Pokémon GO Fest: Seattle #MeetYouOutThere
July 22-24, nearly 40k people planned on joining in on Pokémon GO Fest. For me, this was the opportunity to SOCIALIZE in-person with friends I have formed bonds with as part of the Wayfarer Discussion Discord, EXERCISE because much of Seattle is pedestrian encouraged, and EXPLORE a new place I have never been to. This also marked the first time I visited a large metro (besides my own) with a specific eye for making nominations.
THE GOOD:
- Getting to meet fellow Explorers I've developed bonds with through Wayfarer - some from the days of OPR
- Getting to meet @NianticTintino-ING in person!!!
- Getting to explore a large and very developed area, yet still being able to find new eligible candidates
- Being able to see in person the city that has been my Bonus location for nearly 2 years! I recognized a few Wayspots and had an idea of a few potential nominations from having already been familiar with the area - I'll get to check "bus stop" off of my nomination bucket list 😆🤔
- Banked Upgrades! Thanks to the recent update, I was able to save a few Upgrades to throw at Seattle in hopes of being able to interact with some creations before I even left - and one I will!
- Two nominations already approved and I haven't even left Seattle!
THE BAD:
Nearby duplicates. So many potential candidates I was excited to "discover" while exploring and playing PoGO only to have to spend the time on-site to discover they were already part of the Lightship database.
THE UGLY:
Me! Kind of. I'll admit I'm the person who isn't ready to nominate if it won't populate PoGO and/or Ingress. I've stated before that something as simple as an in-Wayfarer count of approved nominations and/or an accurate count on my game profiles would be incentive enough, but while I added 2 Wayspots this very weekend with several times more ready, sadly these (and quite a few more I already deleted photos for) will never be nominated by me:
Paper Cranes outside Seattle Center
Black Lives Matter - Art Museum
Thanks for those fellow Way-splorers I got to meet up with, and thanks for Niantic to encouraging me to venture to a place I've never been to and make some of the best memories of this summer. My favorite part of 2022 GO Fest: Seattle did not happen in the park or staring at my phone, it was the discovery of new old friends in a new old place.
PoundsignMeetYouOutThere
(PoundsignAskMeWhatHundosITransferred)
Comments
If you're sticking around Seattle a little longer, or maybe live here, check out this flashy mural on Western Ave near Pike Place Market:
And on your way out, stop at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's newest Wayspot:
In Ingress, this would be called a SITREP (situational report) when an event has happened and someone reports back on it.
Nice that you were able to meet Tintino and few others. Sounds like having the duplicate check in Pokémon GO is very handy for large places like this. I would have nominated the two things you mention anyways, but I’m not a stickler for checking cells etc. Just see something eligible and nominate usually.
Sounds like a great time and congrats on the new wayspots!
Until Ingress fixes the bug(?)/situation where Lightship wayspots do not turn into portals when blocking portals go away, there is absolutely nothing (except maybe large cash payments :) ) that would motivate me to submit Lightship-only wayspots.
There are a few places I am familiar with that are full of great <20 m submissions that I won't try anymore because I am very concerned that some of the blockers could be removed and the other things will be lost forever to the Lightship, leaving us with fewer portals than before. I'd much rather wait until the blockers are removed, if they are removed, and submit the new stuff then.
Tintino was stationed at a booth in the "Niantic Neighborhood" which also hosted a booth about Campfire and a kiosk for general Niantic merch (favorite being a ball cap with the Niantic airship balloon). Depending on the tier of your PoGO Wayfarer badge (or Agreements number on your online profile) you could get different Wayfarer branded swag from Tintino - basic stickers, water bottles, caps, and shirts.
I'm not sure if anyone ended up ahead of @tehstone-ING's number this weekend (I know there's folks ahead of him).
#SeeYouNextTime!
Is this the legendary Wayfarer cap that the ambassadors were rumoured to get? 😮
The T-shirt design is pretty neat.
Starts to plot how I can get that hat…..
Yeah, when I was at the booth the caps were for Gold level and the shirts were for Platinum, so I didn't even look at the caps - since they had some of the pinkish shirts in my size. In looking at the cap, though, I wish I'd been more choosy! Maybe I'm wrong, though - gotta admit I was exhausted the whole weekend (but still managed to complete the Obsidian Seattle mission banner after my Fest day)!
He must have rearranged - if I recall, water bottles were Silver, hats Gold, and shirts Platinum. They all looked really nice but the hat was more my thing. Yeehaw.
Water bottles were nowhere in evidence when I was there - Saturday afternoon, fairly late. Now I feel bad for being so proud to own what was once a silver-level prize. :(
If merch was running out I'd just be happy for something. A few of my friends mentioned going in a day early just so they wouldn't miss time in lines, etc. There was definitely a lot to take in and I wish I'd gone back to it for a little bit on an off day for me.
I'd probably buy one of those shirts. I'd wear it in game too if those achievement rewards ever come to fruition... @NianticGiffard
Oh, absolutely - I just wanted concrete proof hat I'd reached the highest level badge, and there WERE still hats left. Now my shirt means a lot less to me, since it only proves I have achieved Silver status. Happy to have the physical item, but disappointed nonetheless in the switch.
The swag!!! This is an excellent experience of Wayfarer being truly imbued in Pokemon GoFest Seattle. Nominating in new cities is always so exciting! If I had a hat, I would do a weekly Wayfarer livestream with said hat. The shirt, maybe I don't know.
I highly agree with Ochemist. A lightship-only candidate is something I will completely avoid ever nominating. I know some local nominators that nominate great things, but are terribly in a spot where it will benefit no one.
Where will the Wayfarer team go next after Sapporo?