#game conventions

[posthumanwanderings]

[ Tokyo Game Show 2000 Dreamcast Booths ]

[askagamedev]

With E3 likely being dead, do you think we'll start to see companies move their announcements and presentations at other events? (Gamescom, PAX, Paris Games Week, etc)

No. This is because E3's importance is no longer the fact it's a lot of companies all gathering in one place anymore. E3's actual importance is the calendar date that it was held - mid June. Even if E3 were to go away permanently, we would likely still see large publisher announcements and press conferences happen during the time E3 used to be held, because game publishers still need to market and announce new games.

In order to generate, maintain, and increase player interest in their upcoming games, publishers need to periodically release new information to the public. The goal of this is to build interest steadily in a new game over time, hitting the maximum marketing push just before release. If we don't release new info often enough, interest falls. If we release too much at once, interest also falls - there's just too much to follow and players get desensitized. We've gotten better results from releasing new bits and pieces periodically - slowly at first, and then increasing the cadence as launch approaches.

You should note that CES is in January, DICE is in February, GDC is in March, E3 is in June, Comic Con is in July, Gamescom and GenCon are August, Tokyo Game Show is in September, Paris Games Week is in November, and the Game Awards are in December. Publishers need a June announcement vehicle. E3 has been the most convenient one so far, but it's the date of the event that's far more important today than its name.

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[lyriumjellyfish]

It’s almost Con Season...

And a few people have asked for tips, so here we go..

GENERAL CON GOING:

-It is perfectly okay to be broke and just go for the experience

-Take the business cards

-Most Voice Actors are cool people, some aren't, don't take it personally.

-Some people charge for autographs and pictures (I met a composer who charged $10 for a shitty cellphone pic and $5 for a scribbled autograph), beware of these because they aren't usually advertised except for a sign near them.

-Professional Cosplay is a thing, feel free to ask them how they made theirs.

-Take advantage of panels. The best panel I've gone to was at the worst con I've gone to, but I learned a lot.

-Be respectful of Cosplayers. Don't pull, tug, pinch, hit, step on, etc them or their costumes. If they're in the way, be a decent human being. If they need help, be a decent human being. IF THEY'RE TRYING TO FIX THEIR COSTUME OR EAT OR USE THE RESTROOM, YOU MAY ASK IF YOU CAN TAKE THEIR PICTURE WHEN THEY HAVE A MOMENT. “Excuse me, may I get a picture when you're done/ready?” works wonders.

-Take small snacks, like fruit snacks or nuts. Be polite if you're asked not to eat in the venue, most places won't take food from you if you say you're diabetic, but don't abuse it. NEVER eat on the Dealer's Floor UNLESS the food court is there.

-Drink lots of water

-Wash your hands before handling merch.

-If you don't want to carry it all day, don't bring it.

-No one likes boob or sock money, but persons with breasts, hide your ID there.

-Don't be creepy, even in character creepiness has a limit.

-Bathe.

-HAVE FUN

COSPLAYING SPECIFIC:

-Be a decent human being. For some reason, there is an air of elitism among cosplayers.

-Seal your paint, blood, etc. Any wet makeup, seal it.

-Full body paint is a pain. Bodysuits/Partysuits/Morphsuits are much easier to deal with. Somewhere out there exists the mythical snap crotch version, but you can add one if you're crafty.

-If your hands are painted/bloody, ask the vendor if you can touch. They may test your seal. Gloves are really a better option here, and they can come to match your bodysuit. I've used food service gloves to keep blood to myself before, you can buy them at Sam's Club or your equivalent small business supply store.

-Be 10000000000% sure of your seal before sitting on soft furnishings. (Pack a towel if you're not. DO NOT USE A HOTEL TOWEL) You can be charged for ruined furnishings, or get the con banned from a venue.

-Mind the weapon rules

-Mind your wings/weapons/coats/props etc

-If you can't hear well in your costume, have someone with you to be your ears. Same goes for vision.

-Bathe.

-HAVE FUN

[posthumanwanderings]

[ Virtua Cop Booth @ Sega Saturn 1st Anniversary Event ]

[posthumanwanderings]

[ Armored Core 2 Booth @ Tokyo Game Show 2000 ]

[posthumanwanderings]

E3 2004 in 5 Minutes Remastered: Nintendo DS & PSP revealed! Next-gen teases begin!

