REVIEW/THOUGHTS [VIDEO GAMES] -- Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F [PS3]

Playthrough Status: COMPLETED NORMAL MODE
Approx. Length: 6 hours to unlock all the songs on Normal; have currently spent over 30 hours
Language: English menus / instruction texts; Japanese songs
Played on: PS3
Type of Game: Rhythm
Overall Impression: I love it and highly recommend it!

PERSONAL STANDING (Pre-exposures, thoughts, etc.)

As mentioned in earlier blogs, I am a huge fan of Hatsune Miku and vocaloids. I also greatly enjoy rhythm games (Dance Dance Revolution, DJMax, Ouendan, Elite Beat Agents, Audio Surf, Daigasso Band Brothers, Kira Kira Pop Princess -- I've played them all). Put the two together and I'm in paradise, hahaha. Having played the Project Diva games on the PSP, I was super excited when I read that Project Diva f was being localized -- a most definite day one buy for me!

STORY

There is no main storyline, and that's fine. Most rhythm games don't have one, the gameplay being the main focus. Many of the songs carry their own storyline -- some sweet and touching; some sad and dreary; some just plain ridiculous and funny. Some don't have any storyline at all, at least from what I can tell.

GAMEPLAY

An example of the gameplay in Arcade mode.

Hit the "X" button when blue "X" overlaps the grey "X".

In terms of gameplay, the Arcade mode (AKA "Rhythm Game" mode) is the meat of this game. 

Here's a brief outline of the gameplay in Arcade mode:

1. You select a song you want to play 
2. The song's music video will start up
3. As the music video plays, grey buttons will pop up on the screen
4. Coloured buttons will start scrolling towards them
5. Press the corresponding button when the coloured button overlaps with the grey (so if a red "O" overlaps with a grey "O", press the "O" button on your controller).
6. Succeeding at a Technical Zone (there are two in each song) will give a boost in your overall mark
7. Succeeding at a Chance Time will give a boost in your overall mark AND adjust the music video slightly

The main goal in Arcade mode is the same as in any rhythm game: pass the song! Passing a song, as with many rhythm games, doesn't just mean to "reach the end of the song"; it means to "reach the end of the song with a passing grade". For example, if I reached the end of the song above, but only acquired a 50-point grade (because I messed up a lot through the song), I will not have passed since I received a failing mark.

In the beginning, you have a very limited songlist to choose from. As you pass different songs, you unlock more songs. You will also earn Diva Points, which can be used to buy outfits and accessories for your vocaloid characters, as well as furniture items for their rooms. You can also use Diva Points to aid yourself for a certain song, or to give yourself an added challenge.

In terms of gameplay structure, this is more or less a standard rhythm game. Buuuut... it is super fun! Almost all the songs are a delight to hear; almost all the music videos are a delight to see, and the difficulty for Normal mode is just right (at least, in my opinion). And if Normal mode isn't enough, each song has a Hard and Extreme mode. Extreme mode is very extreme!

OTHER GAMEPLAY MODES
EDIT MODE

In Edit mode, you can create your own music video and share it on PSN for others to play. The neat thing here is you can actually use your own MP3s as the music track -- you're not restricted to just the Project Diva f songlist. However, when you upload your video on PSN, the song DOESN'T get uploaded with it (most likely to avoid copyright infringements). It's okay, though -- you can always mention what song goes with the video.

Unfortunately, most likely because I'm not too savvy with editing-type programs, I had a hard time using Edit mode. It just wasn't intuitive and the in-game help / tutorials weren't helpful enough. Currently, I'm trying to put together a video that's intentionally crappily made. When it's done, I'll upload it on PSN...

Playing around with Edit mode is your best bet of learning what each thing does.

A shot of how Edit mode looks like.

DIVA ROOMS

When you meet certain requirements, you unlock diva rooms, one room for each character. When you visit a diva's room, you can do several things:

1. Customize their room with purchased furniture pieces and items.
2. Select one of certain specific items to see the diva briefly interact with it.
3. Possibly access the arcade, jukebox, TV or Art Gallery features (if you purchased the corresponding items)
4. Interact with the diva by giving gifts or patting their head, possibly raising their friendship level.
5. Possibly play a rock-paper-scissors / look that way mini-game with the diva if you patted their head well enough and enough times.

When the diva's friendship level goes up, more character-specific room items are unlocked. Overall, I think this feature is pretty cute.

A shot of Kaito's room in my game.

WATCHING MUSIC VIDEOS / TAKING SCREENSHOTS

I guess watching videos isn't exactly gameplay... but I gotta mention this feature (for the possible amusement factor). When you pass a song for the first time, you unlock the ability to watch its music video.

Now... even before unlocking the music video, you're able to switch out the character(s) (or "performers", as they're called in the game) featured in the video and adjust their outfits. The vocals don't change, but that's okay. I only mention it now because you'd probably be able to appreciate it more when you can focus on watching the video, instead of both watching the video and trying to hit a bunch of scrolling buttons.

I think this is a really neat option! You can switch out the performer in every music video with your favourite character. Or -- you can switch up duets / trios, changing the character dynamics / relations in that specific song to suit whatever you want. For example, "Acute" is a song about a love affair and features three performers -- one guy and two girls. If I really wanted to, I could change all the performers to girl characters. I can't really change them all to guy performers since there are only two guy characters -- but I could change all three performers to the same character, altering the overall meaning of the song (from a love affair to possibly a song about inner struggles and conflict). I think this bit of customization allows for a more personal, relatable, or amusing experience with each song.

An amusing combo to this song. 

Original performers: Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka.

As you're watching music videos (or doing anything, really), you have a choice of taking a screenshot and it'll be saved to your PS3's photos folder. I really like this option! Since it's saved to the PS3's photos folder, I can put the screenshots onto a USB and then copy them over to my computer. Almost all the graphics in this blog were screenshots I took from the game. The process of taking a screenshot, though, is a little weird.

