reasonable. I NEEDED to see that inventory to stock up for prizes for my league events.
The inventory was WHACKness. The focus was on ripping card singles; this appeared to be true w/ both shops.
I think that multiple vendors is definately the way to go; I do not think these vendors appreciated our invitation and support. The prices were VERY opporutunistic and didn't lend themselves to the spirit of the event.
Some of the salesman had bad attitudes. Dude, it's SO hard for me to remain non-violent when I'm holding money out and somebody who I'm giving the money to is coming at me sideways and dismissive. It's like, I'm not THAT good of a Christian yet, so, please, just talk to me like that ONE MORE TIME .. *breathe... let it go.. * sorry y'all. Flashback...
You would think that, after passing out free shirts last year, Collector's Cache would've been the downright nicest and appreciative vendor staff ever... right? not.
PARENT AREAS
I can't say enough how much I appreciate the effort of having tables available for non-playing parents to sit and feel like they have a watchful eye over their children. The "stay out of the play area" thing is cool, but, we're NOT going to last much longer as a children's game if we keep kicking the parents out of the ROOM and into the hallways!!!
1,000 x appreciated for this effort. Thank you so much for remembering that kids have caring parents!!
League Play -
I got hosed at league play man.
I got on a 3 hour grind to earn prizes for my own league kids (to avoid breaking the bank on eBay).
Well, I got nothing useful from league play at all. Everytime someone beat me, they got a playmat (every kid that beat got a playmat).
HOWEVER ... Everytime I won, I got a pack of cards or sleeves.
Draw your own conclusions there...
Anyway, I officially came back w/ nothing to give to my league kids.
Side Events:
I was able to do a couple of 8 man tourneys.
The small number of volunteers were on a serious grind man. MAD PROPS to them for negotiating that madness.
The sheets were filling up faster than they could be put out and they just kept sitting people down and keeping the things going.
The only thing that could be better is if they predetermined the 8-man staff and put them ONLY on 8-man events.
Then, we'd have "specialists" that would truly keep things going like clockwork.
I appreciated the 8-man tourneys a great deal.
Main Event:
I got to meet people that were just amazingly good personalities and players. Liz Reed was among one of my favorites because she was a PokeMom that had mad skills and a rediculously rational thought process. There was a guy who ran a G&G deck that was just fun to play against because we got into jovial smack talkin' (which is so fun if the spirit is mutually fun and harmless). I, somehow, avoided the sticks-in-the-mud that make the event sour (i.e. the people who take themselves way too seriously :/ ).
I don't understand the delays before and between each round. There was something logistically bad about the way things were planned during the main event. I've seen many large events move along so much smoother. It was like we just waited.. and waited...and waited. Then played.. and waited.. and waited... etc.
Even the posting of the matchups papers were a hot mess.
Why can't we post up Flat Screens in each area and powerpoint slide it up a little? Matchups can be posted as a slide so easily and screens can be mounted higher than tag boards. :/
Open Gaming Room:
SSSSSSSSSICK idea!
Just...SUPER cool commodity right there!
I love how it doubled as the "large side event" room.
This was planning gone RIGHT. Props for actualizing this concept.
Professor's Cup:
I agree w/ Bullados. It was on a Sunday and in an entirely different room.
If there's any way to get this on the main floor on Thursday, that'd be awesome.
(I understand, however, how leaving the main room untouched facilitates planning and preparation for the main event).
Mutant Draft:
I was not happy about this being associated w/ being an official PokeGym hosted event. I don't think it promoted the brand in a positive light; it was extremely inconsistant w/ what I thought we were doing as a website:
1. not Child-focused: The event went WAY beyond anyone's bedtime (master's included !)
2. unFriendly environment: Organizers were grumpy and dogmatic. (this really puts me off )
3. Lack of Planning: I'm not certain that the organizers planned for success. This is a business term that refers to planning for the best case scenario as well as the worst case scenario. For example, what happens if EVERYONE wants to participate and has money/packs in hand? I saw no paricipation limit, no plan for disseminating information to a large group, a lack of staff assistance, and a big fat time delay.
Somebody turned off the lights to get the crowd to quiet down for announcments. Ordinarilly, you'd just blink the lights and everyone looks to the front of the room. However, this person left them off.
This wasn't a big issue for anyone.. except... my mildly disabled daughter who just freakin' LOST IT because she was terrified beyond control until the lights came back on. Not a good look fam.
That put me in a, seriously, bad spot w/ the family. Then, when we finally reassure my daughter that everything is OK and she decides to go take her seat, attention is called to her that isolated EVERYONE's attention to just her standing there.... as if SHE is holding up the entire thing. That was a salty experience man.
It's nothing but a PreRelease-ish event. I don't understand how this was not done better.
Parking:
Yeah, parking was like $25 per day = $75 for the weekend. But, I didn't have to worry about my car at all; it was right under the Westin and I could take an elevator down to retreive whatever I wanted without even going outside. So, since I saved so much on the room (using Priceline; big ups to jrwaxman), the parking factored into the expenses just fine.
DECOR:
I don't think that enough appreciation is given to whoever is in charge of the decorations for NATS. Man, there were RANDOM PEOPLE walking in like "OMG!!" and snatching out their cameras! The two large Pikachu's and all of the banners just make everything look so darn PRO! I really want to thank you for that effort (whoever you are!). I think people must believe that those things are created via fairy dust or something. The designing and placement of those things were on point. Great job.
PREREGISTRATION:
Great Idea. Once you started the line, it was butter. I went from back to front like DAAAAANNNNGGG!!! LOLz.
SUGGESTIONS:
Handouts - Main Event rules being on the tables during main event are BOUND for the trashcan. I'm sorry; holding onto paper at that point in time is not a player's focus. Give all handouts at pregistration/registration tables.
Judging - Treat your friends as you treat all others. That's all I'm going to say about that.
Conclusion:
I'm not 100 percent satisfied with the logistics of the event, but the location was on point!