SMASH! : Sydney Manga and Anime Show. Held at the Sydney Exhibition and Conference Centre at Darling Harbour, this pop culture extravaganza has been growing every year since it’s inception in 2007. From a modest 1400 attendees in a small university hall, SMASH! has grown to fill ever larger venues, boasting attendance figures of over 5000 people last year.
And this year was no different, as thousands of anime, manga and gaming fans flocked to the city centre to spend the beautifully sunny day in the vendor packed halls of the Exhibition centre, taking in special guest panels, merchandise galore and of course the main event – the Cosplay Competition.
Also on offer was a bout of Cosplay Chess, a Maid Café (bookings essential…), Cosplay workshops covering Steampunk, leatherwork and sewing, some karaoke, and a Madman screening room. Gundam fans had the chance to build their own creation thanks to Hobby Co, and the Sydney Gaming League were on hand with several titles set up for some competitive play. There were plenty of events large and small to keep the day ticking over, guaranteeing that no pop culture stone was left unturned.
The event was certainly a slick one, bringing three international guests to Australian shores for some panels and interviews. Sakura Tange (voice actress: Cardcaptor Sakura, Dead or Alive), Yūko Miyamura (voice actress: Neon Genesis Evangelion, J-pop singer) and Shin-ichiro Miki (voice actor: Bleach, Pokemon, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) all graced the main stage, interacting with fans and answering questions about their careers.
A charity auction raised money in support of the Fred Hollows Foundation, and was swiftly followed by the Cosplay Competition, which ran for over two hours and saw dozens of entrants take to the stage to show off their efforts. It was certainly the main event of the day, and saw the main hall packed out with fans eager to catch a glimpse of some of the best cosplays of the day.
SMASH! 2012 marked yet another successful year for Sydney’s premiere pop culture event, so make sure and check out the full coverage here at Capsule Computers. Our thanks to the lovely people at SMASH! for pulling off such a great day, and to all the attendees who helped create such a great atmosphere. Make sure and check out all the photographs of the event below, you never know where you might see yourself!
SMASH! is best known for its cosplay competition and guest stars, but slotted in between those events was a charity auction in aid of the Fred Hollows Foundation. A handful of collectible items contributed by guests and vendors managed to make a significant sum for the charity, which works with Indigenous Australians and people in developing countries and over the years has helped restore the sight of more than 1 million people worldwide.
The rules were simple: no registration – just yell! In a packed out auditorium ready and waiting for the soon to follow Cosplay Competition, extreme decibel levels, jumping, waving and yelling were often the order of the day.
First up came a series of souvenirs straight from Japan courtesy of guest Sakura Tange. All went for reasonable amounts, giving the auction a solid start – there were bigger fish to fry later, no matter how cute the cat eye mask was.
A couple of signed editions of Evangelion brought the bidding into triple digits, with a particular attendee flashing the cash to walk away with a significant haul of goodies – congratulations to ‘the man in the black shirt’. Last but by far least, a one of a kind art book with contributions from artists from throughout Australia and signed by all three international guests.
There were some beautiful pieces of artwork showcased here, and the bidding war that followed reflected the quality on offer. The going price quickly leapt up into the hundreds of dollars, with the crowd roaring along as the figure just kept soaring.
As the pages kept turning and more unique pieces were revealed the bids just kept coming.
Finally, one extremely flush fan walked away with his prize, handing over a cool four figure sum for the privilege of owning this one of a kind piece.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to SMASH! for supporting such a great cause. You can find out more about the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation at www.hollows.org
Out of all of the annual conventions that grace Sydney each year, SMASH is definitely the convention for Gundam fans. In addition to all of the available Gundam merch on the show floor and the Gundam Building Workshop, SMASH is also the home of the Gunpla Builders World Cup. Officially sponsored by Bandai each year, the Gunpla Builders World Cup is an annually held competition to find the best Gunpla builders from around the world. And where better to display the works of the contestants than at an anime convention?
