Creator Spotlight: David Heringer (Infinity Con)

We map out how Infinity Con is reshaping the local con experience into a seven-world universe, built for creators, families, gamers, and horror fans. David shares the vision, the headaches behind the scenes, and the bold plan for themed gateways that make the show feel like a living story.

• Why Infinity Con centers creation over celebrity
• The seven worlds: Forge, Isle of Wonder, Abyss, New Renaissance, Limitless, Mystic Forest, Technotopia
• How Infinity Con balances all-ages programming with clearly marked horror zones
• Live art theaters, cosplay builds and indie game showcases
• The future: immersive gateways, story-led wayfinding and partner possibilities

Infinity Con Gainesville will be at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center on November 15–16. Get tickets at www.infinitycon.com!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & InfinityCon Partnership
• 1:06 Meet David Herringer
• 2:26 Origins: Music, Events, And MegaCon
• 6:52 Founding InfinityCon And Community Moments
• 10:52 What Kind Of Con Is InfinityCon
• 13:12 All-Ages Design And Safe Horror
• 17:18 The Hidden Work Of Running A Con
• 23:00 Tickets, Timing, And The Business Reality
• 27:31 Designing Layouts, Power, And Programming
• 31:06 The Seven Worlds Concept: A New Framework
• 38:02 The Forge And Isle Of Wonder
• 42:03 The Abyss: SFX, Horror Games, And Boundaries
• 47:08 New Renaissance: Live Art And Craft Of Story
• 50:45 Limitless: Esports, VR, And Indie Games
• 54:44 Mystic Forest: Tabletop, LARP, And Quests
• 58:22 Technotopia: Robotics And The World’s Fair Vibe
• 1:02:10 Fandoms We Love And Personal Tastes
• 1:06:40 Trends: K‑Pop Demon Hunters And Immersion
• 1:12:00 Why Theme Beats Trade Show
• 1:17:05 Team Shoutouts And Gratitude
• 1:22:40 The Future: Gateways And Full Immersion
• 1:29:05 Pop Culture Jeopardy Game
• 1:41:40 Dates, Venue, Food, And Final CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:12

This is the Way For It Podcast.

SPEAKER_05: 0:16

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Way for It Podcast. I am your co-host, Phil Barrera, aka Phil the Filipino.

SPEAKER_04: 0:21

And I'm your other co-host, Mr. Eric Almighty, and for this edition of Creator Spotlight, to wrap us up for the series for the year, we're gonna be talking about a great partnership that we have with a local convention here in Florida called InfinityCon. And Phil, I'm very excited to talk about this one. This one is a long time coming.

SPEAKER_05: 0:42

Yeah, I attended this show for the first time in 2024. And uh through our friend Corey, who is like our anchor being for a lot of people, introducing us to so many wonderful people in this convention space here in Florida, and we have been able to uh uh help out with InfinityCon Tallahassee earlier in the year, and we have InfinityCon Gainesville right around the corner. So, what better time to bring in the man that puts it all together doesn't sleep, I believe. I believe he's running on multiple days here straight uh being being awake. David Herringer of InfinityCon. David, it is so good to see you. Thanks so much for taking the time. And how are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_00: 1:23

Yeah, no, it's good to see you guys. Thank you for having me. Um, I'm doing well, I'm doing well, getting uh, like you said, a lot uh moving parts, trying to put things together, a lot of new vision for this year. So uh so it's been good. It's been a long time coming and still a long way to go, but uh but I'm excited. Excited to have you guys be a part.

SPEAKER_05: 1:42

So yeah, 100%. And we are very excited for this conversation to just kind of get an idea of how all of this works. I mean, we've been attending conventions from a fan standpoint for many, many years, and Eric and I have been very fortunate enough over the last few years to kind of get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes and the things that like you wouldn't even think of would become an issue. So very excited to bring this conversation to our audience today. Uh, for any brand new or returning listeners, make sure you stick around to the very end of the episode. We'll let you know we can find everything Wait for it podcast related. But let's jump into it here, David. If you want to just uh introduce yourself and what you've done and also a little bit maybe of the history of InfinityCon.

SPEAKER_00: 2:26

Yeah, uh, like I said, David Herringer. Um I've been some sort of business pretty much most of my life. Um I I I've lived a lot of lives. Uh I was in the band life. I was a front man for a band, um, did some singer-songwriter stuff. And uh through that, right around probably 2010 or 2011, I started working on a concept album. And through the concept album, I wrote this big, I wrote the concept. And as I started working on the concept, it was like this uh nanotechnology future. Um, gosh, it's been so long since I've thought about it. I'm trying to remember. Um, but it was like indefinite lifespans, and you know, you could, your, your consciousness could be transported. That's kind of the travel was through transporting your consciousness through the stars kind of thing. And there were these nanobiotic body kind of things. Anyway, so I was working on these novels and stuff, and um and well, I was working on the music, and then my wife was like, This is you know, this is good. You enjoy doing this, like this, it seems like maybe this is what you enjoy doing, the writing side. And uh, begrudgingly, because she knows me, she's my best friend, and she was she was right. And uh as I just kind of prayed about it more, and I was like, Okay, this is what I'm supposed to be working on. And then as I as I kept moving, a friend of mine, I was doing some, I was still kind of in the music scene, and I was working with this event called The Objective up in Nashville, and I'd been I've been doing it for years. The event itself was uh over like four different campuses. Um it was like four or five days, and it was like five, six hundred indie musicians. And um it was a lot of like that's where I just cut my teeth on doing events. Like it was everything from the backstage to getting speakers on on time and you know, working with talent that you have to you have to babysit and corral and and stay stand in this spot, this ex right here. Don't move, you know. But do it nicely because if not, they don't want to come back. But you know, learning that, but and also, you know, hey, this is the venue setup, this is what you need for you know your green room, and you know, so really learning all the ins and out of like event setup and uh event running. And um the last few years I was doing that, I started going to MegaCon. So it was my it was back when um I believe Christine owned it, original MegaCon days, about probably 2011, 2012. And uh I was going with my writing stuff, and I really I was like, man, just the how big everything was, like all the big shirt t-shirt vendors and all the things. It was just like, man, this is so cool. And um, and then I uh then I started just getting back to my books. So I was writing, that's why I was there. I was learning about comic book writing, learning about that's where I met Martin Piero, but I was learning about Mark comic book writing and um just novels and things like that from different like people and artists and panels. And uh I came back and my buddy Ray Hancock, who is one of the founders of the event um of InfinityCon, he was helping me with the thing and was doing a podcast at the time. And he was like, hey, we were thinking about just doing a meet and greet, but now we would like to do like a mini-con in Lake City where we're from. And I'm like, it's too much work, don't do it. Like, it's cool you want to do it, but uh, you know, I I just don't have time. It's a lot of work to run an event. Like, it's just not, it's it's not something I'm gonna, okay, man. Well, that's cool. So fast forward like six months later, you know, right into 2013, early 2014, he was like, hey man, like, you know, things I we need some help. Like, could you help? And I'm like, yeah, because we've been again working together. And I'm like, sure, sure. Like, I'll I'll help. And um, so yeah, so the first year I helped, and man, I like the way people came together, and you know, everything from I go back to this this visual of this 45, 50-year-old guy, um, maybe not even that old. I'm I'm 46, so but there was an older like dude in like a Harry Potter robe. And then there was this probably seven-year-old in a Harry Potter robe. And there was just this moment where it was just like, you know, she's with her parents or whatever, and he's there and they're like, Yeah, like Harry Potter, this is cool. And it was just such a cool like moment of like these families coming together, these people coming together because they love Harry Potter, because they love Dungeons and Dragons, um, or just because they found out about this and they like any of those things, like all these things seem to bring it, just brings us together and kind of crosses all those divides, those things divide us. And since then I was hooked, like 2015, just kind of took it from there, kept trying to grow a venue in Lake City, which we do not have. And uh after two or three years of trying to do tents and spending lots and lots of money and um trying out lots of things, I I went into a few different venues and then finally did Tallahassee. So so yeah, so that's uh kind of in a nutshell where where things went. Tallahassee has been kind of the anchor event. And um now bringing, like you mentioned earlier, uh bringing Gainesville back, uh, because it's only 30 minutes away. It's it's really part of my town almost. Um, it's really close to Lake City. So that gives me the chance to bring something back for people in the Lake City area, um, but to give them a venue that's like worthy of what I want to bring. So yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 7:38

Yeah, remember the days where you could just go to a megacon and not feel overwhelmed. I remember wide open aisles, Eric. I it's like imagining uh the wide open country, countryside before you know a bunch of condominiums went up. That's what MegaCon is now. It's like it was like you could walk around freely. It was nice. I remember Eric, we used to play like we would do scavenger hunts at MegaCon. That's how freely we were able to move around. Those days are long gone.

SPEAKER_04: 8:11

That was uh that was a long, long time ago. It does seem like in Florida all roads lead back to MegaCon for people's first experience, which actually kind of sets us up nicely for kind of our first question, which may seem simple on the service, but uh surface. But David, you and me have talked a little bit about how some people have their own idea of what a convention is. You know, that might include celebrity guests and certain things happening at a convention. For others, they have no idea what a convention is. I think we're trying to find what's in the middle of that. So, to if to put it in layman terms, simple terms, for anyone who doesn't know what type of convention InfinityCon is, how would you describe that to somebody who's right there in the middle? They know what a convention is. Maybe they've gone to a megacon and that's their only experience. How would you describe your show to that audience?

SPEAKER_00: 9:05

Yeah, so I'm gonna start out with my vision statement, just because that's like it in a nutshell, but it's probably gonna need to kind of be unwrapped a little bit. The vision is to create an ever-expanding immersive universe where fans of all kinds unite to shop, learn, be entertained, and celebrate their passions, inspiring dreamers and creators of all ages to embark on unforgettable adventures together. And I think that's kind of it in a nutshell, like the inspiring dreamers and creators of all ages to embark on unforgettable adventures together. But I think that that's kind of the core of where InfinityCon is. Um, you know, we don't, you mentioned guests earlier. We we do have creator guests, we do have people that, you know, um they focus on on artists or writing or their comic book um publishers, you know, like my buddy Martin Piero. But, you know, and the cosplayers that are doing these crazy builds and these sets and that, those are more of the kind of creators and guests we bring in. Not so much there's great cons in Florida that do the guest con, you know, you meet your favorite actor and you you do the the guest thing. That's just not where we we fit in. So yeah, you know, uh we bring entertainment, we bring the inspiration of having our kids' areas, having places where anybody of any age can go and hey, I've been interested in writing, you know, I've been interested in how do they make that phone look like this? And we've had people come to the show that, you know, are 60, 70, 80-year-old people that are just like in, they're just so entranced by like how they do this. So then they'll go sit in some of these panels like and just listen. They may never build a cosplay in their whole life, or they may, which would be great. But a lot of them are just so interested in like like how these people are making something that that this block of foam can become this like power armor, you know? So it's it's it's just a super, you know, it's it's where all these, you know, it's where creators of all ages to embark on unforgettable adventures together. So I think I think that really is like the heart and the the spirit of where where Infinity Con is and where it's like continuing to go. Um, I know in our further conversation, we'll we'll get more into that. But so yeah, so that's that's kind of what it is, you know, everything from superheroes to uh to um you know Harry Potter to fantasy to gaming to tabletop. You know, we're adding horror elements in there as well, which is something I'm interested in as you see my uh Wayland Enterprises Cup. Or Whalen Kitanic Corp, sorry. Bad fan. But yeah, so that's that's kind of uh I think I answered that question. Did I answer?

SPEAKER_04: 11:46

You did, yeah. Uh you know, and you know, to kind of add on to that with a secondary question, David. You know, I think it's really cool that you're implementing so many things in general for all ages. Like when you go to conventions, it's kind of assumed that it's always all ages, but that's not always the case. And even in your case, you still introduce things like horror. For me, I have an 11-year-old who's getting into that genre. And the fact that you could do that in such a safe environment is really cool. So when we talk about the all ages aspect, you know, why is that so important to you?

