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Looking back - PAX East 2010 - The Benefits
PAX East was an excellent experience for multiple reasons.
As a fan of games in general the benefits are obvious: previews of games, a chance to geek out to your idols, new technology demos, booth babes, etc.
As a game developer the benefits are a bit more involved.
The first benefit of attending the show as a presenter is the chance to show your wares to your audience while you are yourself present. While QA and game reviews can help you understand how to make your product better along with some (hopefully) constructive criticism. However, having your target audience play your game in front of you while telling you candidly what they think is a rare opportunity to get the most authentic insight into the fruits of your labor.
Another benefit is that you get the opportunity to mingle among your own (game designers and developers). Not only do you get to meet with your contemporaries but you also get to meet folks from other regions and workplaces where their ideas, work habits, insights and such may be radically different than your own. New methods and technologies you and/or your team may have not known about will reveal themselves to you and the chance to share your own insights will be possible as well.
The next best thing is the chance to network. While I suggest that you keep your “can you get me a job” face tucked away, I also suggest you keep your business cards ready and be more than happy to share your accomplishments (though be smart enough to package them in a good story as to not seem like some pompous ass). Now when I say networking I mean to say that you should keep your ears to the ground with regards to job openings and letting others know you’re a potential resource to them. Do it.
Finally, I find that there is no better way to know where the industry is going than to talk to the folks around to get a general idea of what gets people excited. As an example, I took note of the fact that when folks interested in my friend’s game (Turba) asked if the game will be ported to other systems I would always say, “Turba’s design lends itself to the tablet platform and touch screen interfaces in general. We’re hoping to eventually port this game to both the iPad/iPod/iPhone as well as the Android phones and tablets as well.” Most folks were very excited to hear about Android and many would take that as their cue to rave about their Android phones (as well as a few that explained that they gladly abandoned their iPhone for a Droid or something similar.) This tells me that while maybe not as big as Apple’s line of products, Android phones and tablets are certainly in the minds of gamers. Maybe their competition is not as omnipresent in the media nor are they toting giant stock prices but their strength certainly seems to be in number and diversity (something Apple seems to sorely lack).
And that’s about it, for now.
tags / pax east / turba / benefits / game development / networking
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.
