This is my first DevBlog post here on Itch.io, how very exciting!
My name is Daniel Sun, I'm the developer of Armed with Wings Rearmed, an Early Access 2D Platformer on Itch and Steam. Rearmed launched into Early Access in May 2015 and (hopefully) will launch early next year!
Armed with Wings Rearmed was picked for the PAX Aus Indie Showcase! The Australian Indie Showcase is similar to the PAX 10, but consisting of 6 selected games that are selected to exhibit at PAX Aus in Melbourne. The weekend has come and gone, and it was a COMPLETE SUCCESS and an absolute blast! I'd like to share my experience with you.
An ocean of PAX Aus attendees
The Melbourne Exhibition Center was packed during the weekend and the Armed with Wings booth was VERY popular. Never a dull moment as myself, Steve, Shaun and Alex were completely swamped in a sea of gamers, cosplayers, journalists and press members! We even had people from Microsoft, Sony, Autodesk and IGN swing by. Interviewers were queuing up, after I finished with one, the next was waiting. I was also completely taken by surprise by the sheer amount of people who had played the older Armed with Wings games previously. I met a young man who had played AwW when he was 10 years old on Newgrounds, now as an adult 2015 he's studying games design!
The Armed with Wings booth was 3x3 meters which is actually quite big. PAX supplied me with a 55" TV, a bar table and two stools. I brought with me the following:
2 tables, 2 milk crates, 2 computer monitors, 3 Alienware computers (2 of my own laptops, and a friends Area 51), 3 power boards and extension leads, 3 PC speaker+subs, 3 Xbox 360 controllers, tons of stationary and black table cloths. The booth looks like:
This is the Armed with Wings Booth
We run a competition during the Saturday and Sunday, top 5 survival scores win a Steam key. We even gave away a $30 JB discount card on the Saturday. This turned out to be super successful in bringing players back every couple of hours, and a great way to build relationships with these players - Never doubt the spirit of competition during a trade show! There was a specific gear load-out locked down for PAX - The weapon used was the 'Abbott' and the equip gear was 'Extended Combo' and 'Speed Charge'. On Sunday, the highest score was 5000+ on wave 9. I struggled to reach that myself!
Our Saturday winner!
I know a few developers who have had experience bringing their games to trade shows like PAX, they told me that media coverage would be quite limited and that the best thing about being at PAX is seeing how a large volume of players respond to your game. Rearmed has gotten some media from a number of game journalism website - mostly Australian.
Most of these interviews were done via email before the show. The video interviews were done face to face on the show floor. Face to face interviews are very intimidating! Verbal communication isn't my greatest strength, but I feel like I've done a good job describing my game to people.
Geeksnack - Interview
Geeksnack and I discuss the origins of Rearmed.
Read the interview here on Geeknack
ImpulseGamer - Samurai Limbo on Steroids
Interview with ImpulseGamer about my experiences and developing Rearmed.
Read the interview here on ImpulseGamer.com
Tech Geek - Rearmed impressions
Tech Geek goes hands on with the Rearmed demo at PAX and gives thoughts and impressions.
Read the article here on Tech Geek
Another - Castle Interview
Amazing interview with these guys. I'm so impressed with the final cut - pacing is lovely, nice footage!
Checkout their website:
http://another-castle.com/
IGN - Interview
Luke from IGN AU came by the booth with a sweat camera rig on Friday. An amazing moment to be recognized by IGN.
PAX Aus 2015 was a blast and a complete success. We gave out all of our business cards and sold a whole bunch of Rearmed steams too! I'll be keeping my eyes open for any gaming event in the future - after having a taste of PAX, I want more! Big thanks to the PAX Aus team for organizing such an amazing event.
