With Smash growing by leaps and bounds month by month and year by year it is incredibly impressive to say the least. However as we continue to grow it is a great idea to take inspiration from other growing communities to see what we can learn from them to improve ourselves.
While visiting Further Confusion 2016, the furry convention sharing a venue with Genesis 3, to report on their own Smash event I had a chance to learn a lot about how they run their events. When I learned they were taking notes on our events to learn and gain ideas for their next convention I realized how clever that was I started to take notes of my own.
After having a full tour of the event and experiencing a small taste of the convention I have found a lot of things we could bring back to improve Smash events we host. Some of these ideas have started to be implemented at only a few events, others not yet implemented at all. Before continuing on be sure to read Part 1 where I discuss the Smash tournament at the event and my impressions of the community in general. Ready to learn what the furry community can teach us on running better events? Let's get started!
Use Of Print
Pictured above is the cover for the Further Confusion 2016 pocket program. I was able to pick one of these up when going into the convention. It included a map of the venue which helped navigation to an extensive degree, a map to all restaurants close to the venue with price estimates, places to find banks and ATM machines close to the venue, a detailed description of the schedule and events, numbers to help in case of emergency, and MORE.
While smartphones are now prevalent these days there are times that the convenience of print is simply much better. Plus if a phone loses its charge that can lead to a rough time. This convenience helped a lot of people navigate and get to where they needed with much less struggle.
This doesn't stop the printed media for the event either. Outside of this regular booklet there is a full convention book filled with pictures from artists at the event, further explanations of what is happening and special guests, stories, advertisements from vendors and sponsors, and more.
So how could we apply this concept to Smash? These are both wonderful souvenirs of the event to start, and with the potential to add a few blank pages for signatures from favorite players could end up being a cherished keepsake from the event.
While we may not need two books considering the smaller number of events we hold, imagine a convenient booklet with all the information an attendee could need and explanations to keep the hype exciting for new fans. Who are these players and what is a crew battle? Why is this match in the salty suite important? Where is doubles being shown on the screen and at what time? All of this alongside an opportunity for more exposure for sponsors or creators in the form of ads is great for the community at large as well.
One of the things that the organizers of Furcon enjoyed was the size of our badges, the were large and easy to see compared to the smaller sized versions. However one of the most impressive features was on site printing for badges. These badges had whatever name you wanted on them and people could preregister to have them printed in advance.
The coolest thing about this system is its potential in smash. Imagine if each player had their names on badges to make the easy to identify. How about the ruleset on every card, or even the exact pool information with times for each player? All printed the day of with registration done without giant binders of paper with names that some still use.
Promote Upcoming Events
Genesis 3 itself did this with various advertising for other upcoming majors, and the furry community was very clear that it was a huge point to their success. Some even took tables at the event to promote their own upcoming convention to those at Further Confusion.
Whether people are attending or just watching at home knowing exactly when the next event to do so is with details is a great way to keep people invested. The more majors working together to help the next one out the larger the train of following can be as well so the entire community gains when each member helps each other.
The furry community has been taking extra money fro those attending to better their events for much longer than us and most events have all funds going to charity on top of it! They've been around the block. One thing I found particularly interesting is how their way of doing things is compared to ours.
Instead of a large fund everyone puts into, most of the rewards help individuals going to the convention. Everything from the usual t-shirts to special badges that show you were a donor at the event and even special meals for people at certain levels. This added on to regular admission to events, not done as a separate fundraiser with goals once everyone meets them. The rewards received are for those who donate and those who donate only.
This has its strengths and weaknesses but this style should be potentially explored, especially smaller events that could use extra funds but are not ready for a full scale giant compendium.
Something For Everyone
What happens to those players that go 0-2 in tournament? While the hype at live events is something incredible to experience, most know that it's very difficult to catch all of the events even with giant screens and its simply impossible to catch all the action happening when there's food to be gotten and friends to see. At times it can be easier to sit in the hotel room with Twitch and Twitter to keep up on all the news. This makes it harder to convert some of the more casual fans into becoming invest people in for the long run.
So how can this be combated so that even the most casual of fans will want to come to events? The answer is to find more ways to provide value. Events like Super Smash Con have begun to do this and its easy to see why it gets such rave reviews. There was something for everyone to do. I was able to participate in Karaoke, but also had the opportunity to learn about self publishing, voice acting, how to hire the best artists, and even see a full on animal show!
While some of these things wouldn't work in a Smash environment I am sure we can better ways to provide value at tournaments for little added funds and effort. An autograph booth to help players hunt down top players, a cosplay photo shoot area for anyone interested, a panel on how to write for Smash (#bias), how to make stellar combo videos... The possibilities are endless and it helps make the events really worth their time even for the weakest competitors or fans who just like to watch the game and help aspiring fans or members of the community who want to contribute learn how to better.
One of the biggest things touted as amazing at Smash events is the ability to run i into old friends and see people for the first time in a long while and it is amazing for this, but why not make it better? Every night a dance was held and offered up a great place to just hang out without a controller for a while.
Its these little kinds of things that can make an event go from great to the number one planned for event that no one ever wants to miss.
There are plenty more small tidbits and interesting things but they could not all fit into a single article. For tournament organizers who want to learn about other hidden tricks and cool technical bits and pieces be sure to contact me via private message if you want to know more.
As we close out this unique series I want to once again thank all of the people at Further Confusion 2016 for being so welcoming and thank the community here at Smashboards for being open to the series, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Have a comment on some of these ideas? Drop them in the comments below and stay tuned: more news and articles are always on the way!