1. Press your controller's Home button
2. Go to the Photos section of the PS3's dashboard
3. Scroll to the "Save Screenshot" option
4. If you select "Save Screenshot", you'll be taken back to the game, but the screen is frozen in place. You can only take a screenshot of whatever you saw before you pressed the Home button. It makes it a little challenging to get a screenshot of a scene that only lasts for a few second -- you'd have to time it so that when you press Home, the screen will freeze at the scene you wanted.

Here's a couple of screenshots I took, after switching out the original performers:

Kaito and Hatsune Miku in "Fire Flower."

Original performers: Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len.

This is my current PS3 background.

Kaito in "Time Machine".

Original performer: Hatsune Miku.

PHOTO STUDIO

The main difference between Photo Studio and taking a screenshot is... well... everything. In Photo Studio, you're using static backgrounds and I think only one character can be taken at a time. You can have the character pose in many different ways. The cool thing here is that you can use photos / graphics from your PS3's Photos folder as the background. So if I really wanted to, I could use a photo of me sitting on a bench and I can place Kaito sitting right next to me (...!). Hahaha, it's pretty cool.

Kaito posing in an iDOLM@STER 2 screenshot that was in my PS3 Photos folder.

 

CHARACTERS

From left to right: Luka (pink hair), Rin (blonde hair with bow), Meiko (brown hair), 
Miku (green hair), Len (spiky blonde hair), Kaito (blue hair)

As mentioned in my last blog, vocaloids don't have any set personalities. I think that makes them way more personable. You decide how their personalities are like. You decide if you see something you can relate to. In a way, they're faceless... but capable of expressing so much, if you let them. ;)

My favourite character is Kaito. I place him in a lot of the more emotional songs so I can relate to him more, and I really like his song "Ashes to Ashes". Close seconds are Miku and Rin. Miku was the one who made vocaloids super popular, so I'll always love her. Rin has some really edgy songs and her voice works so well in them. 

Kaito! <3

This is my desktop wallpaper right now.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are amazing! I'd say it's about the same ilk as the iDOLM@STER games, but with a slightly different colour palette. Both are anime style and in 3D, but iDOLM@STER's colourization has a more anime feel while Project Diva f has a more realistic feel. Maybe it's because iDOLM@STER uses more outlines?

iDOLM@STER 2.

It's anime come to life!

Kaito in an amazing background.

Something about it feels more realistic.

Regardless, the graphics for Project Diva f are great, and most of the music videos are really well done.

I have to mention this as well: the loading screens art are amazing, too! And guess what? All the loading screens art are fanart -- made by fans. Well, actually, I'm going to save my butt here and say some of the loading screens art are fanart by fans. I think that is just too cool.

MUSIC

There's about 40 songs in Project Diva f, and the genres vary from industrial, punk, baroque-like, rock, traditional, to J-pop style (the most prominent genre). There's a little something for almost everybody. The nicest thing about the songlist in Project Diva f is that it wasn't Americanized in any way (not like Ouendan being released / developed here as Elite Beat Agents). The songlist is still the original Japanese songlist, and I like that -- A LOT. 

Here are some of my favourite tracks. I'd list them all, but that would be way too many, haha. I can't seem to share them, so here are their Youtube links:

"Tengaku" (vocals by Rin): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5atwerR1rQY
Love the rockish feel, and Rin sounds sooo full of power and conviction when she sings this.

"Ashes to Ashes" (vocals by Kaito): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B54jN0PaUfQ
The song sounds dark and gloomy, but I like that. Kaito's voice sounds so nice here, too.

"Monochrome Blue Sky" (vocals by Miku): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bid1xo_haaM
I like the video and the meaning of the song. I can really relate. I often switch Miku out with Kaito here.

"Torinoko City" (vocals by Miku): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loJfos5eAZc
I didn't like this in the beginning, but the rhythm and melody are growing on me.

"Time Machine" (vocals by Miku): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCIpAmpF0qY
This song is so bittersweet. I switch Miku out with Kaito here as well. Sometimes it makes me cry a little, haha...

"Tell Your World" (vocals by Miku): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHmg8ZQ5eJs
I still love this song a lot. I kinda feel connected with the world and this sense of belonging when I hear this.

 

REPLAYABILITY

Well... I unlocked all the songs in about 6 hours, and I'm still pumping more hours into this game -- either to try passing my favourite songs on Hard or Extreme, trying to perfect them on Normal, or just plain re-playing the songs to hear them again and watch the music videos. Sometimes I have the game running just so I can listen to the songs (I'm doing that right now!). Other times I'm interacting with Kaito in his diva room. And of course, I'm still trying to unlock the rest of the characters' outfits and earn enough Diva Points to buy them. 

So there is a ton of replayability with this game.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

If you enjoy rhythm games and don't mind the anime style, pick up Project Diva f right away! Most of the songs are catchy, fun to play, and the music videos don't disappoint. If you're still not sold (because I just suck at selling), just try the free demo that's on PSN. Come on -- I dare you! :)


Thanks for reading! If you have any comments, feel free. Hope you all have an awesome week! :)


Usually I would have a "Spoilers" section here, but I think I covered everything I wanted to talk about.

BLOG -- Me and Hatsune Miku

Finally! Here is my blog about Hatsune Miku. I've been anticipating this for quite a while. I just never had a good chance to write about her.

This blog will talk briefly about Hatsune Miku and why I like her. And of course, I'll start off with my initial thoughts and first exposure.

My Initial Thoughts and First Exposure

I think I first heard about Hatsune Miku around 2008. Actually, it was more like, that was the first time I saw her... and she was everywhere. Where I frequented online, I often saw fan work of a girl with long green pigtails.

