Pokémon Go players across South Florida came together at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami last month as a part of a yearly “Go Fest” for two days of trading, battling and catching Pokémon. Andres Escobar, a Community Ambassador and avid player of the mobile game, organized the meetup through Campfire, a mobile app that allows players worldwide to schedule meetups.
Escobar shared how he made his group official by becoming a Community Ambassador, a sponsored organizer who distributes promotional codes, pins and other free items to players during special events, such as Community Days, Raid Hours and Go Fests, as well as engaging in online promotions to reach a wider audience.
“We already had an established group when I first started playing,” Escobar said. “And players in the community here told me to become a Community Ambassador, make it official, and get promoted online.”
Attending in-person events for Pokémon Go allows players to catch rare Pokémon and participate together in public parks or other areas. Players also use in-game Pokestops, which are representations of real-world landmarks, to gather items and catch Pokémon in an augmented reality format. The game, developed by Niantic Inc. and based on the popular Pokémon video game series, was originally released in 2016 and became immensely popular upon its release, garnering worldwide acclaim.
Escobar also shared how his community has increased reach on specific days, with player count in the park varying depending on what events occur.
“For big events like this weekend, for example, we had over 100 people check in on Saturday and Sunday,” Escobar said. “When we have Community Days, usually about 40 to 50 people check in, but for other events it could be 20 to 30 people, so it depends on the event.”
However, with the sale of Niantic, the game’s former development company, to Scopely, a video game development studio, last March, players shared their thoughts on the development.
Matthew Shimon, one of the players at Bayfront Park, said that he was “more agnostic, I’m hopeful that they won’t mess up the game. There is part of me that is a little more excited, because it’ll be a game managed by a game company.”
Sebastian Theodore, another attendee at the park, shared his more positive outlook, adding that “they’ve been more willing to give more opportunities for people to do the same events, but not having to be in person. But under Niantic, it was all very in-person oriented, but otherwise, not much has changed.”
Despite the change in leadership, players at the park spent time walking around Bayfront Park to catch the best possible Pokémon. With major events occurring in the park at times, such as the “No Kings” protest last June, Escobar stated that when conflicts arise with his planned events, he uses multiple routes outside the park to avoid areas that are occupied by protests or concerts.
Overall, Escobar plans to continue organizing and working with his community and hopes that Bayfront Park will continue to grow in game and reach new players.
“We just want to continue to grow our space, get new spots to play in,” said Escobar. “And hopefully make it a banging location, really.”
