Devlog #12 📚 IRL Events

Hiiiiii devlog time

In case you just stumbled upon this devlog, I am Adrienne, also known as insertdisc5! I am the creator of timeloop RPG In Stars and Time, and now am working on my next game, memory visual novel Truth Scrapper. It’s gonna be a good one.

For this month, I’m gonna talk about game dev events!

Progress on the game is going swimmingly! Writing Amour’s ending, as well as preparing Some Things. Stay tuned.

In a week (at time of writing) I’ll be in Japan for Bitsummit (walking around) and a break, so I figured that for this devlog I’d talk a bit about going to conventions and events and talks as an indie video game developer!

NOTE: i have not gone to many cons or events or talks as a video game developer. I probably go to two a year, although I really want to do more for Truth Scrapper. I know developers that go to two a month. I know developers that don’t go to any! This is my own experience and what I find that those bring me. Why am I adding a disclaimer to this. I feel like some of this stuff is very “baby’s first event advice” but some people have never gone to events so HERE ARE SOME WORDS!!!!

“ADRIENNE WHAT ARE THOSE CONS OR EVENTS YOU SPEAK OF”

Ok so they are different things but to me they are “moments where I go outside and talk to people and have my developer hat on” so they’re the same really.

FIRST: the tabling events.

At some events you show off your game’s demo and you have your little booth and you wait patiently for people to play and ask you questions and maybe wishlist the game. It is mostly exhausting and boring but it can also be an opportunity to talk to people who are interested in your game, which is incredibly rewarding! Now that I am more Famous I am getting people who come to the event specifically to see me (?!?!) and that’s bananas and I love it. Thank you for saying hi

ADVICE FOR TABLING EVENTS: my god. Just hang on. Know beforehand if you’re gonna be standing all day or sitting all day and plan accordingly. Get a snack. Get something to do while you wait. Get ready for people to try your game for 10s and just silently walk away. That doesn’t mean your game is bad. That just means people are people. Can you tell i dont like tabling that much but it’s a way to get wishlists so we gotta do it!!! (also my very first tabling event was the Tokyo Game Show in 2022 during the pandemic and that was the most exhausting week of my life)

SECOND: the talks events.

I have slowly started signing up to give talks to talk about my experience in gamedev and to give advice! Those are so fun. People who are here usually are here to hear you talk, so you’re good to yap as much as you want. Unless you’re here to give a talk at career day for 13yos and they just stare at you like 👁👁 because they haven’t learned how to do active listening yet. I find those very rewarding because it makes me realize how much I don’t know that I know. If you ask any question during a Q&A session know that speakers out there owe you their lives

ADVICE: if you love to yap you should do talks. Online talks maybe. To shows like Game Devs of Color perhaps. If you dont love to yap but like to learn you should also go to talks and learn things. Oh GDC how I miss you (she isn’t dead she just is in the US)

THIRD: the walk around events.

Those are cons and the like where you don’t have a table and you get to just chill. That’s what I’ll do at bitsummit in a couple weeks! It’s a fun occasion to meet up with developers you like and chat, and meet new people from all over the world who are making cool games. Being able to just sit somewhere and talk with likeminded people is so fun. After a couple years I now have a few devs I know are probably gonna be at such and such event and we can hang out even though usually we live like two continents away. yay!!!!

ADVICE: set up some meetings/hangout seshs so that even if you don’t manage to strike a convo with anyone, you can still feel like this trip wasn’t a waste. Go to one or two meetups too. And don’t be afraid to talk to devs that are showing off their game! Who doesn’t like to talk about their game.

BONUS: the local events.

Those are the small, 20-ish-people-if-you’re-lucky events that are in your (big) city. Sometimes they’re events that have mostly people from AA or AAA and they’re a little weird if you’re indie because those are two different industries. Sometimes they’re indie-ish but like they’re not queer or PoCs so it’s a little weird but there’s usually another person like you there and that becomes a friend for life. Sometimes they’re the Truly Indie, Experimental Game meetups that are the best because you can truly tell games are an art form. And sometimes those events are 90% students (<- is not a student anymore)

I do love the local events in the Greater Toronto Area though. I need to go to them more often. Knowing great devs that live across the world is fine. But maybe there are great devs. In your area. AND if there are no gamedev events near you: MAKE SOME! Ask your local library or school if you can host a two hour event there! Talk about it on socials! BE the social event

ADVICE: go to them and get to know your local community goddammit!!!

That’s all. Maybe ill see some of you at Bitsummit! If you see me say hi! (people said hi <3}

DON'T FORGET TO WISHLIST THE GAME ALSO IT REALLY HELPS BECAUSE STEAM’S ALGORITHM IS MORE LIKELY TO SHOW OFF GAMES WITH A HIGH AMOUNT OF WISHLISTS THATS THE REASON WHY GAME DEVS ALWAYS ASK TO WISHLIST!!! OKAY BYE!!!!

Links!

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