She must be very popular, I thought, and didn't give her a second thought. I usually stay away from super popular things, thinking, They already have a lot of fans -- they don't need another. When Project DIVA was released (a rhythm game featuring Hatsune Miku) for the PSP, I dismissed it completely (despite my love for rhythm games).

Now fast forward to late 2011, when I imported iDOLM@STER 2 for the PS3. When I saw that getting one of the DLC costumes would unlock a Hatsune Miku song, I thought, I guess I really should try a Hatsune Miku game... see what she's all about...

About a month later, I imported the first Project DIVA game. I tried the first song on the list, "The World is Mine". The song was edgy. Hatsune Miku's dancing was edgy. I really liked it. Since then, I've more or less explored her songs, culture, and world. And now I am a huge fan.

What is Hatsune Miku?

 Hatsune Miku!

Before, I thought that Hatsune Miku was just a video game character, but that's not it at all. Hatsune Miku is a singing synthesizer (also known as a vocaloid). It's a program you use to create singing vocals to go with music (most often music that you created). The girl with the green pigtails is like a character / persona of that specific voice. Crypton (the developer of Hatsune Miku) was very smart to do that, because now that singing synthesizer isn't just a singing synthesizer -- it's a singing synthesizer with Life.

Later on, Sega developed the Project DIVA games, featuring songs created by the Hatsune Miku program, and featuring the Hatsune Miku persona.

That's Hatsune Miku in a nutshell.

Other singing synthesizers (vocaloids) with persona exist (like Meiko, Luka Megurine, Kaito, Lin & Ren Kagamine), but I'm just gonna focus on Hatsune Miku for this blog.

Why do I like Hatsune Miku?

In one word: cute. Hahahaha, well, that's not the reason at all. She is cute for a character, but nah, there's more to it than that.

Her songs are user-created and can be freely shared -- I really like this. Anybody who has the program can try creating a song with her vocals attached to it. Then they can upload the song and share it with everybody. I think it gives people a chance to be creative and express themselves. In a way, I think it also encourages creation, seeing others trying the same thing.

Lots of song variety -- What can I say? I like variety. Since her songs are created by so many people, they should fall under many different music genres.

Her character can be very relatable -- Since Hatsune Miku's persona doesn't have set personality traits, I'm free to perceive her however I want. I can relate to her however I want. That also means that my perception of her could greatly differ from somebody else's perception, and that's fine. This is how I see Hatsune Miku:

To me, Hatsune Miku is the embodiment of confidence, energy, and intensity. She can be very strong (like in the song "The World is Mine"), but also display moments of fragility ("Rolling Girl") and shyness ("Melt"). She's kinda how I'd like to be: saying what she wants, dressing whatever she wants, and still possessing another side (her moments of fragility and shyness).

Fan creations of her are welcomed -- It's not everyday that you see developers encouraging fans to use their copyrighted characters. Anybody is free to create and share fan works of Hatsune Miku, whether it be graphics, videos, whatever. I think it was through fan creation that Hatsune Miku now carries an association with leeks / spring onions. It's just another form of encouraging creation, and I support that greatly.


There are more reasons as to why I like Hatsune Miku, but those are the major ones. Soon enough, I'll be giving my own shot at creating songs and attaching Hatsune Miku's voice to them. The English version of Hatsune Miku came out a couple of days ago, and I'm gonna get it.


Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you have an awesome week :)

To end off, I'll share some of my current favourite Hatsune Miku songs. I'm sure I've shared some of them in the past, but whatever. It just means I still love them.

"Dear" by 19's Sound Factory.

Love the bittersweet lyrics and sound.

"Love is War" by Supercell.

This is almost like my signature Hatsune Miku song. I sing it often at home.

"SPiCA - 39's Giving Day Edition" by Toku-P.

This song is still my ringtone!

"Rolling Girl" by WOWAKA.

I sing this song quite often. I mean, I try to sing it. 

Some of the notes are crazy high for me, unfortunately.

"Tell Your World" by Livetune.

This sounds so hopeful and heartfelt to me.

BLOG -- Fan Expo Canada 2013

*Sniffle* I'm soooo sad... not just because I want Fan Expo to come back... but because I somehow lost all my blogging progress about Fan Expo... I woke up at 6 AM yesterday, determined to finish my blog. All I did was press "Enter" to create a new blank line... then I pressed "Backspace", and it erased my entire blog... I pressed the "undo" button as far as I could, but to no avail. I exited the page, hoping that it didn't automatically save, but it did... ... I only had Sunday left to cover and I would have been done!! Now I have to start over. You have no idea how much I want to cry right now... :(

Anyway... I had a lot of fun at Fan Expo this year. I attended some really neat and useful panels, and I saw some awesome cosplay and cool promotions (I think some companies are catching on that marketing creatively is key in conventions). I also had a "one-sided convention crush" (first time!), but I'll talk about that at the end of the blog, since it's more of a personal experience than anything.

There were two new things this year:

1. An added Sports Expo -- If I had time, I was planning to check out the autograph costs for a team-mate.

2. The fact that Fan Expo was taking place at BOTH the South building and North building. Every year before that, it took place at one or the other. Despite adding a lot of walking time for going back and forth between the two buildings (they split the Autograph area between both buildings, too), I think this expansion of convention space is nice. It was definitely needed.

This year, a lot of my time was spent lining up for panels (and attending them), doing my StreetPass while waiting (seriously, conventions are sooo good for picking up StreetPasses), and getting excited over Hatsune Miku. I was also a bit more chatty this year... and that boggles my mind. Me... chatty? I'm often so quiet. It was a bit different from my norm, but for the most part, I enjoyed it.

