4x larp Event Template

Communicating a game idea is difficult, especially before play testing. Perhaps my intro did not help explain the concept of the 4x larp. There are tons of details that need ironing out. It might be helpful to walk through a 4x combat larp event, as I envision it at the moment. First we'll need to mention Event Write ups.

7 types of larp battles

When transitioning from player to event holder, the event holding options available to you can quickly become overwhelming. Being able to narrow down the scope from completely pie in the sky ideas to something concrete is crucial. Usually this comes with time and practice, but there are shortcuts. Here are 7 types of battles you can use at an event to lay the foundation for role playing and interaction.

Pax East 2013, attending my last Pax East.

Pax East 2013 was fun, and certainly enjoyable.  There were a lot of great things to see, and some neat swag to get (Got my Moga controller!).  But despite all that, there was no single game which really stood out.  No single piece of hardware or device which really piqued my interest.  This is most likely my last Pax East as an attendee...  But Pax East 2014 is most likely Dormouse Games first Pax as an exhibitor (if a lot of things go well).  We're already planning and psyched to go!

Breaking in by walking in.

Are you breaking into the game dev industry in the Boston area?  Working hard on prototypes but not making any headway?  You need to be attending some of these events.  I've been to a good number of Boston Indies and Boston Post Mortem events.  This year I would like to add WIG attendance.  The networking at these events is top notch.  You can find mentors, contractors, employee's, good advice and most importantly feedback on your game.  The topics are almost always worth learning about.  Even if the law isn't your cup of tea.

Pick an event and go!

Event: Smart Money in Gaming

A current and future look at monetization strategies in Retail, Mobile and Social Gaming

Last night I went over to the Microsoft NERD center (still love that) and hung out with Dave Bisceglia (from Tap Lab) who was a panel member for the event.  It was moderated by Marco Mereu (uCool), and included  Jeff Goodsill (Stomp Games), Chris Rigopolous (Harmonix), and Layne Ainsworth (TapJoy).  As the name implies they talked about making money with games, and I soaked in as much information as possible.  I went with a burning desire to find out if anyone is monetizing HTML5 games on the web or mobile and how they are doing it.

The State of Play

'The state of play' was a New England Game SiG event held at the Microfsoft NERD Center on Oct 2nd 2012.  It was well attended by all kinds of developers, designers, and even the CEO of Kickin Kitchen, an educational website looking to open up a game platform to their existing audience.  The presentation and talks evolved from a panel discussion into more of a 'town hall meeting'.  There was some good back and forth between the panel and the audience, and even some great interaction between audience members.

The big issue, raised by the brilliant Caroline Murphy, is the lack of funding to game development companies in the Boston Area.  Boston has incubators, game developers, great students, and great start-ups.  It's almost a perfect atmosphere to build game companies.  Except Boston Angel and VC execs rarely come from a game design background, therefore are hesitant to fund game companies.  The Boston Indies scene was created by and supports tons of great bootstrap start-ups that develop games.  But save a very few examples, there has not been much VC support.

There was one problem with the night, microphones always seem to be in short supply in the NERD Center. But ultimately not a big deal.  Mike, look into that for next time.