2008 FFXI Fan Fest Memories  

Foreword

-by Thayos

It was over in a blur, but the memories will last forever.

The FFXI Fan Fest was a time for fun, fellowship and, of course, for Final Fantasy. There was a little something for everyone -- exciting game demos, breathtaking artwork, intriguing interview sessions, cosplay, an open bar and more. But there was more to Fan Fest than discussions and events. It was a time to rub shoulders with developers and hug, high-five or shake hands with our fellow Vana'diel adventurers.

In less than 24 hours I met couples and families who attended Fan Fest together. I met fellow players who drove across the country to be there. I forged new friendships with people from these forums, and I revisited old friends who I was fortunate to meet through this game. I can only imagine the experiences others had, and the emotions they felt. However, we can only speak for ourselves.

So here you go; Vlorsutes, Pikko, Usagi and I compiled our fondest memories of Fan Fest to share with you.

This game is a powerful thing. Just like SE's warning pop-up says, it's important to not let this game rule your life. At the same time, this game is important. It has meaning. And when I look back to 2008, I think I speak for all of us admins when I say Fan Fest was definitely a highlight of our year.

The 2008 Fan Fest was held Dec. 6 at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, CA.

Friday, Dec. 5: Registration and Open Bar

Pikko: Open bar was great and having it in a restaurant where people could sit in booths and mingle was a wonderful part of it. Appetizers were being served and though I didn't get to try all of them and certainly didn't like all of them, they were a great touch and tasty. The alcohol seemed to take the nerves off of some people who may not have attended a past event and met fellow adventurers in person at such a large event before.

It was on this night that I first got to meet the folks from BlueGartr. They were at a table in the back room when I finally tracked them down. I think I'm on video somewhere, which I haven't seen and hopefully I don't look stupid because I had just drank an apple martini on an empty stomach. Big mistake!

I ran into Ganiman outside Twist (the restaurant) and we talked for a bit. He showed me a sketch someone had drawn for him and I later got one of my own from the same artist. Unfortunately, I didn't really see him much at all the next day.

Stupidmonkey had way too much to drink. You could tell because he came to say hi about a dozen times and each time asked if I was bothered by him, which I wasn't, since I enjoy interacting with memorable community members. I still remember all three of his names: Stupidmonkey, Viprebaud, and Max.

Thayos: "Which server are you from?"

"Are you from Garuda?"

"Have you seen anyone from Garuda?"

Searching for others from my server, I walked through the club on the second floor of our hotel, scanning the name tags of others who had come for Fan Fest. The server names on the name tags were small and hard to see in the dimly-lit bar, and the name tags also had an irritating tendency to flip in the wrong direction.

Vlorsutes, a.k.a. Brandon, was walking alongside of me. He just moved to Garuda a few months ago and was also eager to meet his Vana'diel kinsfolk. Being an alcoholic featherweight, I was tipsy after just a single (but strong) rum and coke. We circled the bar twice but were unable to find anyone from Garuda other than Pikko.

What I'll remember most though is how many random people we stopped to chat with. It reminded me of when I first started playing FFXI. I spent at least a couple of nights wandering around Windurst, just trying to master the arts of speech and movement. On this night, though, everything was real. As only MMORPG players can, Vlor and I struck up random conversation upon random conversation. We talked with people about which states they came from, which servers they played on, which jobs they liked best. It was incredibly refreshing to be able to walk up to random people who completely understood my geeked-out FFXI obsession. It was a great start to an amazing weekend.

Vlorsutes: The decision to have an open bar was one of the best ways to allow the attendees to mingle before the actual festivities began, as between drinks and the random trading of the Tarot cards that had become a hot commodity almost immediately, there was a sense of togetherness and camaraderie between everyone there.

I found myself tagging alongside my friend/co-worker/fellow Garudian (or is it Garudan?...Garudanite?) Thayos in search of fellow server members, but luck wasn't on our side that night. I came to find common ground with everyone I struck up conversation with, be it from the same issues I had with leveling a particular job to hassles with crafting, and as such the hours seemed to fly by.

