It started in a bar…
Already gone too fast, GuardianCon has arrived and departed in stylish fashion, a whirlwind of community, charity, and comedy. What started as the brainchild of three men who saw the potential for something bigger to bring to the Destiny community has now blossomed into its own, taking over a sizable portion of the Tampa Convention Center and accepting so many other games and communities into the fold. This year we can proudly say we raised nearly $2,750,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I consider GuardianCon the celebration of the community for having done such an amazing feat.
My GuardianCon 2018 experience actually started last year at Disney World, when director Kevin “KMagic101” called me over a drink or two in and said “Listen, Mitsu. You’re the guy. We want you back next year.” Of course, things change over the course of the year, but sincere as ever and true to form, Kevin indeed meant what he had said and “gingerly” (read: yelled at me for two minutes for even thinking otherwise) reminded me as such when I asked him about my role at the convention in April.
Convention hype, in my opinion, doesn’t truly mount until you make formal financial commitments, such as booking one’s hotel room or their flight. So, even after being informed I was very much welcome back this year, I didn’t quite feel the energy swell until I arranged for my flight down (and begrudgingly, back.) However, once that happened, I cranked the hype up to eleven. I might have gone a tad overboard in some places, such as when I accidentally revealed King’s Coast Coffee’s new GuardianCon roast a few days early in a thank you picture for the coffee.
Day Minus One.
Packing for this year’s adventure was in and of itself an adventure. I had decided to bring down almost every scarf that I own to use on the show floor as a bit of an in-joke, to consistently change scarves every… whenever the heck I felt like it, really. Even with the largest suitcase I owned, I was only able to fit in thirty out of fifty of them, lest I sacrifice things like underwear and spare shirts. Perhaps I should have made that sacrifice.
An uneventful flight got me down swiftly to Tampa, and one Lyft ride later I was at the SpeakEZ, ready to go live with buds and beers. It was here I met and made some new friends, including Dramakins, SlapstickLogic, and BeardedGuysGaming. After a few rounds of Dong Dong Never Die, Gothalion and I had a very… spirited debate about whether or not the Shenmue series was truly as great as some remember it to be. Unfortunately, our time was cut short during the stream, but being in the SpeakEZ is one of my favorite parts of any Tampa visit.
Day Zero.
The following afternoon, Gothalion’s Day of Reckoning had come.
It was truly overwhelming when Char and I first walked into the main theater together. We had no idea what to expect, we later mused to each other that we had figured it was going to be a pretty plain theater. It was anything but. With a gothic/medieval deco and a ceiling portraying a night sky, it was truly the perfect backdrop to absolutely destroy our friend and “Stream Dad.”
With impromptu permission, I went out on stage before the main shows began to warm up the crowd. One of the most amazing things to me was how responsive and positive everyone was. Goth stepped out and got a few shots in before disappearing into the shadows, and after about seven minutes a few voices from backstage began to dig into me. Worst Radio Show began taking the stage in hilarious fashion.
About 30 minutes later, it was showtime. Roastmaster General Professor Broman had already taken to the podium, beginning his opening monologue. Once we all arrived, the man of the hour took the stage, sitting in a wooden throne dating all the way back to the opening year of the theater: 1929.
Everyone on stage was absolutely brutal, some a tad more so than others. My bit was a bit, perhaps, too convoluted. Even still, people were generous in their compliments after the fact. I would have to give roaster of the night to Liz, followed by Char, and Gunny. Each one was brutal without crossing a line that could not be uncrossed or otherwise actually offend whomever was on the receiving end. Unfortunately for those of you who were not at the Roast, Gunny broke the VHS camera intended to make video tapes of very low quality to be sold at a premium. Thus, the evening is lost to the ages. A legend to be passed down in our community for all time.
Day One.