[askagamedev]

(Inhale) Your E3 thoughts, PLEASE! I want them! I need them! :C

I’ve gotten a number of questions about my observations on E3 to varying degrees, so I figured I’d just have one big E3 “thoughts” post. In no particular order:

Co-op is big this year

A good number of the marketing for upcoming games is dedicated to “play with your friends”. Anthem, Fallout 76, Pokemon Let’s Go, The Division 2, Skull and Bones, plus (presumably) Gears 5, Halo Infinite, BLOPS 4, Destiny’s upcoming expansion, and so on.

Nobody cares about VR anymore

Did you notice any VR games getting any attention at all? Neither did I.

Publishers are backing away from Loot Boxes

The only thing most interviewees had to say about loot boxes was “they aren’t in my game”.

Where did Procedurally Generated Content go?

Looks like a lot of publishers have backed off from procedurally generated content as well. Authored and directed experiences were everywhere. Except for Fortnite.

Ubisoft Montreal is trying their hand at being Bioware

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey seems to be inheriting a lot from Bioware games, including optional LGBT romance content and a lot of role-playing context. Also, it’s an Assassin’s Creed game that doesn’t seem to be about assassins, like Dragon Age is a series that isn’t about dragons.

The Most American Game of All Time is getting remastered

From the studio that would eventually bring you Dark Souls… [Metal Wolf Chaos] is coming to the new generation. It is a game about the president of the United States piloting an armored mech to wage a one-man war against an evil terrorist army led by his own vice president. I am not making this up.

Gamers: Whoa, lesbian kiss. Game Devs: Whoa, MOTION CAPTURED KISS

Naughty Dog continues to do some really amazing animation work. More notably to people like me, they motion captured the world’s first good-looking in-game kiss. That’s pretty wacky - most of the time facial motion capture has a huge headset that gets in the way of locking lips, so they had to get kind of creative with the entire process.

Holy Crap, Naughty Dog’s animators and animation engineers are still ridiculous

Every time there’s a Naughty Dog trailer of some kind, they show some really amazing animation tech. It tends to be little things that most gamers don’t consciously observe, like seamless transitions between partial animation states. In the Last of Us 2′s gameplay trailer, they smoothed out almost all of the small weird animation pops that we take for granted, causing animators and engineers around the world to geek out. Like this:

AAA Visuals are getting more pronounced

The real tentpole blockbuster AAA titles have really differentiated themselves visually from other lower-budget titles. The number of effects, quality of the materials and assets, shader work, and all the extra bells and whistles are making the AAAA games even bigger and more distinct. A lot of people are hotly anticipating Cyberpunk 2077, but its visuals just don’t stand up (technically) to games like Gears, Division, BLOPS, Battlefield, etc.

Nintendo is probably in for a rough year

Nintendo’s stock price fell about 7% after their press conference, ostensibly because they are behind on their sales target for the year and the only system movers they announced are Smash 5 and Pokemon Let’s Go. The Labo did not prove to be the financial success they had hoped for, so it is looking unlikely they will hit their guidance for the year. That makes shareholders nervous and unhappy.

Indie AAA publishing suffered a pretty big setback

Microsoft bought Ninja Theory (and a few other indies). Self-publishing and attaining success like Ninja Theory is super duper hard. I’m glad that Ninja Theory has better financial backing now, and I hope that their deal with Microsoft is a good one, but I do wish that there were more mid-sized indie publishers out there with more success.

Crunch is over. I have time again.

Hopefully, this means the FANTa Project can resume next week.

The FANTa Project is currently on hiatus while I am crunching at work.

[What is the FANTa project?] [Git the FANTa Project]

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[tgcnews]

Board Game Days (Jul 20-23)

Board Game Days was born out of organizers who have attended other events and felt something missing. They wanted a game library, they wanted designers, and they wanted gamers. After some small form attempts, Board Game Days was born, there is something for everyone who enjoy boardgaming.

The Game Crafter is happy to sponsor this tabletop game convention and we're providing blank components for prototyping, board game pieces, TGC gift cards, and Fail Faster Playtesting Journals (on behalf of Jay Cormier). We love to support indie game designers and design events like Board Game Days!

If you are a game designer or tabletop gamer around Knoxville, Tennessee, be sure to check out this game convention that's happening on July 20-23.