Monthly Archives: May 2019

Casually Connecting in London

Posted on by

I’m typing this from the lively lobby of the Smart Russel Square Hostel, after Day 1 of Casual Connect has wrapped. Rarely, an event will land directly on my Tuesday blog spot, and these posts go out late. Apologies for anyone waiting by the phone!

This day has been a blur and I’m exhausted, but here are some scattered thoughts about Casual Connect London. I hope this blog post is helpful for those who are considering applying to a future Indie Prize, purchasing a ticket to Casual Connect, or just traveling to London.

First Impressions

Architecture: Loving the stately buildings in London. The convention center is across from Westminster Abbey, the church where every English monarch has been crowned since 1066. It’s incredible to behold! And London is filled with awesome old buildings like that.

Power Warning: I woke up this morning feeling screwed, because I realized late last night that the UK has different power outlets, and I couldn’t plug any of my devices in to charge. That’s always a terrible feeling, especially abroad. I felt even stupider because I have an adapter at home from my trip to Australia, but just forgot to bring it… Luckily, the man running the Smart Russel Square Hostel front desk was nice enough to let me borrow one for the week. What a gentleman!

Thank you Mr. Hostel desk manager [^_^ ]

Pips and Dip: At the venue, we began to set up at 8:30 am for a 9:00 start. The QEII Centre was nice enough to provide free morning tea, proving that some stereotypes are wonderfully true.

Yes, it’s a tea station! (Crumpets not pictured)

Indie Prize: The game developers who are here have been included in the indie game showcase because they’re eligible for the Indie Prize, a title given out on the final day of the show. Apparently it’s an audience favorite vote, similar to how SXSW does it. That seems silly to me since everyone would obviously vote for their own game and there are few outsiders, but what the hell, why not?

Small Stations By Design: The setup is very tiny – the smallest I’ve ever seen – with just half of a table, a chair, and one socket in a shared power strip. This is on purpose, though. Your table is more like your office space than a demo area. You’re supposed to use it as a headquarters to hold meetings, store your stuff, and chat up other devs.

Oscar’s coffee mug is basically the dividing line. Tiny, right?!

Indies, Everywhere: There are a ton of indies at this show from all over the world! Below is a shot of what the main game room looked like during the busiest hours of Day 1. Believe it or not, all of the people shown there are game developers! Jack and I have talked about this idea before – the notion that the most important thing about these gaming conventions is who you meet, not how many sales you get. Casual Connect puts that theory to the test by putting you in a room with 75 – 100 other developers and giving you a chance to mingle!

Afterparty: I got a chance to catch up with some devs I recognized, and meet a few new ones. To be totally honest, I didn’t stay long. These are early mornings, and my travel woes are still gnawing at me. Even so, kudos to Casual Connect for throwing two parties for us. What better way to connect casually than a party?

Ok, these posts are never intended to just lavish fawning praise on the conventions I attend. Let’s get into it.

Making The Most of B2B Shows

As a premium game, these B2B shows can sometimes be pretty irritating. (B2B as in, business-to-business) Casual Connect isn’t a consumer show like PAX East or Playcrafting. You won’t find random people walking around that could be potential customers. That doesn’t mean that your fellow game developers won’t buy your game, just that the show isn’t meant for that. You’re supposed to take the opportunity to connect (casually) with businesses that can help your game succeed.

The companies seem to be getting the better end of the deal here, since not all of us even need to work with ad management systems. Because of that, it’s hard to avoid the feeling of being “sold to” at Casual Connect. Having said that, there are some companies I’ve met that could be useful for a future project. There are even 1 or 2 that could help Where Shadows Slumber out of our current slump.

There is good news, though! The staff has promised that the show is undergoing some massive changes. “We’re evolving! Come see what’s next!” Tomorrow’s afterparty is called the “Last Ever Casual Connect Party” which probably means the show’s name is changing and the business model will shift. Maybe future shows will have more indies, less companies, and the presence of off-the-street enthusiasts? If that’s the new proposition, I’ll keep returning to as many Casual Connects as they invite me to. If not, this might be my last one for a while.

In any event, I’m making the most of this B2B show. There are some translation companies here, some big ad networks, Unity, a Microsoft booth, and tons of awesome indies from around the world. We may even be able to get Where Shadows Slumber on a cool game streaming service that operates similarly to Netflix, but for games. (Stay tuned)

After the show ends, I’ll post the results of the Indie Prize and a roundup of some of the coolest games I found. Thanks for reading!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Where Shadows Slumber is now available for purchase on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon App Store!

