Well, Genericon 2017 has finally come & gone. Despite the bitter cold & harsh winds, things within the realm of nerdiness were most definitely warm, and buzzing with activity. It may have been only for a single weekend, but the memories the convention made are most definitely strong. How strong are they, you ask? Well, think no further, and enjoy my review of Genericon 2017 at RPI. Let the review begin!
Good Points
Now here’s where I have a lot to talk about.....even though I might not type much.....anyways, first off is the people. Each & every single time I’ve gone to this convention, I’ve bumped into some great people. As the years go by, more & more people get added onto the pile, and it’s great. I might not have met as many people this year, as a lot of them I met a year or two prior, but even a small amount of new people is better than nobody. As per usual, so many of these people had incredible cosplay on as well.
Secondly, and somewhat related to above, is the staff. Since I’ve started doing panels as the convention, everytime I’ve needed help there’s always a friendly staff member to come & help me with whatever is wrong. Volunteers are nice as well, always pointing to in whatever direction. I did have a small issue when it comes to how many staff members there were, but that’s all it was.....small.
The third good point is a weird one (but an awesome one at the same time) is the food that’s served at Genericon. For a while there was the Jazzman’s Café located in the Great Hall, but it was never open to the con. A few years ago it was open to con-goers, and it provided cheap but nice little nibbles for anyone who’s hungry, along with some great coffee drinks & beverages in a nearby refrigerator. However, if you have a little more money in your wallet, you might want to try the student center across from the hall. There’s 3 restaurant spots to choose from: a pizza/wing joint, a burger & fry spot, and a joint that I can only describe as a Subway-like store. There’s also a mini Ben & Jerry’s in the center as well, although I haven’t gotten anything from them yet. For this year, they had a cafeteria setup in the armory, with a few of the student association groups cooking their culture’s respective, and Thunder Mountain Curry (A business I’ve encountered at the Troy Farmer’s Market a few times) has some great & spice food to eat. Emphasis on the word spicy in my case.
Next up is the activities. There was a great selection of panels, workshops, concerts, and dances/raves (Complete with DJs) to partake in. Although I went around more talking to people & taking pictures, and thus I didn’t go to many things, what few I did go to I enjoyed. Also, it’s great to see so much happening over the course of 48 hours. I really liked the name that anime scene/music panels the most, although the Cosplay Deathmatch was a great way to close out the convention on Sunday.
Lastly, the usage of the armory is a great plus. I previously talked about this in my review for Genericon 2016, and I think it bears repeating. Although it indirectly caused my only gripe about the convention (More on this in a sec), I can’t deny how much of a blessing this was. Before hand you had the registration & artist alley in the Great Hall, and that definitely made things a little tight to move around. The dealers room has seen it’s fair share of moves over the years, and it wasn’t until it went over to the armory that it finally felt like there was some breathing room. I think I said it last year, and I’ll say it here: the dealers room & artist alley in this larger space felt more like I was at a miniature equivalent of Connecticon’s setup for these two spaces.
Okay Points
Unlike the other Genericons I’ve reviewed, I don’t think I encountered a single thing that was obviously bad. Like I sad above, the staff was fantastic as always, but I noticed that there was a big lack of staff & volunteers this year. I don’t know if it was because of the recruitment drive or whatnot, but I didn’t see as many helpers wandering around (If I’m remembering correctly, there were only 3 to 5 people running around for the computers). Luckily, their service was incredibly valuable to me, and as usual was of excellent quality.
Bad Points
Like I said above, I really don’t have anything major to talk about. There was essentially nothing wrong with Genericon 2017 at all. Enough to the point where I would be tempted to call it flawless. If I wanted to bit nitpicky, my one point I would gripe about is how smaller the Great Hall felt. In years prior the building was filled to the brim with people. Even a few vendors would setup shop within it halls, along with the artists alley as recently as Genericon 2015. This time around, there weren’t quite as many people hanging around. I’m not saying it was a ghost town, cause it certainly wasn’t! Thanks to the new locations of the dealer’s room and artists alley, the new hangout place seems to have been unofficially moved (The only flaw I could remotely say about the new locale). Perhaps to balance things out, maybe keep some things in the new locale, but move some of the other stuff back into the Great Hall.
Personal **
Genericon 2017 was, and I’ve said a few times so far, a damn fine convention. There was so much going on, it made the previous 2 I’ve reviewed look plain by comparison (No offense to Genericon & RPI for that). However, there were two points that affected me greatly in a positive way, and took things above & beyond this year. The first was my panel I hosted.
Since 2014, I began hosting panels as a way to pay back the con for giving me such a fun experience. They were never packed in any way (2015 & 2016 especially), but at the same time there were people there, and thus things were nice. 2017 was in the completely opposite direction. This year I hosted the dirty & hilarious Hentai Comedies Worth Watching panel, and the room was almost full. Guys, girls, in-between, it didn’t matter. Almost every single seat was filled with somebody, and I was completely awed by everyone. At one point I had one of my videos sound not working, but a few of the viewers came up and offered their services to voice the characters instead. It was completely out of the blue, but I was incredibly grateful that they did that for me. Also......it kinda made that part of the panel a little better.
Next up was Cosplay Chess. I’ve helped out with this event as far back as 2011, and throughout all that time there was always something apart from 2013 (2014 was particularly disastrous for Cosplay Chess). Big, small, it didn’t matter. 2017.....I don’t think I helped out such a smooth (Again, apart from 2013). Even the one kink that did pop up was removed immediately, and the event went on without a hitch! The theme this year was particularly fun, as I was dressed up as John Cena Deadpool, and went against our (Not Really) current president, Donald Trump. It was a lot of fun: we exchanged insults, the acting on both sides was top notch, and the pieces provided a horde of the entertainment factor. A bunch of pieces on Trump’s side refused to fight for him, and walked off the board. I didn’t expect this, but at the same time made things even more entertaining for the crowd! At the end, I won, and the whole room cheered for me. To be honest......I almost cried at that point.
Overall Impression & Rating
Genericon 2017, at least for me, well go down as one of the greats. So much fun. So much companionship. So much quality......and it was so much fun! Everything in this entire convention made me smile, and even the small things provided something. Genericon has become something quasi-spiritual for me in recent years, and if you were to ask me why.....I would point you towards this one. Here’s to 30 more years Genericon!
Genericon 2017 gets a 15 out of 10. A damn fine con!
So that was my look at Genericon 2017. This is what Connecticon from last year should have been. This is a Genericon that will be incredibly memorable for me, and given that I’ve been coming to this con for nearly a decade, that should say something. So, I’ll see you later this month as the road to Wrestlemania nears it’s end for my review for the event, and I’ll be seeing you next week for a wrestling-themed top 10. See you then!
**
Something a little special this time around. Don’t know how often I’ll have this segment, but it never hurts to use once in a while. Also, if you’d like to see what I thought of last year’s convention, check out the link below.
Genericon 2016 Review
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