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locker_monsterStill sorting through my photos from the Star Trek con, but in the meanwhile, here's some of the non-Star Trek things that also happened over the weekend.
Wednesday I visited Marvel's Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training And Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) attraction. It's presented as a training station set in-universe, which is kind of fun, but they don't take the gag far enough. You need people wandering around in costume, working on iPads or something, not just employees standing in the corners waiting to answer any questions. Mostly, it's like a museum, with props and costumes from the movies on display, but there are some interactive bits throughout, too. I got the feeling that the attraction won't be updated as more movies come out, which is a shame, really, because that would encourage people to visit multiple times (like with the Doctor Who Experience). Also, they could have had more props and costumes, but I guess Marvel/Disney want to keep most of the stuff locked up for safekeeping.
The annoying thing about the costumes you do get is that they're in their display case, but most have a fancy screen over the front that plays a looped video. So half of the time, the costume is obscured by the video, and when the video isn't playing, the glass is slightly distorted so you can't get a clear view of the costume. It really bugged me. What if you're a cosplayer and you want to snap some reference photos? Yes, technology is fun, but let me look at the costume without anything in the way, damn it.
They did have a thing where you could lift Thor's hammer. Or, rather, attempt to lift. Really, it's just a fun photo-op. I'm sure everyone gets a photo of themselves trying to lift Mjolnir.
There was also a flying simulator in the Iron Man section. The neat thing about it is that it tracks your eye movements, which is how you shoot things in the simulator. It sounds easy, you just look at the target and then blink twice to fire, but it's hard to target while you're flying, and once you do lock on, you have to blink pretty fast before you're out of range. I only missed two to three targets on my go, which is pretty good. Tony has it easier. He had JARVIS, and now FRIDAY, to help him out. ;-)
The last thing you do before you leave is battle Ultron and his drones. The game is shown on some big screens, but you use the S.T.A.T.I.O.N. app to interact with it. I don't know how they do it. An employee had this, I dunno, Bluetooth thingy that they place over your device and suddenly you're loaded with the weapon of one of the Avengers. I ended up being Hawkeye, so I had a bow and arrow on my screen. You pull back on the bow with your finger and an arrow is launched and whoosh, there it is on the screen. It was a little weird at first, but I finally understood that you aim by moving your device around. I think the technology and the app is the most unique thing about the attraction. If they could play that up more, kids would want to come back again and again.
Back at the con, they have something called the Signers' Room where some of the guests can set up a table and sell their own photos and do autographs and selfies and generally just meet fans. I wandered in there to check it out and I walked by a table set up for Cas Anvar. He didn't have much set up yet and he wasn't there himself, but he had a sign showing the things he's been in. I noticed he's been in The Expanse and Assassin's Creed: Revelations (but no Star Treks) and moved on before I could really dwell on it.
But then it hit me as I left the room. Cas Anvar is in The Expanse? Wait, that name sounds kind of familiar now... So I dug out my phone and did a quick Google search. And what do you know. Cas Anvar plays Alex on The Expanse! I rushed back to the Signers' Room the first chance I got and Cas was there talking with people. Turns out he was there because he's the reason Kirstie Alley was attending the con. He knows her and talked to his agent and his agent talked to her agent and etc. He ended up getting a table because he has so many genre related things on his filmography.
I babbled at him for a bit, telling him how much I love The Expanse. I also asked him if the cast would be doing any cons. He said most of them don't have a taste for it yet, but they're coming around to the idea, so hopefully they start popping up at cons as guests. Cas was also doing autographs for $30. I hadn't budgeted for an additional autograph so initially I walked away without getting one, but then I decided, what the hell, and went back the next day to get a photo signed.
I rambled some more at him while he signed one of the photos at his table. When he asked me if I wanted anything written on the photo, I immediately said, "Donkey balls." If you watch the show, you'll know the line. Poor guy will be writing those two words for the rest of his life, but he said there are worse things he could be writing.
And I got a selfie! Damn that kid in the background, though. When someone is doing a selfie, do not look on while it's happening! Grr...
Later that weekend, one of the writers/producers on The Expanse, who also wrote for Star Trek: the Next Generation, was also at the con. I had a quick chat with him while getting autographs from Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga and he said he totally hadn't known that Cas was at the con and that made me laugh. I also relayed to him how much I love The Expanse and he seemed pretty stoked to hear that. More people need to watch it, so hopefully its profile was raised a little bit from this weekend.
Oh yeah, I also bought an old school TARDIS key for my Fourth Doctor cosplay. So yeah, it was a multi-fandom weekend.
