[Hall Cosplay and Masquerade Awards]

I really didn't expect anyone to split a DVD player, knowing how physically impossible that is.

We handed out 4 DVD players. You guys seem to be the only ones who have a huge beef with the DVD player itself. The point about more prizes has been taken about 7 posts ago, as well as the response that was given.

You're point has been taken. We're getting to the point that it's a serious case of kicking a dead horse. I don't want to have to lock this thread for being repetitive, but at the same time I don't have a time machine to jump in and rewind to the point where I was desperately looking for prizes, which is apparently what I'm being asked to do now.

[Hall Cosplay and Masquerade Awards]

I saw the certificates after the show, and my heart did a little jump of happiness

It was the dvd player that had me scratching my head. I don't want to sound ungrateful, it just seemed a little impersonal to expect a big group to split the prizes awarded.

[Hall Cosplay and Masquerade Awards]

I want to start by saying that I like making costumes and I like performing on stage. I do it because I like making people happy enough that they clap or smile when they see a presentation my friends and I have worked hard on. That is the important part.

But we are discussing the awards given for being judged to have done all of the above well, and I feel that the awards at Otakon have always felt impersonal. All I really would have liked was an award that reflected that the masq knew who had won. Even if it means only a piece of paper with our names on it.

I thought that with the budget Otakon has they could regulate the prizes to something that would reward the participants with something they would undoubtedly enjoy, a return to the convention they had worked so hard to perform in. The badges would have taken the guesswork out of showing your appreciation to the participants. I have been proven wrong. There are many other things that benefit the con that could use the funds.

Otakon can either acknowledge the winning groups fairly by rewarding all the members or just hand out the title of the award and don't bother with a prize.

That being said, people like:

posters (little ones work well, they role up small)

figures

first dvd's from series

first manga from a series

soundtracks

plushies

pocky or other snacks

Just ask your prize person to look at the haul, make sure there is enough stuff to go around, and if they wouldn't want it or they think the stuff is really random, chances are the recipients will too. If it means no prizes, oh well, we weren't really in it for the prizes to begin with.

[Hall Cosplay and Masquerade Awards]

Ok...fine...200 badges (at the most, for EVERY WINNER to get a free badge for EVERY contest at Otakon, I don't even know if they have that many winners, I was guessing a number...) will cost $10,000 to the con...

22,000 members is the sell out limit. 22,000 x $50 is $1, 100,000.

So don't give them out to everyone, do what I said in the beginning and give them to the first place winners or the top-rank winners. They used to give them to the video game tournament winners, but not this year. I don't care if they ask the dealers to sponsor winners by putting up part of the cost of the badges...

I'm not pretending that I know how to run this con, but I'm not going to let someone tell me it's not feasible when they are working with over a million dollar budget.

They probably spend more than that fixing all the stuff the 14-year old Otaku break in and around the convention center.

I wonder how much of our membership money goes to cover damages?

[Hall Cosplay and Masquerade Awards]

Well, the DVD players were offered to me at the last moment. I mean, I would've sounded pretty silly if I turned them down.

[No Second Place Prizes?]

It seemed odd that there were no certificates for anyone, I've recieved honorable mentions in the past and those had certificates.

[Hall Cosplay and Masquerade Awards]

Thank you for running such amazing contests this year! I had the oppurtunity to participate in the Masq and friends of mine were in the Hall Costume events, so I know what a good job was done!

That being said, would it be possible to make a suggestion for prizes for the winners next year? Could you please, maybe, consider giving free memberships for next years con to people who win ranked awards in these events?

If you make that the only prize you give you can be consistant, fair, and give as many of them as necessary to groups who may have more members than the number of awards you were prepared to distribute to the winners of that award.

You also increase the odds of having that quality and caliber of performer return the following year

Just a suggestion, thanks!