SPEAKER_00: 12:20

Um, again, wanting a place where everybody can feel feel safe to come together. You know, there's there's always gonna be people that may not, you know, just in in any realm are gonna feel safe there or feel comfortable. But we want a place where, you know, like I said earlier, the the single guy that's 40 years old can come and hang out at the event and have a good time and enjoy it. But also the the family of four with a three-year-old and a seven-year-old can also enjoy the event and um still find things to do without, you know, without feeling like they're not not safe, but you know, again, things that are just maybe not kid friendly, you know. And there is a line with, you know, with the horror side of things, there is some um there there are some things that I I have to play with and and juggle a bit just to make sure letting people know, hey, this area may have things that are a little a little more uh horror or may may not be suitable for some some families or some kids, you know. So trying as we grow that area just to let people know, hey, this area specifically may have some of that. But even when we do like the effects and things like that, so that that's kind of where where what always fascinated me about horror and horror movies was the effects behind it. And one of my other good friends, Jay Howell, for years we would do this uh in Lake City, InfinityCom, we would do this event called uh There Will Be Blood. And we would this queen the whole stage, we'd put the walls, like we'd have, you know, it looked like Dexter scene. We would have the front two rows, like where parkas we or not parkas, what is it? The uh ponchos. They would all have ponchos on and uh and uh you know over their heads, and he would do this crazy kind of deadpan like like comedy, you know, like he was a mad scientist kind of thing, and he would show like how these different effects would work, and he would mix up the blood and he would give these things and he'd like cut an arm off and he'd but everything was like was was more of a teaching and a fun, like it wasn't it wasn't to the point where it was it was uh it was over the top and meant to like freak people out and scare them. So I think you know, we would have families in there that just thought it was great. And so it, you know, even some of those kind of things we did that just it still kind of kept that same feel. And we will have, you know, we have a few games in our showcase this year. We're gonna have our theaters set up. We'll have 10-foot screens, we're gonna have surround sound, and we have a few of those games that are going to be more definitely more adult horror. I mean, they're going to have very adult themes, and I would not feel comfortable with kids just walking into those spaces. So we will make sure to have, you know, things on the outside that say, hey, you know, please enter at your own risk. No, there will be, you know, there will be intense gore and scenes of whatever, you know, when you come into this. Because we do want it to be something where, you know, some kids doesn't some kid or family doesn't leave traumatized because they were like, oh, this is a gaming room. And then they walk in and they're like, oh, this is not what we thought it was.

SPEAKER_04: 15:27

No, my kids haven't slept in six months. I'm sure it's a delicate balance from getting uh, you know, doing something like Universal's horror makeup show versus you know, kids buying a movie ticket for a child a kid's movie, but walking into terrifier. You know, there's a huge huge gap. And I know, Phil, I'm sure that's one of many uh challenges in just running a convention that is just fascinating.

SPEAKER_05: 15:52

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 15:53

It's sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05: 15:55

No, go ahead, David. I uh uh because I'm gonna get into my my for my next question, but yeah, go ahead, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00: 15:59

Yeah, no, I mean definitely that's you know, those are some of the things that and some shows are, you know, they're meant to be. They have things that are meant to be more adult-based. I mean, for instance, a lot of shows that do focus on guests, they really want, you know, the kids aren't there. The kids may want to come see a specific guest, but that's not their clientele. So they're they they're going after, you know, they're they need the parents to be there. So they're going to get the ten and under kids free because they want to, you know, just kind of on the business side of things, because they want to see the parents come and bring their kids and the kids will have a good time, but it's the parents that will stand in line with the kids for an hour or two waiting on that guest. And I think that's the difference in my show. You know, not well, I try to keep my prices at a good point, but I do charge for kids because I have a full kids area where I do put things specifically for kids. There's Lego builds, there's, you know, story times, there's, you know, there's gaming and there's things just specifically for like kids that want to come and enjoy that. So so yeah, definitely like a little bit of everything, and it is, it is definitely a uh a high wire act, very, very much so.

SPEAKER_05: 17:07

Yeah, that perfectly leads into um uh the next question here because you know, when people come to a convention, they see all the fun and excitement that we're talking about. They see all the artists and vendors and the different areas and things to do, but they don't see like the months of work that go into making it happen. I mean, you were going from Infinity to Tallahassee, and then like the next week you are immediately planning for Gainesville, you know. So what's an aspect of planning a convention that like most attendees would be really surprised to learn that takes so much effort? What's something you learned along the way? Like, man, I didn't think I would spend this much time on this thing or or multiple things.

SPEAKER_00: 17:45

Gosh, um it's hard for me because I've been in, because I was from the event side of things, so like I know that some of this, but again, uh, you know, fans don't know. I mean, everything from setting up a date for the venue, for instance, in Gainesville, um, I have to work around football. So, UF football, there is no way I will do an event on a football weekend. So nobody would come. Everybody, uh, it I am not a sports fan. It's just I've I've never really been. Uh, my dad wasn't. It just I've just never been into it. I enjoy watching sometimes, but it's not my thing. But it was very surprising to me how many people in both college towns we're in that are very, very like like con people. Like they're they're Star Wars cosplayers, they're in the 501st, but like when it's game time, like they're gonna have their lightsaber and they're gonna be doing the tomahawk chop. You know, it's like, you know, it's like there there is no there is no going to a con if a game's on. So it's it's very interesting. Like I've just never realized that before that it was so um thing. But again, us being a show that focuses on people that don't know as much about shows, um, that aren't maybe the con crowd usually, um, that uh definitely want to avoid you know games. So yeah, so games, you know, that's something that just picking dates is hard. And there's also like what, a hundred shows in Florida. So picking around other people's dates, probably 25 to 30, you know, in in North Florida. So, you know, picking around dates, just planning and laying out vendors, that's that's one of the hardest parts. Like doing the layout, getting it set, because there's always things that change. Um, the floor plan, you know, with Gainesville, my my all my power is in a floor. So anything that I need to have powered, I have to rely on the on my detail, my my sort of detailed sketches of like this is the point between here and here. But if my 10 feet is off this much, then this guy may not have gotten the power he needed, and I gotta run a cable across the floor. So it's you know, there's things like that, like figuring out where the layout's gonna be, giving a layout that makes it easy accessible and you know makes it to where every area you feel like you can find it well and you want to go and visit each area. And then um, yeah, it's just the planning and uh putting finances together. I mean, that's you know, if you're watching this and you go to shows or you're interested in a show, even if it's not my show, please buy a ticket and support it. Like that's you know, that that's a big thing. Like I know with me, I mean, I I wait till the last minute too, so I can't fault people for for doing that. Um, you know, but I feel like there's a lot of, you know, the bigger shows, for instance. If it's something you know, for instance, in in Gainesville, there's the Fest. It's a big music show. Um, they have, I mean, it's like seven different stages across Gainesville and uh, you know, tens of thousands of people. It's it's it's wild. But I've gotten to spend some time with those guys. Like they sell out of their main tickets like in the first hour. So, like, you know, so you know that if you're a fan of that show, you have to go do that. I mean, that's the same with some megacon tickets and with some of those kind of things. Like, like if you want a specific ticket or a VIP thing at that price, you got to go buy it then, or you're just you're out, you know. So I think the same thing, you know, with your favorite events, like please support those because that's you know, that that money that's coming in, or if the venue's taking the ticketing, that that venue is then looking at what's coming in and saying, okay, are they gonna pay for the venue? Is it gonna be enough? Are they gonna bring enough tickets in? So that's a it's a big deal for promoters. So that is that is something I think a lot of attendees just don't realize. Um, just buying that that one day or two-day ticket, or if you're gonna do VIP, like go ahead and pull the trigger if you have the funds. That really goes a long way to helping a promoter to really know, like, hey, I know, I know I have this much, you know, already coming in. And because I'll I'll ask you guys a question. So, how many tickets do you think I, if we bring in two or three thousand people, how many tickets do you think I bring in on Friday, the Friday day before the event?

SPEAKER_05: 21:59

So you're saying like how many people buy just on Friday?

SPEAKER_00: 22:02

How many people buy tickets on that Friday?

SPEAKER_05: 22:03

On that Friday. Uh, out of two, out of just say 2,000, I'll say 80%.

SPEAKER_00: 22:09

Yeah, it's very close. It's it's half. It's at least half.

SPEAKER_05: 22:12

At least half, okay.

SPEAKER_00: 22:13

Yeah, so it's it's uh we usually do anywhere from 750, sometimes over, but but till 1,1200 tickets like on Friday. So it's like, you know, everybody, that's when everybody's getting that final like push, and some of that's marketing, you know, that's when they're getting the final push through the marketing channels. They've been reminded and reminded and reminded. And then it's like, you know, they've they've been like, oh yeah, I want to do that. And then they, you know, they get busy, life gets busy. I get that. And so uh, so yeah, so it's it's that Friday is when everybody's like, oh, it's here, crap, I gotta buy my ticket. So everybody's like, I gotta do this. Because you save money if it's not at the door, you know, you save five or six bucks if you go ahead and buy it. And so yeah, so I think I think that's all the main things. Um, you know, scheduling people, scheduling activities, like it's it's it's uh we do a lot of like I my vision is for InfinityCon to be more of again, more of the the thing you're coming to than coming to the guests. Um just that's the the show I want to put together. Um so a lot of the things I'm doing, like I'm you know, like these showcases I'm doing for the gaming, you know, I'm actually working with some um some cool developers, and many of them, some of the indie game developers, they're in Sweden, they're in Germany, like they're they're not gonna come to InfinityCon this year. Um, we're not at that point where they're like, hey, we'll be there next month, you know. But I can reach out to them and say, hey, could you be a part of the showcase and help me push that I'm gonna do your game and um and have give me some Steam codes so we can have the attendees play these games. And so um, so those are some things that are super cool, but like I I'm putting all those things together. So, you know, me and my team are like the ones, I have to have volunteers to run those stations to make sure, you know, those things happen. So again, you know, instead of like, instead of it's kind of the same side of the same, uh different side, same coin. Um for those that focus for the event promoters that focus on guests, they're gonna be a lot more, um, they're gonna be running guests around, they're gonna be going to, you know, back and forth to hotels, they're gonna be getting certain dietary things. I'm gonna have to make sure, you know, everything from gaming to kids' Lego activities to this has somebody running it, that it's run well, you know. So it's, you know, there's things on both sides of that.

SPEAKER_05: 24:33

So yeah, Mayor, we have seen again people putting out fires and this uh seeing all that stuff happen behind the scenes was totally eye-opening. Who was it we had a couple of months ago on? Oh, it was uh it was Bey, Bey Doxie, um, a voice voice actress. Oh, yeah. We're talking about like now that you were night that you've done conventions and she's done a convention as a guest, you know, how do you view them differently? And we certainly have adjusted our viewpoint of conventions and a bigger appreciation of how this all comes together. Um, where it can seem so seamless, it's like the duck right on the on the top of the water where everything looks nice and calm, and then underneath, like those feet are paddling away. So, like, that's what's going on at all times, probably on any show that you go to. So, yeah, it was really eye-opening right here.

SPEAKER_04: 25:20

Yeah, it was definitely. And I mean, the thing that makes it all worth it is if the show is a good show, right? And a lot of people are determining is this gonna be a show for me? So I think we've kind of started that conversation to get people to know about Infinity uh for InfinityCon. Now, David, uh, one of the things that is important, I think, in that conversation is what makes your convention so different? What makes each convention so different? I know for InfinityCon, well, there is a lot of vision behind it. In fact, there are several different worlds you can kind of come in and out of that we are looking towards and looking forward to at these types of events. So if we could talk a little bit about some of these worlds from the Forge to Limitless, the Abyss, the Isle of Wonder, New Renaissance, the Mystic Forest, Technotopia. All of these sound great, but what are they to the average person who's hearing that for the first time?

