We we're fortunate enough to be one of twenty indie devs asked by Mojang to show off our game at Minecon this year in Orlando. While the show is primarily about Minecraft, having an "other" indie games section was great, as it featured upcoming games such as Hyper Light Drifter, Scale, Shovel Knight, all part of the "Minecon Indies".
Our new game, Pig Eat Ball, currently in development was a perfect fit as we had hundreds of young boys and girls come up to play. It felt good to offer something a little different, without killing and blood and gore (though we've enjoyed making those games in the past :)
'Bow' in our ode to Ms. Pac-man, which we used on our shirts
Eventful
Running for just Saturday and Sunday, we were in the Exhibition hall most of the time, though I also was on a panel called "Life as an Indie Developer" which had a good turn-out. There were five developers on the panel, including myself, Pete Angstadt (making Cannon Brawl), Evan Greenwood (making Broforce), Richard Perrin (making Journal), and Mo (making A.N.N.E.), and it was moderated by AJ Johnson (from gaming site 8 Bit Horse). The panel focused on how there's more to just "designing your game all day" when you have to sustain yourself financially, handling such things as marketing, emails, scheduling, taxes, and more. I think all the devs afterward handled plenty of "My child wants to be a game designer, what do you think?" from parents approaching us.
Evan, of Broforce, and I showing our guns before everyone came in.
The show, while small at 7,500 people was handled really well, at least from what I experienced. As an exhibitor, our normal costs for a convention includes booth space, equipment rental, and hotel and travel fare. Most of that was graciously covered by Mojang which was pretty great. Additionally, after the first day ended, everyone that attended the show (gamers and exhibitors) were allowed to go Universal Islands of Adventure (which was closed that night to anyone except Minecon people).
The Harry Potter area was excellent, though I hear it's packed on a regular day.
I'm not the biggest Minecraft fan, so it's hard for me to say if it was worth it from a consumer perspective, though everyone attending seemed pretty happy. The show had a very interesting farm exhibit which you could walk around and pet the strange cubic animal sculptures (which were made from expected materials--the square horse had fur, the square ducks had feathers, there square tree had.. cubes of leaves...)
Boxy, furry horses. Of course.
There were also plenty of ancillary Minecraft booths such as special Lego toys, expansion/mod centered booths, papercraft, a diarama booth (featuring physical recreations of Minecraft screens) and lots of talks and panels from Minecraft personalities. I was surprised by the fanaticism surrounding some of the Youtube personalities and Notch himself. I saw and heard kids running and screaming through the halls several of the few times I was out of the hall.
One of the screenshot-diorama's being setup.
After the second day there was also a swanky party held in downtown Orlando for VIPs only. All the indie dev exhibitors were invited and most went (I went back to my friend's house who lives in town there, and we played Dragon's Crown instead--hey, I don't get to see him often!) It was really nice there was a special party just for exhibitors. There were even shuttles from the convention center to the party. The only odd part was the shuttles only ran early to take you, and late to bring you back (meaning you had to stay several hours if you stuck with the shuttles). Still pretty cool to end with a big party!
The game cards we gave to everyone, and one of the "Barfies" we only gave to those that played the demo.
Our Bring List
Laptop
Build of the game (copies on usb stick, on laptop, uploaded to dropbox)
Wired Xbox 360 controllers
HDMI cable
Java installer (on usb stick also)
Headphones (bought for show)
Speakers (from office)
Hand sanitizer
Stand-up banner for game (features elements to view from a far, and some to read up close)
Specialty cards for the game (for gamers to learn more, as a reminder)
Prizes after you play (custom "Barfie" ball, with Pig Eat Ball logo)
4 "Flying Pig" Hats (gave one away to a young super fan who visited both days)
Free game codes (to give away the game occasionally)
Personal business cards (with my contact/company info on it, different from the game cards)
We pointed people to the banner occasionally for more screens and info.
