I attended my first AGDQ last week and, despite my previous experiences at previous Summer Games Done Quick, it was different. The most obvious difference is noted on my badge.
In case you don't know my history with these events, pretty much from the moment I watched a GDQ, (back in 2014), I have been hooked. While watching Summer Games Done Quick in 2015, I discovered that it was held nearby where I lived. I kept my eye on their website and decided that, if the following year they were coming back to my neck of the woods, I would attend. Being there while SGDQ2016 was happening live completely blew me away. The strong urge to do more had been ignited and so I applied to volunteer every summer thereafter. To date, I have volunteered as a host (2017), a stylist (2018 & 2019), a panelist (2019) and now as a rep of PreventGEN (2020) with the AGDQ charity.
The day after SGDQ 2019 wrapped up I was determined to do whatever possible to help for AGDQ 2020. It was not only their 10th anniversary since it's humble beginnings, but it benefited the Prevent Cancer Foundation. I have a personal appreciation for this organization and you can read more about that in my PCF blog post here!
I immediately reached out to PCF to ask if there was anything I could do to help and that blog post was the original plan. I have only fate to thank for my impeccable timing because PCF had just opened applications for a new committee forming called PreventGEN, whose mission is to connect and share the importance of cancer prevention and early detection, especially with younger generations. Next thing I know I'm on a board made up of 13 members and made the head of a subcommittee for Gaming and E-Sports. In the nearly 6 months I have been on this committee I have already felt an even stronger sense of purpose and I am now moving in a direction that could directly benefit the people I adore from the GDQ community.
I will now be going into great detail about my experience attending last week because it was jam-packed with amazing moments and overall JUST THAT GOOD!
TL;DR I had a great time and as long as they don't tell me to go away, I'm going to keep attending.
I landed in Orlando in the afternoon of January 5th, the first day of AGDQ. I grabbed some caffeine and tidied myself up at the airport before making my way to the hotel. Right off the bat it was so cool to finally meet the PCF staff in person. Up until then, I had been coordinating with them via phone calls and email. They made me feel immediately welcomed and I was super hype to get to work!
I scheduled interviews with people I had connected with at previous events that were willing to share their stories regarding cancer. I felt like it would really help drive home the point of why GDQ raises money for PCF, but it ended up being much more impactful and emotionally moving than I had anticipated.
The day after SGDQ 2019 wrapped up I was determined to do whatever possible to help for AGDQ 2020. It was not only their 10th anniversary since it's humble beginnings, but it benefited the Prevent Cancer Foundation. I have a personal appreciation for this organization and you can read more about that in my PCF blog post here!
I immediately reached out to PCF to ask if there was anything I could do to help and that blog post was the original plan. I have only fate to thank for my impeccable timing because PCF had just opened applications for a new committee forming called PreventGEN, whose mission is to connect and share the importance of cancer prevention and early detection, especially with younger generations. Next thing I know I'm on a board made up of 13 members and made the head of a subcommittee for Gaming and E-Sports. In the nearly 6 months I have been on this committee I have already felt an even stronger sense of purpose and I am now moving in a direction that could directly benefit the people I adore from the GDQ community.
I will now be going into great detail about my experience attending last week because it was jam-packed with amazing moments and overall JUST THAT GOOD!
TL;DR I had a great time and as long as they don't tell me to go away, I'm going to keep attending.
I landed in Orlando in the afternoon of January 5th, the first day of AGDQ. I grabbed some caffeine and tidied myself up at the airport before making my way to the hotel. Right off the bat it was so cool to finally meet the PCF staff in person. Up until then, I had been coordinating with them via phone calls and email. They made me feel immediately welcomed and I was super hype to get to work!
I scheduled interviews with people I had connected with at previous events that were willing to share their stories regarding cancer. I felt like it would really help drive home the point of why GDQ raises money for PCF, but it ended up being much more impactful and emotionally moving than I had anticipated.
