Prior to attending Animeleague London Anime and Gaming Con and Animeleague Birmingham Anime and Gaming Con as press and as a cosplayer, I had already covered Animeleague as a whole. I cosplayed as Crash Bandicoot so I could show my costume to Coco Bandicoot voice actress Debi Derryberry. This was the second time I had met her, having first met her at MCM Comic Con London last year.
Originally, I was going to cosplay as Ratchet from the Ratchet & Clank series on Sunday, but I decided to cosplay as Crash Bandicoot instead.
One thing I appreciated about Animeleague was being able to pay by card when meeting guests. At some other conventions I have attended, relying on cash has meant spending time going back and forth to cash machines. Being able to use a card reader made the experience much easier and allowed me to spend more time enjoying the event.
I also appreciate conventions announcing their guests as early as possible. It makes planning much easier, particularly for people travelling a long distance or attending specifically to meet particular actors or creators.
Compared with some of the larger conventions I have attended, Animeleague also seemed to offer more opportunities for press interviews with guests. Fortunately, I remembered to apply for press passes for several Animeleague conventions well in advance.
I haven't committed to attending more yet because I'm waiting to see which celebrity guests are announced and whether the dates clash with other conventions or events.
The video game room was one of the parts of the convention I was particularly interested in. There were several Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet & Clank games available to play, including Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly.
I also finally had the opportunity to try Sonic Forces. My first impression was that it was an enjoyable enough experience, although I preferred the way Ratchet & Clank 3 handled some of its story themes.
There were three Ratchet & Clank games available, and perhaps next time I'll spend more time revisiting them. Playing older games at conventions can be a great opportunity to revisit memories as well as introduce them to people who may never have played them before.
I haven't progressed very far through Sonic Forces, but I have listened to some of its soundtrack before. One track I particularly enjoy is "Set In Motion - Guardian Rock".
Although anime itself has never been my main interest, I also spent some time around the karaoke area. Most of the anime songs weren't really for me, but I sang along to "No Scrubs" by TLC and "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John. I also enjoyed hearing "Live and Learn" by Crush 40, despite not normally being a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan.
For me, the video game side of Animeleague is usually one of the biggest attractions.
I would have joined the line dancing on Sunday, but by then I was tired after spending much of the day collecting autographs and taking photographs with Debi Derryberry and Duncan Gutteridge. I also interviewed Debi Derryberry and received a video message from her.
I had previously interviewed Duncan Gutteridge at Animeleague London Anime and Gaming Con, although an interview wasn't possible when I saw him at the Birmingham event.
I also met Steve at the David Lee Art Cards stall. Spotting a Wolverine card led to a conversation about video games and some of the things I enjoy, and don't enjoy, about modern game design.
Personally, I prefer games that give players room to explore and work things out for themselves rather than providing too much guidance. Accessibility options are important, but I think developers also need to find the right balance between making games accessible and allowing players the satisfaction of discovering things independently.
It's one of the reasons I've always enjoyed games such as Ratchet & Clank. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, in particular, offered a wide range of accessibility options while still feeling like a game I could explore at my own pace.
My tastes tend to favour colourful, imaginative worlds and characters rather than realistic settings. For me, one of the great things about video games is the opportunity to escape into somewhere completely different for a few hours.
That mixture of gaming, cosplay, meeting guests and discovering unexpected things is ultimately what I enjoy about conventions such as Animeleague.