Just to warn you: this blog will be quite long. I'll be covering each day of Fan Expo Canada -- what I did, what panels I attended, and any thoughts. That's four days' worth of blogging. I've lumped all my pics of cosplayers into one section. If you want to see just that, search for "Photos of Cosplayers". For the section of what I've bought, search for "My Convention Purchases". :)

The Little Details

Dates of Fan Expo Canada: August 22 - August 25, 2013
Location: Metro Convention Centre (Toronto, Ontario)
Ticket Price Total: $158.00 (Premium admission; Deluxe 4-day admission was $115)

Thursday
Time Attended: 5:00 PM - 7:45 PM

Since the addition of this fourth day (I think it's been 3 years now), I find the Thursday to be like a throwaway day. You go for maybe one or two panels, but it's mainly to get your bearings and get your legs familiar with walking to the next panel or autograph area. That's what I did when I got there.

As a Premium attendee, I was able get into Fan Expo at 2 PM today (Fan Expo opened at 4 PM for everybody else), but I didn't -- I would have just spent hours waiting for my next thing.
 

My Premium admission swag. 
What's up with the Lucky Charms and hot sauce?

Workshop: Plot any Story in Under an Hour -- 6:45 PM

Ty Templeton hosted this panel and it was really fun, funny, and filled with useful stuff. He told us the mechanics of building a good story and then we all collectively tried to create a good story during the panel. Here's what we came up with:

The main character is the clumsiest burglar in Canada. She steals because she is trying to get enough money to raise her child (she's a single mom). 

Would a story like that pique your interest? Here's a bit more to the story:

The cop character chasing her falls in love with her. The burglar one day trips on the front steps of the bank (before breaking in), breaks her leg, and sues. The burglar wins the money, her chance to get out of her lifestyle, and the ability to provide for her child. The child, however, doesn't like how her mother acquired the money and ends up distancing herself.

During the panel, we also came up with the opening scene for this story, and the possible end scene. Personally, I don't think I would ever want to create a story under an hour... but now I know how, if I needed to. 

Misc. Photos for Thursday

TARDIS from Dr. Who.

Some sort of Batmobile.

The costs and schedules for the celebrity photo ops.
Some of the prices are really up there!

Friday
Time Attended: 9:45 AM - 7:15 PM

So I got to Fan Expo minutes before opening time. Big mistake. There was a long line-up to get in. Even Premium attendees couldn't escape the winding snake of the line. Thankfully the wait wasn't that long, but still -- crap, there's tons of people. All I wanted to do was get in line to wait for my panel.

Fan Expo crowd on a Friday morning.

When I got in line, the guy in front chatted with me and now we're sorta friends (amazing -- this almost never happens to me).

Basic Kickstarting & Crowd Funding -- 11:00 AM

This mainly focused on how to plan Kickstarting projects for video games, but a lot of it could also be applied to other categories.

Here are a few main things that I took away from this panel:

1. Build your fanbase / audience -- then bring them to your Kickstarter project. If somebody already likes your work and what you do, the chances of getting funded by them are much higher than somebody who doesn't even know you exist.

2. Research on... everything -- see what other Kickstarter projects similar to yours are already running -- see what kind of funding they're asking for, and see what the money would be used for. From that, try to calculate about how many backers you'd need (for which funding tiers) for your project.

3. When the project is successfully funded, try to make relations with whichever manufacturer / distributer / printer for possible discounts. If you anticipate more Kickstarter projects where you will still need their business, mention that to possibly establish a long-term business relationship.

This panel was really useful and informative. Though it wasn't my intention, I'm already on the right track, building my own fanbase / audience with my blogging. (Thank you to those who read my blog. I really, really appreciate it!!) :)

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With an hour to spare before the next panel, I trekked to the North building, curious if Brad Swaile was there (I want his autograph!). He wasn't -- back to the South building, hahaha... 

On my way down, I overheard an attendee talking about a promotion happening in front of the South Dealers room. Since I still had a bit of time, I decided to check it out. 

The promotion was for Lucky Charms, and I gotta say -- it's pretty neat and elaborate! The promoters were dressed in medieval era (I think...?) green-brown clothing, giving away treasure chest cards. When you scan your card, the screen will reveal if you've won a power-up or not. If you don't win, you get a mini cereal box of Lucky Charms.

Power-ups vary and are one-time-use, but they work soooo well in the convention environment. One power-up allows you to jump places in an autograph line; another allows you to jump to the front of a panel line; one of the major power-ups grants you 3 years' worth of deluxe Fan Expo passes (super awesome). I gotta say: whoever thought of this promotion was brilliant.

Lucky Charms promotion.

One of the NPCs for the Lucky Charms promotion. 

He was really in character, always calling us "Charm hunters".

Writing, Making & Selling Your Web Series -- 2:00 PM

This panel was really neat. There was a lot of discussion about the things to consider when creating a web series: the length of each episode, how often you put up a new episode, whether or not to put up just one episode or multiple episodes at a time, how much audience interactivity / feedback will be considered for future episodes.

One of the main things I took away from this panel was: keep the audience engaged. Give them a reason to keep checking back, whether it's uploading a teaser to the next episode, concept / production videos, something. 

I don't know if I would ever try making a web series, but I am interested in watching a few now (like Verdict).

Publishing Your Own Game -- 3:45 PM

I was hoping this panel would be about publishing your own video game, but it wasn't. This was more about how to publish your own live-action role-playing game (with the story book and dice). I would have left, but I was sitting at the front, so... I stuck it out.

The information was useful for its topic, though.

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With 15 minutes before the start of Yuu Asakawa's autograph session, I rushed to the South Dealers room (the autograph area is inside the Dealers room). Thankfully, the line wasn't too long. However, the line was moving very slowly. But it's totally forgivable. Yuu Asakawa was really friendly and nice to each fan. She was also allowing her fans to take a picture with / of her for free. I know I'd appreciate that treatment. 

Nearing my turn, I was getting a little nervous. I had three things I wanted her to sign: a Hatsune Miku CD album booklet, an Azumanga Daioh DVD mini booklet featuring Sakaki, and an autograph (shikishi) board. All I was thinking about was: is there a limit to many things she could sign?