My first interview was with Raelcun (as you can see, we are both very serious), who is on staff with GDQ as Tech Volunteer Coordinator. He shared his experience dealing with the loss of his father to cancer and I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to him. As soon as the interview was over we shot the breeze for about an hour or so. He is a wonderful person. I love his sense of humor and appreciate his efforts to stop me from apologizing for being my goofy self. |
Next I interviewed with Liviana, a delightful connection I made through the Discord for Frame Fatales, which is made up of a community of women speedrunners and gamers. Liv was kind enough to share her experiences with having to navigate a predisposition to multiple genetic disorders that required a steep learning curve in order to maintain good health. She is also a mother of two children who inherited the same fate, and has made tremendous efforts to help ensure they are able live their best lives, as well. |
Across from the PCF table and just beyond the registration desk, there was a keyboard sitting on a stand for anyone to drop by and start playing. I later discovered that it had been provided by CozmicDez, who noted that unlike in previous hotels, this one lacked a piano, so she brought one to share. It's not only an amazing way for the community to share their musical abilities, but it really encouraged new connections. For example, I met GreatComet and CaptOMalley, both sharing their piano skills with me, and it was all thanks to the presence of a communal instrument.
Monday, January 6th, I woke up and made myself some coffee and breakfast and watched the live stream from my hotel room TV. Once I was up and at 'em I hung out in the stream room until my next interview with CozmicDez.
Monday, January 6th, I woke up and made myself some coffee and breakfast and watched the live stream from my hotel room TV. Once I was up and at 'em I hung out in the stream room until my next interview with CozmicDez.
One of my favorite retro runners/streamers, LRock617 (middle) quickly became a friend after we met at SGDQ 2018. He didn't have any personal experiences to share with me, but he said he knew of someone in the community that he might be interested. Thanks to his efforts I made another fast friendship with Dez. She had just finished chemo treatments in the fall of 2019 and the complex feelings she experienced were still being processed. I believe Dez's words will inspire more than just LRock and myself once her story is made public. |
My next interview was with GDQ celebrity, Skybilz. She is known for speedruns and playing Magic The Gathering with Team Genji. She has also volunteered as a commentator and hosting shifts for several GDQ's. Skybilz was kind enough to share her views on the importance of early detection, as getting screenings had helped save the lives of members of her own family from cancer. On a side note, I'm so grateful that she is as awesome to know in person as I had imagined. I'm also totally jazzed that she said she's a fan of my art! (new SGDQ 2020 pendants incoming!) |
My last interview for the day was with another runner and GDQ giant, Keizaron, who has had countless runs in previous GDQs, as well as a run of Animorphs this year. He is also GDQ staff as an Interviewer. He has been publicly vocal about his experience with cancer on social media and even shared a blog about it through PCF. His message is one that strongly urges other men to drop the stigma and "check your balls" regularly, as he had learned and ultimately saved him from a much worse fate. I had the added bonus of meeting and hearing the lovely story of how he met his girlfriend, TangleNight, who is also a streamer on Twitch! |
| I met a lot of people in those first two days that I hope to stay connected with and meet again at future events. I also loved the PCF reps and felt like they brought a great energy and positivity to the event! My Tuesday, January 7th was filled with time spent off-site with my grandparents. |
I returned to AGDQ the morning of Wednesday, January 8th. While sitting at a table just outside of the stream room, I chatted with folks as they came and went. Eventually in walked Mike Uyama, the founder and CEO of Games Done Quick. I was pleasantly surprised when he sat and joined me to reconnect for a while. He reported that he was feeling good despite the fact that his brain, like many of ours, wouldn't stop waking him up at ungodly hours of the morning for no apparent reason. Is that maybe just hype overload?! From that conversation I'm already looking forward to the inevitable shenanigans of SGDQ :-D
Who knew that would be just the start of a whirlwind day? The next few hours continued to be full of surprises. After checking in with the PCF table and having some lunch, LRock invited me to join him for some last minute practice of his upcoming run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade. We previously had discussed the possibility of collaborating for a sing-along segment for his run, but until that day we weren't entirely sure if it was going to happen. Lucky for us, the interviewer (and another runner I've been following on Twitter) Feasel, was supportive of the idea, so the plan was to add a special bonus to the end of the interview. The next thing I know I'm on the interview couch singing the TMNT theme song with LRock! (Watch the full interview here!)
Afterward, I couldn't stop beaming. It felt amazing to be able to share that experience with my friend, because as I've said before, he ROCKS!
Just as I was headed toward the main ballroom to find a good seat, he stopped me and invited me to sit on the couch during his run. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar, the couch is generally reserved for commentators and/or relevant people in that game's community. Up until that point I'd only ever sat on the couch to snap a quick selfie before the event started. But 30 minutes after the interview I was sitting front row to cheer for the run! (Watch the TMNT run here!)