Created to show off the works of the best builders in Australia, the Gunpla Builders World Cup was again hosted at SMASH in 2012. The competition features several categories, each with different rules and restrictions to apply to Gunpla builders of differing experience and styles. This year, there were 5 classes all up. The Junior class is available for builders under the age of 14, and the three secondary classes for those who wish to build the best stock models with no modifications. And for the best of the best, and the most creative of minds is the open class, which allows modifications of the mobile suits themselves, as well as scenery and even dioramas.
Even as a Gundam fan who has several years of experience building Gunpla model kits under my belt, I still have to say I was in awe of the skill and creativity that had been applied in all of the competition categories. Despite my own experience and skill with model kit building, I felt dwarfed by the skill of some of Australia’s best building talent. My personal favourite was a customised version of Heavyarms Custom from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz, which had been altered to show a great amount of battle damage in combat.
However, at the end of the day, only 5 winners could be chosen to receive the first place prizes. The winners of the Junior and Open classes won an all expenses paid trip to Japan for the International World Cup finals. Winners and runners up in other categories received valuable product hampers from Bandai.
All in all, this public display of Australian talent was not only contest worthy, it was downright COOL. Shelves upon shelves of professionally constructed model kits and even a few humorous dioramas, the Gunpla Builders World Cup remains a SMASH event worthy of the notice of fans. After all, an entire section of the show floor was devoted to showing off these model kits to be admired by the public, which is certainly something that I hope to do someday for myself. Maybe next year?
Madman Entertainment held an industry panel during SMASH! Con 2012 which bore news of several title acquisitions for the company. They previously announced several title acquisitions at both Supanova Perth 2012 and Supanova Sydney 2012, however one could argue that it was their SMASH! announcements that were most impressive.
The following titles have been acquired by Madman Entertainment:
Mahoromatic: I’m Home – slated for release in November.
Shangri- La – slated for release in November.
Strike Witches 2 – slated for release in December.
That wasn’t all that they revealed though, they also announced that should Gintama: The Movie perform well they plan on looking into licensing and ultimately releasing the anime series upon which it is based.
What do you think of these title acquisitions for Madman Entertainment? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you’re a fan of the mecha anime genre, then chances are, you’ve heard of Gundam. Widely considered the granddaddy of all mecha anime, this franchise’s success and popularity has been attributed to not only the various anime series themselves, but also for the release of multitudes of collectible constructible model kits. Referred to as ‘Gunpla’, these model kits are hugely popular in Japan and increasingly so in the west due to the clever snap-lock designs which require no glue or special tools to put together. The final result of construction is a scaled replica of the various mobile suits from the animes.
At the Sydney Anime and Mange Show for 2012, HobbyCo had once again sponsored the Gundam Building Workshop. Just as with years before, this event was free for all to attend, and builders of every caliber invited to join. Due to its high popularity, and limited seating per session, most convention goers had to make a booking in advance. Once your allotted time had come around, every patron of the workshop was ushered towards one of several tables and issued a free model kit. Everyone was also provided with temporary tools to assist in a clean construction. Each table had a mentor present to assist first timers in how to build their own Gundam Model kit.
Now, while I myself have had plenty of experience in building Gunpla, there were several youngsters at my table that were clearly in need of some assistance. It was nice to see that not only were the mentors enthusiastic and helpful, but other, more seasoned model kit builders were also willing to lend a hand. And it must be said, that the experience is all the more wholesome if attended with a group of friends who share the same interests. Being in the company of other anime and manga fans, conservation quickly turned to favourite series, characters, mobile suits and even sprouting bragging rights about the biggest and best builds that each person at the table had properly completed. Unfortunately, time was limited to half an hour sessions at a time. But there was no worry, since every attendee got to keep their model kits and parts to finish at home if they ran out of time.