While visiting Further Confusion 2016, the furry convention sharing a venue with Genesis 3, to report on their own Smash event I had a chance to learn a lot about how they run their events. When I learned they were taking notes on our events to learn and gain ideas for their next convention I realized how clever that was I started to take notes of my own.
After having a full tour of the event and experiencing a small taste of the convention I have found a lot of things we could bring back to improve Smash events we host. Some of these ideas have started to be implemented at only a few events, others not yet implemented at all. Before continuing on be sure to read Part 1 where I discuss the Smash tournament at the event and my impressions of the community in general. Ready to learn what the furry community can teach us on running better events? Let's get started!
---
Use Of Print
Pictured above is the cover for the Further Confusion 2016 pocket program. I was able to pick one of these up when going into the convention. It included a map of the venue which helped navigation to an extensive degree, a map to all restaurants close to the venue with price estimates, places to find banks and ATM machines close to the venue, a detailed description of the schedule and events, numbers to help in case of emergency, and MORE.
While smartphones are now prevalent these days there are times that the convenience of print is simply much better. Plus if a phone loses its charge that can lead to a rough time. This convenience helped a lot of people navigate and get to where they needed with much less struggle.
This doesn't stop the printed media for the event either. Outside of this regular booklet there is a full convention book filled with pictures from artists at the event, further explanations of what is happening and special guests, stories, advertisements from vendors and sponsors, and more.
So how could we apply this concept to Smash? These are both wonderful souvenirs of the event to start, and with the potential to add a few blank pages for signatures from favorite players could end up being a cherished keepsake from the event.
While we may not need two books considering the smaller number of events we hold, imagine a convenient booklet with all the information an attendee could need and explanations to keep the hype exciting for new fans. Who are these players and what is a crew battle? Why is this match in the salty suite important? Where is doubles being shown on the screen and at what time? All of this alongside an opportunity for more exposure for sponsors or creators in the form of ads is great for the community at large as well.
Print-A-Badge
One of the things that the organizers of Furcon enjoyed was the size of our badges, the were large and easy to see compared to the smaller sized versions. However one of the most impressive features was on site printing for badges. These badges had whatever name you wanted on them and people could preregister to have them printed in advance.
The coolest thing about this system is its potential in smash. Imagine if each player had their names on badges to make the easy to identify. How about the ruleset on every card, or even the exact pool information with times for each player? All printed the day of with registration done without giant binders of paper with names that some still use.
Promote Upcoming Events
Genesis 3 itself did this with various advertising for other upcoming majors, and the furry community was very clear that it was a huge point to their success. Some even took tables at the event to promote their own upcoming convention to those at Further Confusion.
Whether people are attending or just watching at home knowing exactly when the next event to do so is with details is a great way to keep people invested. The more majors working together to help the next one out the larger the train of following can be as well so the entire community gains when each member helps each other.
Compendium: A Different Style
The furry community has been taking extra money fro those attending to better their events for much longer than us and most events have all funds going to charity on top of it! They've been around the block. One thing I found particularly interesting is how their way of doing things is compared to ours.
Instead of a large fund everyone puts into, most of the rewards help individuals going to the convention. Everything from the usual t-shirts to special badges that show you were a donor at the event and even special meals for people at certain levels. This added on to regular admission to events, not done as a separate fundraiser with goals once everyone meets them. The rewards received are for those who donate and those who donate only.
This has its strengths and weaknesses but this style should be potentially explored, especially smaller events that could use extra funds but are not ready for a full scale giant compendium.
Something For Everyone
What happens to those players that go 0-2 in tournament? While the hype at live events is something incredible to experience, most know that it's very difficult to catch all of the events even with giant screens and its simply impossible to catch all the action happening when there's food to be gotten and friends to see. At times it can be easier to sit in the hotel room with Twitch and Twitter to keep up on all the news. This makes it harder to convert some of the more casual fans into becoming invest people in for the long run.
So how can this be combated so that even the most casual of fans will want to come to events? The answer is to find more ways to provide value. Events like Super Smash Con have begun to do this and its easy to see why it gets such rave reviews. There was something for everyone to do. I was able to participate in Karaoke, but also had the opportunity to learn about self publishing, voice acting, how to hire the best artists, and even see a full on animal show!
While some of these things wouldn't work in a Smash environment I am sure we can better ways to provide value at tournaments for little added funds and effort. An autograph booth to help players hunt down top players, a cosplay photo shoot area for anyone interested, a panel on how to write for Smash (#bias), how to make stellar combo videos... The possibilities are endless and it helps make the events really worth their time even for the weakest competitors or fans who just like to watch the game and help aspiring fans or members of the community who want to contribute learn how to better.
One of the biggest things touted as amazing at Smash events is the ability to run i into old friends and see people for the first time in a long while and it is amazing for this, but why not make it better? Every night a dance was held and offered up a great place to just hang out without a controller for a while.
Its these little kinds of things that can make an event go from great to the number one planned for event that no one ever wants to miss.
---
There are plenty more small tidbits and interesting things but they could not all fit into a single article. For tournament organizers who want to learn about other hidden tricks and cool technical bits and pieces be sure to contact me via private message if you want to know more.
As we close out this unique series I want to once again thank all of the people at Further Confusion 2016 for being so welcoming and thank the community here at Smashboards for being open to the series, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Have a comment on some of these ideas? Drop them in the comments below and stay tuned: more news and articles are always on the way!
(I kid)