Usagi: Let me start off by saying that I'm a man who can put away shameful amounts of alcohol without batting an eye. Given that, it goes without saying that I enjoyed myself a lot at the open bar. I remember taking a picture of Susperia (Kappachan) taking a picture of her drink while Vlorsutes took a picture of me. That was pretty silly.

My favorite part of the evening, however, was when I was sitting there with Hellboy throwing back Jack and Coke as fast as I could, making horrible FFXI jokes and puns with people I'd never met, while they laughed and returned fire with equally horrible, yet hilarious jokes and puns. At this point, I remember thinking, "My god! I'm among my own kind!" I never get to make FFXI jokes and references with my friends. None of them play FFXI :(

I also think a girl was hitting on me with a shirt that said "Easy Prey," but I didn't get the joke until the next day. I slay me...

Early Saturday, Dec. 6

Pikko: I woke up around 7:30 to begin re-making my crafting contest Mandy Bento for display at the Art room. I started the rice in the cooker Susperia had brought. Susperia and I had ordered breakfast the night before and it arrived at around 8. We sat down to eat and I got carried away checking email and forums and eventually, she told me it was 8:45, way later than I was supposed to start making it!

The rice balls came out larger than I'd intended, so things were tougher to squeeze in. I'd bought all the ingredients at Whole Foods and Fresh N Easy on Thursday and Friday and called the hotel for a small fridge, which they had brought up within 10 minutes.

Matt Hilton called to ask where the bento was. I was still only halfway done, but I assured him I'd get it downstairs soon. The mandragoras were done, so all that was left was to arrange all the fruits and veggies. I had to really rush at this point. There were snippets of vegetables and fruits everywhere. I peeled carrots, messily sliced corn with a little fruit knife, sliced a few small oranges until I got the right look, and sliced off pomelo skin over and over until I got the right consistency for the eyes. I couldn't get them to stick, so Susperia suggested glue. Having no glue, I used some mushed up rice and that worked out great.

When I finally finished, I had no time to get dressed, so I had to run down to the art room in my PJs. I rushed back upstairs and it was almost 10 at that point. I finally got downstairs just in time for the opening ceremony to start. What a way to start off Fan Fest!

Thayos: Living in the Pacific Northwest, I'm accustomed to waking up to cold, gray mornings. So I was pleasantly surprised on the morning of Fan Fest to wake up to sunlight streaming into our 10th-floor hotel room. It was 7:45 am., slightly later than when I usually wake up. Vlorsutes was still asleep, so I donned my gym clothes, stuffed my swim trunks in my backpack and headed down to the fifth-floor fitness center.

I didn't work out for long. I ran a mile on the treadmill, lifted some weights and then headed out to the pool. A woman was laying back in a deck chair; otherwise, I was alone. The pool water was cool and refreshing, and the Hollywood hills were beautiful. I swam several laps, reflecting on the previous day's activities while anticipating the events yet to come. The woman in the deck chair eventually left. I climbed out of the pool soon after, taking a few minutes to relax in the sun -- something I can't do too often in Seattle, especially in December.

Then I headed back to my room to get ready. I was calm, centered and ready for Fan Fest.

Vlorsutes: As someone that has lived in Ohio all my life, I'm not used to seventy degree weather in December, especially considering that it had been snowing when I had left there only two days earlier. So it was a rather significant, although nice, shock to my system to be able to wake up to such a warm and sunny morning.

Usagi: I woke up around 7am local time with one thought on my mind - sweet delicious breakfast. One of my coworkers here in Alabama used to live in California. When I told her I was going out there, she was very insistent that I try Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles while I was out there, as it was one of her favorite places to eat. I had rented a car and a GPS for this trip, so I got the address for a location down the street and left to go find it. I found where it should have been, but never saw it. I drove around the block about three times before I decided to give up. By then people were coming out to see what I was doing. I can only imagine it looked like I was scouting the place in preparation to do a drive-by.

