Sorry, my camera decided that because I actually needed it to work, it was going to freak out so I didn't capture many, but I got a few choice shots. Also, due to lack of sleep and the worlds most uncomfortable coach ride - I couldn't hang around too long. Stuck it out for an hour-ish and got to see how the ordinary folk took to some of our fine stuff...
Full report to follow soon once the agony of the journey from hell back subsides, but here's wot I got:
The PC version of
Braid got a bit of attention in the short while I was there. Probably the most normal looking game of the show, compared to say, my own or Cactus' - the few folks who tried it seemed to grasp the time mechanic really well. It also seemed to be the game people were spending most time on.
Machinarium. One of the games I was most interested in seeing and seemingly hogged for the entire duration by one guy staring at the screen with a blank expression. It looks beautiful, that's about as much as I can tell you. I couldn't work out whether the bloke was deep in concentration or just completely confused. I'd guess it's somewhere between the two.
Multiwinia. Set up over 2 PC's, for the time I was there it wasn't really attracting folks. To be fair, I'm not sure that a multiplayer RTS is entirely suited for the sort of set up they had but it was nice to see it there.
Offroad Velociraptor Safari. Or how to completely throw people in one easy lesson. Given it was on display full screen, the beauty of Unity running in a browser window obviously wasn't going to come to the fore. I'm not sure that the few people who tried it "got it" entirely, but I had fun for a few minutes giving it another blast. I still think it's an ace game.
Psychosomnium or "make sure escape doesn't just quit to the desktop". That's my mate having a blast at it, and enjoying it - given he's not really part of the Indie scene per se, it was interesting to watch how he took to it. It took some explaining, but once he'd worked out how the game plays you, all was well. However, nearly everyone who touched it whilst I was there found themselves a bit miffed at it bombing to the desktop when they pressed escape.
War Twat. My own game and rather obviously the reason I was there. Met with a nice mix of some people getting it first time and fun to watch a group of lads comparing time surviving with each other, but also mixed with expressions of befuddlement and in one case complete revulsion. I'm calling it a win.
Stuff also there but not photographed:
Plain Sight. I'd like to hope that this was a case of "showing too early" as it looked and felt like little more than a tech demo. Quite a few people spending some time with it but it felt like people were trying to find something to do rather than doing something.
World Of Goo. Which is, obviously brilliant and I'm going to assume that every right thinking person has already punted over for it. What surprised me was, given the good sales and how accessible the game is - it took me sitting there and explaining it to someone to gather a bit of a crowd around it.
And...A few TIGJAM UK posters dotted about the place. Which was good to see.
Overall, despite a few hiccups and power issues (the entire Indie Arcade seemed to suffer at the hands of power cuts whilst I was there), it was a good showing with a few small niggles. Our games are still a bit weird and alien to your average gamer, that was the overall funk I got from spending some time wandering around. Once they've been led by the hand a bit - they get it. But with the stand tucked away in the far corner, upstairs and away from the rest of the expo - there was a bit of a disconnect and a feeling of being relegated to the naughty boys corner.
The Pixel Lab guys did a sterling job though, despite everything and I'm really proud to see this sort of thing going ahead. We need more. We also need emissaries to attend these places and help guide people in the right direction. There's only so much these chaps can do on their own.
Fingers crossed this isn't the end of it though because there's nowt better a feeling than watching other people enjoy something you created. Ok, short of a good hard shag anyway.
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