SPEAKER_00: 26:18

Yeah, yeah. So uh, so as I was saying earlier, so um, I am creating the infinite universe. So I've had this idea for a long time of, you know, people seem to come to my shows and they're looking for something, they're looking to immerse themselves in in these worlds. You see these cosplayers that come and just, you know, they have$2,000 into this cosplay, plus sometimes, and in, you know, hours and hours. I mean, I wouldn't even begin to get some of them six, seven hundred hours, like crazy amount of time into these costumes and these cosplays. And um, you know, and they and they they go to the shows and um and I feel like I want to build a place that that is a for these creators and these cosplayers that is kind of, I say worthy, not that these other shows aren't making things worthy, but something that is uh kind of immersing them in an into an environment that is a more thematic place, but also immersing the attendees. And so as they as they come into these areas, you're gonna have this market. So we're gonna have the infinite market. So these main marketplaces were your artists and your vendors, um, your kind of entryway with you know, kind of where things are at. And it's gonna branch off into these seven worlds for now, and these worlds could appear and change. Like that's the cool thing about the concept, is there's a lot of leeway for us to take it in different directions. Um, I am a writer, I'm a creator, and that's that's kind of where this is the creative baby I've been working on for some time. So, as we've worked on these worlds, uh, like you mentioned earlier, so we have the seven worlds. Each of these worlds is gonna have its own theme, own feel. When you look at the forge, so the forge is gonna be cosplay-based, it's gonna be uh you're gonna have these scenes and designs, these set designs. Um, like we have the Fallout Experience guys that and and girls that are gonna be putting some crazy, like cool fallout things, like a full, you know, I think they're doing like a 40 by 60 or something for for Gainesville. Like it's a huge space. Um, you have the 501sts, you know, of course, that are that are Star Wars cosplay group, and I mean they're and costume group, and they're you know, they're doing some crazy them and the man and Laurian Merck's they're doing some great big setups and some things for that. You know, and then you have the cosplayers, our Forge Masters that are that are gonna be doing the cosplay contest, but also doing panels and events like talking about, you know, foam creation and you know doing designs and fabric and you know working with uh working with metal and electronics and you know, LED lighting and suits and uh you know, fans, making sure there's fans so you don't pass out from being in these heavy, huge cosplays that are that are hot. So that's gonna be the forge. Like, and this is gonna be a planet that's been put together by these artisans basically. And the planet itself and the feel and the look as we go into this more immersive concept is there's gonna be a gateway, and it's gonna be this old uh this it's gonna be the starship that has crashed into the planet or they have pulled to help create the planet, and that's gonna be this gateway that that enters you in as like the engine relic of this starship. Um, and that's gonna enter you in like to the main area as we grow. That is that is not 2025, but that is part of the um the dream as we move forward. So, and then we have the Isle of Wonder, that's gonna be our kid zone, you know, working on that being more. We have Lego, we have um some like STEM activities, science center kind of stuff going on. We have some interactive games, usually like a Switch, or um, we have the the next like uh like interactive games where the kids can, it's almost like a it's almost like a connect, like kids can actually like use the sensors and they're moving, and like there's a fruit ninja and all that kind of stuff on there. So those are fun. And then we Have like uh you know superhero story time or princess story time or Jedi story time, things like that. And then we do uh we'll start in that area. We've been doing the uh instead of a cosplay contest or a costume contest for the kids, we get them all together and we do the cosplay, the InfinityCon cosplay parade. And so we will uh we will have the kids do their costumes and um and they'll start the Isle of Wonder and they will actually parade through the whole event and um through the whole room. And it's really sweet, and they have a great time. It gives them their chance to really like, you know, uh wave at everybody and everybody cheers for them. So that's really fun. So that's in there. We're gonna have our horror area, like I mentioned, horror area, and um that's called the Abyss. And so that area, you know, it's gonna have the special effects, so that's gonna be one of the main kind of anchor points of that. So there'll be area doing special effects demos throughout the weekend, teaching how to do different um applications, maybe certain uh body paint for special effects needs and things like that. Applications, you know, uh, and then yeah, so that's gonna be a part of it. Then we're gonna have several horror games that are in these gaming theory theaters, which are 10-foot widescreens. They're gonna cover it's gonna be like a 10 by 15 space, feet foot space, where we have surround sound, and you're actually gonna be able to go in there and and like play these games, check out some different developers. Uh, one of them is a uh Turkish developer, uh solo developer. He's doing this whole game is on his on his own. And I actually found out about him through IGN. Um, I was reading like top 20 games to look out for 2025 for horror, and this Horror Tales Eats the World actually pulled up, and I was like, oh, let me let me check this out. And you know, he's uh working a full-time gig, not developing games, you know, and when he's not working at his full-time job, he's developing this very photorealistic horror game. So we'll have him this year as part of the showcase in the abyss. We also have this is I don't know when this episode's actually coming out, but we'll probably announce it by then. But we have a repo. The game repo is going to be showcased in that space. So we're gonna have four to six players on that that will be able to play and and have some good fun, um, some fun cartoony uh horror, which that that's one that's creepy, but it's also it's it's unassumingly creepy because you're like, this is these are kind of silly characters, and you're like, oh wait, this is kind of this is kind of uh creepy. You guys have both played?

SPEAKER_05: 32:39

Yeah, I was gonna say, like, you're gonna be looking for us over the weekend. Like, has anybody seen Eric and Phil or we're gonna be playing Repo?

SPEAKER_00: 32:46

So, so the duck? Yeah, so that you know the duck. The little asshole. So yeah, yeah, yeah. So I finally got to play play with my brother. I've it's the first time I played it, honestly, um, last Sunday. And he was like, you know, yeah, this duck, man, like just don't do anything to it, don't hit it. And I'm like, I'm gonna see what happens when you like when you mess with the duck. And it, man, that was the most bizarre, funny thing ever. I was just like, it just like goes nuts. And so, you know, I was dead like five seconds after I got into the game. But uh, but yeah, that that's that's gonna be super cool. I think that's one that's really hot right now. They're very excited to be a part, and I hope, I hope at some point they're developing other games. They've developed several games, I believe, already. So I'm hoping that as they grow repo, we can we can have them more of a part. And then the final one is uh I haven't got them set up yet. But there's another game from Apogee that is another horror game that we should have on the showcase this year. So though those will be some things, um some horror vendors potentially in that area. Um, but just really an area where um we can have some more horror-based things. And as we grow that area, making it have that creepy feel, the whole the whole entryway and the gateway to that is gonna be, you know, where there's voices that whisper as you're walking through the seven feet entryway. And uh, you know, just like really adding that creep factor that gives you a little bit of those tingles, you know, very, very trying to get it a bit more like you know, the Halloween horror nights kind of feel, just you know, to have some fun with it for those that would be interested. Um, again, keeping it well, like, hey, enter, enter at your own risk, you know. It may be maybe things that are not suitable for everyone. So, but having some fun with it. So the new Renaissance, so that's gonna be the idea with the new Renaissance was uh that's gonna be my new, that's the art area. So we uh we pulled this out in in Tallahassee. One of the things we did this year that I'm just gonna add to more this year is having live art going on, like a 10-foot screen, the same way we do with the gaming theaters, where people are watching artists in these in these theaters like throughout the weekend, actually just do art. So, you know, having some of our feature creators, but also having artists that are in Artist Alley that are just, you know, that are just great artists, that you get to see how each artist does something a little different. We had some artists this year uh in Tallahassee. I think there were even some that were doing, you know, like working with foam or working with, you know, that the different like vinyl or working, so there were some different things that were still art um and maybe even a little crafty, but I thought it was cool because it it gave some different feels, you know, to that as people were walking by and they could ask them questions. And then those creators can then say, Hey, I've got a table, come talk to me more, let me talk, you know, and hopefully them be able to find something that they like and buy something from their table. So, and uh make a new fan. So that's gonna be one of the aspects having live art as much as possible in that area. Um, but then also we will have the base of that's gonna be like a panel area that will have um, you know, talks about like world building and uh creating comics. And um, this year a friend of mine um actually is a ghostwriter for um, I don't know if I'm allowed to say some of the things, but some bigger studios, horror studios. I can say that, I think. But she's doing a lot of ghostwriting. Her name's Brandy Barry, and uh she's a writer and has done some comic books, and she came to InfinityCon two years ago in Tallahassee, and we got we got to talk a little bit and became friends, and um, and she was like starting to tell me that like, oh yeah, well, I do I, you know, I do some screenwriting and you know, I'm working with some people, and every once in a while I have to go out to this certain like place and I meet with the owner of you know this and we talk about this thing I'm working on, you know, and I'm like, what? I'm like, for real? She's like, yeah, she's like, you know, I can't, um, there's some things that I can talk about that were more indie that she's worked on, but it seems like, you know, which makes sense in Hollywood. There, there's a lot of things that are ghostwritten, or they're, you know, there's scenes and there's parts that are maybe more suitable for somebody else that they've been close to to write. And and she's like, yeah, so I I've ghostwritten for several like of the bigger things that, you know, that you would know if I told you, you know, and I'm like, oh, that's that's pretty cool. So she's gonna have a panel um about about screenwriting and doing that kind of stuff, which I think would be a great, yeah, would be a great, you know, uh thing to have. So those will be the kind of things happening in that area. And of course, you know, some of our feature creators like having their booths and where you can go chat with them and things like that. And then moving on, limitless. Uh so limitless is going to be the video game area. It's going to be very, you know, uh very um not steampunk. That steampunk stuck in my head. Uh cyberpunk, very cyberpunk feeling. Um, as we grow out that that feel and the the kind of feeling of that. Very cyberpunk, very, very much that feeling. But we're gonna have more of the theaters in that room. So we're gonna have a few. Um, we have the the guy. What was the game he did, Eric? The um was it alpha response? Alpha response. What was the what was the initial original game that he the big one that he worked on?

SPEAKER_04: 38:13

Uh he worked on so yeah, he did uh Counter Strike.

SPEAKER_00: 38:19

Counter Strike, that's right, that's right. So yeah, so he's gone out on his own and um he gave us some Steam keys and signed up for the showcase for that room. We have a local Florida group that's coming in um that are creating their own game. Um and they're actually based around, I got to talk to them the other day. Uh, but there's some cool creators working on a game that's a little retro feel. It seems a little bit Mario feeling, a little bit like Zelda-esque. A little bit of a lot of things kind of wrapped up, but it seems like a fun, like one-person game kind of feel, um, solo player. And so there'll be another um solar, um, solar voltage. They're gonna be in a in an um one of the setups. So, but that area is going to have, it's gonna have, we're gonna have a lot of the gator. Um, gator VR is gonna have a VR space there doing VR. Um, we're gonna have Gator Gaming and uh Gator Esports doing a whole area with some esports going on, some other like free play gaming, the rhythm gaming, urge, uh, UF rhythm gaming. They're gonna have some rhythm game stuff happening. So, so a little bit of everything, just anything gaming, you know, video game, uh VR gaming-wise, that'll kind of happen in in that area. And then uh, so for the mystic mystic forest, that is gonna be an area that it's very fantasy-based, you know, Mystic Forest. It's at some point, you know, once we have the main uh the main gateway built out, that's gonna be like you're entering through this like fairy tale like gate, like going into like this village, so it'll look like a little bit old uh fantasy village kind of vibe, and you'll enter into this gateway. I think we're gonna have the top, these are gonna be like 14 foot tall, 14 foot wide, seven foot deep. So they're gonna they're gonna be pretty epic. We're gonna have like troll guards, and you'll see in the windows at the top, kind of like walking back and forth, like you know, in the top, and some fun interaction as you walk through. But that area is gonna have tabletop gaming, it's gonna have our quest givers, the mythic misadventures. Guys are gonna be there, and girls, they're gonna be running um some quests, so attendees can go and be given quests and go around and um find some things and come back and collect for some fun, like little prizes and stuff, just to go with the show. Um, that's really fun. We have several LARP and uh fencing groups, even that will be in that space doing where you can get in and try out some foam sword fighting, as well as like some uh you know LARP demos where you're gonna get to see the full like kind of setup and some like mini LARP kind of stuff going on, which will be cool. And uh so those are all actually some local ones that are based in the the North Florida Ocala-ish area, um, Gainesville. So, yeah, so that's gonna be the Mystic Four, and then it's gonna have tabletop. So last but not least, it'll have tabletop games. Um, we have one uh one local Gainesville that's already signed up for like the tabletop showcase. So he's gonna have a space where he's demoing his game. We have a few other people that are supposed to sign up next few weeks, and then we'll have uh some other just tabletop gaming going on that you would know that's not more indie games or like somebody's set games. So yeah, so that's Mystic Forest. And then last but not least, we're gonna have Technotopia. So this is one that was a little bit later in my I think I was talking to you, Eric, today about it. It was a little bit later on my vision. Like I didn't really think about planning on it. But as I've been working more on the show this year and kind of continuing to work the concept and create more is what I'm doing. This is the area we already have like robot fighting in, which I'm trying to work out and get some form of that in Gainesville this year. Um the team that we usually use is may not be available. But aside from that, one of the things I want, so the the whole technotopia concept is like a world's fair kind of feel. Like the the, you know, the world's fairs of past were supposed to be these. I mean, they literally took cities and made these crazy constructions that some of them are still there today, you know, that look like they're from a sci-fi movie. Like they don't look like they belong. And they would spend these millions and millions and millions of dollars refacing a city, you know, area to make it look like it was something that was from the future. And then they would bring everybody in and say, hey, this is what GM's car of the future is going to look like, and this is what you know, this robotics company is working on for the made of the future, you know. And so, really, like kind of taking that concept and and bringing that into this technotopia area. Um, we have, and for Gainesville, as I start to flesh that out more, I have the swamp launch, the rocket launch team at UF is actually gonna come in. They're gonna have their rocket, um, it's like 14 foot tall. It's like pretty cool. Um, they're gonna have that at their space, and then they're gonna do like some uh what they call like water bottle rocket like activities outside where they actually do like some crazy pressure like water bottle rock water bottle rockets. And then uh I'm trying to get them to do a rocket launch. Like I don't know if we're gonna be able to get that past, but I would love for them to do a rocket launch. But yeah, so so bringing in those kind of things, that's that's some of the main stuff happening, like bringing in some more techie stuff that that we can put in that area. But things like, you know, Tesla being a smart car slash, you know, electric car, things that are a bit more futuristic, like those things would would really fit that area. And that's again, not something that I have as fleshed out for for Gainesville um yet. But as we go into to 26, especially, like that'll be more the direction I go.