After a modestly well night’s sleep, we piled in to the car and made our way to the convention hall. I had yet to do a walk through, so after saying “Hi” to the production team (which was fortunately the same as last year), and finalizing my schedule with our fantastic production manager Jordan, I set out to get the lay of the land. The convention hall was filled with several points of interest, including the Bungie booth that featured their soon to be released game mode Gambit, ScufGaming, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bus, and Warframe’s lounge.
I broke off for a bit to go downstairs and visit with some of the volunteers who were busy manning the tables to give VIPs their bags and T-Shirts this year. Some were faces I’d recognized from years before, including Jzabeth, LizzyLeeRose, and of course, the ever present DrKrazy with his bullhorn. Every volunteer this year should be commended for their diligence and patience with not only myself but I surmise every content creator, the staff, and the attendees at large. Not once did I hear a negative word from any person I spoke with about the staff and that speaks volumes to how seriously they took their roles during this convention. It was a pleasure to meet you all and even to get to talk with some of you, including DaveCase and ILoveMundays.
Meeting up with Liz, my Co-host in Crime this year, we took a full walk around to get a sense of scale for what the convention had become. Far removed from the bar that was “SweatCon” or the oversized shack that was Destiny Community Con, here we walked through the halls of a true convention center. GuardianCon had finally arrived. The only satellite room this year was the RareDrop theater, a very long but narrow meeting room utilized for podcasts, panels and The Jam. I have high hopes for next year that we take over the entire convention hall, and I mean everything. Every room, every partition of the main hall. I want it all.
The opening segment where Liz and I introduced ourselves went off somewhat rocky. Apparently, the wireless signal from our camera did not have the reach to get the whole floor, causing us to have to improvise and cut our walkthrough short. Regardless, being able to show the size and scale of the convention, especially compared to previous years, was very important to me. There is value in comparison between what was, what is now, and what will be in the future. Apologies to BrickinNick (who created a fantastic St. Jude logo out of Legos with the help of attendees) and everyone in Artist Alley, we had hoped to get more time with you but the camera would not cooperate.
With our opening shot completed, I spent some time walking around to meet and greet attendees. I’m not much for organizing meetups, or anything for that matter, but I wanted to avail myself to anyone and everyone to learn of their experiences, how to make the convention better, and if they wanted to take pictures, sign merch, or just chat for a while, do so. I couldn’t even tell you the amount of hands shaken, hugs given, pictures taken, or signatures written, but truth be told, it’s not about the amount. It’s the fact that you, the attendees of one of the fastest growing conventions in our industry, took the time out of your experience to approach me for those things. I can’t thank you enough for that. You made me feel like a superhero.
Toward the later hours of the day, I had the pleasure of meeting one of Warframe’s community managers, Moitoi. Liz had been playing Warframe nonstop in recent days, and I’ve been poking my nose around to learn more about the game. But the interview lacked one more facet to it, an established face in the community. It was about two hours later when I remembered an introduction and conversation to a one Brofish that I realized who the perfect fourth member would be. We set up the live shot using a standing camera from the main stage, and while it was a tad awkward at first, the interview went exceptionally well and was quite informative.
After such a productive day, there was really only one way to end the day: Charley’s. We had an impromptu dinner at the restaurant where I got to catch up a bit more with Mav and Seum. Joining the party a tad late but always fashionable, Joe King from Gearbox Software dropped in for a fun discussion and catch up from the conventions past. He also provided one of the best photobombs ever.
Day Two.
Once achieving a well deserved and restful sleep, day two hastily began with a stop at McDonalds. I let myself down a bit and got an actual sandwich so as not to seem too weird to the boys, when in reality my go to for MickeyD’s breakfast food is just four or five hash browns. Don’t judge me, you know how good they are.
I marched directly to the main hall, as it was right to work, ensuring that production was going smooth on the caster end. After meeting with the Dauntless’s associate producer Jordan Dodds, a change was made where I’d be sitting in at the commentator desk to discuss the game live during the Dauntless charity blitz on the main stage. This would be the first time ever I would be sitting at the desk and not reporting from a remote spot. I was, of course, excited.