Wednesday I visited Marvel's Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training And Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) attraction. It's presented as a training station set in-universe, which is kind of fun, but they don't take the gag far enough. You need people wandering around in costume, working on iPads or something, not just employees standing in the corners waiting to answer any questions. Mostly, it's like a museum, with props and costumes from the movies on display, but there are some interactive bits throughout, too. I got the feeling that the attraction won't be updated as more movies come out, which is a shame, really, because that would encourage people to visit multiple times (like with the Doctor Who Experience). Also, they could have had more props and costumes, but I guess Marvel/Disney want to keep most of the stuff locked up for safekeeping.
The annoying thing about the costumes you do get is that they're in their display case, but most have a fancy screen over the front that plays a looped video. So half of the time, the costume is obscured by the video, and when the video isn't playing, the glass is slightly distorted so you can't get a clear view of the costume. It really bugged me. What if you're a cosplayer and you want to snap some reference photos? Yes, technology is fun, but let me look at the costume without anything in the way, damn it.
They did have a thing where you could lift Thor's hammer. Or, rather, attempt to lift. Really, it's just a fun photo-op. I'm sure everyone gets a photo of themselves trying to lift Mjolnir.
There was also a flying simulator in the Iron Man section. The neat thing about it is that it tracks your eye movements, which is how you shoot things in the simulator. It sounds easy, you just look at the target and then blink twice to fire, but it's hard to target while you're flying, and once you do lock on, you have to blink pretty fast before you're out of range. I only missed two to three targets on my go, which is pretty good. Tony has it easier. He had JARVIS, and now FRIDAY, to help him out. ;-)
The last thing you do before you leave is battle Ultron and his drones. The game is shown on some big screens, but you use the S.T.A.T.I.O.N. app to interact with it. I don't know how they do it. An employee had this, I dunno, Bluetooth thingy that they place over your device and suddenly you're loaded with the weapon of one of the Avengers. I ended up being Hawkeye, so I had a bow and arrow on my screen. You pull back on the bow with your finger and an arrow is launched and whoosh, there it is on the screen. It was a little weird at first, but I finally understood that you aim by moving your device around. I think the technology and the app is the most unique thing about the attraction. If they could play that up more, kids would want to come back again and again.
Back at the con, they have something called the Signers' Room where some of the guests can set up a table and sell their own photos and do autographs and selfies and generally just meet fans. I wandered in there to check it out and I walked by a table set up for Cas Anvar. He didn't have much set up yet and he wasn't there himself, but he had a sign showing the things he's been in. I noticed he's been in The Expanse and Assassin's Creed: Revelations (but no Star Treks) and moved on before I could really dwell on it.
But then it hit me as I left the room. Cas Anvar is in The Expanse? Wait, that name sounds kind of familiar now... So I dug out my phone and did a quick Google search. And what do you know. Cas Anvar plays Alex on The Expanse! I rushed back to the Signers' Room the first chance I got and Cas was there talking with people. Turns out he was there because he's the reason Kirstie Alley was attending the con. He knows her and talked to his agent and his agent talked to her agent and etc. He ended up getting a table because he has so many genre related things on his filmography.
I babbled at him for a bit, telling him how much I love The Expanse. I also asked him if the cast would be doing any cons. He said most of them don't have a taste for it yet, but they're coming around to the idea, so hopefully they start popping up at cons as guests. Cas was also doing autographs for $30. I hadn't budgeted for an additional autograph so initially I walked away without getting one, but then I decided, what the hell, and went back the next day to get a photo signed.
I rambled some more at him while he signed one of the photos at his table. When he asked me if I wanted anything written on the photo, I immediately said, "Donkey balls." If you watch the show, you'll know the line. Poor guy will be writing those two words for the rest of his life, but he said there are worse things he could be writing.
And I got a selfie! Damn that kid in the background, though. When someone is doing a selfie, do not look on while it's happening! Grr...
Later that weekend, one of the writers/producers on The Expanse, who also wrote for Star Trek: the Next Generation, was also at the con. I had a quick chat with him while getting autographs from Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga and he said he totally hadn't known that Cas was at the con and that made me laugh. I also relayed to him how much I love The Expanse and he seemed pretty stoked to hear that. More people need to watch it, so hopefully its profile was raised a little bit from this weekend.
Oh yeah, I also bought an old school TARDIS key for my Fourth Doctor cosplay. So yeah, it was a multi-fandom weekend.
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Date: 2016-08-10 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-08-11 03:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-08-11 02:20 pm (UTC)And a selfie! I didn't really notice the person in the background until you mentioned it, honestly. You could always photoshop out the photobomber if it really bothered you, though. ;)
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Date: 2016-08-11 03:16 pm (UTC)I normally wouldn't ask for a selfie, but I was the only one talking to him, so I figured he wouldn't mind. It's always nice when a guest's table isn't busy. You can take your time and chat a bit.