What do you do at conventions/Why do you go?

[DarkHyren]

I used to go to conventions back in the day, when things like supernova were just starting up.
At first I just went to enter TCG tourneys (I was pretty heavily into the scene back in the day) but the atmosphere was good and there were plenty of things to see do and new people to meet, including actors from anime and sci fi.

But as time went on and the cons got more popular they began increasing prices, having less to see and do (unless you paid heaps of money), and became little more then glorified sales expos you had to pay twice for (once to get in and then again to buy stuff for nearly the same prices as ebay) because buying merchandise was the only thing left to do.
As the others have said, even the actors dont get to do what they want anymore, ie. stop and chat to the fans, tell tall tales, basically have a grand old time with people as passionate as they are.

So sure, conventions can be good to meet up with other fans and get some autographs, but I find the downsides far outweigh the benefits these days with things being too expensive, not enough free entertainment to warrant the cost of admission, and all the chaos going on.
Last time I went to a con I felt like I was just at a shopping center on a thursday night with all the screaming kids, shoppers, and people just hanging out there cause they had nothing better to do.

Give me a small gathering with a group of dedicated fans over that any day of the week!

[Zommael]

Primarily to spend money. I've found I can normally get a wider range of stuff at a con for reasonable prices than I would locally.

Secondary to that, to meet people. Not just people I've arranged to meet but to make new friends with people with similar interests.

The final reason would be celebrities. I have no real interest in just getting photos and pictures signed, but if there's an author or comic book writer/artist I like I will get them to sign a piece of their work, either a comic or a print in the case of artists. The prices charged for so-called big name celebrities at events like Supanova are a rip-off, especially when they frequently advertise celebrities in attendance who cancel a few weeks before the event.

[MayzaPrime]

I am planning on going to 2 Oz ComicCons this year, Melbourne and Brisbane. I love all things Scifi and really enjoy meeting Celebs from my favourite Scifi or Transformers shows.

I enjoying walking around, seeing all of the booths/stalls I also really enjoy looking at the comic artists work.

I dont really spend to much on items, but I do like getting photos with the celebs and getting some of my Transformers signed. Last convention I got John Di Maggio to sign my TF4 Crosshairs I also got Adam Baldwin to sign my Breakdown

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I went to Supanova and I'll have to admit it was hard to justify the costs with the celebrities. But I mainly went to catch up with the fellow Ozformers in the area.

After searching for a bit, I managed to meet up with Neil Kaplan and um, the guy who does Michelangelos voice from new TMNT (stretching for that one).

Neil was cool, tiny line and we had a good chat. nice bloke. Annoyingly while Neil was fine with photos, the staff were all "No." But at least they weren't telling people to move on. There was no line.

Thing that annoys me though was the place was too small, with no place to sit down and have some decent lunch.

But it was a fun experience, I'd go again, but only with good company

[5FDP]

I started going to Supanova back in 2003 but stopped about 5 years ago as I felt they were going too corporate. Early on they had the specialty dealers there similar to what you would find at the old Parramatta Fair but on a larger scale. With their sponsorships with EB, JB HI FI etc., what they have on offer is nothing different to what you'd find going into a Westfields. At least with a Westfields, there's no entry fee.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I got an autograph from Claudia Christian from Babylon 5 at a convention but she didn't get my jokes so I didn't bother keeping it

I also get to meet Chase Masterson who played Leeta in Deep Space 9. I asked her when her character would leave Rom for Morn and she just laughed and said 'next question'. Since she was also not wearing her Dabo Girl attire I wrote her off as well

A friend of mine was verry chuffed as she was a bit of a sci-fi nut and got to meet the cute mechanic chick from Firefly and the fat guy from Sliders. I just stood in the background and took pictures for her.

I'm not that interested in the Celebs. Unless its someone I admire I really don't care. Same as not really caring about their opinions. I don't need superstars with private jets telling me how bad the environment is and how we all have to do our part when they leave a bigger carbon footprint in one trip than I do in one year

[philby]

hmm ok well maybe I will skip supanova then...is anyone from melbourne going?

[Paulbot]

hmm ok well maybe I will skip supanova then...is anyone from melbourne going?

There's a good chance a "Supanova [City] meetup" thread might pop up. Often one or two people here end up going to these things.

[Jetfire in the sky]

The Sabretron 2004 .

Best. Con. Ever. Although really it was a mincon (pun intended)

I can feel what everyone is saying about overcrowding, I went to New York Comic Con on the Thursday, the apparent quiet day and the entire facility was shoulder to shoulder, and this place was massive. I did get a little thrill by seeing the Toy Hunter and his shop, he was quite well priced and was so into what he was doing, I know people think he is a dick but I could see he truly loved being in amongst it. I was so lucky to stumble across his booth because by that time I was ready to go and didn't have a store guide. But overall it was a very annoying experience.

I agree with Trev with some of the cosplay, to get implants and wear a thong isn't that hard (unless you are a guy), and if you had a young child with you it would be pretty difficult to explain, but the people who actually make an effort, those cos-players are amazing.

If there were guests that I were interested in I would consider paying to get a photo/autograph.

I think we may see a rise in regional cons because of this overcrowding in the cities, the ones in Cairns and Mackay last year were quite good from what I have read, we are getting one in Townsville this year so I am very interested in going to it. We had a Lego one last year and it went really well and was great to go to.

[Kazza]

For the past few years I've been going to PAX (penny arcade expo), this has become my preferred one to attend as the general culture are there to have fun playings video games and board games collectively. I've spent the day with groups of friends and random people playing games such as RISK, Munchkins, Pandemic, Cards Against Humanity, etc. I also bring along my 3DS to play with the crowd of people or just play the games set up throughout the exhibit halls. Sometimes I dress up as well.

I use to attend Supanova and Armageddon but I've lost interest going those and haven't been to either of them in a while.