The Setup
Mojang provided the Alienware computers which ran our games. Each dev's area was one of four tables forming a big diamond shape. To your left and right was another game developer at a right angle. Fortunately, the noise level was very manageable. We brought headphones just in case, but speakers running the sound was enough (our game is puzzlish action game, not specifically about sound, as opposed to SoundSelf, which was there, and did use headphones).
Anyone that played the game got a branded "Barfie" ball which drew in a lot of people.
We were able to put our banner in between our table and the one to the right. To our left, was the stand-up banner for Sportsfriends. With everyone facing outwards, I felt like we had enough room, but I wasn't on the inside of the booth area, which was more crowded. There were five of these groups of four games each.
Having been to bigger shows like PAX, it was different because your "booth" was just a computer at a table. It was a little tough if you wanted to run a merchandise table with shirts, or wanted a bigger screen display. Still, with all games equal, and with decent sized monitors, I think it was easy for the games to shine and bring people in.
The only real "trick" here, was that those developers that showed up first, got to pick where they wanted to set up. I ended up showing up very late on the setup day, and thus missed the chance to pick the "primo" end spot, that was facing the high traffic, main aisle. Doing it over, I would have gotten there sooner if I'd have known we could pick our spot (as opposed to it being randomly assigned).
One person handling the demo, while another talks to the crowd helped a lot.
Paring Down the Pitch
We had plans to run an hourly contest, give away game codes, and shirts. But our game is new and strange, and within the first few hours we realized people were spending plenty of time just playing the opening levels. With so many people coming through our booth, we ended up paring down the experience to
We hand you a card, and let you play the first three levels that explain the unusual gameplay.
When you leave (assuming you play), you get a "barfie" ball from the game.
We had at least two people managing the booth most of the time, which helped as one person talked to the current player, and the other person talked to the parents or new players coming up to watch.
Explaining that the game comes with a level editor letting you make your own mazes was a hit (which makes sense given the Minecraft theme).
You might have one idea going into a convention, but staying nimble and open to change goes a long way.
Great Stuff
Mojang covered most of the typical expenses for the show. Booth costs, equipment rental were all handled. Because John of Media Indie Exchange was also helping, our computers were also already set up. Actual booth set up was a breeze.
The show seemed well handled. There were plenty of volunteers, and things happened on time. Things were clean, and well built. I was a little worried how it was all going down (given it's a young, small show) but it was well done.
Because there was a small number of people, we had plenty of traffic, but it was manageable. It wasn't too many people all just moving around, not stopping to see your cool game. There seemed like there was also lots of giveaways gamers could get at the various Minecraft booths which keeps everyone excited and happy.
Not So Great Stuff
There was basically no press there. A few you-tubers with Minecraft focussed sites showed up, but that's all I saw. It would have been nice to let game press play our game. Maybe Mojang didn't want it to be swamped with press and not letting kids play? Either way, I wish they had given out a few free passes to press (maybe just a dozen?) to help multiply the impact of demoing the game early.
Mojang asked that we not announce our involvement with the show until the day before the show itself. Sure it didn't actually matter about talking to press because if they didn't have a ticket they weren't going. But it would have still been nice to talk about it leading up to show more, and discuss it regarding developing the demo for the show.
Clientele-Server
Part of what made the show so great was how enthused and interested everyone was. Maybe it's just that "Minecraft fans are so great", or maybe our games were all amazing (of course! :), but either way the people were very interested, well-informed about gaming, and very polite. Plenty of young kids knew all about Steam, understood pre-orders, instant access, and were even curious what language we were using or wanted to talk about programming and design.
Crafty
All told, it was excellent show. The fans there made for an easy show, and Mojang made it easy on the wallet too. I wish some big gaming press were there, but otherwise, it was well worth doing. The show apparently changes year-to-year but if it's anything like this one and you get the chance to show your game, I'd go for it.
Serious Sam Double D XXL is available now on Steam! And as a super gift to our early adopting PC brethren, all new XXL content is free DLC! Yup, if you already own the original Serious Sam Double D released back in 2011, you get all the cool new content for free.
