Showing Arms of Telos at expos -- ideas?

[JustinPierce]

I've talked a bit about it here, but the fact that Arms of Telos is an online multiplayer game that requires multiple PCs makes it very hard to show at conventions/expos that are typically great for indie devs.

Get a small booth, set up your game, let people play -- for most indie games, that's easy. But Arms of Telos needs 10 computers to really play it properly. Booth space and electricity for 10 computers is outside budget for indie devs. Internet access at expos is usually hard to come by or really expensive. Even if I had internet and the expo users could connect and play with others online, I'm not sure it'd work out too great -- this would likely be their first time playing, they know nothing about the game, and they're distracted by the expo around them, so they might not have fun being thrown into a match with the existing playerbase that will probably stomp them.

So far I've mostly not bothered trying to show at events -- the exception being a couple LAN events where computers/space were already there or being provided. But I haven't totally given up on the idea yet.

Today I ran across a local expo that was offering small booths for $40 -- that's a ridiculously good price so I went ahead and ordered. It's coming up soon so I don't have a ton of time to prepare, but I want to try and experiment a bit and see if I can make something work -- to help determine if it'd be worth showing at other expos in the future where I'd be limited to a single offline PC station.

So I'm trying to brainstorm a bit. Some random thoughts:

• Craft an activity that is designed for 1 player
• Have a monitor showing video footage of the actual game being played by full teams so they have an idea what the game actually plays like
• Provide an easy way for them to sign up to get more info

Thinking more about the single-user activity, I want to be careful so I don't spend too much time distracted from the development of the actual game -- perhaps I can make something that can double as a sort of training mode for new players in general and not just expo people. Since they'll be playing alone, combat might be off the table -- maybe I build something to teach/challenge movement. Like a time trial race to see how fast you can cap a flag.

The question will be whether or not I can present something that is enticing enough for them to have the motivation to look into the full game.

What do you all think? Anything I might be missing?

[Hugo]

What's the goal of the expo (besides trying out things)? As in, do you (a) want players to go and download the game, or (b) want (local) press to write about the game online? The second one seems the most useful. But then again, if you are able to get around 50 people to download the game. That's also nice too.

I'd indeed create an obstacle course and have a gameplay preview. Maybe you can do 1 v 1 capture the flag. Or have two people try to grab the flag while you try to defend it (you can play offensive vs defense with three people).

PS: I suppose writing a simple AI (bots) isn't an option?

[Fixious]

Was going to suggest a Time Trial thing as well. Legions did this way back when it was on Facebook (briefly). The Time Trial not only taught them how to move, but doubled as an actual viable route they could use in-game. Here's a really bad video of it:

That version of Legions has weird movement mechanics, which threw me off a bit.

You could also put together a map or modify the existing one so it's viable for smaller numbers, say 3v3 instead of 5v5.

[JustinPierce]

What's the goal of the expo (besides trying out things)? As in, do you (a) want players to go and download the game, or (b) want (local) press to write about the game online? The second one seems the most useful. But then again, if you are able to get around 50 people to download the game. That's also nice too.

I'd indeed create an obstacle course and have a gameplay preview. Maybe you can do 1 v 1 capture the flag. Or have two people try to grab the flag while you try to defend it (you can play offensive vs defense with three people).

Re:goals - both!

While the game is unreleased, I'd like people to leave wanting to keep up with the game's development and be excited for the release. I might offer a perk for signing up for newsletter from expo or something. After the game is out, I'd like them to go buy it after experiencing the booth.

Getting press would be nice, but that's also dependent on press actually being there, which will vary from expo to expo.

I guess I figured that for the most part, the same efforts would help with getting people excited and getting press alike (provide an attractive booth with a positive experience) -- do you think instead that they need to be targeted more individually? ie, do X to get press and Y to get expo goers excited?

I guess expo goers would benefit more from on-sight competitions/rewards/perks and press would benefit more from having a story to tell about me and the game. Reminds me, need to work on my pitches.

Another goal is to just get good feedback from players. It's incredibly valuable to watch someone play your game for the first time -- you get to see where you're doing a bad job with the learning curve, what makes them smile, when they get bored, etc. Being able to watch them in person is even better -- in the past, this has been the biggest benefit to me showing games at expos.