Just as I was headed toward the main ballroom to find a good seat, he stopped me and invited me to sit on the couch during his run. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar, the couch is generally reserved for commentators and/or relevant people in that game's community. Up until that point I'd only ever sat on the couch to snap a quick selfie before the event started. But 30 minutes after the interview I was sitting front row to cheer for the run! (Watch the TMNT run here!)
| After all that hype I retreated to the backstage area to catch up with LLK, the lead artist for GDQ. She was busy making gorgeous (and often hilarious) chalkboard and whiteboard art in her usual remarkable way. I'm continually inspired by her work and I'm pretty darned lucky that she's also a super cool person, so I look forward to the time I get to hide away and talk while she somehow makes sidewalk chalk look like a masterpiece. |
I have mentioned in the past that LLK, and her husband French Toast, have been amazing cheerleaders for my salads, which means a lot to me! It's hard to strike a balance between spreading a healthy message and just coming across as preachy. But neither LLK nor Toast ever appeared to interpret what I was saying in a negative way. I remember when we were first talking about it back at SGDQ 2018 she seemed legitimately interested so I offered to make her one to try it out. Both her and Toast reported that they loved them and something they now look forward to - so I've been making them every event since.
I came back again on Thursday, January 9th and crossed paths and connected with even more great people. Looking back, the whole week felt surreal. It's a crazy feeling running into people I've been a huge fan of for years and them recognizing me back. Another moment was when I remembered watching EnchantressOfNumbers completely destroy Tetris Grand Master at SGDQ2017 and suddenly finding myself sitting at a table playing it on her personal console while she offers advice and techniques. What a wonderful human being! | |
I appreciated seeing everyone again (some not pictured, but I appreciate them too!) and even running into an old friend from university! It reminded me of how many of my gaming friends gravitate toward the unique energy that a GDQ event brings. Seriously, my phone was buzzing a TON from friends back home who were understandably shocked to see how ingrained I've become in this community. All I could think to say was "I've found my people!"
| At this point I want to acknowledge that PCF was SO supportive of my ideas for this event, one of them being to make stickers to give out at the table. I figured since my brother runs a decal business we could collaborate. He ended up printing out over 1500 1-inch vinyl stickers for me so that visitors could add them to their badge, water bottle, laptop, etc. It seriously warmed my heart to see people wearing them around. The crazy thing is that by the end of it there were only about 25 or so left. I hope this becomes a new tradition, because they were a blast to make and I'm stoked that people liked them, too! |
I'd also like to mention how awesome the Prize Coordinator, Sent, is and has been from the start. Well before attending an event, donating art for prize incentives was the first thing I ever did to help GDQ. It was such a good feeling to be able to share my paintings for a good cause and it has inspired me to continue to better my skills over the years. I regret not having a chance to grab a selfie with him, but I couldn't forget to mention that Sent is a really great person and I feel very fortunate to have his support. I always anticipate seeing the game list so I can get to work asap!
My last day at AGDQ was Saturday, January 11th. The night before, Wilma and I ran to the grocery store to grab some extra supplies so that I could assemble 6 salads to bring along with me and distribute. I knew LLK and Toast were definitely claiming at least 2 of them, but the rest were in case someone else was hungry and interested. Amanda, one of my point people with PCF was the first taker, saying she was actually just on her way to purchase a salad, so I was glad this saved her a trip! My next taker was GreatComet, who said that as a vegan it was difficult to find good options around. While I hadn't made them completely vegan-friendly he still expressed gratitude and thus another salad found a good home. I ate one for my own lunch and by the end of the day LLK and Toast claimed the remaining 3 (so they could share one for breakfast, too!)
The last thing I got to catch was the super short runs of Untitled Goose Game, where we also hit the 2 million dollar mark and thus got to join in the thunderous applause. I knew my ride back to my grandparent's home was scheduled to pick me up at 9pm, so I made sure to say my goodbyes to anyone I saw en route to the lobby and left feeling an enormous sense of joy from the incredible week I had just experienced.
I don't know what the future looks like, but I am wholeheartedly enjoying the path I am currently on. I finally have a place to funnel this ridiculous and seemingly insatiable energy to do more. Maybe it's because it combines everything I love most: video games, art, music, good conversation, promoting health and trying to make the world a better place than we found it.
I don't know what the future looks like, but I am wholeheartedly enjoying the path I am currently on. I finally have a place to funnel this ridiculous and seemingly insatiable energy to do more. Maybe it's because it combines everything I love most: video games, art, music, good conversation, promoting health and trying to make the world a better place than we found it.