When it was my turn, Yuu Asakawa greeted me in perfect English.

"Hello! How are you?" she said, smiling brightly.

"I'm good!" I said, "How are you?"

"I'm good!" she said. Then she went on to signing my three items (yay!).

I get so starstruck in front of celebrities (or people I admire). I gotta fix that, hahaha. 

Yuu Asakawa holding the autograph (shikishi) board and the DVD mini booklet.

Thank you for coming to Fan Expo!

After getting Yuu's autograph, it was around 5:50 PM. I rushed to North building. Brad Swaile was there and I quickly got in line. I really wanted him to sign my stuff (so I don't have to bring it with me tomorrow). 

When I got in line, I noticed the sign on his table:

The cost for Brad Swaile's autograph. 

I took this pic mainly for his Photo Ops comment.

He's so modest. :)

There wasn't much of a line-up, but just like Yuu Asakawa, Brad was really nice and friendly with his fans, and offering free photo ops, so the line was moving slowly, too. I ended up briefly chatting with the guy in front of me. He wants to move to Toronto and pursue something related to art. I wish him the best.

When 7 PM rolled around, an announcement came on, notifying the end of Fan Expo for the day. I got a little antsy. Will Brad still sign my stuff??

Yes, he did!

My conversation with him (to the best of my memory):

"Hello! What can I do for you today?" Brad said.

"Hello! Umm, can you sign two things for me?" I asked.

"Absolutely."

I placed an autograph board and a DVD / Blu-Ray cover art for Black Lagoon on his table.

He looked at it and then looked back at me. "So what's the second thing you want me to sign?"

"Oh, this!" I said, touching the autograph board.

"Oh!" He laughed. "I thought it was a board to keep the paper straight."

"Now I have a question for you," Brad said.

"Okay."

"What other shows have you seen me in?" he asked.

"Ummm..." I started, looking away. Man -- it's so hard to think when you're starstruck and trying to break down / understand the question. Does he want me to tell him all the series that I know him from? Or all the series that I know him from and have seen in English dubbing? I know he plays Light in Death Note and Quatre from Gundam Wing, but I barely saw any of those series in English dub.

My eyes still averted, I answered sheepishly, "Well, I've watched some Dragon Ball Z... and you play my favourite character..."

"Ah, so Gohan, huh?"

"Yeah..."

Then he began to doodle on the autograph board.

Video of Brad Swaile signing my autograph (shikishi) board. 

He's so cute when does his "shwing!" sounds.

My voice sounds so blah here.

Pic of me (with my face blocked out) and Brad Swaile.

Thank you for staying past 7 PM to sign my stuffs!

Isn't he so pretty? :)

Misc. Photos for Friday

Lego Yoda.

Lego... something, I don't know.

Lego Iron Man vs. cosplayer Loki! (who will win?)

 

Lego Super Man.

Saturday
Time Attended: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Now if you thought the Friday morning crowd was huge... think again.

Fan Expo crowd on a Saturday morning.

Thankfully, once I got to the South building, I was able to sit in the room for my next panel instead of lining up. 

One of the attendees (who was also waiting for the same panel) chatted with one of the panelists, commenting that celebrity autograph prices are ridiculous. The panelist responded, saying that he saw the autograph cost as more of a price to have a few minutes with the celebrity, more than getting the actual autograph. That really made me think. It makes so much sense! The next time I get a celebrity autograph, I am so gonna make the most of my few minutes with him / her.

Comic Book Law: What Creators Need to Know -- 11:30 AM

This panel was an absolute wealth of information. I learned so much! The panelists talked about some of the copyright / trademark laws in Canada and US, and the ways to better protect your creation. Here are a few things I learned:

1. When creating characters in book format (like a novel), have as much visual and written documentation on the characters to better protect them.

2. When trademarking a brand name or logo, you only have trademark rights to it in the country you registered for the trademark (so trademarking a name in China will give you trademark rights in China, nowhere else). Therefore, if you're planning to market your products / services in more than one market, trademark your name in ALL of those places. Don't end up like what happened with Marlboro.

3. Be certain about who owns the copyrights when you:
-create a work with multiple people (each person owns the copyright)
-create a work related to your field of employment (the employer)
-create a work related to your field of employment, but working as an independent contractor (most likely you unless outlined otherwise in the terms of the contract)
-create a work while on the job (depends on your terms of employment)

4. If you want to register your work for copyright, it's better to get US registration for it. When you get a US registration, you have to supply a copy of your work, which isn't asked for for Canadian registration.

5. Sending yourself your document through the mail is NOT a sure-fire way to protect your work.

This panel was very informative -- very useful.

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With a good chunk of time to spare (finally!), I made my way to South Dealers room. When I realized that I had no plans to buy any official merchandise (like DVDs / Blu-Rays, manga, figures), I explored the other areas in the Dealers room.

I slowed my pace slightly when I reached the gaming area, but continued walking since there were lines to almost every game. 

Around the back was this long cargo truck with Super Man's face and the phrase "Discover your Powers with Norton" plastered on it. It was, of course, a promotion for Norton. 

A group of other attendees and I were gestured into a black tent with a huge screen. I thought we were going to be brainwashed. Instead, we were tasked to find clues and help people all over the city. We were then given a scanner device and were led to the inside of the cargo truck. Inside was a cardboard mural construction of a city with Super Man symbols. We were to read a clue from our scanner device, find the correct location, scan the Super Man symbol, and then answer a question about which Norton product would best protect the given situation. Once we were done, we were given a yellow cape, and a chance to have our picture taken with Super Man.

It was kinda neat.

Norton promotion.

Me (with my face blocked out) with a shot of Super Man.

Crypton Future Media Presents: Hatsune Miku Panel -- 4:00 PM

I think this week's blog will be something Hatsune Miku-related. Too many Miku things happening this week to not talk about Miku.