For those interested in specifics, the freely issued model this year was an SD (Super-Deformed) Grade model kit from the anime ‘Gundam Brave Battle Warriors’; A lesser known series outside of Japan, but certainly worth a watch for particularly Gundam and Dynasty Warriors fans.
Regardless of whether or not this was your first experience building a Gundam model kit, or if you’re a Gunpla veteran looking for a freebie and like minded fans, the Gundam Building Workshop was a heck of a lot of fun to attend. The sense of community and personal achievement derived from constructing your own war robot is something to be experienced and is still the reason why this particular SMASH event continues to stand out as one of my annual convention favourites. If you missed it this year, be sure to catch it in 2013! You won’t be disappointed.
At SMASH! Con 2012, I got a chance to talk about the SMASH! convention and the art of cosplaying with popular Australian cosplayer Ardella. You can check out the interview with Ardella at SMASH! 2012 below.
Ardella has been cosplaying for quite some time now and has built up quite a great deal of popularity. She continues to cosplay and attend conventions and has quite a deep catalogue of cosplay history under her belt. You can check out Ardella Cosplay on her official Facebook here and on Youtube here.
Be sure to check out the video embedded below for the full Ardella interview. Be sure to check out the official SMASH! website and our SMASH! 2012 section here on Capsule.
During SMASH! Con 2012, new start-up Australian anime company Hanabee held their inaugural industry panel and finally put speculation to rest on a number of mysteries surrounding the new company that had got anime fans thinking.
The panel began with CEO and founder Eric Cherry (formerly of Siren Visual) addressing the audience and explaining Hanabee’s goals and future plans as well as revealing the much anticipated license acquisitions.
Cherry and his assistant detailed where anime fans could find Hanabee information, including their official facebook page here, their official twitter page here and their official website which is expected to launch this October, in the mean time you can check out their pretty under construction page here.
They also confirmed several retailers that will distribute their products. The following retailers have been announced to carry Hanabee products:
Ozanimart
Gametraders
Zombster
Shintokyo
JB HiFi
Following this they requested that the community let them know what other retailers or stores they would like to see Hanabee products available in. Fans can take to Hanabee’s facebook page and twitter page and request their local retailer stock Hanabee products and they will do their best to try and make it happen.
Finally they announced several title acquisitions and release dates. The following series have been announced for distribution and release by Hanabee:
Toradora! – Part 1 to be released on October 3rd, RRP $49.99, will be subtitles only.
Dream Eater Merry – to be released on October 3rd, RRP $49.99, will feature an English Dub.
Red vs. Blue Season 10 – to be released on the same day as Halo 4, RRP $30.00, also a special box set containing all 10 seasons will be released on a 14 disc set on November 11th.
Hanabee appears to be a company with a great focus on community involvement and as Eric Cherry himself said “Hanabee means Fireworks in Japanese,” and that is exactly what this company is causing – Celebration. Cherry vows to make the anime industry in Australia interesting and after attending the Hanabee industry panel, I can firmly say that I for one am interested.
What do you think of Hanabee’s panel and announcements? Will you be picking up any of these new titles? Let us know in the comments section below.
At SMASH! this past weekend, there was an awesome panel on the Steampunk subculture; how it relates to cosplay and to it’s own fandom. The panel was a very informative session that highlighted a few of the nuances of characterisation within the costumes. It was also a nice look at a subculture that I’ve only really enjoyed through looking at pictures and was surprised when there was much more to it than I initially suspected.
For the majority of the panel, we were shown various ways in which we can create our own Steampunk characters to wear as a costume. We were also told of regular Steampunk events, where to buy items and accessories for costumes and a lot more. I also really liked how the panels hosts included the audience in most of the topics covered during the panel.
What I really liked about the panel was the emphasis on creating original ideas, even if you are basing your own Steampunk costume on an existing character. This was actually one of the first things covered in the panel, the fact that you can enjoy Steampunk whether you’re doing you’re own original creation or if you’re doing a known character.