Find out more about our game at WhereShadowsSlumber.com, ask us on Twitter (@GameRevenant), Facebook, itch.io, and feel free to email us directly at contact@GameRevenant.com.

Frank DiCola is the founder of Game Revenant and the artist for Where Shadows Slumber.

Too Many Games!

Posted on by

The Where Shadows Slumber World Tour™ continues with a trip next month to Oaks, Pennsylvania for Too Many Games! The wonderful developers at AwesomeCon were nice enough to mention this to me last month when I was in Washington, D.C. I got our application in just in time, and we were approved!

It’s kind of a depressing name for a show, since the the title hits close to home: there are too many games. The App Store, Google Play Store, and Steam are packed to the gills with titles. (In fact, sometimes it feels like there are too many marketplaces too!) The truth hurts, I guess [<_< ]

Here’s their description of the show:

TooManyGames is a long-running gaming convention in the Philadelphia area with a massive marketplace, gaming guests, tournaments, cosplay, tabletop gaming, console and arcade freeplay area, and more.

TooManyGames offers 3 days of gaming fun and activities for everyone from the hardcore gamer to the whole family.

This year, TooManyGames will be held June 21-23 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. Buy your tickets today!

In particular, we’ll be part of their Indie Showcase. I don’t know what the price of being a regular vendor is, but I’m glad we got into the showcase. Like many other conventions, the indie section is curated and we needed the approval of judges to be included. (More about costs below)

Their description of the section:

The TooManyGames Indie Game Showcase highlights independent game developers locally and nationally. The Indie Game Showcase is a great place to show of your game and have space at a reduced rate. Indie Game Showcase submissions are reviewed and approved by the TooManyGames indie game team.

Thanks again to the TooManyGames staff and judges for choosing Where Shadows Slumber – we’re honored, and we’ll see you in Oaks next month!

How Much Does This Cost?

This blog isn’t just a weekly update about the development and marketing of Game Revenant’s projects – I also want it to be a behind-the-scenes look at independent game development. Specifically, I like focusing on some of the business-y aspects that people rarely discuss. One business decision you have to make a lot is “Does it pay to do X? Should we bother going to Y?”

Unfortunately, usually you only know the answer after you’ve dedicated your time and money on the risk in question. The same is true of TooManyGames, but I can at least record here how much the show will run us.

We’re getting a table at TooManyGames since the booths were sold out, which is $75.00 + tax. I also need to stay in an AirBnb near Oaks once I arrive Friday morning, since it’s too far from my apartment or any of my Philly-based friends. We’ll forget the cost of tolls since I’m borrowing my brother’s car & E-Z-Pass (sorry Paul!) and assume the cost of gas is on yours truly. So the cost for doing this show is:

  • 3 days from Friday to Sunday
  • $ 82.40 for the table
  • $ 118.45 for the AirBnb

For a grand total of $200.85, I think that’s a pretty good deal. We could also take our chances on a $200 Instagram ad (and, honestly, we’ll probably do both) but it’s important to get out into the world as well. I think the fact that my AirBnB is in Phoenixville, PA has something to do with the low overall price. You’d expect to pay way more when staying closer to a large American city, but this town is 45 – 60 minutes from Philadelphia!

I love smaller shows like this – the cost isn’t too high, the barrier to entry is low, and there are plenty of new customers who have never heard of your game before. Now that I’m keeping track of how many face-to-face connections you really make in the course of a weekend, I feel like smaller gaming conventions are just as important as big shows like PAX East. Don’t get me wrong, we’re totally still submitting to PAX 10 later this month – but do you really need to travel to Seattle to find new customers? Why get in a plane when you can drive a few hours to a city filled with people who have no idea what Where Shadows Slumber is?

As for our Return On Investment – ask me when I get back to Hoboken. For those of you who are saying to yourselves “Frank just loves every show he goes to, what’s the point?” you should read my thoughts on last year’s IndieCade and why I’m not returning. I don’t always apply the sunk cost fallacy to every convention! Some shows do, in fact, end up on the dreaded blacklist written in blood on papyrus, kept deep inside the Game Revenant Vault of Secrecy.

If you’ve ever been to this show before and you have thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments! Otherwise, if you’ll be there this year, let me know! I love meeting other developers at shows [^_^ ]

See you there!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Where Shadows Slumber is now available for purchase on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon App Store!

