LANtasy: The Final Episode

I thought I’d finish with a few different types of interviews. LANtasy was a gaming convention after all, so I have some more gaming related interviews this time. Cosplay Designers Ron2D2 and Timm Cosplay are also featured here, and of course, Jeff, the Chairman and Director of the LANtasy convention.

Featured in these interviews are: Ronn2D2 Cosplay, and Timm Cosplay

Jeff- Director of LANtasy 2016

This was LANtasy’s first year. Jeff is a director for LANtasy gaming society. He’s one of three directors. There was a wide variety of events including board games, RPG’s, Cosplay, Tabletop minis, and of course the LAN party. Also, it featured exhibitors ranging from steam punk, to large multi-national computer part suppliers. As a non-profit convention, the relationship this convention has with Saanich and Pearkes has been very successful, and MARCH 2018! HE SAID IT!!!!! The next convention will use the whole arena, instead of just the half it currently possessed, and extra events will be added. In the future, he hopes to add streaming capabilities to the convention. He had requests from groups like TWITCH, but had to decline, as the space and capabilities weren’t available this year. Powering this convention obviously takes a tremendous amount of electricity, and thanks to Pearkes, they had access to their industrial supply. For this reason, it might be a few years before this convention leaves Perks Arena. Also, for future conventions, he wants to add panels, and projector screens for live game play. Some Sponsors were also more prevalent this year, and he hopes more will be present for next year’s convention. I asked Jeff, as Director, what draws him to conventions like this? His immediate answer was the computer gaming. If he weren’t a director, he would have been part of the LAN-party. He has a whole system of his own that he would have brought, with his own huge tower and monitor. His wife however, who was just off to the side with their new born, will probably have him playing board games instead as his child grows. This non-profit convention is just a baby, but after the extremely good reviews from the city, and its participants, you can look forward to a huge expansion next year, after all THE DIRECTOR SAID SO!

Ronn2D2 Cosplay: Cosplay designer

Ronnie was cosplaying in one of her designs at LANtasy. Her Dragon Cannon (at least I think it was cannon…) was very well done, and sculpted to perfection. Up close the stitching and cut of the red dress was fantastic. If you’re looking for a commission, I know she’d be happy to supply. We spoke of what she wished to accomplish in the future and commissions were big on her list. She wants to go back to school to learn more about costume making and fashion design. One day she hopes to design costumes for theaters and films. Hopes to also continue to improve in makeup her future costume designs have body paint and makeup that she wants to learn before creating them. Her first design was a Wonder Woman costume in which she constructed the corset by hand, and we laughed about how she got very frustrated with it, having to make it over and over again to get it just right. Working more with worbla in the future, Ronnie currently loves using EVA foam, and wishes to try thermo plastic for future designs. When it comes to sewing, she despises silk. It’s really hard to work with, and she’s had nothing but bad experiences using it. I know I’m looking forward to your future designing career and projects yet to come!

Timm Cosplay: Cosplay Designer

What an exciting career this young artist has waiting for him. Currently going to school at the Phoenix Theater to become a profession designer, Tim’s career goal is to design costumes for theatre institutions in Victoria and Vancouver. Having a full time position working in a wardrobe for a theatre is his dream. He calls himself a hobbyist cosplayer, and aspiring designer since his debut in 2010 when he entered into the programs at the Phoenix Theater. Eventually attempting to create the Light Suit for Samus from Metroid, he prefers polyester fabrics for their ease and wrinkle resistance. Worbla, he has tried a few times, and believes its hype is overblown for its quality. He’ll easily work with it again however, because it does have its uses. Foam and wood for props are amazingly versatile, and for set design and costumes they have far to many uses to count. He refuses to use paper mache for anything, and would use canvas strips and white glue instead if it came to it. Winning the Cosplay Contest at LANtasy is another great accomplishment to have on his ever-growing resume or successes as he is also currently designing the costume for an upcoming play. With a future as open and bright as Tim’s, he’s one for sure you’re going to want to follow!

Roleplay tabletop gaming – David

Dungeons and Dragons is a game that Hollywood has turned non-players into believe that those that play wear weird wizard robes, and hoist swords, and loose themselves to the imagination of the game. I sat down with David, a guy who’s been playing role-playing games such as D&D since 1987, to get a more in-depth look at the game. He was very well spoken, and very descriptive. It made this 10-15min interview into almost a half hour endeavor.

Because his cousin played, David wanted to join in. As a child, and continuing now into adulthood, he has loved fantasy movies and books, and found this to be a way to not just watch, but to interact and become the story hero himself. Constantly throughout the interview, he mentioned that it’s a very social game. If you asked 20 different people why they played, they would all give you different reasons. He continues to play because it was a chance for him to sit down with his friends and do something they all enjoyed together on a Friday or Saturday night.

The best way to enjoy the game is to create your own character. At conventions like LANtasy characters have already been created for time constraints. Each game has certain roles on how to build your character. The Dungeon Master or Story Teller describes what’s happening and the geography of the story, so the players can enter the world. You generally would create Fighters, Wizards, Thieves or Healers. While each game has its own, you want to create a character that would play to your own personal strengths. Most role-playing games use dice for the much-needed random factor. You can say, “I want to hit the enemy.” Then instead of just saying, “OK, you hit the enemy,” the dice roll and how powerful your character is will decide if you hit the enemy, and how hard.

The great thing about playing a role-playing game versus a board game is that you are playing together instead of versus each other. It doesn’t matter how new you are, you won’t have people on your team trying to kill you off. You are working together to overcome the obstacles you face. If there ever was an them versus us scenario, it would be the group versus the Story Teller. The group is playing to have fun, not beat each other and be the solo victor. If there are people undermining the group, they are negatively influencing the game and generally those games disband and don’t continue. For those that are having too good of dice rolls, or are constantly missing the dice rolls, it is up to the whole group to decide if stats need to be changed, and how to accomplish that with the Story Teller

Finishing off his interview, he wanted to express his joy of the game. Any people who are thinking of joining a role-playing game should, as it is loads of fun, and even if you just play once, it’s an experience that gets you away from the computer and TV to socialize with friends and have some good laughs.

Computer Gaming – with Myles, Mert, Lewkis, Jordan, and Alexander

Myles is on staff at Tsukino-Con, a convention that I have attended for over a decade. When I noticed him with his home-brought computer, I had to ask. “What the Hell Man?” Him and his team of 5 were competing in a Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard Entertainment) tournament. His team was very friendly and extremely funny. So to finish off this Blog, I have a hilarious Podcast (guh the file was too big, so its a green screen as my converter isn’t working and Youtube wont let me upload for some reason) with “Team BOTCHALISM”.

With Love,

Sammi ~ Infinite Colour Photos