Anyway, that was Trotcon (2023) · 7:58pm Jul 14th, 2023
So passes my second Brony convention!
They moved to the Dayton convention center, making for less potential for impressive photos but also much more elbow room.
I felt like I had a better time, owing to a much more organized board game room that I ran about 6 hours worth of pony-themed games in (Buck Legacy, Adventures in Equestria, etc). The business kept me very active and made my free time very valuable. Maybe next time I'll make a proper panel...
The big winner for me was a presentation on G5, namely the numerous corporate politics and bad luck that have rocked the franchise, and some interesting looks at why it 'feels different' from G4. There was a lot of things I didn't know, and the presentation took a very even-keel approach by neither frothing at G5 nor ignoring its flaws, even making a dive into inherent quirks and troubles with CGI cartoons versus 2D.
Thus said, it was all a good time and I as usual went a little nuts with the dealers. Support indy artists!
The biggest single piece was the addition of Limestone to my plushie collection, courtesy of Gifter's Gifts. I love my grumpypones, and she is an excellent size for shoulder-rides or sitting in the lap.
They get along well.
Your cat certainly appears to appreciate the pones. That, or is demanding more pets. Or both.
Seeing Limestone with the happy closed eyes facial model doesn’t feel right…! The mind refuses to process…!
I do hope they make that even-keeled G5 presentation available at some point. As much as I know about all the behind the scenes stuff and the difficulties faced, it sounds like there’s be some new nuggets in there even for me…!
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I haven't dived as deep, so for me there was a lot new, and a lot I didn't consider (ie, COVID likely messing up the creation process just as they were trying to launch). There were clever and frank discussions, shining light into Hasbro's politics (with a new CEO heavily prioritizing Magic and D&D), but also tackling the show itself. From the understandable (releasing on Netflix is a terrible way to reach kids, and 7 hours of screentime across 2 years is not a lot), to the worthy criticism ("babies get introduced on sitcoms when they're out of ideas"), to the complicated (it's hard to make punchy slapstick in the CGI format), to the "MLP is just getting screwed" (aforementioned politics), it was a very impressive and measured take which acknowledged successes, failures, and hopes for potential.
Some great swag there!
I'm with Mike; I hope there will be a recording or transcript of the G5 presentation available at some point.
I would have loved to see that presentation on G5 you're talking about. Some people seem to love it but I just can't really enjoy it,sadly. That said, I would LOVE to travel to a brony convention sometime. Maybe Trotcon will end up being my first.
Also, love your cat in the background, heehee!
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Her name is Naggy, named for my headcanon first name for Miss Harshwhinny (Nagatha), and because she nagged me into taking her home.
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What an excellent cat.
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Awww! Now that’s precious
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I would love to see that presentation.
G5 had such big horseshoes to fill that I give it a lot of leeway, even if I am way behind on it.
The only design insight I have were all those leaked emails and anti-AJ propaganda towards the end of G4.
I'll just add, it boggles my mind that they would go from such distinct names (Pinke Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack are pretty hard to confuse or even get out of your head. Only one that people forget sometimes is Fluttershy's exact name the first few times they watch it)
to... Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp... and Sunny (had to google that last one). It took me like a month to remember all their names. How many 4 year olds are just zoning out because they've never had to hold two names with -i at their root in their head at the same time. And the characters themselves are good. I just really don't understand how they settled on such similar ones.
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The G5 cast are beans with great depth potential who deserve better (and, at least, are getting that in the comics).
In fairness, they do have last names (Sunny Starscout, Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, etc). While perhaps not as self-obvious as Fluttershy and so on, I don't think the convention is bad.
Don't think I got to see you, but perhaps next time. I'm sure one of my friends met you, they were a big fan of the boardgames!