Inside "Pokémon Go on steroids" – Sore feet, shinies and surprise proposals
“I would say that Pokémon Go Fest is Pokémon Go on steroids.”
Those are the words of Michael Steranka, senior director on the live game elements of Pokémon Go, spoken under the blisteringly hot summer sun of Madrid.
We are hiding in the shade of the ‘press and partner’ area, surrounded by branded bunting, hard-working parasols and a constant loop of Pokémon music. A human-sized Pikachu was here just now for a photo opp (see above).
Steranka goes on to describe the event, which RadioTimes.com has been flown out to attend, as «the epitome of the Pokémon Go experience».
He explains: «We really take all of the game's pillars of exploration, exercise, real-world social, and we turn it up to 11 at our live events, and especially Go Fest.
»And so if you're interested in those things, and Pokémon Go, there's really not a single better time to play the game than at one of these Go Fests.
«Because you're exploring a brand new location that you may have never been to before. You're getting lots of exercise throughout the day, walking many kilometres in the summer sun. And then you're meeting 1000s of other trainers who love this game just like you do, and you can celebrate in that together.»
So, with the introductions out of the way, with our phones charged, our water bottles filled, our sun cream liberally applied and our shades affixed to our faces, let’s leave the comfort of the backstage area and see what Pokémon Go Fest is all about.
The easiest way to explain Pokémon Go Fest is to split it into two parts — there’s the part that happens in real life, and there’s the part that happens in the game itself.
In real life, the Pokémon Go community descends on a park, in this case the beautiful Parque Juan Carlos I on the outskirts of Madrid. (This year, there were also Pokémon Go Fests in New York and Sendai, Japan — there tends to be a European, American and Asian leg of the event each year.)
Around the park, the Pokémon Go Fest organisers have arranged numerous fun things to
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