SPEAKER_04: 44:05

So yeah, and it's a huge vision, which is why I'm really glad we were able to have the time to kind of talk about all of the things that you're just continuing to build and develop. And that's really been a big calling card for 2025. I know, Phil, that is a lot of stuff to enjoy. And from a pop culture standpoint, I mean, that's just our wet dream. So that's that's that's why we love Infinity Cards.

SPEAKER_05: 44:32

I didn't like that phrasing of it. No, no, I didn't like it.

SPEAKER_01: 44:36

I'll let you guys have some time by yourself.

SPEAKER_00: 44:40

Uh but uh, but no, no, I you know, I was talking to the guy, one of the main guys from the Swamp Launch team. Um, we were having a meeting uh a few days ago, and as we were talking, I started I started really realizing that that the whole robotics and the technotopia area really flows so well with what we do because all of the things we see now, it started with an idea. Somebody was reading a Jules Verne book and they were like, Man, I have this idea from this book. And they started working, you know, there's there's all these things that started from Star Trek, you know. It's like, I mean, we're we're literally living in, you know, a world of Star Trek with these phones, you know. It's like it's uh it it's it's crazy to see how it's not quite what we thought the future was gonna be. I mean, we're not Jetsons yet, but uh it's it's really interesting to see how how how the fantasy and those things it inspired a different kind of creativity. It wasn't, hey, I'm gonna write the next book fantasy series. It was how can I make this fantasy real? You know, and uh, and so I think I think that you know the robotics and that, I mean, because the robotics has been, I mean, the robot fighting has been a huge hit every every event, which is because it's super cool. Yeah, like you said, I think it really, it really ties everything together and brings in an aspect and a and a thing that's not really a part of of the convention world, but it fits so well with InfinityCon. So I'm excited to continue to kind of grow that aspect and see where that takes us.

SPEAKER_05: 46:14

So yeah, and in explaining those worlds, it just it makes a lot of sense as to why you've had guests like Scott Tepperman from Ghost Hunters who uh in Tallahassee, which by the way, I had a blast. I was a huge uh Ghost Hunters fan uh when I was younger, and still still a big paranormal fan as well. It's weird because I have I love the paranormal, but I don't like scary movies like specifically. It's it's kind of a weird I like the real like quote unquote real stuff, you know the real so uh it's so that makes a lot of sense. You know, of course, we've got Jessica Kavanaugh through InfinityCon, who is now my voiceover coach. So uh which is fantastic. You know, you've had noise complaint, you've had so many different types of types of people here featured at InfinityCon. So we really want to know what are those fandoms that you enjoy the most. So, like when you were going to a megacon, what were you looking for? You know, we've already talked about uh Fallout, we've talked about Star Wars, we talked about different video games. I remember, Eric, one of the one of the funniest things from InfinityCon Tallahassee, amongst all the craziness, again, like you're you're running around, you know, you you're you're handling so many different things. And I remember one time, Eric, do you remember when Dave was like, yeah, I'm gonna go try this VR shooting? Like ran off to go do that. So you find time to enjoy all the things that you work so hard to put together. So, like, what are those things when you go to a convention and and Lord knows Eric, when's the last time we got to go to a convention like just for fun? It's been a while, but like what are those things that you like to look for and what fandoms really draw you in? Is is it just a fan and a nerd?

SPEAKER_00: 47:46

Yeah, so I mean, for instance, um, you know, back in the day, it would have been when Stan Lee was alive. I I got to we got to get a picture with him, which was super cool. Um, I love Stan, I love you know reading his stuff. I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. So, you know, I think I think that that was a cool thing for me. I like flipping through the comics, you know, seeing some different things. I I think I think it's so hard for me as a fan. Like I think at my show I can enjoy. I think I'm always like like analyzing when I go to shows, so that makes it a little hard for me. But then I also like the horror stuff. So I do um I'm a huge Bruce Campbell fan. I mean, I I the shelf above me here has like uh two Ash figures and like four Ash pops, and like so I I really enjoy um you know Bruce Campbell and Army of Darkness, the Evil Dead uh series, Ash versus Evil Dead. So I I I enjoy I enjoy that kind of stuff. If it's a horror game, like last year, uh I actually didn't get to play this one, um, but we had uh, and we should have it again this year, we had House of the Dead with light guns on one of the 10-foot screens. And I think this year it's probably gonna be on one of my like 60-inch screens or something like that. But that was super cool because it was like, you know, House of the Dead arcade, but just like you know, 10-foot screen. It was like that was pretty neat um with surround sound. So, but I did get to go play like the walkthrough of one of our indie developers had a horror game last year, so I got to go enjoy that. I like VR, you know, I've been in the VR world for a little while, so that's it's fun to do that. So, yeah, I think uh I think those are the main things. It's hard because when I do go to shows when I'm doing stuff, like it's more like my my off time that I would enjoy. It's not really at shows because I'm either analyzing it to to figure out do I like this or do I want to do it? Can I do it better? Is that better than when I do it, you know, or do I want that at all? You know, that kind of stuff. But I think in my own time, you know, I like playing Resident Evil, so I'll I'm still, you know, I'll I'll it probably takes me 150 hours to finish a Resident Evil game anymore. I just I play for like three days after InfinityCon usually, and then and then I don't play it for like a month, and I'll play like an hour or two, you know.

SPEAKER_05: 50:04

So yeah, I don't know if you saw this. Um it's it's funny you brought up House of the Dead. They're actually made um releasing House of the Dead to uh the remake on consoles at actually at the end of the month. I think it was like just recently announced. So um, yeah, I remember House of the Dead was definitely one of those first like arcade games that I remember with the uh um with the light gun and you know shoot off screen to reload, and it's uh it's it's a hard time, so yeah. That's is I'm I'm it's so funny you mentioned that as far as like when you get to go to a show and you're analyzing it, like, man, do I want to do that? Could that work? Like, that's how I am with podcasts as well. So whenever I listen to a podcast, I'm like, hmm, I kind of like that idea. Maybe we'll try that. Eric, Eric, we're no stranger to stealing ideas from friends podcasts.

unknown: 50:47

We do that quite a bit.

SPEAKER_00: 50:48

No, I mean you know, it can can only help you get better, right? Right?

SPEAKER_05: 50:53

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04: 50:54

That's 100% right. So, David, there's a lot of things in pop culture we've already talked about, and we've really kind of looked backwards. What are you kind of looking at the landscape now as far as either an interest or an interest of your congoers? You obviously have so many people of so many different ages, like just kind of looking at the last decade, the last couple years, what exactly has kind of caught your eye? Whether it's something you've actually enjoyed or you've always maybe wanted to check out because you're seeing it pop up in the convention scene or at your convention so often. So something that I would want to add, or just something that I'm okay. Like for example, this the big thing this year is K-pop demon hunters. No idea if that's something on your radar, if you want to check it out, if you have seen it. So is there anything under that umbrella that either you want to check out because you see it so often in these circles, or maybe it's something that you did check out because of these circles that you're in all the time?

SPEAKER_00: 51:56

Oh, sure. I mean, I I will definitely say that because of I'm not an anime guy, I like some of it. I'm I'm a robot guy, so I mean, all the you know, big O and um all that kind of stuff was my was my thing because I love big robots. But yeah, so I haven't been as much into anime, but uh I kept hearing so much about K-pop Demon Hunter, and uh I was actually on vacation and I stu and I was like uh they actually had a hot tub with a TV next to it. I was like, okay, well, I'm just gonna I was flipping through Netflix, you know, the Doom Scroll. You're like, well, I don't want to watch this, I'm gonna watch this. And I thought it was a series, so I'm like, okay, well, I'll watch the first episode and see what goes on. And so like I'm I'm hooked and I'm halfway through it, and I'm like, I'm like, man, this is a really long episode. And then I like stop it and I'm like, oh, halfway through a two-hour movie. I'm like, okay, you know, and I'm like, I'm not stopping now. And it was like, as a guy that's not an anime fan, I'm sorry, any of my my my InfinityCon fans that are listening, it was so much better than it ever deserved to be. Like, I I wrote my my best friend Martin, and I was like, I was like, dude, I'm watching this, and I'm just like, the story is good, the writing is good, the characters are so like you care about the characters. It just hit all the songs are just it's it's like a it's like a K-pop uh musical. It's really so freaking well done. I mean, this the writing, everything. Like I was just I was just creatively just like just overstimulate. I was just like, this is so good. So I've enjoyed that. Like I've enjoyed, I mean, so kudos to them for that. I mean, I think they spent what seven years making that, like something crazy. So I mean, kudos for them just to really you can tell like the time and love and energy that went into that that movie. But I I don't think I would have watched it except for everybody was like, K-pop demon hunters, k-pop demon hunters. Um, you know, all the con people and other cons were talking about it. And so, yeah, so that that would be one of the things I will say, kind of going into something that, you know, this immersive thematic thing that I'm going into. You know, I mean, I started seeing back in Mega Con days, there were a lot of these, there was a guy, um Cecil Grimes. I think he still out, does stuff out there, but looked a lot like Rick Grimes. His cosplay was Cecil Grimes, always had the the Rick going on. Um, and he would do these, he was calling it like set play instead of cosplay. I think he was calling it set play. And he had the full like prison setup, you know, from like a like a full setup of like The Walking Dead. And it was just so freaking cool. I had we had him in 2016, it was a great setup, it was super cool to have. And that that was the year that this whole thematic kind of, you know, this theme, more theme part-based thing kind of came into be um in my mind because you know, I saw people, we had Lemmy the Lugabeast that year um as well. And I saw people, you know, The Million Dollar Man was across from the 501st. Edward James Olmos, you know, was stand and deliver, uh, you know, uh Battlestar Galactica, which was my jam, you know, which is why I wanted him there. You know, he's right, these people are like right, like you could see all of them from there. And people were just, they were a ghost town at their, at the at the creators. And, you know, the 5.01, it was just photo after photo after photo and Lemmy and all these things, and people were just so excited to see like this come to life in front of them and be a part of it. And I think it's those same feelings you get. Um, whereas even more so now, like I, you know, Megacon is definitely a trade show. It's not as much a, you know, it's it's you go to see vendors and stand in line for guest autographs, which is just the kind of show it is. That's cool. But it it's not really a place where you're gonna go see thematic wonder. It's not a place that they've added some areas that have more of the bigger theme stuff. I think they had like the Falcor and the guy that does some of the uh Dragon Ball Z, like the the egg, the the con, what is that?

