Greeting New Fans at Conventions

In five days, I would normally be at a little convention in my hometown called Erie Anime Fest. At first, after the last one in March, I was getting prepared for the next one this upcoming weekend, but the schedule was changed to something that’s off-topic for me in its place. My blood boiled, and there was nothing I could do. It could become their pet program.

This is an example of Adored by the Network – that type of convention could dominate the entire schedule for a period of time. Whenever a convention organizer stumbles upon a popular topic to host a convention, they’ll usually end up getting the most attention. It usually comes at the expense of all of the other types of conventions they have on hand, particularly if it will be canceled. At the very least, they may be ignored, but at the worst they could cancel or retool it to be more in line with the adored topic.

Despite this, if a topic for a convention is popular, many people will like it. If the attendees find other topics, they could tweak the convention to fit that topic. Enough of this can result in decay and a change as well.

Why I Exhibit

Like a lot of people in the Western world, I was mostly raised on anime, particularly Nintendo and Pokémon. As I came of age, I found my fondness for coding, and I soon began programming my own games. I’ve published thirteen over the span of seven years, with more than half of them being on Steam. Up until 2024, I never exhibited at conventions. I first heard about the Erie Anime Fest in an email blast in late 2023, and I immediately decided to sign up for a seat. I had a blast, being able to greet fans from all over my hometown and surrounding areas, as well as creating new ones. Since then, I have exhibited a total of four times.

Out of the content I exhibit, I have been the only Touhou Project doujin circle to be there, and a few Touhou Project fans have come by my booth. I haven’t had much engagement other than people stopping by, scanning the QR codes to visit this website, flipping through the binder, making donations, requesting commissions, and watching the demo reel. As a way to keep people at my booth for longer amounts of time, I plan to get a Steam Deck and load up one of my games for players to try out.

Future

I’m just hoping that Anime Fest will come back this November, but since they’re introducing new types of conventions to the lineup, this may or may not be possible.