The game is on sale for 75% off for a whole week! (ends Oct 28th)
XXL has been revamped for play on the keyboard and mouse but still works with an Xbox 360 controller. Still quite customizable, and works easily for 2 player couch coop (one can play on keyboard+mouse, while a second plays on a controller, or both can use controllers).
The new content includes the original 8 guns from Double D, plus 32 unique, completely crazy upgrades! There's also new monsters, new levels, vehicles--literally every level has had enhancements made to gameplay flow, new paths, new areas, and new secrets.
And if you're really hardcore we've even included the original version of Serious Sam Double D in there as well!
The most important to remember about XXL on Steam.
The Level Editor is shaping up nicely now for next game Pig Eat Ball. All written using Java and LibGDX.
This shows the basic controls and capabilities. We have some advanced placement tools in the works as well for the next update. I'm planning on possibly releasing the editor with the main game, assuming I can make it friendly enough to use.
Reflections
(Primer: Reflection is a language ability which allows for code to recognize class types *within itself*. It allows for extremely generic programming, perfect for dumping new classes into an editor and having the code sort out all the new variables and how they save and load and can be edited.)
I guess it's a keyboard with mirrors in it? Looks awesome either way.
On the code side of things, not using reflection was a bit of work, but I think because I was worried about how well-supported reflection is in Java, and because I was worried about portability to Linux, Mac, and Android, I decided to "hand-code" things.
That means, when we add a new class type, like a ball spawner, if there are specific variables that you can edit when you select the ball spawner (such as spawn type, or number of balls spawned), then all of that code has to be written by hand. That includes the Info box populating with the specific entries, the saving/loading and a bit more.
On the right is the BallSpawner selected. "SpawnType" and "SpawnCount" are special variables.
It's a pain but the usefulness in the editor is amazing. It means you can place specific objects, and modify behavior on each object in a class-specific way. Plus once you get the format down in the code, it only adds a few extra minutes to adding a new class. It's just a lot more complicated than carefree reflection code I was used to in XNA and .NET.
We've not formally announced our next game Pig Eat Ball because I'm still figuring out what the heck it is exactly! I've had it in 'prototype mode' for a while now, but fortunately it's shaped up in recent months and things are starting to come together. I hope soon to have some interesting to stuff to show off, like some varied screenshots and a nice video--enough that we could call it a "real announcement".
In the meantime you should know that the game is basically about controlling strange flying-pig creatures in outer space, as they eat tennis balls and deal with each other. The core gameplay is unusual in that the pigs get bigger as they eat things. Their size is used in the collision in the levels. This alters the way the player has to think about moving around the level.
There's no gore, and some unusual gameplay features that make the basis for a new, action-puzzler. It's suitable for kids but is original, and not super-kiddy in the traditional sense. Basically I wanted something I really liked playing, but could show to other people and not have to explain why there's bloody intestines everywhere (our other games are bloody--and I love them dearly--but I figured I'd try something different).
Speaking of levels, we now have a dedicated person, Matthew Barnes, working on the new, visual level editor! He is a coop student from the nearby University of Louisville's School of Engineering. A new editor will assist in making much more interesting, more intricate levels than I've made previously.
Here's the current level "editor" for Pig Eat Ball:
Bahah--Yes! That's just some ASCII characters I arranged by hand to then interpret as a level. And here's a level generated from that ASCII code. It's already really fun but could use some sprucing up.
And now that the game seems up to snuff, we've started working on a visual editor!
Okay, that's not really impressive at all, but stay with me. There's some menus and buttons working, you can add some debug-draw objects, we're working on selection, deleting, rotation, and more! All this means our new coop programmer is moving along on the editor, and can start making some real progress.
The reason for the editor now, is to be able to add more details to the levels themselves. The yin-yang level from above is already cool, but I'd like to add more decorations to it, add layers of details perhaps in the foreground, and background, and make connections between some specialty objects that will give us more interesting gameplay. All of this is much easier to do in a visual level editor rather than ASCII.
So for now it's time to hunker down and get coding on this level editor!
