DToW #15 (Learning from WBC)

How was your week at WBC?

Great.  Very good news for Bastion fans.  We got an intent to publish for The Last Bastion, so we just need to work out the details and clean up the game a bit.  But I learned some valuable lessons there as well.

Lets start with making contacts at conventions.

I will start by saying I am a sales person.  I have been in sales for over 16 years.  This is what I do, so it comes somewhat naturally to me.  But it wasn't always that way.  I wasn't the most popular kid in school.  It takes practice.  It is ok if you fail.  You won't hit it off with everyone, and that is ok too.  But if you have interest in talking to a specific publisher, do it.

If they are very busy when you get to their booth don't go up to them at that moment.  Hang out a bit and see if it dies down.  If not, try going at another time and see if it is clear then.  Don't try to start a conversation if they are trying to sell or demo games to someone else.  First impressions mean a lot and that will just tell them that you are rude.  On the other hand, don't be the person that is afraid to go up and introduce yourself, you will only regret it later if you don't.  Publishers are just people like you and me.

I didn't even have a game to pitch since both of our games are with publishers now.  I still went up to publishers I may be interested in working with in the future just to start that relationship.  One of the publishers is someone I talked with about Bastion two years ago at WBC.  He remembered me and I told him we had worked on the game a lot and got it picked up.  He wished me luck and I told him hopefully I would have something for him in the future.  I wanted to share this example because it shows that even with noting for them right now, how you can plant some seeds for partnerships in the future.

If you do have a game to pitch it is best to contact the publisher by email before the convention.  Follow their normal submission policies, but follow up with an email saying that you will be at a convention they will be attending and you would love to show them your game. 

This is a very deep topic and I will get into it more in the future.  The biggest tip here is: GO FOR IT! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE AND YOU WILL REGRET IT LATER IF YOU DON'T.

How about playtesting?

To be honest I didn't do too much playtesting at this convention.  The biggest reason was that I played with our potential publisher and they gave us some feedback on what they wanted us to work on next.  I was already spending all day gaming, and staying up until 3 to finish the prototypes for them so I didn't have time to work on making any changes.  Looking back though, I wish I had taken some time to play Bastion or Salvation Road with others.  Even if you know there are going to be changes testing the core of the game is always a good idea.  I was having too much fun just being a player at this convention and I think that is ok sometimes too.  Playing other peoples games helps you develop your own ideas, or may provide inspiration for future ideas.

Is that it?

I am trying to keep these shorter.  I don't want to take up your whole Monday reading these blog entries.  If you have any specific feedback, please feel free to leave it.  This blog is part "how to" but it is mostly meant to inspire ideas, provide motivation, and give weekly personal development goals.

What's Next?

That's it for this week, next week I am going to talk about some of the games I played and WBC and what I learned from them.  Until then, I am Peter, keep designing great games.