SPEAKER_04: 56:04

The the pod.

SPEAKER_00: 56:05

The pod, the ship pod thing, yeah. So there's stuff like that that they are bringing in. But again, that's also such a huge space to theme out and thematically design. Like it would just be massive, you know. Um, it can be done, but it it'd just be insane. So I think that's where some of those ideas started to really spark. And I was like, you know, I I want to bring my own, for lack of a better term, intellectual property, my own creation, these own ideas I have and theme and have this story that you're entering into InfinityCon. And much like uh if you guys have done uh Meow Wolf, if you or if you know anything about Meow Wolf, um, you have this Meow Wolf's this like artistic interactive exhibit um where these artists have just created this whole world and story, and you can choose to interact with the story and watch the story and do all these things that drive you further into the story, or you can just go in and wander around and enjoy the art and the crazy world that's being built. So that that would be my goal. Like, I, you know, and and I want to build that kind of world that all of the stuff from a convention lives in. It has the artists, that has the vendors, it has, you know, it has these things, but you're able to enjoy like the the draw of the show is that you're coming into this infinite universe and FinityCon is this is its own like world. So yeah, so I I think that's I think that's that answers the question.

SPEAKER_04: 57:35

Yeah, yeah, and Meow Wolf, like when we were talking about it earlier too, is something I definitely like I I get it, like I get the correlation there. Um, you know, Phil, I think one of the things to kind of David's point, one of the things we really like is it it really is trying to be an immersive experience that invokes emotions. And I think that's that's really important when it comes to like this pop culture convention scene because a lot of people really are connected to these franchises or these characters, and in a lot of ways, the conventions that they go to as well. So, Phil, I know that's something that you know you and I definitely share uh in that way.

SPEAKER_05: 58:15

Yeah, and you know, not to I know we keep on bringing up MegaCon, and you know, Mega MegaCon's the it's the big time, you know, where uh you know people go there to meet those celebrities. Like I did that a couple of years ago when and I met Kihikwan. Like that was just something I was like, yeah, I know I gotta drive down there and do that. But and you know, getting the picture and getting to very briefly talk to him was great, but like you know what I remember standing in line, like just waiting the whole time, and then not having enough time to walk the vendor floor in the artist uh artist alley, because by the time I got out of the line for my picture, there's only a couple hours left to walk around. So when we gotten to work with these other shows, Eric over the last few years, we remember somebody coming up to us about their first ever cosplay contest, or at an InfinityCon, we we hear people talking about you know a really fun event they got to do, a new video game they got to play, and it's it's just very different. And that's why it's it's so important to let people know like there are other games out there, there are other conventions that you can go to, you don't have to spend all your time and go into just one. Uh you can really I one of the goals we actually had in 2024, was it last year? It might have been 2023, 2024. Whenever the first time you and I met David when when Corey introduced us, our goal that year was to go to one convention a month for um for the entire year. We did end up doing 12, but just not in one a month, so uh and and it was just so it was relatively easy to do because, like you said, there's so many shows throughout the state. We did one in Savannah, you know, so they're accessible. You just have to know where to look, and you know, that and then you'll you'll have those experiences that you remember outside of standing in a line or being in a cramped space. Like they are out there in Infinity Con is definitely one of those. Um, as we get towards the game, like you mentioned. A moment ago, Eric. I want to give you the time, David, because again, as Eric and I have worked with more of these shows, the person running it is also only as good as his team. And we have seen you very passionately talk about your team and recognize them. And I knew it was probably going to come up organically with you, so I just wanted to manufacture it and actually give you an opportunity to talk about your team and the people that are behind the scenes that have your back because we got to work with them for the first time in Tallahassee, right, Eric? And they're awesome. So I just wanted to give you that time to spotlight them.

SPEAKER_00: 1:00:33

Yeah, yeah. Gosh, I always hate this because I'm gonna leave somebody out.

SPEAKER_01: 1:00:38

So I mean It's like an acceptance speed.

SPEAKER_00: 1:00:40

So Al Right, all right. I know, right? Um so Alex, Alex Hart is my assistant. Um, she came on this year to really help just kind of get some things put together in the back end, um, as I'm just always doing all the things. And again, this is a very lofty idea. So conceptually, there's a lot that I want to get done, and it's it's it's it's a lot. So Alex has come on for that. I do have Mr. Eric here helping out with some socials and doing some stuff as well. So that has been a big help. That uh that is something that is that's one of the things that that ends up getting put to the side until until the event's almost here most of the time, just because that's the last thing I have time to work on, but I know it's important. So um, so yeah, thanks, man. That's that's been super awesome. But then uh, so I have Lacey McCarthy, who is uh works kid, she's my kids con person, I love wonder, but she also runs my uh she's doing volunteers, so she's working on volunteers. We had another fellow podcaster, uh George, who was helping in Tallahassee doing my gaming. But George, George Sumter also does the uh Gen X Grown Up Podcast. Uh, he's with those guys. And uh he uh he was helping me with gaming in that time. And then we have I see there it goes. Well, Martin Piero, uh my best bud Martin Piero, he helps me with my vendors, helps me put the show on. I mean, he and I kind of go back to back working at each other's shows. Actually, his show. He booked his show the week before my show, before I booked my show. And I could, I, I kind of booked past his date. So it's gonna be a little of a marathon, the the two weeks of our shows. But so yeah, so we uh Martin does my vendors, like he's the one that's checking everybody in and making sure the vendors are okay, making sure they have a good experience and they want to come back, which is super, super awesome. Again, these, you know, these are all people I can trust and I know that can take care of things. If they're not sure about something, they're gonna reach out to me. And then we have Chris, who is our facilities guy. It's Chris Stevenson. And um, Chris has been helping the last few years kind of kind of get probably since like 2016 or not 2016. He was in Tallahassee, so yeah, but he's been helping the facilities and set up and getting things going, um, along with the rest of the team that kind of has to jump in and make sure things work. Um, make sure my ideas happen, which is usually what what ends up happening. Uh and then we have Jeff Davis. So Jeff Davis has been helping in a few areas. Um, but Jeffrey, uh, he used to, him and his dad owned a comic book store over in Tallahassee for a while, the uh the bookshelf too. And um now he's he's got uh another day day gig, and um he helps me with like the artist and the the new renaissance area, um kind of putting that together. So Jeff is awesome. And then Sydney Lewis um has uh been a volunteer for years, and Sydney, they've really come in and just done anything I've needed, and I'm having Sydney kind of take over, helping where needed, but also doing a lot of the VIP stuff, so making sure VIPs are taken care of, making sure, you know, maybe checking in with uh some of our sponsors and things like that. I brought in the Wellwood uh marketing this year, so they're a group that I've been working with. Todd Schreier uh is actually helping like uh reach out to different sponsor sponsors and partners, and they'll be back again to help kind of make sure we keep those relationships going well and uh doing those kind of things. And their team will be back. I think that's everybody. And then my family. Like uh, I mean, that's you know, half the year. My wife, you know, is just kind of you know, there always just when I'm crumpled in a heap and having bad days and waiting on finances and trying to make stuff move forward. Um, my wife, she's my best friend, she's there. Nina's, you know, there to hand help me handle things. And then uh, you know, my my bonus parents, Oma and Papa, they're they're always there. My tall, my tall father-in-law, uh Danny. Um, he's all you guys know Papa, so he's he's always just making sure things work out with our, you know, our our whether it's the merch area or you know, make sure people have what they need. I mean, he's he's taking care of things. And then uh my mom helps. My mom puts most of the lanyers together and packs the packets for like vendors' packets and all that kind of stuff. So so yeah, it's uh it takes a village to keep my ideas uh moving forward for sure. And yeah, thank you, Phil, for bringing that up because I yeah, definitely have a great team keeping that going and and you know, and to both you guys, not just Eric, but I mean Phil, you were, you know, you were very helpful this year, like trying to get you know, get some things promoted and get things moving forward this year to to to help push InfinityCon out there and and get more eyes on it. So, you know, I I appreciate that as well.

SPEAKER_05: 1:05:38

So yeah, for sure. And Eric, you know, we don't push anything out there that we don't like genuinely believe in. So we want to let people know, we want to get more people out. Uh now rank all those people in order of importance, so go.

SPEAKER_00: 1:05:50

Well, of course, you and Eric. I mean, you're up at the top, right? Yeah, there you go. Of course.

SPEAKER_01: 1:05:57

I kind of I was gonna say, I kind of ended with my family. I probably should have started there, right? Um, I should have started with my first.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:06:05

No, that's the way to go. That's the way to go. We love to hear that, and we love to we're loving being a part of uh, you know, any successes that InfinityCon's gonna have. I think it's a great vision. I know I speak for Phil in that. And kind of our final question before we get into uh game, uh, just to wrap it up with a little bit of fun. I do want to talk a little bit about we've talked so much about the vision of InfinityCon, but the future is just ahead of us, whether that's two years, three, five, ten, what do you, David, think about the future of InfinityCon? You don't have to get into specifics because I know a lot of things a lot of things are developing, but like if you were to look five, ten, this is InfinityCon, so it has to last forever. But in the near future, what do you hope is the future of InfinityCon? What would you hope if you had maybe to set a singular or just a couple goals for yourself? Uh, what would you like to see out of InfinityCon in the future?

SPEAKER_00: 1:07:02

Sure. So I'm gonna start this. I almost mentioned this earlier. I'm gonna start this by saying, you know, that the question where somebody's like, you know, so you built this thing, like if somebody were to offer you$10 million tomorrow, would you take it? Like, would you sell it and just be done? You know, would you sell MegaCon, you know, and just make it make it go? And my answer would be no. I I have a vision, like I I know this is what God wants me to do. And I know this is like when I when I get set on a vision and what my path and my what I'm supposed to do, like I I know it's one, I know it's never supposed to stop. I mean, I constantly have people when I'm going through hard times that are like, are you sure you're supposed to keep doing this? Like, this is a lot. Like, you're not in a good place a lot of the of your life. Um and uh, and I'm like, no, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. And I think going to now your question, the reason I would not take, I think, I think my answer to somebody that would say, Hey, here's here's one million dollars, you know, thinking what InfinityCon could be worth, maybe. Take this today and leave, I would say, I'll counter you with, could you give me$500,000 and let me do my vision? Why don't you give me half of that and let me really create my vision? So what I what what I what I foresee and what I'm working on, um, there's a company called Twisted Whisker Entertainment that has come along with me. They helped out in Tallahassee. You got to see some of the start of them. They helped put up together some of the the first parts of like the gaming theaters that we did in Tallahassee and things like that. They they ran the stage, but they are a thematic design company. They work with a lot of haunts and um more in the more in the haunt, um, haunted house industry, but uh um developing that. But they thematic design-wise, they do theater, they do stage shows, they've done a little bit of everything. And they've worked with people from Universal and such. So the goal and the dream for me in Mumi, you're gonna start seeing some of this in 2025 in Tallahassee, is to really have this immersive experience that starts with these gateways. So each of the worlds we talked about today, um, you know, the Abyss, the New Renaissance, they all have a story. They all have an actual world that I'm having artists create that will fit the look and feel of what that is. And the idea would be is these gateways take you to these different planets, they take you to these different worlds. And when you cross through the gateway, that's the world you're entering in. So the first kind of part of that would be creating these gateways. Um, you know, they're gonna be 15 or so feet wide, 14, 15 foot tall, about seven to eight foot deep. So you're actually gonna walk through and be able to have a little bit of interaction, have the feeling that you're actually going from one space to another, not just, you know, I walk past a vendor pipe and drape, but like literally you're walking through into a new world. And the first thing will be is pretty much working on one gate at a time. I hope to have two to four of those gates ready by Tallahassee. That may be a little lofty, we'll see. So, again, more thematic design, more like you're going to a theme park Comic Con. That would be the idea of going into that. The bigger idea would again be to finish out all the gateways, to kill the downlighting, and actually control the look and the feel, and the entire like the whole thing would feel like you're in another world. So when you enter into this infinite market, which would feel more like like a marketplace, like I'd like to theme that out a bit more, you know, marketplace feeling, which I mean it's vendors and artists that it kind of already feels like that. You know, maybe even work on like, you know, the lights, lights going between the vendors and that kind of stuff. Again, as you as we're thinking about, like, you gotta make sure vendors have good light. You gotta make sure. So as you're doing all this, I also have to make sure those things are taken care of. I can have thematic design, but if it's not functional, then it'll it's it's not working. So yeah, so I think that's the goal. That's the movement. My goal is to take and flip the concept of we need guests as the draw. And for my convention specifically, I want to make InfinityCon and this thematic experience the draw. Like I want people to say, what new thing is has arrived at InfinityCon this year. And with these gateways and with this theme and with the stories, it's gonna start out with my creation. It's gonna start out with concepts and ideas that I have. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna write the stories, I'm gonna fill the stories out. But I'm excited about how they can change, how other people's stories can intertwine with these. Whether we expound on the stories of the different worlds, of the mystic forest, of the abyss, of new renaissance, or whether we create whole totally different worlds based on some other people that come into the uh Tuming of the Forum, maybe other companies that say, you know, if Bloomhouse comes in and says, hey, I want to create, we want to create a something in the abyss this year that is uh a you know a Bloomhouse focused area, you know, who knows? Sky's the limit. I'm I'm a squeak a wheel, if anything. So I will I will ask and I will say, hey, you want to be a part? Just just we're here. So that's great. Yeah, so that that's what's in the pipeline. That is the vision I want to see, and I think we'll will be where we start heading in 26.

