ESA Winter '24

On my way home from ESA as I'm writing this, it was once again an event I'll be able to look back at fondly. This will be a long one, starting with some more sentimental stuff, followed by a recollection of my runs at the event and finishing with a (very likely incomplete) list of people I had some interactions with.

This event was the first time in a while where I traveled without knowing who will be there which had me a little bit nervous as I often times feel like I struggle to initiate conversations or join in on (community) events that are going on. While I at first had occassional moments of feeling like I don't really belong into any of the groups present this was remedied extremely quickly thanks to primarily the PlaystationNation and of course other people, old and new, that I managed to meet during this event. For that I want to express my deepest gratitude, I'm very glad that all the people I got to meet were kindhearted people with their own personalities, ideas and goals regarding speedrunning and life in general. It allowed me to learn that I need to try and be less worried about belonging into certain groups as that leads me to overlook the friends that I've already made and who I cherish deeply. I basically just need to make a conscious effort of overthinking interactions with other people as I feel like I am able to truly bloom when I'm not as worried about how I come across. It's been a blast overall and I'm very much looking forward to ESA Summer '24.

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At first I was supposed to only show Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix on Friday, later on I got a message that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was also accepted due to people dropping out. I did missmanage my time back at home in terms of practice for these runs but I feel like I prepared well enough for those runs especially onsite.

Crisis Core went surprisingly well, it was a solid run and I feel like I got to show most of the things that make the game what it is. Of course I had a few slipups, but as a whole the run went well.

Kingdom Hearts 2 on the other hand was a little different, it had some of the highest highs and lowest lows I've ever went through in a single run. It went 5 minutes over a very generously chosen estimate, but nonetheless I feel like I was able to make it a mostly entertaining showcase of the game as a whole. My main goal for the run was getting the Blindfolded Roxas fight first try which I did so that's great.

Overall I realised that, of course, I want to make sure I practice more leading up to the event itself, but instead of pumping hours like I did onsite I want to make sure that I get through some kind of routine like no resets at the event itself. This way I feel like I can use my time at the event more freely and I wouldn't be overpractising / fatiguing after having played the game for 4-5 hours right before the actual run.

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Lastly I want to quickly shoutout some of the people who I was able to interact with in no particular order. Writing this I realised I properly met a lot of you for the first time during this so there'll be some similarities here and there:

Laura: I feel like were already aware of each other for a while now but only during this event, specifically the afterparty, were we able to have even a conversation and despite it being a very short one I'm looking forward to meeting you again and hanging out with you in future events. Maybe even uksg already?

Ricky: I'm always amazed by your ability to capture peoples attention, whether through interesting conversations or your speedruns. I'm always inspired to reach for higher goals whenever I see one of your runs or videos popping of. And of course thank you for organizing many of the activities surrounding the event like the bowling, kahoot or other things that I wasn't able to join.

Kuitar: It feels like this was our first time talking as well this event. You are easily one of the most chill people I've had the pleasure to talk with and I'm looking forward to interact more with you on our next event.

Oggy: Your contagious laughter had me laughing along with you a lot of times without having any context. You're a super fun person to hang around with and I feel like you're someone one could always come to for a good laugh. Gotta make sure that we have a big Battle of Hogwarts community Reunion next Summer.

Abyss: We've already somewhat met during last ESA, you were watching my Re:Coded run back then even. I'm super happy that we got to hang out as much as we did this time as you're super cool to hang around with. You're easily one of the people I spent the most time with this event. Just an overall great person who's absolutely goated at Bowling apparently.

Isy: It feels like we didn't interact as much this time as during other events but that does not detract from the time we spent together. As always we were able to just vibe and crack jokes at the expense of each other.

Oli: When you mentioned yesterday that we only met during SpeedCon '23 I was honestly taken aback that it's been less than one (1!) year. By now it feels like we've known each other for years now, I love hanging around with you and similarly to Isy we're just able to joke about each other endlessly and it never gets old.

Yisk: It's definitely been a while since we talked to each other but our, even if short, interaction on the Rythm Game machine bonding over Vocaloid Songs was great and taught me once again that I need to just be more open about my own interests as specifically my taste in music is something I'm often not comfortable sharing with others.

Xem: I've seen your name on many many occasions before and you always striked me as a hard working and eager person that constantly strives to improve whenever they can. It's something I can clearly learn something from, to be more daring and experimental with things as well as actually mustering up to put some effort in whatever I do, be the best I can be at whatever I can do. Looking forward to get to know you more the next time we see each other.

Six: We mostly talked within groups which is 100% fine. You strike me as a very healthy person both mentally and physically and make a great and very funny moderator. Spittin' or Cappin' was easily one of the highlights of ESA, I enjoyed every second of it.

Bord: We only really talked towards the end of the event but I'm happy we did, you always seem to be in a good and cheerful mood, ready to have a good time with others. Looking forward to seeing you and your fire shoes again in Summer.

WarDrums: Similarly to Six we mostly interacted within a group but you very much seem like a smart and fun yet reliable person. Despite not having any 1 on 1 interactions you seem like the type of person who always has an open ear for others.

Rebel: My boy Rebel, the only other remaining pillar of the KH community. It's always a joy talking with you about speedrunning as a whole. It really is just that easy, just press the buttons and win the game. Looking forward to seeing you again, maybe even at uksg already.

Lukas: It feels like we've exchanged 2-3 message per year for several years now and we've finally got to meet each other properly. You are also one of the most chill dudes I've met this event. Just as with everyone else I'm hoping you'll be able to make the trip to Malmö again in summer.

Terli: I feel like we've seen each other a lot already but only started talking more during recent events. You're probably one of the people I know the least so far but looking at our past interactions I'm looking forward to change that next time we meet.

I hope I didn't forget anyone but I 100% did, sorry if I didn't mention you here. All of you are great people.

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While writing this I realised how great our Playstation community truly is, always welcoming new people and holding together no matter what happens. I was able to spend a great week with you guys and managed to learn some things from this. You guys are truly what makes ESA special to me and I'm absolutely excited for future events.

Thank you guys :)

-desa