Update 62: 11/02/2015This year was my first IndieCade, and I had quite the adventure.
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IndieCade HardwareDesolus currently requires pretty powerful hardware to run the game, especially with Oculus Rift.
One of the problems I needed to solve was bringing a desktop good enough to run the game, and fly it to California from Boston.
I took my desktop Titan Black (from my HUGE computer) and plopped it in my Mini-ITX portable system.
Usually I bring this to conventions to show the game with, but I have a 680 GTX as the GPU.
I needed the extra horsepower to run with Oculus Rift, as I wanted to maintain 75 frames per second throughout the VR Demo.
The specs:i7 2600k @4.5ghz
NVIDIA Titan Black
16GB @ 1600mhz RAM
256GB SSD
Silverstone Sugo SG08 Case (600w PSU)
I had some concerns about potentially blowing my 600 watt PSU with the Titan and overclocked i7.
Nvidia's official specifications say minimum PSU requirements are 600w, I was afraid I would potentially blow the power supply.
Fortunately, for the most part the system held strong.
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Meeting With GoogleFor IndieXChange, IndieCade set me up for meetings with Google and Sony.
This was probably one of the most significant events of the festival for me.
It was 10am and I walked in the room that Google reserved, carrying a 32" TV and backpack stuffed with technology.
The night before IndieCade, I realized the game play video file I prepared for my presentations became corrupted.
I had to prepare a power point instead.
I looked somewhat disheveled from the lack of sleep the night before.
However I was filled with coffee, and I managed to keep myself together.
There were six people at the meeting, including
Kellee Santiago, a designer and producer of Journey.
(At the risk of sounding somewhat sycophantic; I really love Journey).
The meetings are only for 20 minutes, so I wasn't able to take out everything from my bags and prepare a VR demo.
However I mentioned to the people in the Google meeting I was giving a demo two hours, in the room down the hall.
I was extremely fortunate everyone from the meeting *missed part of their lunch* to come out and try Desolus in Oculus Rift.
I'm excited for what Google has in store for the future.
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IndieXChange 'Game Tasting'I was allotted a two hour time slot to present at IndieXChange.
Despite all the stress, I had a fantastic time doing so.
I had setup concerns for the festival, as I originally lacked the proper connections from my video card to the TV my friend let me borrow.
Before I presented at IndieXChange, I wanted to triple check that my demo was working correctly with Oculus Rift.
I set up right outside the main event.
Erlend and
Kalli who brought
Myriad to the festival tested out the build for me.
Everything checked out. My DVI adapter that I frantically bought from Staples miraculously worked.
The demo proved to be a great success, and I met a ton of awesome people while showing the game.
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Meeting with SonyAfter I showed at IndieXChange, I had about a two hour break to grab lunch and socialize before my meeting with Sony.
Not wanting to make any mistakes with the presentation, I decided I *had* to set up the entire demo in the small time frame I was allotted.
I felt that the power point wouldn't have been a sufficient representation of the game.
I had an extra ten minutes for the Sony presentation, so perhaps I got lucky.
The meeting went well! I discussed a few things regarding where to go from here (I'll reserve any updates for a future date).
*Side anecdote*
I spent some time talking to
Tom Happ, the developer of Axiom Verge.
Funny enough, Tom was introduced to Sony from IndieCade at IndieXChange.
We talked about what it's like to work full time on a different job, and also make a game alone.
That style of development is quite difficult; however it's important to enjoy creating your game.
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Enjoying the FestivalFriday and Saturday I had to myself, so I was free to enjoy the festival.
Unfortunately my flight back to Boston left on Sunday. I had to return to work/the real world.
Some highlights:
Checking out the other IndieXChange games at the festival, playing
Undivided with my friend Alice.
Night Games was easily one of my favorite parts of IndieCade.
It's a large outdoor section of IndieCade with various fun multiplayer games.
During night games there was a game named
'Gregor' where you attempt to save a beetle.
There was a secret method of 'winning' that I figured out (I pretty much just asked the developer).
Thumper was one of my favorite games at the festival.
The mechanics are great, the sound fantastic.
During Night Games, about 30 people watched a group of us attempt to beat the demo, which was a great experience.
Very much looking forward to this game.
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Overall, I had a great time at the festival, and I wish I had more time there.
To anyone who hasn't gone to IndieCade, I would highly recommend going next year.
~In other news~
I just applied to
MAGFest, so here's hoping I'm accepted into the festival.
In the coming weeks I'll be making some new content!
I have plenty of ideas that have been sitting in my head in regards to new mechanics and levels.