SPEAKER_04: 1:12:30

So very awesome to hear, and of course, you know, just getting to see that vision uh play out is gonna be such a such joy. And I know, Phil, you're excited as well. For me, we just went to Epic Universe talking about theme parks, and they do like the portals, and yeah, I can tell you right now, kids love that. As an adult, I also very much enjoyed that. So, like getting to see your concept of gateways, but at the convention, you know, level, I think is gonna be uh very great. But with all that being said, we've talked a lot about InfinityCon, about everything under the sun pop culture. So, in that same vein, we are now going to play our game, and we are gonna do a little pop culture jeopardy.

SPEAKER_05: 1:13:16

So we're gonna have to categories because Eric's still here.

SPEAKER_04: 1:13:20

Okay, we're gonna it was necessary. Um, so you both gentlemen will need your phones. Uh, if you are listening audio only, that is okay. I'll be saying the questions, we'll be going over the answers. There is a visual element if you'd like to switch over to our video portion on YouTube. But uh, if you guys go to the website here or use the QR code, there'll be a code here or a pin to join the game. And Phil, I'm gonna assume safely that you are the Mosasaurus.

SPEAKER_05: 1:13:51

You would be correct. That is that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:13:52

So I need to correct L, right? Yep, yep. There should be two spots. You're gonna have to select a character or an icon, avatar. Take your time. I do when it's my turn. Who wants to be Aiden or Alex? I know. When you can be a broccoli. You exactly. See? David gets it.

SPEAKER_01: 1:14:17

I'm definitely gonna be a broccoli. There we go. Awesome.

SPEAKER_04: 1:14:21

Alright. So we have our team set, uh, Mosasaurus versus broccoli tonight.

unknown: 1:14:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:14:29

Uh, we'll go ahead and begin our game, and you guys will see our categories are going to be based off of the world of Infinity Town. Okay, okay. Nice. So it's gonna be a uh a great time. Let me make sure that I have the ability to enter our final factile answer, and we should be good to go. Uh, we are gonna go ahead and go across the board and play a little bit. I will tell you that I try to be mindful of difficulty, however, depending on your knowledge or not uh lack of knowledge, could be difficult. So I would challenge you guys to not focus so much on the dollar amounts and focus more on the categories. When we talk about the Forge, we are talking about things in cosplay, uh specifically characters in cosplay for this category. Limitless and Technotopia is gonna focus on robots and gaming. The Abyss, everything horror. We're gonna focus, I think, on movies in this category. Isle of Wonder, I specifically was looking for questions that anyone under the age of 10 could answer. Uh New Renaissance is gonna be everything regarding That's a dangerous assumption. Uh New Renaissance is gonna be everything uh like comics and uh writing and and uh literature, uh Mystic Forest, Tabletop. So we've got our categories. David, you are gonna control the board first, and whenever we open up the question, you're gonna be responsible to buzz in as quickly as possible.

SPEAKER_05: 1:16:03

Well, don't spam it, remember?

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:04

Yep, so be careful to spam it before it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_05: 1:16:07

No, don't spam, remember? Yeah, don't it will lock them out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:11

Oh, it'll lock me out. When I read the question, the buzz button will appear. Uh once it lights up, you're ready to quick uh click buzz as quickly as you can. And uh you do not have to click buzz, but again, if you do, you gotta give me an answer. Just like Jeopardy, points or no points. So, David, are you ready to go? Would you like to pick a category to kick us off? I can't. Do I have to do what is or who is? No, you don't. No, we're not that.

SPEAKER_01: 1:16:38

Okay, okay. I was like, how jeopardy are we getting here?

SPEAKER_00: 1:16:40

Um, I'm gonna have to go with the abyss for 400.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:43

Okay. For 400. Alfred Hitchcock famously used this for blood in the iconic shower scene in Psycho, since it looked better in black and white. Syrup.

SPEAKER_05: 1:16:55

All right, we're gonna go. You gotta buzz in. No, you did buzz in. I did buzz in? Okay, cool. Your answer's syrup? Yeah, that was fast.

unknown: 1:17:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:03

Alright, David. It was chocolate syrup. I will take it. You know what?

SPEAKER_05: 1:17:08

I'm used to hearing the buzzing, but that's why I didn't hear it. I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_01: 1:17:11

Alright. I was ready. David!

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:17

David, where where are you where do you want to go?

SPEAKER_00: 1:17:20

Uh let's do the Abyss for 600. Ones I know. Maybe.

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:25

This iconic horror series is also one of the best-selling children's book series in history, with over 400 million copies sold. Phil?

SPEAKER_05: 1:17:34

Goosebumps?

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:36

It is goosebumps. I know. I was the name was right in my head, and it just isn't like, yeah, yeah. Nice. Alright, Phil, good job. Goosebumps, you control the board.

SPEAKER_05: 1:17:45

Let's go to let's do the Abyss 8.

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:50

This 1999 psychological horror film was made on a budget of around 600,000, but gross nearly 250 million worldwide thanks to its viral marketing. Phil, you buzzed in first.

SPEAKER_05: 1:18:01

The Blair Witch Project.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:04

The Blair Witch Project is correct.

SPEAKER_05: 1:18:07

I should have known that. Phil, you have the board? Let's do 200 first before we get to a thousand.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:13

Okay. This title belongs to our favorite female survivors who outlive everyone else in a horror movie. Phil, I knew you had to get that because Philin would literally kill you.

SPEAKER_05: 1:18:24

I know. The final girl.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:26

Yeah, I'll say final girl, yeah. Final girl. Alright. Alright, David. Phil Phil took the challenge. He doesn't want to play. Alright. Phil, you want to go to a thousand for the board?

SPEAKER_05: 1:18:37

Yeah, let's get to a thousand.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:39

Alright. This horror franchise is the only one to have two movies crack the top ten highest-grossing horror films of all time. I did figure this might pause you, but it is, in my opinion, very obvious.

SPEAKER_05: 1:18:54

I I have two in mind, and I don't feel like risking a thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_04: 1:18:59

I don't know. Risk reward. Remember, Phil, you usually crumble.

SPEAKER_05: 1:19:04

Okay, you didn't have to. Imagine if Alex Trebek was like, well, remember, you usually don't do well down the stretch.

unknown: 1:19:10

Crap.

SPEAKER_04: 1:19:12

Alright.

SPEAKER_01: 1:19:13

Last chance.

SPEAKER_04: 1:19:15

Uh anybody want to buzz in? Anybody gonna buzz? You gotta buzz. Phil?

SPEAKER_05: 1:19:21

The Conjuring Universe.

SPEAKER_04: 1:19:23

No. No! The Conjuring, The Conjuring is the highest grossing franchise of all time, but only has the most recent film cracked the top.

SPEAKER_05: 1:19:34

Probably the other one. Alright.

SPEAKER_00: 1:19:36

Uh, David. Paranormal Activity?

SPEAKER_05: 1:19:39

No. No, it's uh Can I can I I mean I think I know what it is, but my other guess was gonna be.

SPEAKER_04: 1:19:47

Well, you both got it wrong.

SPEAKER_01: 1:19:48

Oh, what?

SPEAKER_05: 1:19:49

Yeah, that was not gonna be my guess. I was gonna go Final Destination.

SPEAKER_04: 1:19:52

It Chapter 1 and It Chapter 2 are both in the top 10 highest grossing films of all time.

unknown: 1:19:58

What?

SPEAKER_04: 1:19:59

Like films, period? Yeah, like horror films. All time.

SPEAKER_05: 1:20:03

Just horror films. Okay. Just horror. Okay. It's the same, okay, but the same franchise. I understand. Yeah. I was gonna go final destination. I thought it would be final.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:12

Because I well, you said you said uh what was the first one? The conjuring?

SPEAKER_05: 1:20:16

The conjuring universe, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:17

Yeah. And then I know Paranormal Activity also did well. What was what's the newer one that just came out with the is that the conjuring that has the two, the couple that are paranoid that are Yeah, yeah, the Warrens. Okay. Insidious is the other one I was thinking of.

SPEAKER_05: 1:20:31

Insidious, yeah. But yeah, that new paranoptions. I would not have gotten it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20:36

Jeez, yeah. No, never.

SPEAKER_04: 1:20:38

That's okay. That's okay. Well, listen, we had a good mixture there. Yeah, that was a good mixture. Phil, you do technically still have control of the board. Where do you want to go?

SPEAKER_05: 1:20:46

Let's do Limitless and Technotopia for two. Daily?

SPEAKER_04: 1:20:53

Alright. This show first aired in 2000 on Comedy Central and was inspired by the British show Robot Wars. Who's gonna buzz in? One of you should be.

SPEAKER_01: 1:21:05

Battlebots? It is BattleBots. Okay, yeah, yeah. I was like, I was like, it sounds like BattleBots, but I'm not sure. Yeah. It is BattleBots.

SPEAKER_04: 1:21:15

Yeah, that's where it started airing. David, you have control of the board? Where do you want to go? Uh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 1:21:22

Um let's do Isle of Wonder for 600.

SPEAKER_04: 1:21:27

All right, Isle of Wonder 600. Gotta catch them all.

SPEAKER_01: 1:21:33

Uh Pokemon. David. Okay. Pokemon. Good job. It wouldn't let say.

SPEAKER_05: 1:21:40

I just unmuted instead of hitting the button.

SPEAKER_01: 1:21:43

Well, they kept saying buzzer buzzer locked, and I'm like, no.

SPEAKER_04: 1:21:46

Yeah, because you if you but if you try to click it too fast, it will lock you. So I watched both of you get locked at the same time, which is pretty hilarious. Uh yes, a 10-year-old would be able to answer that. Uh Isle of Wonder 600, that gives you an example. David, where do you want to go? Uh Isle of Wonder 800. All right, this is gonna be fun. Are you the imposter? Phil.

SPEAKER_05: 1:22:10

Among Us.

SPEAKER_04: 1:22:12

Among Us.

SPEAKER_00: 1:22:13

Very good. Yeah, I'm uh yep. I know of Among Us. I shouldn't know more about Among Us.

SPEAKER_05: 1:22:21

10-year-old would know. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04: 1:22:24

10-year-old would know. Phil, where do you want to go?

SPEAKER_05: 1:22:26

Let's go Isle of Wonder 4.

SPEAKER_04: 1:22:28

Okay. Watch out for creepers and prepare for chicken jockey. God. Phil? Minecraft. Ah! It is Minecraft. Buzz just before David. I knew that one. I knew that one. Phil, where you want to go?

SPEAKER_05: 1:22:44

Uh, Isle of Wonder uh 200, yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:22:47

He lives in a pineapple under the sea. SpongeBob! No! David, yes. Good job, Spongebob.

SPEAKER_01: 1:22:55

Square fans. That wasn't the easy 200 one. That was. All right, David, you want to do a thousand? Wait a second. Can kids ten or under still do that? Like, know that if you tell them? I think so.

