During this PAX I spent more time on the showroom floor than in previous years. I usually try and avoid crowds but somehow the flow was better this year. It was easy to sneak around and find the booths I was looking to check out from press releases or things that just looked interesting when I walked by. Here’s a rundown on some of my favorites from the floor.
Aurion: Legacy of Kori-Odan by Kiro Games
This one had me at the press release. I firmly believe games promote a lot of good in the world like friendship and fun so I’m all for seeing more games come from new studios and places around the world. I personally hate travelling but I love learning about new things so I’ll let games and stories take me there from the comfort of my couch and the internetz.
Thankfully the folks from Kiro Games don’t hate travelling as much as I do and made the trek from Cameroon Africa to the halls of the Boston Convention and Expo Center. They are the first ever game company in Central Africa and their CEO Olivier Madiba was manning their space in the Indie Megabooth showing off their game Aurion: Legacy of Kori-Odan. During the press hour he was busy getting everything set up so he could show his gorgeous game to folks at PAX.
Aurion is a 2D fantasy RPG with strong story elements that bring African myths and lore to the realm of video games. The game started off as a student project in 2002 which 13 years of perseverance later had a successful Kickstarter and launched on Steam just a few days before PAX East 2016.
I played a hands on demo at PAX and loved the art style and was immediately sucked into the story. I picked it up on Steam and am looking forward to checking it out. Anyone from 2old2play already tried it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeL-sCQSn_0
BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer By Tenwall Creatives
This studio didn’t travel nearly as far since they’re Massachusetts based but they also caught my eye with their pre-PAX press propaganda (say that 5 times fast).
Bleak is a 2D Platformer with high difficulty that after playing the demo at PAX is definitely in the “maso-core” genre Jonathan Blow talked about in the keynote. But the art and the music were just so good it made me want to suck less at it so I could see and hear more! I picked up the soundtrack on Steam but someone on 2old2play that’s better at these type of games should pick it up and tell the rest of of us how awesome it gets when you get further into it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbjo1Y4nHug
Ayo the Clown by Cloud M1
This one I did not see a press release for but was instead lured into their booth by bright colors, free swag, and OMG so many cute creatures with googly eyes in the actual game! If I had children I would make them play this game: “No you can not go to bed, you must show Mommy one more level of cute things getting stomped on!” This title doesn’t have a release date yet but there’s a playable demo for Windows and Mac over on their website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4AqAY8WaZE
Manual Samuel-Perfectly Paranormal
Publisher Curve Digital was showcasing a bunch of games in their booth but the one I’m most looking forward to is Manual Samuel which is due out later this year. I actually never got my hands on demo since there was always a line to play.
In the game you play as Samuel who just made a deal with the death after being in accident. The deal is if he can live twenty four hours by controlling all his bodily functions manually he doesn’t have to die. So you the player gain control of making sure Samuel breaths, blinks, pees (pro tip from watching others play the demo, remember to remove your pants first!). This one is due out later this year for PC and consoles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu6ZXScQvcs&feature=youtu.be
Kitty Disastrous by Rocket 5 Studios
This was one of my favorites from the indie Mega Booth last year and is coming along nicely. There was a great playable demo on the floor this time around. You play as a cat out to save your ferret love interest from captivity and other perils. It's a fun platform adventure game with an interesting story, reminiscent of lots of my favorite games from growing up. Its got great art and lots of awesome site gags. Can’t wait to play this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrYMBDywseY
Streamline by Proletariat
This is another free range local indie game as Proletariat is a Boston based studio. I’m personally still fighting streaming being my official “Get off my lawn!” moment where I have to admit defeat that I’m officially 2old2play. This game takes the streaming phenomenon to a whole new level since it's a game that’s designed with specific optimizations for streaming play.
Streamline is an arena based game that has action for streamers, players, and viewers all rolled together as each can influence the game in different ways. The mode they were showcasing at PAX was a hunter/runner where up to 15 players are trying not to get eliminated by the streamer. Audience members can then vote while watching the game on things that change physics, weapons, etc.. It was even more meta being a viewer in the booth live while all the players were physically right in front of me. Or wait is that actually less meta? I guess it's like say watching the Red Sox game on your phone while you’re at Fenway...
My favorite part was the level they were playing looked a heck of a lot like the show floor of a video game convention complete with awesome fake billboards for games I wish were real! Any of the 2old2play streaming crowd checked this one out yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQPmAeL8Ymk
