I am happy to announce that Where Shadows Slumber has been accepted into the 5th annual Connecticut Festival of Indie Games (CT FIG), which is taking place within ConnectiCon XVII this July! They have an indie showcase of board games and video games that were offered at a discount to those who applied early and submitted the game to their judges. The show is in Hartford, CT next month (July 12th – 14th) at the Connecticut Convention Center.
I’ve never been to ConnectiCon before, but I went to a CT FIG event back in 2016 during the Mr. Game! years and met Jason Miceli of Geek Fever Games. The event was quite small, and very board game focused, but apparently their offerings have expanded to digital games as well! (There’s not many of us, but we’re growing…) I’m glad to hear they have connected with ConnectiCon to reach even more people! I wish Jason the best as they expand the CT FIG brand.
That’s Jason in the middle, next to his game Dead Man’s Doubloons, which I playtested years ago!
If you live in the area and want to purchase tickets, go here!
That’s all for now – but stay tuned to this blog for upcoming posts about a design patch for Where Shadows Slumber, news about our PC port, and a look inside our insane new digital ad strategy.
This week, I couldn’t resist talking about my favorite games from E3, so here goes nothing! I should really be working on the upcoming Where Shadows Slumber patch, but I took a break to watch 37 consecutive hours of press conferences. (Not really.) In the interest of time, I cut the list down to just eight. Here’s my top 8 anticipated games from this year’s conference!
SPOILERS AHEAD: If you haven’t watched the major conferences yet and you don’t want to hear this cool news from me, close this blog post and run away! You’ve been warned!
Spiritfarer
I saw this game during Microsoft’s press conference. It looks beautiful! The game mechanics seem to be a mix of boat-building and gathering, but I’m more interested in the premise. Your character’s job is to ferry the living to the land of the dead. It’s a subject that’s obviously near to my heart, as you can see echoes of that theme in our game Where Shadows Slumber. I can’t wait to try it!
Well just what the heck is this? I love the Clue aesthetic going on here in 12 Minutes, coming soon from Annapurna Interactive. It’s not clear how much gameplay there really is – you might be mostly watching the story unfold and making decisions – but that’s fine, because this game looks really well done. Its top-down Groundhog Day as a game, where you can be tied up and beaten by a bald man. Sounds like my kind of game!
I have been waiting one million years for this stupid, terrible game to come out in the West. I loved the copy of PSO Episode 1 & 2 we had for GameCube back in the day, so when I heard about the sequel I knew I would have to try it. Unfortunately, the game has been marooned in Japan for like seven years or something ridiculous. It’s finally getting an English translation and support for U.S. servers! We think. Honestly, they might pull the rug out from under us again, who am I kidding.
A while back, Paul and I came up with a game idea that involved multiplayer Animal Crossing on a big island with survival elements. You would each set up your own town, there would be wilderness in between, and players could clash violently or live peacefully. The new Animal Crossing title seems to be 1/3 of that idea, since the multiplayer is shared screen co-op like always and there’s no real danger to the player. But you can craft stuff in this game and decorate your town! I’m loving this design. AC is my guilty pleasure… there’s nothing like building up a ton of relationships and then vanishing suddenly, leaving everyone to wonder where you went and why you won’t leave your house. Just like real life.
As a long-time Smash player who wanted Banjo back in the Smash 64 days, I can’t believe they finally did it! I also can’t believe it took this long, so I’ve been bouncing back and forth between exasperation and elation. Also, DragonQuest or whatever. But Banjo-Kazooie is finally in a Smash Bros. game! My new main arrives in the Fall, and the Season Pass purchase has been vindicated.
I have never played any of the games in the Watch Dogs series, so when I heard about the third entry I wasn’t too excited. But the premise sounds interesting! I’m mostly watching this game to see if it’s filled with lies, or if it’s as awesome as Ubisoft promises it will be. Apparently your team of freedom fighters is whoever you want it to be – you can pick your team from any of London’s virtual citizens.
That’s crazy though, right? What if I picked a team of 16 old ladies? How could they all possibly have their own origin story mission, their own voice acting, and character interactions that make sense? Maybe the game’s main story is really short, and they recommend playing it a few times with a diversity of team compositions… we’ll see!
Last but not least, CD Projekt Red showed off an awesome cutscene of their game Cyberpunk 2077 that revealed Keanu Reeves as a story character. Sold! Give me the game now! There’s no new gameplay that I’m aware of, so if you already saw this clip from last year, keep waiting until August.
Personally, I don’t want to see too much of the game because it’s probably very narrative driven and I don’t want to get it ruined for me. It’s disappointing to see that some of Cyberpunk 2020’s wackier character classes won’t make an appearance (RIP Rockerboys) but so far this title looks like a must-buy. They even got it to launch in the actual year 2020! I don’t even want to know what it took to pull that off…
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!
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 [^_^ ]
Game Revenant 