SPEAKER_04: 1:23:06

SpongeBob is still pretty if you said it like he lives in a pineapple under the sea. If you said it like that, I think they get it.

SPEAKER_05: 1:23:13

I think it's like opposite for us two, where the show is really popular. I think the movies are very popular with kids opposed to the show. Okay.

SPEAKER_04: 1:23:21

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. David, you want to do a thousand? No job is too big. No pup is too small. Pop a trip.

SPEAKER_05: 1:23:33

Yes. Oh. Oh, yeah. Would you not have gotten that Phil? Oh. I I had I had an idea with pup, but like I didn't know what their tackling was.

SPEAKER_01: 1:23:41

Honestly, that's why I put it in a thousand because I wasn't sure that you'd get it. Exactly. I have a three-year-old and a six-year-old, so. Yeah, it was said it was like it was lobbyed up for it.

SPEAKER_05: 1:23:52

David's a kid. Yeah. If it had been like Nihao Kai Lan or something like that, I would have nailed it.

unknown: 1:23:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:23:58

Yeah, it's uh become a lot of Paw Patrol now. A hundred percent. Uh David, you control the board. Alright.

SPEAKER_00: 1:24:05

Uh let's do New Renaissance 600.

SPEAKER_04: 1:24:10

The Iliad and Odyssey are two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to this author. Make sure you buzz in when you're ready. Somebody's gotta get it. Dumb when I hear it. I will tell you, I just it's a single name. It's a single word. Single name. Phil. Homer? It is Homer.

SPEAKER_00: 1:24:35

I was like trying to say it. It is Homer. Very good. I always threw out like Play-Doh, and I was like, no, it's not Play-Doh. It's like, yeah, Homer. Homer, yep.

SPEAKER_04: 1:24:44

Phil, you control the board. It's it was up there. No, we all learned it.

SPEAKER_05: 1:24:48

We all knew it. Let's go to the Forge for 400.

SPEAKER_04: 1:24:52

Okay. Let's jump around. This commonly cosplayed video game character is known for her brown braid, dual pistols, and being a tomb raider. Phil.

SPEAKER_02: 1:25:01

Lorecroft.

SPEAKER_04: 1:25:03

Lorecroft is correct. Where do you want to go?

SPEAKER_05: 1:25:07

Uh Forge for 600.

SPEAKER_04: 1:25:09

Alright. This commonly cosplayed video game character is known for wearing dark armor, his white hair, and using two swords. David. The Witcher. Alright. David, where do you want to go? Let's keep going on the forge. Do 800. Alright. Let's get competitive. This commonly cosplayed anime character is known for their green jumpsuit, black hair, and being very good at martial arts.

SPEAKER_05: 1:25:42

Oh, I don't know the name of this character.

SPEAKER_04: 1:25:45

Oh, it's crazy. We went to a whole symphony film. I don't know the mother's day.

SPEAKER_05: 1:25:54

I'm gonna be honest, until you said that I thought it was from Benton. So I wasn't even thinking about it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:25:59

No. Yeah, very good at martial arts. Yeah, not so much.

SPEAKER_04: 1:26:03

No.

SPEAKER_01: 1:26:04

Unless he's got a jumpsuit.

SPEAKER_04: 1:26:06

Yeah, I don't know that character. That's okay. If you don't know it, that's okay. Don't afford it, you don't have to lose the points, but anybody want to buzz in? Gonna give it five, four, okay. Three, two, one. Let's see the answer. Uh Rock Lee. No.

SPEAKER_00: 1:26:22

Naruto. No Naruto Naratu.

SPEAKER_04: 1:26:25

I don't even have a single Naratu. No Swaratu. No Swaratu. Naruto. That'd be crazy. David, do you want to go back to the forge? You still control the board? Uh let's do 400 Limitless. Alright, Limitless 400. This character first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, known as Jump Man. Phil? Mario. What's Mario? Very good. Phil, where do you want to go?

SPEAKER_05: 1:26:54

Uh let's keep going to 600 Limitless.

SPEAKER_04: 1:26:58

This legendary robot has a horizontal spinning blade that can spin at over 200 miles per hour. If you know anything about the robots from shows like BattleBots, this is the robot you would know the name of.

SPEAKER_05: 1:27:16

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04: 1:27:17

So if you do want to throw out a guess, it's probably that one. But you just gotta remember what it is.

SPEAKER_05: 1:27:24

I know I've watched that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:27:26

When you see it, you might get mad. Oh man. It's not like obvious in name, but when you hear it, you'll know, like, yeah, that of course that's what it is. I almost thought about putting this at the thousand, but I wasn't confident. Now I regret it. Okay.

SPEAKER_05: 1:27:43

Uh we'll give it a I can picture the robot in my head too. I'm seeing it. Yeah, you know the look. You know the look. I have no idea why can't more than anyone.

SPEAKER_04: 1:27:51

We'll give it five, four, three, two.

SPEAKER_05: 1:27:54

Bravedigger.

SPEAKER_04: 1:27:55

One. No, it is tombstone. Oh, no, yeah. Tombstone. Classic. Classic fighting robot. Phil, where do you want to go?

SPEAKER_05: 1:28:06

Uh, limitless for 800.

SPEAKER_04: 1:28:08

This arcade game was one of the first shooters to include a foot pedal for cover, making it feel more immersive and interactive.

SPEAKER_05: 1:28:17

Well, I hope this is right.

SPEAKER_04: 1:28:19

Phil.

SPEAKER_05: 1:28:20

Time crisis?

SPEAKER_04: 1:28:21

That's a crazy get. Good job, Time Crisis. I was literally like, I know for a fact we've played Time Crisis together.

SPEAKER_00: 1:28:29

I was gonna say, I I don't think I ever played a lot of Time Crisis. I did a lot of like the uh what was the X? Uh well, of course, House of the Dead. House of the Dead. Was that X? The one that was uh the rock one? The Rock Shooter.

SPEAKER_04: 1:28:42

Oh yeah. Whatever X. I can't remember the name of it, but House of the Dead is the one I was expecting someone to say here. So I'm kind of I'm kind of shocked.

SPEAKER_05: 1:28:51

I remember Time Crisis being the first one with that pedal because with House of the Dead you shoot off screen, but with the pedal, you would you would reload for Time Crisis.

SPEAKER_04: 1:29:00

Yeah. Phil, where do you want to go? Uh yeah, let's wrap up Limitless. Alright, Limitless 4,000. This company used to be one of the biggest arcade game producers, but it officially left the arcade business in 2022 after over 50 years.

SPEAKER_05: 1:29:16

I have a guess, but not enough to risk a thousand dollars.

SPEAKER_04: 1:29:20

Okay. I mean, you got space.

SPEAKER_05: 1:29:23

No, stop that.

SPEAKER_04: 1:29:25

Atari. Alright, David. Atari, no. Oh, that one hurt. That one hurt. I mean, I'm gonna You swung for the fences. Phil. Midway? No, that would have been crazy if you got that. Okay. Uh Sega. Sega. Dang it.

SPEAKER_00: 1:29:42

Yeah. I was trying to think of one that kind of went out and now is even kind of coming back in. Because Atari kind of fell to the wayside and now they're they're inching their way back. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04: 1:29:54

Yeah. Yeah. No, 100%. No, they just they just left. They were like, uh uh, no more.

SPEAKER_05: 1:29:59

Uh Phil. You still control the board. Let's uh we haven't done Mystic Forest yet. Let's go Mystic Forest Forest.

SPEAKER_04: 1:30:05

400, okay. What are the two most expensive properties in Monopoly?

SPEAKER_01: 1:30:15

I don't remember. Phil?

SPEAKER_05: 1:30:19

Broadway and Park Place.

SPEAKER_02: 1:30:21

That is boardworth.

SPEAKER_05: 1:30:24

Oh, I said I said board, I said Broadway, though. Oh, did you? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I didn't know.

SPEAKER_01: 1:30:30

I was thinking part place, but I couldn't board the other one. I'm gonna give you 200. Okay.

SPEAKER_05: 1:30:34

I'm gonna give you 200 for that. That's fair. I'm gonna be honest. I didn't say boardwalk. I'm a man of integrity. I heard B and my brain was like, yeah. That was it?

SPEAKER_00: 1:30:44

Well, I was thinking part place, but I I couldn't remember quite the broad place. Broadway, boardwalk.

SPEAKER_05: 1:30:49

Yeah. Yeah. Broadway.

unknown: 1:30:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_05: 1:30:51

Yeah, that's good. Phil. Uh Mystic Forest 2. Let's go in the other way just in case. You guys really hate those twos. Daily double. Ooh, another daily double.

SPEAKER_04: 1:31:01

Crazy Daily Double. Strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charisma. Our core ability scores using this famous tabletop game, Phil.

SPEAKER_05: 1:31:12

D.

SPEAKER_04: 1:31:13

Dungeons and Dragons is correct. Alright. You control the board.

SPEAKER_05: 1:31:19

Um, let's do new Renaissance for two.

SPEAKER_04: 1:31:22

What three colors are considered primary colors in art?

unknown: 1:31:28

Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_04: 1:31:29

Uh-oh. I was pretty confident I put this one at 200. Three colors? Yeah, there's three primary colors in art. Uh, what are those three colors? RGB.

SPEAKER_05: 1:31:40

Red, green, blue.

SPEAKER_01: 1:31:42

No. David. Red, yellow, blue. It's yellow, okay. Why is it called RGB?

SPEAKER_04: 1:31:53

I don't know. I double checked that answer too. Oh, yeah. It's true. Alright, David, you're back in control of the board here. Alright, let's uh let's do that 400 new renaissance. Okay. This storytelling medium requires you to read the pages and panels from right to left. Phil.

SPEAKER_05: 1:32:15

Manga.

SPEAKER_04: 1:32:16

It wouldn't be no. That is correct. Phil, you're back in control.

SPEAKER_05: 1:32:24

Uh Mystic Forest 600.

SPEAKER_04: 1:32:27

Okay. This chess piece is limited to diagonal movement and cannot jump over other bees. Phil.

SPEAKER_05: 1:32:37

Oh.

SPEAKER_04: 1:32:39

Not you not letting me finish. Before you were just like, oh, I guess I'm gonna I guess I'm gonna do something else.

SPEAKER_01: 1:32:46

I saw a chess and I was like, nope. Not me.

SPEAKER_04: 1:32:50

Okay. Wow. Lack of confidence here. Okay. Not even like a thought. Poor shit.

SPEAKER_01: 1:33:00

No, uh, it is. The grand the grand mage. Nope, a bishop.

SPEAKER_05: 1:33:07

Bishop. Yeah. What is Sorcerer Supreme?

SPEAKER_04: 1:33:11

Uh Phil, you uh you have control of the board.

SPEAKER_05: 1:33:15

Let's go to Forge for 200.

SPEAKER_04: 1:33:17

Okay, final 200. This commonly cosplayed superhero is known for his red suit, katanas, and breaking the fourth wall. David. Deadpool. That is correct. Deadpool. Mr. Pool. You're back in control, David. Where you wanna go? Let's do the Forge for the Thousand. Forge for a Thousand. Completing that category. Let's do it. This commonly cosplayed anime character wears a straw hat, red vest, and will one day become King of the Pirates. I hate that you're I'm not gonna let you answer, possibly, Phil here. I and I'm gonna let you know now, I want the full name. What? I don't want Do you have the do you have the partial?

SPEAKER_05: 1:34:01

Luffy.

SPEAKER_04: 1:34:02

Okay, I need his full name. The pirate.

SPEAKER_01: 1:34:08

Okay, see I I would have known the name Luffy.

SPEAKER_04: 1:34:12

But it's barely. Okay, so uh Phil, I'm gonna mark you.

SPEAKER_01: 1:34:17

What do you mean? David, do you want to buzz in and guess? No, I don't. I I know the name Luffy, but that's like the the most of what I would know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:34:28

That's understandable. That's okay, yeah. That's save save the save the points. Uh monkey D Luffy. Luffy. So uh Phil, you remember it. You remember it.

SPEAKER_05: 1:34:38

It's not important, it's not gonna come up again.