Papers, Please is a recent PC game by developer Lucas Pope, which has the player acting as a border officer deciding whom to admit to their country of Arstotzka. The game takes place mainly within a small room acting as a border checkpoint. A long line forms outside waiting to enter your checkpoint, all eager to enter your country.
The player gets five credits for every person processed, and at the end of each day, the money is used to keep their family alive. The player decides how to spend their money on rent, heat, food, and medicine for your family of four dependents. People in line may have excellent sounding reasons as to why they should get to enter even if their papers aren't in order, but you have to balance humanitarianism, penalties from the government, and keeping your family healthy.
I think this is an amazing game, one that could really help reshape peer adult views on the state of video games. Yes--this is, in part, an article about me worrying about the image of video games in popular culture. If that's gross, bail out now! But not before you check out the game, it's excellent!
Appealing Theme
There's very little in Papers, Please that would titillate a pre-teen's interests. While there is a small bit of blood and violence, it's infrequent, and none of it happens because of the player, at least in the traditional manner. There's nudity as well (stylistic, drawn in the game's pixel style, and can be turned off), but it's not at all sexy, and is incorporated as part of the player's job. Deciding to use the body scanner in the game can make you as a player feel uncomfortable. There's typical elements of a FPS such as soldiers, guns, and barricades, but all of it viewed from the bureaucratic side of things. The actions required are skill-based, and time sensitive, but akin to skills developed in the business office, rather than with a controller. The game is difficult, but the second-to-second gameplay comprises analyzing text, correlating information, and following strict rules. It's something that sounds boring to most, but could definitely appeal to 50 and 60 year olds, when cast against the 1980's faux USSR background with the underlying intention of stopping illegal immigrants and supporting your family.
I'm fascinated with how real the characters feelwhom you must process at your border station.In The Sims, the player has God-like control over each Sim, but must baby them, telling them exactly what to do: eat, watch TV, or talk to someone else. They feel like automatons, which is fine, as it serves that game. But in Papers, Please all the characters feel like complete people. I suppose it's from a mixture of the background data provided (via their papers), the tiny slice of their life you get to see, their realistic conversations with you, and your imagination. You don't get to follow them around the alley, and see their dull stare into the distance, or aimless wandering (such as in a GTA game). You see them for a moment, and they feel like real people with real problems. The God-like powers promised by a Sims game are realized here, but in a much more powerful way. When you admit or reject someone, you can imagine it having a real impact.
Situational Depth
Your job in the game can have real consequences rendered. All sorts of situations related to border control are explored here, for instance, you could personally stop a human trafficker from getting through, if you know how to do your job. Or you could accidentally let a suicide bomber through, if you miss one crucial bit of information in an effort to process people more quickly and make more money. The depth achieved here, and the situations created is vibrant and memorable. Bribery, misery, compassion, bomb scares, police brutality--all of this and more happens right next to you, and sometimes you're even the cause of it.
Here's a game I think few adults would feel embarrassed to be caught playing. Many of my friends and relatives play Candy Crush Saga or Angry Birds, but if I bring it up they dismiss as "just a dumb time waster." I think because of the concepts explored, and the agency providedto the player, many more adults could be shown the beneficial and positive artistic expression possible within a video game.
Playing Papers, Please made me recall an interview with Jenova Chen in which he laments the lack of appeal of games for adults.
"My biggest complaint for computer games so far is they are not good enough for adults. For adults to enjoy something, they need to have intellectual stimulation, something that's related to real life. Playing poker teaches you how to deceive people, and that's relevant to real life. A headshot with a sniper rifle is not relevant to real life. Games have to be relevant intellectually. You also need depth. You have the adventure -- the thrill of the adventure -- but you want the goosebumps too."
This game is a great place to start for many non-gaming adults. The setting is in the past but the concepts of border control, rivaling nations, and the human element are contemporary. The game is compelling both from what happens at your border job, and from how well you can provide for your family. This is a game that involves genuine sympathy and resolving conflicting responsibilities such as those to your direct boss (and the state), to your family, in addition to what seems morally right.