PS: I suppose writing a simple AI (bots) isn't an option?

I think that'd be a lot of work -- pathfinding, having them use the more complex weapons/equip in a way that would be instructive to players, etc. There are third party pathfinding solutions but I'm not sure if I've ever seen one that works in 6dof space so I'd probably have to do a lot of it myself. I'm generally not really a fan of bots anyway.

Could maybe have targets though, so they'd at least have something to shoot at or something. Or I could have simple turrets and turn it into an obstacle course where you have to use shield at some points, for example.

Was going to suggest a Time Trial thing as well. Legions did this way back when it was on Facebook (briefly). The Time Trial not only taught them how to move, but doubled as an actual viable route they could use in-game. Here's a really bad video of it:

PlayLegions Frostbyte Time Trial

Cool! I wasn't thinking of putting checkpoints -- was gonna leave it more open ended and let them find their own paths (taking the flag and capping it would be the checkpoint/finish line). But maybe I could have 'suggested' routes too.

[PrettzL]

Going along with Hugo's idea, though not an AI perse.

How about recording demos of actual players from the test group, or yourself, and their movements?

It wouldn't really be possible to have a counter-combat play be effective but this would work at least for chasing a flag capper.

[Hugo]

Do you think instead that they need to be targeted more individually?

Not really. Like you said though, it's good to keep in mind what is most useful for both audiences to take home with them. Press likes content they can easily translate into an article (or a video they can post). Sometimes even pre-written articles explaining what the game is, so they don't have to do the research. Games on the spot .. well they just want to be engaged I suppose, and know when it'll be available for real

[Grandy]

It wouldn't really be possible to have a counter-combat play be effective but this would work at least for chasing a flag capper.

In terms of offline stuff, the more I think about this the more interesting it becomes. Could have challenges for the quickest time to return your flag - start the bot on its run, start the player in a different location and see who can kill him the fastest.. would be like a time trial. You could of course then do more traditional time trials for grabbing the opposing flag and scoring.. could be pretty darn cool.

[JustinPierce]

jtown_

[JustinPierce]

Got a basic checkpoint racing system implemented today (just a test layout -- doubt checkpoints will end up being that close to each other)

[Grandy]

Nice.
Very large checkpoints, but I like the simple design. In some ways it might be nice to have two modes - this one where there's very obvious checkpoints and a path to follow, and another where you just point out where the flag is, have the ghost(s) of the top (5) runs of capturing the flag from the opposing base and bringing it back to your own.. the freedom could potentially yield some interesting results.

[JustinPierce]

Yeah, the checkpoints can vary in size so they can be used in different situations -- will probably stay pretty big though, since they're meant to help getting from A to B and not necessarily test the player's ability to "hit these targets."

I'm building it in a way that should make it pretty easy to build multiple challenges and for the advanced users, they'll definitely be more open ended. But for new users that don't know the map well enough to get to point B, I think I need to use checkpoints to lead them along the way.

[JustinPierce]

Made a pointer thing to help direct players to the next checkpoint.

[EGL_Voltage]

Hey y'all

I met Justin at Let's Play Gaming Expo this weekend. I was lucky enough to be able to play the time trial that he had set up and ended up getting alright at it I think my best time is in the 37 second area not quiet up to Justin's 29 something. But over all I think it was perfect for the fans specifically. For those of y'all who don't know he set up 2 computers on lan with this time trials map loaded up. When you hit enter you would go back to the starting point above the middle bridge in the gravity area that looked like a city. That way when I knew I messed up my route I didnt have to waste time getting to the finish and setting up again. I didn't really get into the combat system there but people had the opportunity to and I saw a few people having fun with that. Anyways just sharing what ended up happening at the expo this weekend and want to thank Justin for giving me the opportunity to play

Voltage

[JustinPierce]

Yeah I thought it went well

Will probably write up a blog post about it (maybe combine with the EGL event this weekend)

[JustinPierce]

Here's some initial findings based on the first experiments: http://discourse.armsoftelos.com/t/recap-from-lets-play-expo-and-egldallas10k/330

[Detective_Late]

I'm a little late for the current expo, but for the future, would it be possible to have people who are already play-testers playing remotely to fill up the other slots and give the experience of a full 5v5 match?