Tag Archives: company

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, everybody! Don’t ask me why Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving are on different days…

And I should have mentioned this sooner, but my sites have a few small upgrades. You’ll notice a different background here, and you’ll notice the site for “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” has changed dramatically to look much better. It’s a shame I did that weeks AFTER releasing the game, months AFTER trying to promote the game. But perhaps this’ll help me make sure any future sites for future games look better from the get-go.

"Drew and the Floating Labyrinth" : it's amazing what a couple changes to the site makes...

“Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” : it’s amazing what a couple changes to the site makes…

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What is #gamergate?

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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.

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PAX PRIME 2014: A review and afterthought from a indie developer

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I went to PAX PRIME 2014 in Seattle, Washington about two weeks ago to show off my small indie game “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth.”

About “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth:”

“Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” is a hand-drawn 3D puzzle platformer. The fact that it IS hand-drawn, not using cel-shading or any other fancy renderer, but still in a 3D game, makes it unique, and is one of it’s highest selling points. It follows Drew in a mysterious, barren and simplistic environment, made up of invisible levels that require you to look for clues of safety before you simply walk or jump. Therefore, the gameplay mechanics are very different to typical platformers and also a point of interest. Throw in great music and voice acting (not provided by me, and hence why I can confidently say they actually ARE good), and you have my first complete independent game that I am actually proud of (past attempts were barely fit to be called student projects). And I wanted the world to see it, not to sell well, but to show that traditional animation still had a place in media by putting it somewhere they wouldn’t expect for something new.

Have you seen a hand-drawn character in a 3d game before?

Have you seen a hand-drawn character in a 3D game before?

Wait… how did YOU of all people get a booth at PAX PRIME?

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I Submitted My Indie Game To A Contest (Aftermath)

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(update 2: I’m using all the restraint I have not to swear here. I just found out my demo had a element incomplete: a level where Drew is supposed to change eye color was only half done. The judges are unlikely to notice, the eyes were barely noticeable even when they were there, but still, that’s incredibly frustrating. It’s probably too late to update the demos on the site anyway. No doubt this won’t be the first time this happens… anyhow, the demo has been updated for the rest of you to try.)

(update: Mitchell Lum kindly filled devs in that over 150 entries were in the contest this year. Not nearly as many as I expected, makes me feel much better. I still have a slim chance of winning, but you never know until you try. And given how few entries there were, I’ll be sure to have as many people as possible I know to enter next year!)

So I finally put an indie game into a contest.

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Game Developer Contest Deadlines

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When you make a game, project, research contribution, etc., where do you show it? Typically, you take to online and submit it to contests, conventions, conferences, and other places hoping for recognition.

I’ve been to a couple research conferences before, and they tend to be small events with dozens of awkward researchers saying hi to each other, while getting to make a powerpoint presentation of something they’ve dedicated years of their life towards while hoping in vain that someone else in the room is as excited as they are. Typically, this is purely meant as a resume booster, and I feel similar events are the same: it’s good experience, but it won’t change your life as much as you hope. When it comes to game development however, press and exposure is important even if futile, your game will not be seen if you don’t at least try to put it out there, and people won’t flock to you to see it without exposure elsewhere. Also, game conventions also tend to be exciting and get thousands of interested attendees, so the energy is better. The various online contests for indie games probably won’t get you attention, but can sometimes get you money if you win a prize, and can lead to your game being showcased elsewhere, all the better for you.

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