Minutes before the day began, we found out one of our interviewees were unable to make it in time. Fortunately, we were able to track down Zac Whitten from St. Jude to pinch hit. Liz started the interview solo while the production team informed me that we needed a backup interview to fill some extra time as the interview had started early and looked to perhaps go short. After frantically running around and asking a few people to step in fruitlessly, I realized, why didn’t I just head to the desk and join the fun? Quickly talking it over with production, Liz introduced me to the stage and the three of us proceeded to have an informative and extremely fun interview, with Zac sharing what he considers to be his favorite machine at St. Jude: an actual, working particle accelerator. As a reminder, your donations to St. Jude paid for that awesome piece of technology, now used to help save more children’s lives and with higher quality of life following that style of radiation therapy.
It’s here I’m going to send another massive shoutout to Pete, Mike, Ladman, Echo, and the entire GuardianCon security team. Without going into specifics for obvious reasons, any situation that was presented before these fine gentlemen was handled professionally, swiftly, and with decided resolution. Their relentlessness at keeping everyone attending the convention feeling safe and welcomed absolutely earns them accolades in my book.
During lunch, we had some show prep in the back and went live for the Dauntless Charity Blitz. During the block, we grilled Jordan about the game, from mechanics to Behemoth names to what they’re looking forward to next. As incentive for donating during the block, three acrobatic gentlemen would do various feats on the main stage, including flips and bench pressing each other. It made for a very unique and enjoyable blitz that raised over $10,000 with $6,000 of that coming from Phoenix Labs. This money was raised by the Dauntless community through an incentive in game where every time you used a St. Jude themed flare, a portion was set aside that would be donated during the event.
A quick commercial break and scarf change, one of many over the course of the weekend, next up was a fun interview with Drybear of Hi Rez games on Realm Royale, a D&D/Magical theme to the Battle Royale genre. MTashed and I could only watch with horror, however, as a trailer for Warframe ran early in the interview instead of one for Realm Royale. After profuse apologies, we quickly recovered and got the interview back on track. Drybear was very kind and gracious to us about the mishap, and it certainly made for a great addition to an eventual GuardianCon blooper reel.
Officially, I had nothing left to do for the remainder of the convention, so I started tracking down people so I could say goodbye. I managed to link up with Zillieness for a time and we wandered outside the main hall, striking up conversations with Fefinator (who was, ahem, fruitlessly promoting the horribly misguided idea that pineapple belongs on pizza), ClassicQueen, Twitch admin and Gearbox Community Badass Ganza, and one of my favorite people in the whole world, LadyDesiree. Desiree graciously offered to play music for con goers outside the main hall, playing a variety of nerd scores from Destiny, Halo, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and other nerd related games and shows.
Saying goodbye is hard for someone like me, I don’t much care for the term. “See ya soon/later” is more my speed. The finality of “Goodbye” burns deep with me, what with having lost my parents and all. However, the time had come to exchange departing formalities regardless of what form they took. Each hug was a little tighter, and each smile with a tinge of a frown to it. I did my best to keep a brave face, especially as the Fortnite blitz came to a close. Inside however, my heart was heavy. This was compounded when I ran into DrPsycho and JewelsVerne for the last time that day. Both of these ladies have been a treat to meet and get to know over the past year, and I’m saddened that I could not spend more time with them. I also had a chance to bid farewell to Snaps, one of the most inspirational people I know and the reason I’m so obnoxious now on Instagram.
