Social Media in 2019: Trying “Instagram”

Did anyone notice I now have an “Instagram” link on the social media menu on the side of this website? No? Well… it’s there!

I’ve used primarily Twitter for my social media updates. I’ve heard from many people that Instagram is the hottest social platform du jour. You can’t really advertise your brand, or indie game, without it. I thought I’d give it a try. In many ways, I love it and hate it.

Instagram profile as seen in desktop web browser

Continue reading

#canada150game – “The Great Canadian Game Jam” Post-Mortem

Happy Canada Day!

The last six months have been busy, but fun. It’s the first time I took a major role in co-organizing a local game jam, aiming to bring the country together in celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday. It finished on July 1, and while I’m proud of it, it’s also clear that some major things went wrong, and lessons were learned.

canada150_businesscard_v02

Continue reading

See “Unfinished” In Saturday, Toronto June 6!

It’s been too long since my last post.

If you were wondering how Toronto was a few weeks ago (my last post said I was in three places at once), it was… ok. TCAF was awesome, easily the best of the three. And I think I’ve learned my lesson about promising to be at three places at once. Of course, this is coming from a student who secured funds to book a table at PAX 2014.

Oh, I was also at Ottawa’s International Game Conference (http://oigconf.com) last week too. That was fun, and a useful pool of experts and hobbyists to talk with. I missed out on a chance to have a table there (it was explained at the conference that the organizer only began working a few weeks before the event, the organization should be much better next year), but it was nice to be on the other side for once. Although, I wondered if it was better to pay for a table at these types of events or just to wander and network with people for free. After this one example, paying for a booth/table it probably very worth while (I talked to a couple dozen people VS a table getting up to a hundred wanting to hear what you’ve brought). On the other hand, certain events are more fun to go to then to promote at. Anyway, I was in Ottawa, my Twitter feed is easier to update than my blog.

Next on my trip schedule: I’m showing off “Unfinished – An Artist’s Lament” at Stage Select Gaming Expo on Saturday, June 6 in Toronto! See the website here for details: http://stageselect.ca/

Continue reading

What is #gamergate?

What exactly is #gamergate?

Not Gamersgate.com, the PC game digital store and competitor to Steam. The hashtag that’s been trending on Twitter and the internet for a couple months.

Well, as a indie developer, I’m still not exactly sure, but I tried to look it up. I looked up a few random youtube videos about it (which I post here), and encourage you to do your own research and make your own opinions.

Continue reading

The Importance of Controversy…

So, yeah. My Kickstarter page for “James – Journey of Existence” isn’t doing so well, despite the press I was able to snag for it. Unless it somehow gets a wave of backers in the last week, there isn’t much hope for it succeeding…

But I did get a lot of feedback, especially from sites like Reddit and Steam’s Greenlight Concept page, where gamers hang and aren’t afraid to downvote a post. Of the people who have seen the game, I’d estimate that roughly 91% don’t give a damn, 4% like the art style a lot, 3% hate the art style a lot, and 2% like the game’s concept but not the art in its current state. The interesting thing is, those last three groups are (almost) identical in size. Of course, that’s a huge estimate that could be way off, but that’s my interpretation based on comments.

Continue reading