Before attending this panel, I already knew a lot about Hatsune Miku. I knew that Hatsune Miku is a voice synthesizer and that her songs are created by the users (fans) of the Hatsune Miku voice synthesizer program. I also knew that she can carry a varied fanbase because she doesn't have a set personality (fans are free to perceive her however they like, which in turn, could make her more personal and relatable). 

There was one thing I didn't know: the reason Hatsune Miku live concerts are so high energy and successful. I always thought it was to see her on stage, but it actually goes deeper than that. Crypton explains that Hatsune Miku live concerts are like a celebration of creation. Since Hatsune Miku songs are created by users, when she goes on stage and sings, she's expressing somebody else's creation -- like singing for them. When I heard that, I was thinking, Woah...

Think of this scenario: You create a song using the Hatsune Miku voice synthesizer program. You share it online, and who knows, it gets selected for a future concert (I don't know how realistic this is -- I don't know the process of song selections for Hatsune Miku live concerts). Then Hatsune Miku goes on stage and sings your creation, with everybody cheering for her -- for your creation -- for you. I can't even begin to describe how gratifying that would feel...

Hatsune Miku live concerts are celebrations of creations -- It's a wonderful perspective.

I definitely can't wait for the Hatsune Miku V3 English voice synthesizer to come out. I'd like to create some songs and share them with the world.

Crypton talking about Miku.
Thank you for coming to Fan Expo! 

Hatsune Miku's information. When they got to this slide, 
many attendees lifted their cameras. So funny. I did, too, though, so...

Direct from Japan: Yuu Asakawa Vocaloid -- 5:00 PM

This was a Q&A session with Yuu Asakawa. Yuu is soooo cute, funny, and adorable! I would have taken a pic of her, but my cell phone battery died by this time (Noooooo! D:). She did her best to answer every question in English, but sometimes she still had her translator do it. 

When Yuu talked about voice acting in Japan, I got the impression that it was, sadly, a very cutthroat industry. You gotta find something that can set yourself apart from the others. That's why Yuu learned English.

Yuu likes playing video games, particularly the Resident Evil games -- for Leon S. Kennedy (haha! That's why I want to play Resident Evil 4). "Screw Ada!" she breathed. So cute.

Yuu really wants to try working overseas, so if anybody's looking for a voice actress, she's your gal! 

At the end of the panel, Yuu announced that it was her translator's (Rin's) birthday. We all sang Happy Birthday to her. It was really fun!

Yuu also brought her 3DS, but I didn't get a chance to Streetpass her.

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After the panel with Yuu Asakawa, I rushed to Voice Acting 101 with Brad Swaile, but they were at full capacity. :(

Misc. Photos for Saturday

Minecraft and R2D2.

Replica weapon from Gears of War 3.

Bunch of storm troopers.

Cyanide and Happiness booth this year. The banana costumes are funny.

Sunday
Time Attended: 9:45 AM - 5:45 PM

Off comment: Finally! Back to where I was with my blog yesterday... at 6 AM. *sniffle* ;_; (is currently 9:32 AM)

I wanted to attend the Cast of Walking Dead panel, but knowing that the subway starts running at 9 AM on Sundays, I knew I was at a disadvantage to those who stayed at hotels. And I was right. By the time I got to Fan Expo, there was already a massive line. And the panel didn't even start until 11 AM. 

Screw it! I thought, and I trekked to the South Dealers room, spent a lot of my money at the Artists Alley, and got in line for the next panel.  

Takamasa Sakurai: Power of 
"Cosplay, Anime, Manga and Kawaii-Fashion, Idol Music of Japan" -- 12:45 PM

Takamasa Sakurai's presentation looked at how the Japanese pop culture was slowly making its way across the world and being accepted as "normal" ("normal" is a super subjective term, which is why I've placed the quotation marks). If gothic lolita fashion or cosplay became more seen as "normal" in Toronto, I would totally wear the stuff more often. I actually attended Fan Expo in a different outfit everyday, because I rarely get the chance to wear them on a "normal" day.

Takamasa Sakurai also talked about how cosplay can cross boundaries and create connections. I've never thought about cosplay in that way. In a room full of strangers, common interests could be found through cosplay. If, say, a guy was dressed as... Locke from Final Fantasy 6, anybody seeing him could presume two very likely things:

1. The guy likes Locke's character
2. The guy likes Final Fantasy 6

Anybody seeing him who also likes Locke from Final Fantasy 6 will know they share a common interest.

It is very likely (unless you have tons of money to spend on cosplay) that people who cosplay, cosplays from a series they like, and most often, a character they like (though that is not always the case). Making costumes can be very time-consuming. Why would anybody spend time creating a costume for a character from a series they don't like and then wear it? It doesn't make... a lot of sense.

If I cosplay as Hatsune Miku, everybody will know (well, everybody who can recognize who I am) that I like Hatsune Miku. If I sing one of her songs at a karaoke event or something, everybody will know that I like that particular song of hers.

From his presentation, Takamasa Sakurai came across as all-out easygoing, friendly, and funny. He mentioned that many people have asked him to autograph their Death Note books in the past, and he doesn't like it. Please, don't ask him to sign your Death Note book!

At the end of the presentation, he expressed a hope that we will all meet again, and then we all gathered together for a group photo. I wanna see that pic! Hahaha.

Takamasa Sakurai doing his presentation.

So You Want to be a Game Developer? -- 2:15 PM

This panel was really informative. And since I would like to be a game developer one day, I'm not gonna share what I learned. Haha. Just kidding.

The panelists focused on the indie game scene. Resumes carry almost no weight here. You have to be able to show what you can do -- meaning, that if you're looking to get hired into a video game company, you should already have some games created and they're online somewhere to be played on.

The video game industry right now is largely looking for programmers -- more so with female programmers (lucky that I'm female!). The reason for the gender specification is that when a female programmer is tasked with programming games for a female audience, any feedback she has could represent that target market. 