Defeated in my endeavor for sweet delicious chicken and waffles, I stopped by a Jack in the Box for a sub-par sausage and egg biscuit on my way back to the hotel.

After I downed my disappointing breakfast, I eventually met up with Pikko, Vlorsutes, and Thayos, who were astonished that I was in such a chipper mood so early considering my indulgences of the previous night. I made a joke that I play the game of drink on expert, which was a reference to the lulzy antics at the MTV store the day before, but I don't think anyone got it. That or it was just a dumb joke and didn't warrant laughter.

Fest Fest Opening Ceremony

Pikko: The Opening movie used the 2001: A Space Odyssey music, which was so fitting and hilarious. Matt and Robert had told me about their dream opening sequence, which would have been legendary, but the one used was still pretty awesome. The sun was coming up over the horizon of the planet, the music reaching it's crescendo slowly... At each burst of music, an expansion title would explode onto the screen. If you're familiar with the music you should be able to know what I'm trying to explain.

The best part for me was the lighting in the room. When Hiromichi Tanaka was announced, the blue lights glowing on the sides of the room suddenly became red orange and flames came onto the monitors hanging down from the ceiling. It literally seemed like the room had set on fire. Add in the music and you get one heck of an entrance.

Thayos: One of two moments made me realize that the 2008 FFXI Fan Fest was officially underway; but I'm having trouble deciding which one.

It might have been the moment when global FFXI producer Hiromichi Tanaka addressed the appreciative, ramped-up audience after a short video showing the three new expansion title.

Or, it might have been when a giant soulflayer entered from the back of the large room, silently crossed the crowd and then hovered ominously along the far wall.

I scribbled down notes as the opening ceremony progressed, but what I'll remember most is the sense of belonging I felt as the festival got underway. With a soulflayer to my right, a relic black mage to my left and a horde of total strangers in front of me, I felt oddly and sublimely at home.

Vlorsutes: Through the buzzing chatter of conversations and the flashes of cameras going off, I could easily tell that everyone in the main event room was excited for the day's activities. As a science fiction fanatic, to have the opening cinematic for the ceremony pay homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey was a nice touch in my opinion, and it really set the mood to how epic Fanfest would be.

At times I found myself forgetting to take notes of all the topics discussed, instead becoming enthralled in Hiromichi Tanaka's arrival, the unveiling and demo of Moblin Maze Mongers, and just how excited everyone seemed to be.

Usagi: I met up with a crap-ton of members from my Linkshell, which included Sassythief (You may know him as Hellboy or LobsterJohnson), Sassymithra (his dad), Oceanstorm, Serenitystorm, Gelf, Keitaru, Ander and several others (sorry if I didn't list you) in the room where the opening ceremony occurred. I also seeing a girl walk by with a giant Bastok flag and daring Sassytheif to go up to her and saying, "Bastok? MOAR LIEK LASTOK AMIRITE?!" but he didn't do it. In retrospect, I'm kind of glad.

When the music for the song for the fight with the Shadow Lord started up, I got chills up my spine. I'm a freaking geek for this kind of stuff. I must say that I was pretty disappointed in the teaser they gave for the upcoming expansions - it was nothing but the song from 2010 with the titles of the expansions. But whatever, I was just happy to be there!

When Hiromichi Tanaka came out and started VERY AWKWARDLY giving a greeting in English, I was trying to figure out if something was wrong. Then, when a guy with a headset and a clipboard came out and started translating for us, it occurred to me that he just doesn't speak English that well. I'm slow like that. I blame the Alabama public school system.

Fan Fest Events

Thayos: Like many others, I often eat dinner, surf the Web or chat on the phone while playing FFXI. However, there's nothing better than temporarily losing yourself in the game. I enjoy imagining the winds of Konschtat Highlands, the sounds of The Sanctuary of Zi'tah and the sense of urgency in Windurst Waters (s).