During the panel there was an emphasis on how doing a Steampunk costume has more freedom in comparison to standard cosplay as it’s all about interpretation. Unlike cosplay, Steampunk is not limited by a preset design. For example, a cosplayer will have to get a character mostly right to be recognisable, whilst a Steampunk costume will only need to be derivatively similar for the same effect.
I also liked how the panel served as a kind of tutorial on making your own costumes. There was a distinct emphasis on functionality of clothing and accessories over aesthetics. Although there is nothing wrong with having a fully aesthetic costume, it may become hard for the audience to distinguish the kind of job your character is portraying. There were a few examples shown of aesthetic and functionality and what kind of character you want to portray is entirely up to you.
The panel ended with a Q&A session in which there were a few interesting questions asked. This session also proved the knowledge of the hosts in this area and they returned each question with amazingly informative answers. Props to the two ladies.
The panel was a joy to watch and the hosts Echoing-Artemis (pictured) and Varia were amazing hosts. They knew how to make the crowd feel involved and also displayed an amazing amount of knowledge. This was definitely one of my favourite panels at the convention.
As you might of read earlier Gears Of War Judgementwill be making it’s way back to the Xbox 360 on the 19th of March 2013. This time around you’ll be playing as both Cole Train and Damon Baird making your way though the events that happened prior to the original Gears Of War.
To add to the release date, the official Gears Of War Facebook page have shared what we believe to be the front box art image for Gear Of War Judgement. The Lady Justice statue standing and pointing to something or someone as the ground opens up right before her, while in the background a Corpser is about to rip apart and destroy a building.
In the air separated by the burning COG flag you can what was and what will be with both daylight and the sun setting to the coming darkness with an air battle talking place between the Nemacyst’s and COG choppers. Certainly a lot is going in this box art with quite a lot of references of what it was like before and what it will be like after the invasion of the Locust Horde.
Let us know what you think of this box art and also if you plan on picking up Judgement when it comes out and what you’re looking forward to playing and finding out the most once its released on the 19th of March next year.
Stay Dead Developer: BruceFilm Publisher: Playstos Entertainment Platform: PC Release Date: July 4th, 2012 Price: $9.85 Available Here
Overview
You know why I love video games? How they get me excited enough to play them and write about them so regularly? It’s because there’s still so much that can be experimented with. The medium feels very fresh, and there’s always something new being done.
Stay Dead eschews one aspect of video games that is never questioned: computer generated images. Instead, the characters are represented by actors and the scenes are filmed and cut together in a Quick Time event format, where your success or failure in pushing keys in the right sequence dictates the next clip of video that plays.
It’s a very interesting experiment, but how well does it fare as a game?
Visuals & Audio Video games have flirted with live action video sequences before: the whole FMV (full-motion video) craze of the early ’90s left a sour taste in the industry’s mouth, but that was mostly because the average computer at the time couldn’t really render high quality video at the rate required for a game to flow well. Now, it’s not really an issue, but the legacy of the FMV game still makes people assume it’s a terrible, unimplementable thing.
Stay Dead is ironically named then, for its insistence that FMV not stay dead. The characters are portrayed by actors rather than animated likenesses, and the player’s actions dictate which scene is shown next.
Thus far it works quite well: each action is displayed from a different camera angle, which serves to hide the fact that the character’s movements wouldn’t line up perfectly. As a result, the action flows well, rarely missing a beat between shots. Not only that, it provides an appropriately cinematic feel.
Unlike its early 90s ancestors, the video quality is actually pretty good. This is no backyard student film: the production values are reasonably high, with evidence of high-end cameras and equipment.
Unfortunately, despite being presented well, the production has a rather high level of cheesiness. The acting isn’t fantastic, presenting some of the fakest-looking fight scenes this side of a WWF marathon. Particularly bad is a fight with an enemy named Iblis, where the two characters essentially cuddle on a wrestling mat in a car yard, until one flips the other over in an attack that looks about as painful as a back massage.