The main programming language to learn is C++, but there are also video game engines (like Game Maker and Unity3D) available that give you a chance to create games without knowing C++. For me, I use Ren'Py (awesome visual novel engine). The panelists also mention needing some math skills... (aggg, my cryptonite!!)

They also mentioned that attending Game Jams and other video game-related events is a good chance to meet people from the industry, and possibly build connections.

Okay... learning C++ is gonna be on my to-do list in the near future.

Exclusive Vocaloid: Hatsune Miku Live Party Concert Screening -- 4:00 PM

My ticket to the concert screening.

Yay, the event I was waiting for! I knew it was a DVD screening, but I didn't care. I had to attend and express my fandom and support for Hatsune Miku. I had a feeling that this DVD screening was like a test run, to gauge the fanbase in Canada. Of course, it wouldn't be a fully accurate representation since Fan Expo brings in attendees from all over the world. But it's still some kind of visual gauge.

I really hope a live concert of Hatsune Miku will come to Canada.

The DVD screening was great. I really loved that she sang "Melt" and "Yellow" -- I love those songs.

The audience. Lots of people! Yay!

I don't remember which song this is, but Hatsune Miku looks so pretty here.

Overall Thoughts

Fan Expo Canada 2013 was great. It was really unfortunate that I couldn't attend Brad Swaile's panel or any of the Sketch Duels, but I enjoyed what I did attend. I think I learned the most from panels this year, compared to all the other past conventions. The cosplay was also pretty varied, though I saw a ton of Finns and Jakes from Adventure Time (which is totally a good thing, 'cuz Adventure Time rocks).

Also, I got a ton of Streetpasses for my Streetpass games. I can't wait to attend next year. On the way back home, I ended up chatting with somebody about Fan Expo (what is up with me being chatty this year? I don't get it. That is sooo unlike me). 

Anywho, great show. :)

 All my consolation prizes from the Lucky Charms promotion.

Photos of Cosplayers

As mentioned earlier, here are some photos of cosplayers:

Psylocke from X-Men

Super Girl and... I don't know (little help, somebody?).

Bat Girl and The Riddler.

Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th.

Scary Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Kick-A**.

Loki and Deadpool.

Jake from Adventure Time. Sooo cute!

Aang and Kuzon (who is also Aang). 
Kuzon is soooo cute! :)

Grell Sutcliff and Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler.

Catbus!

Hatsune Miku. I will do my best to cosplay as her next year.
Just gotta buy the costume in time... 

Len & Rin Kagamine.

Megurine Luka.

Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Zelda. Really nice outfits.

Villager from Super Smash Brothers 3DS / Wii U.

Violent Luigi.

Butterfrees from Pokemon.

Sailor Neptune, Pluto, Uranus, and Saturn.

Shadow of the Colossus.

Creepy character from The Grudge.
Smart choice to stand next to that bright board. 
The longer I had my camera up, the darker the screen got, 
automatically adjusting the focus to the bright board instead of the girl. 

Cosplay I wanted to take a pic of, but missed my chance
-Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender (she was dressed so well, too!)
-Celes from Final Fantasy 6 (Whyyyyy?! D:)
-Alicia from Valkyria Chronicles (I almost never see any cosplayers for Valkyria Chronicles, and it's such an awesome game)

My Convention Purchases

Since I went over my $400 budget last year, I decided to up it considerably this year: $800. But guess what? I ended up spending less than last year's budget! Total yay for me (since that means more money is saved for other things). 

When buying fan stuff, I often have this frame of mind:

1. Does the art style align with my tastes?
2. Does this work express the kind of fandom that expresses me? (like, if I saw a poster of Zuko and Kitara holding hands and gently smiling, I might get it, because it expresses how I feel about their relationship -- a sense of deep understanding for each other)
3. Is this a piece of work that will evoke something in me every time I see it?

I gotta be picky like this, or my room will be filled with fan work. Of course, there are exceptions to everything. I'm way more lenient with crossovers or if it's just plain unique. Also, not every series gets the fan treatment. And of course, with original work, art style will play a larger factor. I'd say story, too, but you can't really stand at a booth, and read a whole volume to see how the story's like.

I was very poster-buying-happy this year, even though I'm not allowed to put up posters in my room.

Here is what I bought:

Cute cat posters.

One Piece x Gintama posters.

Snow Miku & Blue-Pink Hatsune Mikus posters.
Snow Miku is so adorable. 

Earthbound posters.

Archer from League of Legends (LoL), 
Hatsune Miku, and Serenity from Sailor Moon posters.
I haven't played LoL, but I like Archer's outfit.

Archer from LoL and Princess Tutu x Sailor Moon x Utena posters.

Posters from Xaio Bai. Her work is so pretty.

Manga and artbook from Shilin Huang. Her posters looked 
really nice, so I took a chance on her original manga volumes.

The Art of Daxiong Collection Artbook. I think next time I'll buy some prints.

Cute postcards. Yes, I know I already have 
that L postcard from last year's convention.
I just love it that much, haha. 

Buttons and a "Bleep Boop" R2D2 postcard.
I actually don't want the R2D2 postcard. I bought it because I liked the design but...
 not because I wanted to own it.

Some business cards.

Some more business cards.

So, to calculate the "damage" to my wallet:
Brad Swaile's autograph: $10
Cat posters: $30
One Piece x Gintama posters: $30
Snow Miku & Pink-Blue Mikus posters: $15 (these were a STEAL at that price!)
Earthbound posters: $20
LoL, Hatsune Miku, Serenity posters: $30
LoL & Princess Tutu-Sailor Moon-Utena posters: $20
Xiao Bai posters: $30
Shilin Huang's original manga & artbook: $60
The Art of Daxiong Collection Artbook: $40
Cute postcards: $10
"Bleep Boop" postcard: $2
Buttons: $20


Total "Damage" This Year: $317.00

Total "Damage" Last Year: $466.80




Well, thanks for reading (if you made it this far)! If you have any questions about anything I experienced at Fan Expo Canada, or just comments and questions on anything, feel free to comment!