SPEAKER_04: 1:34:40

Uh uh, David, you're back in control. Uh, where do you want to go? Um in Renaissance 1000. Alright, New Renaissance 1000. What is the term for the white space between comic panels?

unknown: 1:34:56

Between comic panels.

SPEAKER_04: 1:34:59

Mm-hmm. It's got a name. I did not. Butter would be so disappointed in us.

SPEAKER_00: 1:35:08

I'm gonna hear it and I'm gonna be like, uh, but I can't.

SPEAKER_04: 1:35:13

I love how I had we had the opportunity to give something like this to Bodder, and we didn't do it. So between the comic panels. Mm-hmm. Yep, there is a term. Alright, five, four, three, two, and a one. Uh, the answer is gutters. I did not know that. They're called gutters. Yeah. Interesting. The more you know. David. I know. Oh, that wasn't a good one. It was 4,000. That's true. It is still very close. Three uh three spots left. Where do you want to go? Okay, let's do that thousand mystic forest. Alright. What are the two highest scoring letters in Scrabble? There are two of them. What is it? I will make things interesting. If you can give me one, I will give you 500 points. Okay, David. Z is one of them. Okay. So let me get it. Oh, and Q. Okay. Okay, I knew Z was 500.

SPEAKER_01: 1:36:20

I knew Z was a higher one. Yeah. There we go. Alright.

SPEAKER_04: 1:36:24

So I forgot I could only do it in certain increments, so I'm gonna give you six for that. There you go. Oh, because uh 200 increments, yeah. Alright, so you got 600 for that, David. Great job. Uh, where do you want to go? Ah, new Renaissance 800. Alright. An object or goal that drives the plot, but is often unimportant by itself is often referred to as what that drives the object or goal is often unimportant by itself. So if there's an object or goal that's driving the plot, but it's often unimportant by itself, typically, someone might refer that uh refer to that as what it would be a what. I know for a fact one of you know it. I know there's no confidence. I know. It's tough. It's tough. This is where this is where the risks either pay off or hurt you. I'm gonna count down. Five, four, three, two, Phil?

SPEAKER_01: 1:37:39

Plot device.

SPEAKER_04: 1:37:40

Oh, that's no.

SPEAKER_01: 1:37:42

I was thinking, I was gonna say that. I was gonna say that. Not a plot device.

SPEAKER_04: 1:37:47

There's a specific name. It's very specific. It is very identifiable. You know this, David. What do they call it? They call it a what? Think of your favorite movie where there's something that draws the fire. No, no, no, hold on a second. It's not often unimportant. It's just kind of there. It's just kinda there. We're past time. Yeah, we are past time. Alright. It's called a MacGuffin. Oh, okay, okay. I wouldn't agree.

SPEAKER_00: 1:38:26

I don't really think of that word very often. So yeah, I don't think I was thinking like a plot twist? A like a McGuffin twist.

SPEAKER_04: 1:38:34

No, that's okay. That's okay. Phil. I did entice Phil enough to do a plot hole? Plot hole, yeah. Yeah. Alright, uh, we're gonna do our final category, Mystic Forest 800. Alright. The object of this game is to form a row of five poker chips on the board without tabletop between team members. This question was specifically for Phil. What is it? It's Sequence. Sequence.

SPEAKER_01: 1:39:02

Oh, I did not know that one.

SPEAKER_04: 1:39:04

It is it is sequence. That is a board game we love. We reference. We love sequence.

SPEAKER_05: 1:39:13

Phil, talk about sequence for a minute. Sequence is a fantastic game. Another one of the reasons it's we love it so much is you have to play quietly so no one can really yell. So it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun. And it relies on you and your partner like being on the same page. So it requires a lot of strategy. It's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_04: 1:39:31

Very funny. Um, all right. Before the final question pops up, and you guys will enter your answers. You must make a wager. You can wager some, you can wager all, but you must make a wager. So both of you guys will make a wager. Uh, what do you want to wager? I think it lets you do that right, right, Phil?

SPEAKER_05: 1:39:50

It lets you do it. You can put it down on the on the phone.

SPEAKER_04: 1:39:52

Yep. Yeah, it should let you select it. So you can go all or nothing. You could go nothing, I guess technically is an option.

unknown: 1:40:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:40:01

So pick your amount. Phil has wagered. Alright. You've both wagered. Power, mine, time, space, reality, and soul make up these iconic items.

SPEAKER_05: 1:40:14

Are we supposed to buzz in or do we type?

SPEAKER_04: 1:40:17

Do you enter in your answer? See Oh. Wait. You're supposed to be able to type it. Let me try to. Mine gives me a place to enter. Yeah, does it? Alright, well, David, you you enter yours in, and then I'll make Phil verbally give it. But if it lets you enter it, then you should be born. Weird. I don't know why I'd have a message. Phil, text me. Phil, message me the answer in Discord. But David, you have a spot to actually type in an answer? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, it says I can see your answer. That's super weird. Okay. Alright. So I've got both of your answers. Uh, David. Infinity stones is correct. Phil also said infinity stones. And that is our answer. Now it's gonna depend on who wagered and what you wagered. And Phil did wager it all and has won in two. By just the littlest amount.

SPEAKER_05: 1:41:21

Congratulations, Phil. If you it, David, if you oh, but you had you wagered it all. I wagered just enough to be ahead of you in case I got it right. In case we both got it right.

SPEAKER_01: 1:41:30

Yeah, I wager it's I wager all the whole 2200. Yeah. Oh yeah, by two, by 200. Oh my god. Dang, dang.

SPEAKER_04: 1:41:39

That's a crazy pull. Fun. But yeah, but that was uh pop culture jeopardy. That that went way better than last time, Phil. I think I've I think I've cracked it.

SPEAKER_05: 1:41:48

Yes, yes. No, it takes some time. Uh factile is a uh it's a fickle tool, but it's it's very fun.

SPEAKER_04: 1:41:54

Yeah, like yeah. Oh, a lot of fun. A lot of fun. But uh yeah, David, thank you so much for entertaining us with that game, talking about InfinityCon. And uh, I know we really appreciate it. Phil, uh, I'll let you kind of wrap it on up here as we get David uh to the end of this episode.

SPEAKER_05: 1:42:12

Yeah, David, thank you so much for uh taking the time out to talk to us about your journey and also just kind of nerding out with us. We very much appreciate it. Cannot wait to see you and the team in just about 30 days from the time of recording. This episode will be out at the end of October. So please let everybody know. This will be one of the last things they hear in the couple weeks leading to InfinityCon. Uh, one more time, let people know about InfinityCon Gainesville. And then, of course, if you want to go into InfinityCon Tally in 2026, you can. But yeah, let everybody know where they can find you and where they can go to support InfinityCon.

SPEAKER_00: 1:42:43

Yeah, InfinityCon Gainesville will be at the Alaska County Sports and Events Center on November 15th and 16th. And um, we will be uh there both days, and uh, you can go to infinitycon.com forward slash Gainesville or just InfinityCon.com. We'll send you there. And uh yeah, we look forward to seeing you guys there. The Wait for It podcast will be there, and we're excited to uh to have technically year two of InfinityCon Gainesville Sands Hurricanes. So yes.

SPEAKER_04: 1:43:13

It has been a lot of knock on wood with how the hurricane season has been going. Yeah. So yeah, yeah. Now fingers, fingers crossed.

SPEAKER_05: 1:43:22

I wanted to ask you, David, actually, really quick. It's kind of funny because this um popped up recently, and we have a group of friends of vendors and artists, and we were talking about Tallahassee in general. I don't know if we were talking about InfinityCon. And Pedro's tacos and tequila bar came up just naturally because me and Eric and Corey went there right before the night before InfinityCon Tallahassee. And they also, this group of friends also knew of Pedro's, so I'm just curious if that's a really popular restaurant amongst your group as well, because uh I had a meal there that's haunting me. So I can't wait to go back.

SPEAKER_00: 1:43:55

Oh man, so I am I am unfortunately one of the only like I think most people are okay, but like I'm one of the ones that like is gonna want to go to Mexican place like all the time. Martin Pierre will not usually eat it with me in a Mexican place. So yeah, so it is very good and I love it. But yeah, we have we have not been that often.

SPEAKER_05: 1:44:14

This is this but this podcast is not sponsored by Pedros, just so you guys know. I just wanted to wanted to know if it goes. But one day, one day, one day we're gonna we're we're gonna do Tony Scan. Hey Pedros, tacos can at Infinity Con.

SPEAKER_04: 1:44:27

Tony's a Nicala, Pedro's Delhasse. David, I know you I know it's only year two in Gainesville, but is there a Pedro's like level place at Gainesville? Because me and Phil were also talking about where are we gonna go to eat.

SPEAKER_05: 1:44:41

So we don't just end up at Dave and Buster's across the street. We want to go somewhere, you know.

SPEAKER_04: 1:44:46

We also want to go to Dave and Busters, who's one of the sponsors, but no, Dave and Busters has been super awesome.

SPEAKER_00: 1:44:52

Um, Kendrick, the GM, is is amazing. But yeah, you know, there I mean, yeah, there's Dave and Busters, but uh man, there's so much chain stuff there. Like thinking about like a local place that like grabs my attention. I mean, there's a lot of great breweries. There's Swamphead and there's there's stuff like that, and there's like some great food trucks. But I'll have to get back to you guys. Like, there's uh the problem is is like the venue is in a great spot as far as like location to like the interstate, but all the cool kind of fun stuff, like like local stuff is downtown, which is like four or five miles away.

SPEAKER_03: 1:45:27

Yep.

SPEAKER_00: 1:45:28

So like near UF, there's like uh the top. Oh my gosh, the top. It's a burger place and it's fantastic. The top, if you want to sponsor my my eating and drinking habit, I would uh be very okay with that. But yeah, the top, the top is amazing. There's a few, there's a Mexican place downtown um in the Sun Center there that's also really good near the top. But yeah, yeah, there's there's a few uh Lucy's is like a bar and pub that that has some some cool stuff. But yeah, the top, I mean I guess like something for like dinner stuff. Um they're usually packed and they have great burgers and yeah, so that that's a good place. There we go. That's perfect.

SPEAKER_04: 1:46:09

Yeah, that's a that's a good start. That's a good start. So, Phil, we gotta make our reservations to the top, but yes, make sure to buy your tickets to InfinityCon Gainesville. David, thank you so much for jumping on for this episode. This was a lot of fun. Yeah. Uh and Phil, as we wrap up this episode, if you want to take us into the home stretch, we'll see everybody in Gainesville in November.

SPEAKER_05: 1:46:31

Yeah, everybody, uh, thanks so much for joining us. And everything you need uh regarding the Wait Forward podcast, as well as InfinityCon, is going to be in the show notes of this episode. So make sure you click that. If you want to keep up with us, of course, of course, uh click that link tree, follow us on social media, Instagram, TikTok, join our growing Discord community, follow us on Twitch where we stream each and every single week. And of course, if you're over on YouTube, like, share, and subscribe. For those of you that are listening on your favorite podcast player, make sure you leave us a five-star review. It's one of the best ways you can help support the show. And if you find yourself um wanting to follow also Eric and I on our personal pages as we navigate our uh content creation and voice over voice actor journeys, that would be very much appreciated as well. But you can talk to us in person at InfinityCon in just a couple of weeks. So we hope to see you there. Um but if you find yourself wanting to get some of these episodes a little bit earlier, as well as having a hand in the content that we release, Eric will let you know a little bit more about that before wrapping us up.

SPEAKER_04: 1:47:29

Yeah, so on Patreon, it is an additional incentive for you, and you're able to get extra stuff from the show. Supporters are currently getting behind the scenes and early access to episodes like this one, and October wrapped up Patreon month, where our patrons Briar, T3KO, Vintage Macaroni, Corey from the World is my burrito, Nick Casbarrow, the author of the Vidalarium series, and Botter from the Short Box podcast all had a hand in several episodes that we did this month. So if you want to be a part of that community, please join our growing Patreon. If not, all the free stuff that only takes a moment of your time is very much appreciated and honestly means the world. With all that being said, my name is Mr. Eric Almighty, that is my co host for the Filipino, and our guest David from InfinityCon. Please remember for the podcast, we release new episodes every Wednesday, and all you gotta do is wait for it.

SPEAKER_02: 1:48:29

This is the Wait for It Podcast.