GuardianCon’s closing ceremonies were a tad more muted than last year, though the dais was far more jam packed as Jordan, Ninja, and DrLupo joined the boys to say goodbye. Yet, Kevin had one more surprise for us to close out the year. No, not a date or venue yet, this one personally felt far more significant. GuardianCon’s assistant director Alex “OmniWaffle” Bamberg would be ascending to the position of Director as Kevin would be focusing his energies on other upcoming RareDrop prospects. Alex is one of the most genuine, hard working, and insightful people I know. Long after everyone goes home, even Kevin, Alex has in previous years remained behind to help make GuardianCon a more enjoyable experience. One example of this is how, toward the end of the first day, he was brainstorming with some of us ways to better improve the VIP section of the convention. While everyone had gone home, he remained behind to set up TVs, rearrange furniture, and ensure that attendees would overall feel the section was more a home base, and less a waystation to watch a streamer and sneak some food. What Kevin, Broman, and Gothalion began, Alex will take to the sky, stars, and beyond.
As soon as the cameras were cut, I went backstage to say goodbye to some folks as we were leaving relatively quickly after the show ended. I found Kevin who was absolutely ecstatic at how the event had turned out. He pulled me aside and immediately told me, pointing to his eyes and then mine, “Look at me Mitsu, so there’s no confusion this time. You’re coming back next year. You’re the guy.” I guess that solves that personal dilemma. I ran into Seum one more time (who was cosplaying as a rainbow) as well as formally meeting MrsDrLupo briefly. Of course, because I’m also a dumb hack, I introduced myself to Ninja, just for a handshake and to say thank you for all that he had done.
Due to a very early flight, I was unable to attend Buffalo Wild Wings’s after party for GuardianCon this year. As a result, we had a low key pizza outing between a few buds before heading home. Everyone took the time to chat a bit and they shared farewells with me, and after a short but very uplifting chat with Sam, I packed my bags and retired to the theater one more time, to await the inevitable dawn.
Quick Hits:
Before I wrap this up, I wanted to try to include as many people and special moments as possible. I want to let you all know that every moment shared with you all is precious to me, and that if I left out a moment with you, it is unintentional as I have the memory of a goldfish. So, without further ado…
- Playing Killer Queen for entirely too long with attendees in the arcade. “Will you be our queen, Mitsu?!”
- Receiving an Orlando City scarf, though I still say it’s a Pro-Alliance design.
- Liz and I stepping into the Buccaneers Bus. The interior was awesome.
- Mario Tennis Aces with SnootyWizard and EddeDre.
- Every. Damn. Selfie. That. I. Was. Asked. To. Take.
- Mistaking a jug of Old Fashioned for black iced tea before SpeakEZ.
- Every scarf change (22 total) and the confused reactions from attendees.
- Morning conversations with all the volunteers.
- Teaching LadyDesiree about Mocha Frappuccinos.
- The Personality Twins watching me get stopped by security for my earpiece.
- Having a wonderful conversation with Flood’s mother who was also in attendance.
- Sneak Attack hug from Teawrex.
- #TealTeamSix
- “Mitsu, are you alright? Do you need water?”- Every Volunteer
Epilogue.
When I arrived home, I knew the con depression would hit fast and hard, so I reached out almost immediately to my friends to come help ease the transition back to normalcy. Being the awesome people they are, they rose to the call and helped relieve some of that “lonely” that we all feel post-convention. Sadly, the very next day it came right back. I know it will subside in time, but I miss my streamer family. I miss this community. I miss being with all of you.
The future is uncertain and yet unwritten, but I have ideas where I want to go and how to achieve those goals. I can’t express how much you all have built me up and gave me a platform to live my dreams this weekend. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to interview people in the gaming industry, perform on a live stage in a renowned theater, and meet some of the coolest people on the planet. You made that happen.
You, dear reader, consumer of the content that we create, made all of this possible. GuardianCon as it exists today and the ability to fully fund St. Jude for one entire day of operations would not have happened without you. I spoke on Twitter before my flight down of a power inside all of us. A power to speak passionately on topics and move others to action, to be a voice of support for the people who bring you joy and entertain you, to give your time to worthwhile endeavors selflessly. Do not take it for granted. Harness this power and show the world what it means to be a Guardian.
I’ll see you all next year.
-Mitsu
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