Find out more about our game at WhereShadowsSlumber.com, ask us on Twitter (@GameRevenant), Facebook, itch.io, and feel free to email us directly at contact@GameRevenant.com.

Frank DiCola is the founder of Game Revenant and the artist for Where Shadows Slumber.

See You Saturday at Spring Play 2019!

Posted on by

This Saturday there’s a huge Playcrafting event happening at the Microsoft Center in Times Square. We’re going to be showing off Where Shadows Slumber, and perhaps doing a bit more PC testing… don’t miss it! If you’re a fan of indie games and local businesses, you can get into this event entirely FREE! You just need to register for the event, which you can do here.

Video games are taking over the Microsoft office in Times Square for an all-out Expo celebrating local developers! Join us for a day of games, pizza and fun. All ages are welcome. We hope you can join us for our biggest seasonal gathering!


Over 100 game developers will be showing off their latest games one-on-one to a crowd of up to 1000 people. For developers, this is a great opportunity to show off their games (finished or unfinished) and get direct feedback from players. For everyone else, it’s a unique opportunity to try out the biggest collection of games made in and around NYC all in one place. More games being added daily.

We could use some more testing on computers, so swing by our table even if you’ve played the game before!

Robert Adams of Tech Raptor has a good article about what you can look forward to at this event right here. He also mentioned us specifically!

“Where Shadows Slumber is a lovely puzzle game in the style of Monument Valley that we really liked. It’s great if you love puzzle games on mobile devices! We also interviewed them at Play NYC in 2018.”

Robert N. Adams of TechRaptor

I can’t say enough good things about Playcrafting. If I keep promoting them, Dan’s going to have to bring me onto the payroll at this time. But seriously – even if you’re not ready to show off your game yet, I strongly recommend these events for developers. If you can get into New York City by car, train, or bus, then GET HERE! It’s never too late to join the community.

What our game looked like back then…

It’s never too early, either. Jack and I have been going to these since 2016, if you can believe that. It was this very event (Spring Play) where we first showed off the Where Shadows Slumber Demo and started to get noticed. Robert says as much in one of his many articles about the game:

“…a game called Where Shadows Slumber had caught my attention at the 2016 Playcrafting Spring Expo. I got a card from the developer and decided to keep an eye on the game while it was under development.”

Robert N. Adams of TechRaptor

You never know who will be at these events, or what connections you’ll make with unlikely people. Hope to see you there!

Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook too, and share the event!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Where Shadows Slumber is now available for purchase on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon App Store!

Find out more about our game at WhereShadowsSlumber.com, ask us on Twitter (@GameRevenant), Facebook, itch.io, and feel free to email us directly at contact@GameRevenant.com.

Frank DiCola is the founder of Game Revenant and the artist for Where Shadows Slumber.

Where Shadows Slumber at Casual Connect Europe 2019!

Posted on by

Exciting news for you dedicated weekly blog readers – Where Shadows Slumber has been accepted into the Indie Prize at Casual Connect Europe this year! The event will take place May 28th – 30th at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London.

Image may contain: 7 people
Casual Connect Europe 2017, Ukraine

We applied earlier this year on a whim and I honestly didn’t know if we’d go, even if they accepted us. But Casual Connect has generously provided to pay for our spot on the show floor as well as a hostel, so the trip just costs a few business days and plane tickets. Worth it! (Tickets to the show range from 200 – 800 GBP [o_o ])

You can find out more about the contest here, and buy tickets here.

Image may contain: one or more people and crowd
Casual Connect Europe 2017, Ukraine.

Of course, if you read this blog and you live in London, let me know! We can do a London meetup at Casual Connect or something.

Cheerio!

I’m not sure what to expect from this show. I’m glad we got into the Indie Prize, and seeing London again will be nice (even if it’s just the Exhibition Center) but it’s not clear to me who the audience of Casual Connect is. Sometimes these shows are mainly populated with ad networks looking for customers.

That’s not us at all, so I’d be disappointed by that turnout. With any luck, Casual Connect will invite some potential customers who love indie games and I can coax them into giving our game a 5-star review [^_^ ]

Regardless, you can count on me to provide a critical look at the show once it’s over. I’m always pretty honest on here about that sort of thing. Wish me luck at the end of the month!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Where Shadows Slumber is now available for purchase on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon App Store!

Find out more about our game at WhereShadowsSlumber.com, ask us on Twitter (@GameRevenant), Facebook, itch.io, and feel free to email us directly at contact@GameRevenant.com.

Frank DiCola is the founder of Game Revenant and the artist for Where Shadows Slumber.