So, I just got home after a loooong drive from Vegas. My buddy who was my ride had to get back to LA so we had to scoot early. Engage personal and blubbery reflective post.
I wanted to take a moment and express something that I had a lot of time to think about on the way home, and my general feeling which I came away form IPL with:
Energetic awe.
This has been my first event.. period. First esports event, first event where I've represented Riot, first time I've around such a big group of people since like.. high school musicals I performed in. Yeah, I said it.
REGARDLESS.
At every point in my experience at IPL I was awestruck. Disregard the awe of the cool hotel and its bare glass between the shower stall and the bedroom.. From the moment that I saw our spread and ventured into see a ballroom packed with people passionately rooting for their picks, I was in awe. Don't get me wrong, working on the game's characters and seeing them walk around in-game for all to see is a feeling all it's own, but to have the game and the act of viewing made manifest and palpable, that struck me with awe.
I'm a complete esports noob. Going to this event was something that perked my initial interest when Rinoa suggested it as something I'd have a great deal to learn from. I'd be a remiss as an artist if I didn't take full advantage of a venue that not only showcased work that the team produces but also presented a completely different angle as to how that product is consumed. That mode of consumption, that vehicle of delivery, has a lot to do with how an artist produces work. This opened me up to an entire other realm of artistic possibilites, new ideas, and levels of immersion that I had never fathomed.
I'm very much about immersion, I enjoy world building, and I enjoy being enveloped by an experience. This had to be one of the most immersive times in my life where my entire reality was centered around a single shared experience where I felt like I had steped into a new dimension of excitement and energy, all populated with people who could not have been more warm, genuine, intelligent, passionate, generous and about as many positive adjectives that exist in the dictionary.
That energy is very addictive! It's something that, until now, I hadn't experienced first hand. I enjoy working with energetic people, I enjoy seeking out positive energy on the forums and social media, I enjoy the energy inside the game and interacting with player online. This was the first time I was interacting with people on a face-to-face basis and I was blown away!
Because of how much sheer energy I encountered, and how that left me completely speechless and awestruck by the time I left, I wanted to thank everyone who came out to interact, and anyone who was watching. You have no idea how charged I feel coming out of IPL having met all the people I met, being approached by a stranger to have an in-depth conversation, be allowed to give hugs to anyone who desired said hug =D I want you to know how wonderful you are. I'd like express just how much raw positivity that I experienced at IPL and how invigorating that is. There's nothing I can do to properly quantify how I really feel because it's something that transcends my ability to put into pun form. It has left me reeling and spinning, not having yet sunk in on just how many levels it has left me affected.
This has been a life changing experience for me, I simply wanted to share that with you. There is nothing I want to do more than to continue to help make something that you enjoy, but also to keep out, wherever I may be allowed to, in order to interact, and selfishly feed off of your unrelenting positive energy.
Your positivity and your passion are unstoppable. It is a wave that was noticed, commented on, reveled in and made humble those of us who were experiencing it first hand, and seeing how many people tuned in to share in that experience. I cannot express just how blown away I am by you. You are what we thrive on and what drives us to create. I never want that positivity to stop. You have no idea how powerful your voices, literally and figuratively, are. You have no idea how much joy you deliver with every handshake, cheer or laugh. They are gifts that cannot be priced high enough. Speaking for myself, I could only hope to repay them with a hug, a shout or a happy tear in my eye.
My apologies for all the soupy rubbish! I'm a sentimental guy and I cannot leave such an event or an experience without expressing how thankful I am, and how significant each of you are!
Thank you again for letting us ride the powerful waves you make!
Thank you for what I hope to be just one experience in a lifetime of meaningful moments.
Thank you for being you!
/end personal and blubbery reflective post.
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Sr. Concept Artist
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