Arctic Comic Con - Day 1 Reflection

Day 1 of Arctic Comic Con is now in the books with Cakeneq Games and the Alaska Developers Alliance,  and as a first-time developer and conference vendor, I cannot be more proud of the response from the conference. I wish I had kept closer counts on numbers but I loved kinda seeing the culture that sprouted around the game, especially once we opened up the second setup to allow people to play at the same time.

Based on the gameplay today, I've noticed three main styles kinda pop up.

1. The Racers - While the game does not have (and is not planning on ) any simultaneous multiplayer, a lot of pairs of people would challenge each other to race and see who can get the furthest. Primarily younger players, these led to some chaotic fun that could be fun in a home setting. However, in a single device situation, these would fit fully within a typical "pass to see who does better" style.

2. The Grinders - Almost in contradiction to the playstyle of the racers, the grinders almost exclusively arrived solo before quickly completing the demo. With only 9 people completing the full demo, this was nothing to scoff at. However, these players continued to push for higher and higher score and probably match the arcade spirit that I was aiming for when I first built out the game. Shout out to Ali, I hope your friends weren't too mad when you finally left the demo station.

3. The Chillers - This was the one that really hit home for me. A lot of people came up because the game clicked with them. Whether it's the fact that there was a cat, it used chunky pixel art, or it used an NES controller, these players just played the game for a few tries and then went about their day. With one or two exceptions, people seemed to walk away having enjoyed their time. These were the people I really wasn't expecting the game to pull in, but it did. I think one of the things of this being a first time developers is I have kinda ignored the importance of bringing someone in through what they see. Is there a demo scene? Is there cute art? Is there a catchy title. One person literally walked over because it said "cat" in the title. They gave it six tries then moved on. But still, I think, while gameplay is most important, you can't ignore the human aspect of it.

So as I call it a night, I've got a shopping list of things to do going forward that need to address all three of these categories. Hopefully, these assist in bringing the game together into something that all audiences can enjoy.