With that in mind, I greatly enjoyed the numerous paintings and drawings adorning the walls of the exhibit room. Memorable images included a mithra leaping into her hero's arms; a massive ram grazing in La Theine Plateau; a festive, frantic cookout in Windurst; and a black-and-white sketch of a fierce (yet adorable) tarudin. Each work of art was a glimpse of how others imagine Vana'diel.

Vlorsutes: Needless to say there wasn't a dull moment during the entire course of the events. It was the first time I had ever truly felt willing to wait in line for something, as the fast paced and intense nature of the Moblin Maze Mongers and of The Swarm more than made up for it. At the same time though I really enjoyed being a member of the audience, to be able to see the effort and detail that people put into their creations, be it the costumes or the art galleries. There was so much to see and do that I'm certain that I didn't get a chance to see it all.

Usagi: They went right from the opening ceremonies to a discussion about MMM. I really felt bad for the guy when they tried to have someone enter a maze and it gave the error, "The dark hand of fate has prevented you from entering," or something like that.

The playable MMM demo was pretty fun. I played a Samurai with full Askar and had no idea what I was doing, but I was so high on FFXI geekiness that it didn't matter. At home, I play on my computer with a PC, but I use a PS2 style controller. They didn't have controllers in the MMM room, so I had to relearn the KB/M controls for FFXI, which sucks because I never really learned them to begin with.

The swarm was pretty neat too! I ended up trying that with a "pick-up" party, if you will.

Meeting People

Pikko: Meeting community people is my favorite part of fan festivals. When I attended Fan Festival 2007 that was my first taste of meeting so many FFXI players in one place and being a well-known community site administrator greatly enhanced my experience. Though this year's event was a lot smaller, the experience and thrill of meeting players hadn't changed for me. I posed for a lot of pictures, autographed notebooks, and was thanked for various reasons including being responsible for convincing significant others to play FFXI and making people money. I was also pretty surprised at how many people read my bento blog.

I had met our boss Draknorr before, but spending this much time with him was a real blast. He's definitely a good sport, eventually getting pretty good at using my camera whenever I wanted to take a picture with someone. My hope is that besides coming away thinking us FFXIers are insane, he'll realize that a lot of people really do love this game and that a lot of good people play it.

I had been looking for the infamous cosplay dragoon from last year, Luinealcarien, since we'd talked about her bringing Nibble to the festival and I finally did find her outside near registration after Fan Fest was over. We took a picture together with Nibble!

Thayos: This was my first Fan Fest, and I was pumped about meeting other devoted FFXI players. Thankfully, I didn't leave disappointed. I got to meet Tummie and Darkdoom, two regular (and appreciated) members of the Allakhazam community. I met more members of the FFXI development team, including the great Hiromichi Tanaka. I enjoyed meeting Vlorsutes, a fellow Allakhazam admin, and Draknorr, our cool and outspoken {mega boss}. There were many other people who approached me during Fan Fest to talk about the Web site.

That said, I equally enjoyed being reunited with people I met during last summer's Premier Site Summit. Some of those people included the almighty Pikko; Kaerwyn, a good friend in my longtime linkshell; Susperia and Pachichachi, two dedicated Allakhazam community members; and OpalFlame and Tenryuu, the two Canadian administrators for FFvault.ign.com. After the site summit, I bonded with the Canadians when we grabbed lunch with Kaerwyn at the Santa Monica pier. Kaerwyn and I spent time with them again after Fan Fest, stopping for drinks in their hotel room before rejoining the Allakhzam crew.

Vlorsutes: This was my first Fan Fest, so naturally a good deal of my thoughts in the days preceding it dwelled quite a bit on getting to meet people there. I enjoyed being able to meet and get to know Pikko, Thayos, Usagi, and our boss Draknorr, as well as forum regulars such as Susperia and Darkdoom, and needless to say I'm glad that I got to spend my time with such an amazing group of people.

