Interview about Pokémon GO Fest: Regional, Shinys and the Level Increase

The Pokémon GO Fest 2020 will take place entirely from home this year. MeinMMO editor Noah Struthoff spoke with Michael Steranka about this special event. He is the Director of Global Live Events at Niantic, responsible for the organization of the GO Fests.

The Pokémon GO Fest is always the biggest highlight of the year for trainers of the AR game. Normally, it takes place at a fixed location, and trainers have to travel there to participate.

However, due to the Corona crisis, the event will this time take place completely digitally, and you can play it from home.

Due to this special circumstance, there are still many questions about the event that Michael Steranka has explained in detail.

GO Fest brings several regionals and many shinies

Currently, nothing is known about the spawns around the GO Fest. Niantic is being very tight-lipped about that.

The question regarding regional Pokémon is particularly exciting, because normally a Pokémon that does not exist in the affected region appears at the GO Fest. Since this time every region is involved, the question of the regional Pokémon is even more thrilling.

MeinMMO: The Pokémon GO Fest 2020 will be huge – over 75 different Pokémon will appear – Can you give us an insight into possible spawns?

Michael Steranka: “Yes, certainly. We always want to keep a majority of the spawns a surprise. I think that one of our big aspects of live events is the fun surprises like: ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know that this Pokémon appears here.’

We have hidden a few hints and Easter eggs in our images and assets. So you should definitely keep an eye out for those to guess the various spawns.

Additionally, we have announced different habitats [Fire, Water, Plant, Battle, and Friendship]. That is also a good hint about what to expect.

MeinMMO: One of the highlights of the GO Fest is always the increased shiny rate. Will that be the case in 2020 as well?

Michael Steranka: You know, we never directly talk about shiny rates or anything in that direction, but what I can say is that players will be very satisfied with their shiny yield at the end of the event.

MeinMMO: Every GO Fest or Safari Zone usually has a regional Pokémon. What does it look like this year?

Michael Steranka: “That was definitely something that was a bit challenging for us to think through. When you have a location-based event, it’s easy to choose a regional Pokémon that normally doesn’t appear in that region. However, with a global event, it is much more challenging because it should be fair for everyone, no matter where they play.

No one should feel like ‘my regional Pokémon is featured and I’m not getting a new regional.’ and that’s why it was quite challenging.’

MeinMMO: So maybe Sengo and Vipitis are a good choice? After all, they were shown in the GO Fest image.

Michael Steranka: “Yes, Vipitis and Sengo will be part of the event, but there will also be some other regional surprises.

GO Fest from home is a completely new challenge

MeinMMO: Is it harder to create such an event for everyone from home or at a specific location?

Michael Steranka: Those are definitely completely different challenges. One thing that I am not sure if everyone knows or appreciates about our real-life events is that every time you go to a new city or country, you have different regulations to consider. We also have to inform the local authorities every time about what our events are about because they are completely different from a normal convention.

When you compare that to the global event, one of the biggest challenges was the short time we had to revamp the event and adapt to the global situation we are in.

The team did a great job of taking the key components that you have in such a live event and that players love, and bringing them to life in a global format.

What I want to say is that those are two very different types of challenges. We had a lot of fun transferring aspects of real-life events to this global event this year. We will definitely take these learnings with us and keep them for our upcoming live events in the future.

MeinMMO: The previous Safari Zones and the upcoming GO Fest show: Such events do not need a fixed location. Is that something that is conceivable even after the Corona period?

Michael Steranka: “We will definitely gather player feedback on this event, and this will definitely influence our strategy on live events in the future.

I also want to say that the traditional real-life events are the core of Niantic and the different games we oversee. Ingress has had such events since its inception.

We believe that this is a great team-building opportunity for our community, and players love this type of event. So yes, this year’s GO Fest is super accessible for trainers around the world, but I don’t think it will ever truly replace the experience of playing with thousands of trainers in one place.

GO Fest for everyone – Even for newcomers

A news story that has caused a lot of stir in recent days was the statement that XP will soon be more valuable again. The question, however, is when that will be the case.

MeinMMO: In the press briefing for the GO Fest, it was mentioned that XP will be more valuable in the future. Would a possible level increase therefore not be a good start for the GO Fest?

Michael Steranka: “We designed the Pokémon GO Fest to be accessible for all players at any level. We didn’t want some people to be excluded. That is also one of our core elements of live events. We wanted to ensure that if you created your account just this week and attend such an event, you have as much fun as someone who has been playing for 3 years.

So for the GO Fest, a level increase would not align with the experience. But there will be more news to come.”

MeinMMO: Niantic Social is expected to launch before the GO Fest. Can you explain why this feature will be so important at the GO Fest?

Michael Steranka: The launch of Niantic Social is meant to show which of your friends are online, and given the circumstances surrounding the GO Fest this year, we thought it would be incredibly helpful for organizing things like remote raids. That will be one of our key points at this year’s GO Fest.

MeinMMO: Currently, one can play great from home, but after the Corona period, we should go out and play there. Why can we not play permanently from home?

Michael Steranka: “One of the core points of Pokémon GO, but also of Niantic, is to help players get outside and discover the real world. That is something we always want to implement through our different games.

With that in mind, we have never said that this will impact our gameplay 100%. So, we will definitely look at the changes we have made during this time and weigh which of these features could remain in the game and which are not really healthy for the gameplay in the long term.

But there will be a mix of these things, that’s for sure.”

MeinMMO: How did you experience the time when lockdowns started everywhere and how could you react so quickly – also with regard to the GO Fest?

Michael Steranka: “Maybe some people don’t know this, but it takes over 8 months to plan such a large live event. Then the crisis came and threw a big curveball into our plans for live events in 2020.

I want to mention this in great recognition of John Hanke, our CEO at Niantic, who always sees the big impact of our live events on the players and our games. It was a top-level goal from Niantic to maintain that feeling of community even in these times – even if players should keep their distance from each other or stay at home.

So it was a huge task for our entire company to say “Hey, let’s figure out how we can keep the GO Fest going this summer and maintain that community feeling.” The team was very quick and had many ideas about how to make that wish a reality. It was not easy, and a lot of work went into it. We hope that players will really enjoy the event.”

MeinMMO: Yes, we think so. The GO Fest looks grand. Thank you for the interview.