Now I'll add some scrolly things and I'll talk about my "one-sided convention crush" (warning: that section is pretty long). I separated this from my Fan Expo experience because... well... even though it happened at Fan Expo, I don't think it's really related to Fan Expo. It's more a personal experience than anything else. So if you want to continue reading, feel free. But my Fan Expo convention experience portion is done.



This week's Sunday blog will be delayed to Monday -- to pace out the blogging by just a bit. I mean, my end-of-month blog is coming up tomorrow (a lot of blogs right after each other, haha).

Have an awesome weekend! :)

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My "One-Sided Convention Crush"

I was in line for Yuu Asakawa's autograph on Friday evening. A few minutes after I got there, two guys lined up behind me. I paid absolutely no heed to them, and continued my Streetpassing. Then the two guys started to converse, and I couldn't help but overhear the conversation (I mean, I was right in front of them). One guy had a slightly high-pitched, nasally voice; the other had a low, smooth one. 

They talked about various subjects, and at first, I really wasn't paying attention. But then the low voice asked the slightly high voice about his fluency in other languages, and my ears perked right up.

"Yeah, Japanese, German, and French." (not sure about French, but I remember three languages listed)

Then the low voice asked about the double Japanse pronunciations of "four" ("shi" / "yon") and "seven" ("shichi" / "nana"). 

"You can still pronounce them that way ["shi" for "four" and "shichi" for "seven"], but it's like, a crude way of pronouncing them." 

They continued talking and then slightly high voice mentioned that he developed an interest in Japan through the music and live-action TV shows, then later commenting that the spoken language in anime is often casual / informal (which is true. If you want to learn how to speak Japanese properly, anime is not the best example to follow).

Then they talked about video games, past conventions, autographs they're planning to get, other things, and I was for the most part, listening. All that was going through my head was, This guy sounds cool! I want to turn around and see him!

From their conversation, I also learned that the slightly high voice lived in Nova Scotia and came to Fan Expo via a 19-hour car ride (ouch!!). I also learned that he was attending the Hatsune Miku concert screening on Sunday.

I did end up turning around a few times, but never got a good look at his face. All I remembered was: he was tall, wore dark grey, and had a dark grey-brown hat.

After getting Yuu Asakawa's autograph, I thought, Well, maybe I'll see him again at the Miku concert on Sunday.

Well...

I actually saw him on Saturday! And Sunday morning. He attended a good number of the panels that I attended -- and often sitting somewhere in front of me. o.O' 

He attended:
-The Hatsune Miku panel
-The Q&A session with Yuu Asakawa (he asked her a question in Japanese)
-The Takamasa Sakurai presentation

During those panels, I kinda stole glances at him every now and then (haha, it's like high school all over again). On Sunday before the Takamasa Sakurai presentation, I Streetpassed him for the second time. Then and there, I decided to send him a personal message.

"U R hot, guy! :)" was my message. He was definitely cool, but I wasn't expecting anything back from my message. We won't be able to Streetpass again for who knows how many hours, and Fan Expo would be finished by then. And who knows if he would even get this message -- let alone read it. I just... wanted to express it... to him. But too shy to do it in person.

When I entered the auditorium for the Hatsune Miku live concert screening, I thought, This place is huge! There's no way I'll see that guy here. Like, if he decided to sit at the balcony, there's no way that I would know, being in the Orchestra area. I took my seat and did some Streetpassing. Close to 30 minutes before the concert started, I looked to the entrance by my level, and there he came in with his friend... and sat in the same row as me...

I stared him, dumbfounded. Of all the possibilities where I would have missed seeing him, he's here... before me... He and his friend then moved to some empty seats at the very front... in front of me. -_- Am I doomed to always see the back of his head?! As usual, I stole glances at him from time to time.

I'm not sure, but I think he got my Streetpass message during the concert. All of a sudden, he started looking around the auditorium. At that point, I didn't know what to do. I wasn't expecting anything from him. I didn't want to put any sort of pressure on him. To me, that meant (sadly): I couldn't interact with him.

I think he figured out who I was in the end because when the concert was over and the lights came on, he turned around and looked straight in my direction (or at my area -- I looked away before I could tell for sure). 

I'm not expecting anything from him, I thought, and I got off my seat and walked out of the auditorium.

I went to the washroom and gathered my thoughts. This was the first time I ever had a crush on a guy whom I knew I would (most likely) never see again. 

When I exited the washroom, I thought, That guy is gone now for sure. He's on his 19-hour drive back to Nova Scotia.

I exited the main entrance of the Metro Convention Centre, and there he was -- sitting by the curb with his friend, playing his 3DS. Again, I stared at him -- this time with my jaw dropping. Then the thought came back to my head: what do I do?

If I wanted to interact with him at all, this would be my last chance...

After what seemed like minutes, I gritted my teeth and started to walk away. I'm not expecting anything from him -- that's not why I sent that message. I wanted to express how I felt... that's all. 

About a minute later, I stopped walking. I walked back to the Convention Centre, took a pic of his back, and left.

I never did Streetpass him again.

Hot guy is playing his 3DS, sitting next to his friend in the orange hoodie.

One unfortunate side effect of my "one-sided convention crush": Every time I do Streetpass these days, I think about Fan Expo -- and him. It makes me a bit sad. I guess I really did want to say "hi" in the end...

I hope he got back to Nova Scotia safely, and I hope he comes to Fan Expo next year. I'd like the chance to see him again. And maybe to say "hi".

I think the phrase is: "Mata aitai".


If you read this part of the blog... thank you for reading! I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this long... sooo embarrassing to write, but I'm glad it's written and expressed.

Thanks again, and take care! :)