Right off the bat, I had issues with Wifi interference in the convention center, so the game did not work with the devices I had brought. I made a flashcard version as an input device, but I think that was asking way too much of the GDEX crowd.
In general, the crowd was willing to pick up a controller and play any game, but it really was a bad environment to try and teach how the game works, get 4 people playing (most were in groups of 1 or 2) and take the time of the attendees to really get into it. It felt like trying to teach euchre to the attendees.
After 1 day, I had no plays and maybe only talked to 10 people total. There weren't as many people there as I thought, and they didn't seem to be the target audience.
On my end, I could be a better "salesman", but at that point in time I was really upset about the technical difficulties, and in a bad head space. Another thing I need to do is replace the invite system with a "get a code and join" system, with 1 and done players. Again, another pivot from the role playing and character building aspects the game originally was supposed to be.
I was really upset, feeling like my project, that I truly believe can be a lot of fun, and took literally years of work, was flopping so bad. But after a few days of reflection, I don't feel like it was a waste of time or nails in the coffin. It was just a bad experience, but the game is still alive and so am I.
If I ever go back to GDEX, it will be with a simpler, more traditional game. That being said, with where my game development aspirations lie ("serious, but hobbyist"), I really think my local gamedev meetups would drive more value for the types of game I like to make.
So, next up for T&T dev wise will be the overhauled invite system. More importantly, I need to start talking to people about playing it.
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GDEX was kind of a flop, put simply.
Right off the bat, I had issues with Wifi interference in the convention center, so the game did not work with the devices I had brought. I made a flashcard version as an input device, but I think that was asking way too much of the GDEX crowd.
In general, the crowd was willing to pick up a controller and play any game, but it really was a bad environment to try and teach how the game works, get 4 people playing (most were in groups of 1 or 2) and take the time of the attendees to really get into it. It felt like trying to teach euchre to the attendees.
After 1 day, I had no plays and maybe only talked to 10 people total. There weren't as many people there as I thought, and they didn't seem to be the target audience.
On my end, I could be a better "salesman", but at that point in time I was really upset about the technical difficulties, and in a bad head space. Another thing I need to do is replace the invite system with a "get a code and join" system, with 1 and done players. Again, another pivot from the role playing and character building aspects the game originally was supposed to be.
I was really upset, feeling like my project, that I truly believe can be a lot of fun, and took literally years of work, was flopping so bad. But after a few days of reflection, I don't feel like it was a waste of time or nails in the coffin. It was just a bad experience, but the game is still alive and so am I.
If I ever go back to GDEX, it will be with a simpler, more traditional game. That being said, with where my game development aspirations lie ("serious, but hobbyist"), I really think my local gamedev meetups would drive more value for the types of game I like to make.
So, next up for T&T dev wise will be the overhauled invite system. More importantly, I need to start talking to people about playing it.