Furthermore, I had the pleasant surprise of running into a few people I knew from when I was over on Siren, one of whom, Avinne, has been a good friend of mine for quite awhile. Though I'm a loyal player on Garuda now, to be able to meet up with them brought back some timeless memories.

Usagi: I've met friends from the internet before. I met a LS friend of mine, Beastly, at Otakon 2005. I met another LS friend at the same event and again at Ohayocon 2006. This, however, was almost overwhelming! I met SO MANY people from the internet. Obviously Pikko, Vlorsutes, and Thayos. I was disappointed that Kellinda couldn't make it, but these things happen. I also had the pleasure of meeting Draknorr. Also from the website, I got to meet Susperia, Darkdoom, Tummie, Stupidmonkey, and Thumbelina. I got to met a LOT of my linkshell too. If I missed anyone, my bad. I've a bad memory like that. There were really so many people at the event, that I had a little bit of social overload and went to hide in my room for a bit.

Afternoon and Closing

Pikko: We found some seats near the front for the Closing ceremonies and I was a complete nervous wreck. I knew that with the Chocobo Family entry in the (crafting) contest I couldn't possibly win first place, but I still had a small, nagging hope that I could win second. When my bento showed up on the big screen and the room cheered, I was just stunned and I took a while to stand up. I really wished I'd gone back to my room to change my footwear... I went up on stage wearing my rubber slippahs because my feet were so sore from walking around on heels the day before. I hope there are no pictures of my feet while I was on stage. I really wanted to explain that all the things in the bento were foods that could be found in game, but being so nervous and shocked, I could only say the first thing that came to mind, that I'd made it that morning. I couldn't have made it without the help of Susperia, who loaned me her rice cooker, knife, and cutting board and also took pictures of me reconstructing it that morning.

Thayos: One word: Alexander.

My linkshell's battle against Alexander was among the most exciting battles of my time in FFXI. It was a vintage party filled with the linkshell's most veteran members, including our longtime leader who has since all but left the game. The fight went down to the wire; Alexander unleashed his 2-hr, killing our paladin and putting the outcome in doubt. But we fought back, and we emerged victorious with just 9 seconds to spare.

What does this have to do with Fan Fest?

Kumi Tanioka, a key composer of FFXI, played the Alexander battle music during her concert at the conclusion of Fan Fest. The audience of hundreds sat in amazed silence as her hands moved gracefully and deliberately across her keyboard. For me, that moment had added meaning. Seated to my left was Kaerwyn, a good friend and dedicated member of my beloved social linkshell -- he was with us when we beat Alexander. As we watched Tanioka perform the Alexander piece, I thought about how lucky I am to have met so many amazing people through what others might call a silly game. Vana'diel is a place of virtual adventures but real friendships. This moment -- along with several others during Fan Fest -- proved that.

Vlorsutes: The concert at the end of the night performed by Kumi Tanioka was literally amazing. To be able to rekindle memories of epic battles and past experiences from the melodies she plays not only spoke volumes about her playing ability, but how memorable the music itself is. From the serenity of Ronfaure and Zi'tah to the epic tone of the Shadow Lord and Alexander themes, it was no surprise that the room exploded into a roar of applause and cheers as her fingers left the keyboard for the final time that night.

Usagi: Kumi Tanioka's performance was very powerful. I dare say I was almost moved to tears to be honest. It killed me that she was able to make such lovely music, then after she completed each piece, she blushed like she was embarrassed that everyone was cheering. She was cute as a button. I ended up getting a picture with her, somewhere.

Once all the fun was over, they roped off the event area and took everything down. I was sad, yet satisfied.

The dev team came out and sat down. Some people went up and talked to them. I was too nervous to approach them. The Zam folks went down to eat at the California Pizza Kitchen, which was a really delicious place to eat, for super. Satisfied that I had just experienced one of the most memorable weekends of my life, I excused myself and retired to my hotel room.

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