Well.
It’s been a couple of weeks since the last update (sorry!). But what a couple of weeks those were.
I had a big Melbourne International Games Week. I went to a number of events, and a number of afterparties and networking events over the course of the whole week.
That was the first week, the second week I pretty much just took off cos I was tired from the week before. But we did have a meeting about Level Squared and discuss what we wanted to do now that PAX had happened and we had finished the semester.
But first – Games Week:
GCAP Loading
First off was GCAP Loading. This is a day-long conference that caters to students and those new to or looking to enter the industry.
I volunteered to help out at Loading, so started off the day checking people off the attendance lists and issuing lanyards and name cards.
This was a great way to meet a bunch of people right out of the gate, and also to help out with an event that is just getting started (this is only the second year that Loading has run).
There was a big contingent of Swinburne students in attendance and this actually had the effect that I didn’t end up meeting as many people as I thought I would.
The talks that I did manage to catch were good, but the shorter format of the day meant that many of them were just starting to get interesting when they were forced to wind up.
I’m not 100% sure whether I will go along to GCAP Loading again next year. I feel as though I’ve almost got as much out of the event as I am going to, and would be better off concentrating on GCAP and other events over the course of the week.
GCAP
Next up was two days at GCAP (Game Connect Asia Pacific). This was my first time attending GCAP and it was really eye-opening.
There were a huge number of people there and such an array of talks that it was almost a little overwhelming trying to work out what to go to.
In the end I spent most of the first day in the Design room and most of the second day in the Production room. The talks that I saw were informative and in depth and covered some topics that i’ve just started to wrap my head around this year, so it was great to hear from people who have been working with them for much longer.
A couple of highlights were talks on developing studio culture, data analytics for indie studios and production horror stories.
And following each day of GCAP were a networking event (on day 1) and the Australian Game Development Awards (on day 2). I had a great time at both of these, met and talked with a bunch of people and made quite a few new friends. It might have been good if these events didn’t revolve so completely around alcohol, to ensure that more people felt comfortable attending. I don’t generally have any problem with hanging out at these events, but I’m a straight, cis, white dude so of course I don’t.
PAX Australia
Finally, PAX. The culmination of our uni year and our chance to finally show Level Squared off to the public.
Overall there was a really positive reception to Level Squared. The people who played our game had a fun time, the majority of people played through to the end. People found the game challenging, but not punishing or mean spirited.
It was really great to see people finally playing through the game that we had spent so much time and energy working on over the course of the year.
I’m not gonna lie though – I found it tough working a booth for the first time. I’m no the naturally most out-going person, so I find it difficult to approach and talk to people. I was fine with people who were playing our game, and with people who came up to talk to me about it, but going out into the crowd and trying to convince people walking past to stop and play was very difficult, and I can’t say that I did a particularly good job of it.
After working the booth on Friday morning, I was feeling quite down about the whole experience and wasn’t feeling very keen to return.
But walking around the show floor and checking out the Indie section and speaking with people on other booths perked me back up, and by the end of the weekend I was feeling better again.
By the time Megadev rolled on I was feeling great about the whole week. In fact I spent much of Megadev telling everyone that I saw how great their games were and how great a time I had had over the week.
Well, that’s my quick round up of my Games Week. It’s gone a bit long, so I might have to cut it off there and make a Part 2 where I go into what our plans are for Level Squared following PAX and submission.
I’ll also run through what I’m planning to do over the summer break.