It’s interesting then, that perhaps the realism of live-action highlights the faults in the scene. We expect a higher level of realism when we see something live-action, and so corny acting is harder to forgive. If this was animated in the standard CGI, the stiffness of the character movements might not be as noticeable, or at least, would be easier for developers to fix. And obviously, animated characters don’t need to worry about hurting each other.
It sounds like a Confucius saying, but maybe in the game’s pursuit of realism, they sacrificed realism… or something like that.
The visual aspect that’s most lacking is the game’s UI. The menus are horrible to behold, comprised of grey blocks of text riddled with spelling and grammatical errors.
While it’s far from perfect, Stay Dead’s visual style is quite unique, and may have opened up a new genre for others to expand on.
Gameplay QuickTime Events often appear among lists of things most hated by gamers. There’s nothing wrong with them in theory, it’s just that we’ve seen them done so badly so regularly that they seem irredeemable. But believe it or not, they can be implemented quite well, and when the occasion calls for them, they can be a legitimate gameplay mechanic.
Stay Dead is essentially all QuickTime Events: players are tasked with pressing buttons in time with on-screen prompts, giving it the flow of a rhythm game, in a fighting game framework.
In each fight, you must deal at least ten points of damage to defeat your opponent. This is done by stringing together attacks and combos, with the result determined by your ability to hit the correct key in time. A prompt will flash up on screen to tell you which to hit and how (tap, hold or press repeatedly), and depending on the complexity of the sequence, success will let you deal one, two or three points of damage to the opponent.
Each fight consists of ten Rounds, meaning you have ten opportunities to attack, aiming to inflict ten damage to your opponent in that time. If you mistime your attacks, you fail to inflict damage, and waste a Round.
It’s an interesting way to handle health: the battle is over after ten rounds, whether the player has scored more or less than ten.
The combat actually flows quite well. Each round, you choose to go on the offensive or defensive. Offensive, you can perform a basic attack or a combo. There’s usually only one key stroke to a basic attack, which deals a single blow, but of course, breaks you even by using a round. A combo is harder to achieve, but lets you deal multiple points of damage at once, while only spending one round.
Choosing to go on the defensive for a round can turn the fight around to your favour. The enemy will attack, and if you successfully avoid them, you can counter-attack for greater damage.
Rather than straight-up wasting a round if the player misses while attacking, it leaves an opening for the enemy, forcing the player back onto the defensive. Again, successful dodging allows for a counter-attack, meaning a failed attack can still be salvaged, if you defend well.
This system leads to a pleasing flow of attack-defend-attack during battles, which is a better use of QuickTime events than most.
But of course, the gameplay isn’t as free as the standard fighting game, or indeed, most games. QuickTime-heavy games often attract a lot of questioning about whether they should even be called video games. It’s due to a perceived lack of interactivity, that player input doesn’t amount to anything, and they might as well be watching a film. That discussion is appropriate in some cases – Telltale’s recent Jurassic Park game was largely focused on QuickTime events, with the outcomes often unchanged, whether the player succeeds or fails.
Thankfully, Stay Dead avoids this pitfall, applying some solid gameplay mechanics to this structure that gamers are quite wary of.
Unfortunately, it won’t take you long to “finish” the game. There are only four enemies to battle, but to face the master you need to beat all four in a row, and do so with a certain amount of skill – scraping through the fights won’t be enough. Getting through to the final boss is actually quite difficult, and beating him is even harder, but chances are your interest will have waned before then.
Overall
You know what they say: everything old is new again, and reviving the FMV format and applying some modern design principles to it makes for an interesting product.
It may not have the longevity of a lot of games, or the level of control that people may be looking for, but Stay Dead should be appreciated for what it is: an interesting cross-media experiment.
