One Year of Anime Fests – How Things Have Changed

Last year around this time on March 9, 2024, Drillimation debuted at the inaugural Erie Anime Fest. An anime convention was the perfect place to show off what Drillimation Systems has been doing lately. These events have been a great way for me to connect with existing fans and introduce new fans to Drillimation’s games.

This local convention takes place at the Quality Inn and Suites Conference Center south of Interstate 90. It offers an art show, artist alley, cosplay contests, game tournaments, karaoke, musical performances, panels, trivia contests, and workshops.

Typical Day

My typical day at an anime fest begins with me getting up and changing into my convention clothes, which consist of a white shirt with the Drillimation logo on it. Once I pack everything up in the car, one of the first things I do before getting to the convention is go by the nearby McDonald’s and eat breakfast. When I’m on vacation or if I have a long day ahead of me, I always stop by a McDonald’s to eat hotcakes. I absolutely love them.

After I finish eating, I drive straight to the hotel, check in, and get set up. My general setup includes placing a table cloth on top, which has almost always been white, followed by my monitor, which is, in fact, the same one I use at home every single day. My first convention involved my old monitor, which I replaced with said display.

The other things you see are two signs with QR codes that link to this website and a digital version of the binder, which I have right here. In between, I have two other signs advertising commissions and the open beta signups for Drillimation’s newest games. All of the money paid for the signups goes into the donation box in the center. The monitor is always playing a demo reel of every game project that the company has ever worked on. This video has always been expanding when new projects are created.

For every one of my appearances, I have been experiencing several problems with getting to, during, and exiting the conventions. I’ve also faced technical challenges regarding electricity since my second one, plus other distractions involving other doujin groups. Starting at the first, gusty wind conditions caused flickering lights at the hotel, but it didn’t go out completely. But then, after the convention, Winter Storm Preston struck, with the area being blanketed with 10 centimeters of snow. The first three events, in terms of entering and exiting the hotel, all got drenched by rain. The fourth one over the weekend did not, though Winter Storm Lola (part of the March 2025 North American blizzard) occurred on the days before the convention and caused travel disruptions and icy conditions at the start for attendees.

Inside the convention, other problems have plagued me. Since the second convention in August 2024, Drillimation had always been placed at the back, where the electrical outlets do not simply work, forcing me to use an old dirty extension cable the hotel had on hand. And for two conventions in a row, one doujin group had a bright idea to bring their baby with them, and it threw a tantrum, like usual.

Future

That said, what about my future? In the event that I’m placed at the back again, I am planning to purchase multiple extension cords I could daisy chain so I don’t have to pull out that other dirty cord with crooked prongs. In addition, I also plan to purchase a Steam Deck with one of my playable games running. The Steam Deck is meant to keep attendees at my booth for longer times. Many kids who attend will also very likely want to play, as market research shows that more young people play video games than adults do.