Hey everyone! It's been just over 2 weeks since we've returned from the id@xbox Pre-PAX event, so I thought I'd give you guys a summary into how it went, and what we took from it. For anyone who's not aware, the event took place in Redmond in the Microsoft visitor centre, the day before PAX Prime. It was preeeeeetty nice:
As soon as we entered we were given our passes and sent upstairs to the big room where we'd be set up for the day. With around 50 id@Xbox games on show, they decided to split them into two big rooms which were located right next to each other. I later heard from many attendees that this was much better than the year before, where everyone was jammed into one room.
When we got in, our game was already set up and running. Microsoft had also left a bucket of badges (or buttons for you US folk!) to give to people, which was pretty nice. We added our stickers and leaflets to the mix, and had a pretty nice set-up:
We were early, so we had some time to do some last minute testing to make sure everything worked. This was also the time Microsoft employees themselves were allowed to check out the games before heading back to work!
At around 2pm, the event opened to the press for 2 hours. We got to show the game to some of the gaming press, but also to some YouTubers (
Lui Calibre and
Daithi De Nogla seen here)
After the 2 hours, we were given an hour to eat (burritos were provided), and then doors opened to the public at 5pm until 9pm. Although we've exhibited at a number of events in Ireland, this was the first time we properly exhibited in the US (or outside of Ireland for that matter). I was glad to see that people seemed to enjoy it as much as they did back home. Here's my favourite pic from the whole day:
All in all, I'm happy The Little Acre was one of the titles selected, and I'm glad we decided to go. Although flights to the US were fairly pricey, the total cost was lower than what you'd normally expect to spend when exhibiting at trade shows. It was obviously a much smaller event than, say, PAX itself, but until fairly recently we hadn't been in a position to even consider something like that.
If any of you have the opportunity to demo your game at an event that won't completely break the bank, I'd highly encourage it! Aside from doing our best to market the game, it was a great opportunity for the less tangible stuff like meeting other developers and publishers, and being able to put faces to names.
If anyone is curious about anything, just ask! Now, I'll leave you guys with a picture of us standing among a bunch of ridiculously talented people:
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