Pokémon Go Fests and other premier Niantic events are usually ways for the developers to add new mythical, legendary, and shiny Pokémon into the handheld collecting game. Still, Niantic wants to change how they are perceived.
During Pokémon Go Fest Madrid on June 14, Dot Esports talked with Pokémon Go Director Michael Steranka about the Go Fest Formula, and we asked what goes into making these events and picking which Pokémon make the cut. When chatting, Steranka was keen to talk about the thought process of putting together a Go Fest and shared what his development team is now looking to do moving forward to make events more exciting, rather than just continuously introducing new legendary or shiny Pokémon every single time.
“We took so many great lessons from Go Tour this year and are applying that to things like Go Fast,” Steranka told Dot Esports. “We took a look at Origin forme Dialga and Palkia and put a lot of thought and effort into how can we make them extra special in Pokemon Go.”
Steranka here is talking about the Adventure Effect moves both Pokémon got, which made changes to the game when used. This was a big reason to go out and get involved in Go Tour and something many Pokemon Go players embraced with open arms. Steranka went on to say that everyone seemed to love what they did with these Pokémon, so they became the catalyst for events moving forward.
“As we thought about our live events, you know, this gives us a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on powerful and exciting legendary Pokemon, mythical Pokémon… what we really want to be thinking about moving forward is, how can we make them even more exciting,” Steranka continued. “So as an example, we have the fusion mechanic that we’re introducing for Necrozma at this event.”
Moving forward, Steranka and the Go events team want to continue this idea of adding new and exciting mechanics with new events, and said new mechanics and ways to put a spotlight on these Pokémon other than just adding them is “something you can expect to see more of in our major live events moving forward.”
While nothing has been confirmed yet, this could maybe be when we finally see the proposed Z-Move and Gigantamax mechanics make their debuts.