Few Traditional Game-like Elements
I think it's important for most non-gaming grown-ups, that very little of Papers, Please feels 'gamey'. There's no "morality meter"; you don't grow horns or wings based on how many people you help or hurt.You're paid by the state based on what they want to see happen. It certainly feels like a horrible totalitarian regime, but is it? When they tell you watch out for an enemy of the state and detain them, maybe he really did something bad. Or should you believe his story? Are enough other people's explanations starting to form a pattern in your mind?
Having a game that treats the player as a grown-up is as refreshing as having a dramatic game based on a world not too different from reality. While flights of fantasy involving time-travel, blood thirsty orcs, and terrifying aliens is lots of fun (Trust me--I love games with those things!) it's incredible to have a very compelling game, using fairly strict "real world" situations.
Avoiding the Tragedy
Make sure you try the game. It's 10 bucks over on Steam, but I think there's a free beta version available at the developer's site you could use as a demo. Next, get other people to try it. Non-gamers. Maybe your Dad, or Mom, or Uncle, or those guys and gals at work that talk about politics or sports. Get other people to check out a video game that's not all violence and sex, but still mature and deeply compelling, working with concepts everyone knows.
Nope, I don't get any kick-back here--I don't know the developer personally. I just want more people to play a video game and see the powerful work that can be done. Or maybe I do benefit from this--the whole industry could benefit from this. Pulling weight along with the likes of Flower, and Cart Life, maybe games such as Papers, Please can get the video game industry out of "The Tragedy of the Comics" within which we may be forever stuck.
(My current game in early development is about pigs that fly in space and eat tennis balls. It's shaping up to be really fun for gamers of all ages, but I'm 38 years old, and that explanation for my work was a little embarrassing to type.)
Mommy's Best Games is proud to announce one our games is now available on disc! In this current age of independent development, digital distribution, and streamlined costs, it's very exciting for us to have had one our games be deemed so popular that it was included in a disc release.
The Serious Sam Collection is now available for sale on Amazon through publisher Maximum Games and lists the contents as "4 Legendary Games Plus DLC". These include 3 canon Serious Sam games developed by the original developer Croteam, and our own, double-the-wacky Serious Sam Double D XXL!
From a technical standpoint this is also very exciting as I believe this is the only XNA game to have been released at retail on a disc like this. And I can personally confirm that Serious Sam Double D XXL does actually run off the disc itself. The game is not distributed through a download token found on the disc, and you're not required to install the game to the Xbox's harddrive. And the game can run without an Xbox Live connection! From the other XNA devs I've talked to, this is surprising as I think most thought XNA required a connection, or was not built to run off of a disc. I wasn't involved in the development of this collection, so it looks like Maximum Games did some nice work getting it to run off the disc.
In any case, it's a big day for us, and a nice collection too. Grab it if you're looking for hours and hours of frantic, monster-gibbing fun. When we started back in 2008, I only assumed we'd be releasing games in digital form, never on physical disc, so it's a special honor indeed!
Here's what I've been up to lately at Mommy's Best Games.
As you can see, delightfully, it's almost solid game development! We're deep in the middle of work on Pig Eat Ball, coming to various (TBA) platforms. I've already gotten the Android tablet version working pretty well, now I'm on the PC version, adding content, and ensuring the controls work great. The little pie sliver for Android represents that I have to go back and forth sometimes to prevent code rot. Pig Eat Ball is still far from release, but it's getting very strange and interesting. If you're the adventurous type and interested in helping playtest the game while it's still super early, email me! (Nathan at MommysBestGames dot com, subject: Pig Eat Ball Playtest)
Another good portion of my day is spent on porting one of our popular games over to PC. I can't say much about it because our publisher wants to wait to announce when it's releasing (but that should be a big hint as to what it is! :)
And the rest of my recent time has been spent working with our new Community Manager, Alex Langley, and getting him up to speed. Alex is already doing a great job helping get together some fun MBG Facebook posts like this!
As you can see, not a lot of marketing push at the moment. It's nice have a break, shifting back and forth between lots of development (like now), and other times around game launches, more marketing.
