Do You Want to Build a MEGABOOTH?

Do You Want to Build a MEGABOOTH?

A Guide to Gaming Conventions for Indie Studios

By Nicole Canovas

So you’re ready to start shipping your game around the gaming conventions circuit. That’s great! Industry events are a great way to show off your game, build your brand, and get honest feedback from gamers as they sample your titles. It sounds like it could be one big joy ride, but in all actuality, if you want to do it RIGHT, there’s a lot to consider. Setting up shop at a gaming convention is not a spur of the moment decision. Not only would that be impossible, since you need to secure tickets ahead of time for most events, but it would also be a logistical disaster. A schedule and a plan are essential.

The first question you may want to ask yourself (and your team) is “Can you afford it?” GamesIndustry.biz has an extremely helpful article with pricing for all the major industry events mapped out, so I’ll just go over the major points:

That’s just for the booth. Now, what about the people manning the booth? It costs money to keep them around, too. First, there’s the travel cost, which could include plane or train tickets per person, or gas for your vehicle if you plan on driving. Then there are accommodations. Air BnB is a great alternative to hotels, but obviously, unless you have friends or family in the area, it’s not going to be a free ride.

In addition to these financial drains, running a booth for three days straight can be a taxing and challenging undertaking. “Hijacking your development team to make a pristine, polished build outside of your regular cycles can become all-consuming – everyone that’s worked on an E3 build knows the whirling vortex of suck it becomes – and very few small teams can put together a show-quality build,” says Shannon Drake in a Gamasutra article. The pressure is on at conventions, and your team is sure to feel the stress of not only running the booth, but also of knowing that while they are away, game development and their regular duties may be coming to a halt or, worse yet, crashing hard. It’s important to keep your team’s HP up, so make sure that you keep them as comfortable and rested as possible. This will allow them to concentrate on presenting your game successfully on the expo floor, and not on what’s burning back at the office.

It’s also important to consider what you’ll need in terms of gear. You want to bring demos of your game, right? Well you’re going to need a system for guests to play it on, and some sort of seating arrangement for them while they do so. Your booth will also need some eye-catching decorations or posters as well. The GamesIndustry.biz article suggests you consider:

It’s also worth noting that most of these items will incur some sort of shipping and/or storage costs, and getting them to the booth itself may require hiring services such as forklifts, electrical labor, and freight handling.

So yeah, in a nutshell, it’s pretty cost consuming; but if you do it right, it will be worth it. Now, that was only half of the presentation concerns you should be addressing. The other half is what you should bring along to promote your game itself. Posters, business cards, and copies of your game are necessities, but there are far more creative ways to leave a lasting impression.

First, think about what makes your game unique or gives it personality. Take that and run with it. For example, when designing the characters in Viking Democracy, our artists wanted each character to have a distinct look. Bjorn carries a ham hock, the game’s unofficial sigil, and Hilde was designed as a rugged and battle-scarred warrior woman.

Take features like these and get crafty and recreating some of the iconic images from your own game. Stickers are a great idea, and are easy to make yourself if you don’t have the extra cash to send away for them. For stickers, all you need to do is print out your design on sticker paper and then cut them out. Pins also seem to be a rapidly growing trend, and another affordable one at that. The easiest DIY method I’ve come across can be found here in a YouTube video by an awesome illustrator that goes by UmmmHeather, who uses Shrinky Dink® paper and Mod Podge® glue to make magic.

If your game features a specific time period, such as the Viking age, use that for inspiration. Make the environment of your booth feel similar to the environment of your game, so that guests to your booth get a more immersive experience. If your game is dark and gothic, decorate as such. Little things to pull your title’s plot, characters, or setting into real life will leave lasting impressions.

Running a booth at a gaming industry convention is not just about signs and smiles. It can be a tremendous opportunity, but only if it is handled correctly. It can also be a challenging and expensive undertaking, which makes planning and coordinating efforts that much more important. To summarize, and to identify whether running a booth at the next convention is right for you and your studio, ask yourself these questions:

All in all, be your game’s biggest fan. Believe in your game, believe in your team, and plan, plan, plan.