Blog
Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Being Prepared
So this weekend the folks of Binary Takeover came together in Boston to help out one of our founding members, Keith Morgado, with his game Turba which had won the Penny Arcade Eastern Region competition earning him a slot in the Boston Indie Showcase @ PAX.
The weekend was a great experience though certainly not without its share of hurdles to get passed. That’s what this particular entry is going to be about; the hurdles we encountered and getting passed them.
Try not to focus on making CD’s to sell your stuff. Focus more on swag to give away/lure people in if you can afford it. A few CD’s are great but NEVER go outside of your budget. If necessary just coordinate some sort of digital distribution via your game’s website and PayPal or some other similar service (your game DOES have a website doesn’t it?)
If the venue folks say they can provide you with X, Y and Z try to bring your own X, Y and Z in case they can’t. We were burned pretty bad because of faulty equipment for the first day and a half of the event though the folks were doing their best to resolve the situation; better late than never but better never late.
If you can help it bring a team of 4 with you. Two should be by the booth luring people in and if nothing else hyping the game as stealth marketeers while the other two can lounge around the convention taking a break and/or telling people around the place that they’re missing out on your product! Try to have a uniform of some sort for your team with a logo for either your game (preferably) or your company though obviously not for those of your team posing as onlookers. I know it seems sneaky but if big boys like Sony will do it why shouldn’t you? If you’ve got a really cool friend willing to do it, have them cos play as someone in your game to draw even more attention to your booth.
As for cheap lures/reminders I would suggest glossy post card flyers with info about your game and contact info. Potential employers will be hit with a cards and a flyer just MIGHT help you stick out (though it’s the game that should be sticking in his head, not the flyer but maybe they were tired). Another great lure is loud music and a sign to put above your booth/location.
So let’s sum up:
1. The folks at the venue may be well intentioned but never assume everything will work and that they will have time to help you. Help yourself and bring whatever you can in case their facilities fail (imagine the big screen monitor they promised you failing for 2 days while you wish you would have brought your big screen in your back seat).
2. Don’t go with too many CD’s, if you can afford them great but you can’t expect too much income out of them; go digital distro if you can help it and save some time and money.
3. Bring a core team of at least 4 other people to help you man the booth, they won’t always be there but they can at least help you (and each other) enjoy the convention by holding the fort while the others play. Uniforms are sweet, mascots… SUPER SWEET! But stealth marketing can make for better sales.
4. Think swag. Free stuff rocks and the cooler the swag the better the chance they’ll keep it (and the memory of your game) as a souvenir for some time to come. Flyers with cool art can be part advertising and part business card if you play it right.
