Yotes Games @BronyCon2015

     Where do I even begin with this? My first convention was an incredible experience that I completely underestimated. Both for indie dev marketing reasons and personal ones. I tried to limit my BronyCon experience summary to just a handful of paragraphs and some carefully selected pictures you can find below the break.

We watched Jeff Burgess and the Bad Mares live from the front row.

Me with Nowacking and Kari with DustyKatt.

   My co-panelist & playtester Kari went to the con last year and already got to meet some people I've only seen over the internet. We met so many people we consider celebrities and made some new best friends in just a matter of days. To be honest the convention felt like more of an excuse for everyone to come together. I was more excited for chances to hang out than any particular panel. Even waiting in line at a vendor hall booth was fun because of all the cool folks walking by.

Me and my girlfriend Kari with Eurobeat (@TravisOdyssey)
We had so much fun during the bar trot on day 0.

Us with Rhyme Flow, Eile Monty, and a group photo of all the musicians we got to swim with!
By some kind of magic we got to party with Garnika, The Living Tombstone, Alex S., P1K, and way more.

     Standing next to some of these people was a surreal experience. I spent so many years appreciating their work, but never expected to actually make physical contact. These were imaginary people a week ago! Being next to them is inspiring. It makes me want to be someone worth gushing over the way I gush about them.

My favorite picture from the con with my favorite people at the con.
The Horseshoe Crew of Endless Jess, TBBBAP, Digibro, Gibbontake,
and Tommy Oliver,  has been making me laugh hysterically for years now.

     My biggest business takeaways from the con all came from my panel. People are excited for the game. People are impressed by what I've managed to do as a one-man team so far. People do see the vision I'm trying to bring to life. There are people who believe in me enough to lend a hand even before I fully prove the game concept. I made plenty of contacts including a chiptune musician, a professional coder from Wargaming, and some let's players all looking forward to BGP.

     My biggest personal takeaways are just how happy the whole experience can make you feel. I've never had a string of days be that good before and I really wasn't expecting everything to go so perfectly. I should make a point to do conventions way more often. The 7-hour bronypalooza raves were worth the ticket price alone. The people you meet, the things you see, and the memories you make are priceless. I would never miss out on another chance to experience this.

     I really can't wait to do this all again. The rest of the year will be prep-work for BronyCon 2016. I want a beta ready by July 8th just so I can show everyone how far the Battle Gem Ponies idea has come. Looking even further, I hope by 2017 the content creators I admire will feel the same kind of respect for my own things. 

     I keep daydreaming about people coming up and recognizing me as the Battle Gem Ponies guy, Yotes. To be great is to know I've brought something into the world that positively influences tens of thousands of lives. That is my goal for BronyCon 2016. Make something twenty thousand people can care about. So until then, it's back to work here at Yotes Games. Now with an inner fire burning brighter than ever.