How Honkai: Star Rail was brought to Luneta Park
We visited the Honkai: Star Rail pop-up event in Luneta Park last week and came to figure out how the Astral Express made a stop at one of the Philippines’ most iconic landmarks last April 29-30, 2023.
photo via XC Enriquez | Esports Inquirer
The event encompassed a large area of the park, making full use of its wide open spaces and Chinese-themed walkways to perfectly slot in various Honkai: Star Rail-themed attractions, standees, and decorations.
Truthful to the theme of Honkai: Star Rail, the event consisted of seven activities, each one earning you a stamp on your Astral Express ticket. The details were pat down; even the stamps on the ticket are themed Physical, Fire, Ice, Wind, Electric, Imaginary, and Quantum, after the game’s seven elements.
photo via XC Enriquez | Esports Inquirer
The activities included trying out Himeko’s coffee, answering some trivia about the game, channeling your inner Herta to smash a hammer down as hard as you can, a message wall, and a lot more. Other attractions and standees were also free to approach and snap a photo with. Pompom was also present, of course! I’m sure he appreciated the people lining up for a pic with him.
photo via XC Enriquez | Esports Inquirer
We also sat down with the organizers of the event, Giany Discar, Josha Ting, and Jazmine Bactat, to find out what it was like bringing HoYoverse’s latest title to life and marrying it with the history of the venue.
“[HoYoverse] wants to do their [Honkai: Star Rail] global launch in various iconic locations in many countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. We chose Luneta Park because it’s one of the more iconic landmarks. Thankfully, the park was on board also with our proposal. They were able to appreciate our objective here, which is to promote the game and at the same time have the youth enjoy the park,” the organizers said. “When we have video game events, it’s usually the malls, right conventions, those kinds of things. So why not try another avenue for the meet up for the fans like a park, green and open spaces. At the same time, if it’s a cultural landmark, then it’s also an avenue for the visitors to get exposed to cultural elements.”
photo via XC Enriquez | Esports Inquirer
Luneta Park wasn’t the only option either, the Astral Express almost made a stop at Intramuros or the Quezon City Memorial Circle instead. The two-day event had to consider elements that traditional gaming events did not have to, like the unpredictability of environmental factors. Luckily, the weekend went smoothly for them, and the event powered through slight rains and the harsh sun: “Walang ruckus, walang super long lines,” according to the organizers.
They hope that more HoYoverse projects come to the Philippines, and that holding this event in an unconventional space would inspire other events to do the same. “Maybe [the gamers] would be encouraged to go to parks to appreciate open spaces with more events like this.”
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