AdventureX - adventurexpo.co.uk

[neon]

The PR Lady is Emily Morganti.

Nothing bought from the market, but took some photos.

[theSynapse]

As one of the chosen ones who attended last year's Adventure X, I'm really impressed with the leap that the convention made this year.

*Double the number of people - not to be sniffed at!

*Much better venue: Whilst I of course missed the permanent source of alcohol in the building (drinking ale all afternoon AND talking about Adventure Games IS pretty cool!) the venue was fantastic and had great facilities which is what you really need for this kind of event (in terms of projectors/mics etc.). Good variety of food outlets nearby guaranteed due to its busy location (albeit with the Petticoat Lane market there!).

*Better location: Of course, I would say this (I live not too far from Liverpool St.!), but I think it was a lot easier for everyone to get to London rather than Didcot. I stayed overnight in Oxford, so there were accommodation options available but these will of course pale in comparison to London. I don't think that options in London would necessarily be more expensive either (especially if you factor in travel costs where you may have to go via London anyway). I also think that London is a much better place for international delegates to get to, and it easier to navigate since we're used to having loads of tourists.

*Talks were really good. Similar to last year you got a good selection of people to speak that were interesting. Like some others said at the event, it was good to reach out to 'outsiders' (;-P) from text adventures and MMF (even if it is MMF - sorry Fano!). Panels were a great idea and the mix of amateur and professional speakers was great.

*Raffle is still a great idea and is good fun! (especially when you win something ;-) )

Possible improvements for next year:

*Would be nice to organise the space so that people presenting their games were in a cordoned off space if possible. Much of the time there was no where to chat without disturbing what was going on in the games presentation space. Maybe have exhibitors set up in the rooms by the lifts and then people can present where they were? Either way, a slightly different focus of where the 'default' space might be worth toying with.

*More marketing. It's a great event and I'm sure that people would be interested in being there, pros, amateurs, players, developers whatever. What Dave said about social marketing is a case in point here.

*Some more breaks in between talks to allow people to hang out/check out other things/grab lunch/network etc. Maybe put in early, lunch and late breaks?

*Some retrospective style talks would be good. i.e. someone's made and released a game: How did it start? How did they design it? What was the process? What did they learn? What would they do differently next time? Advice/comments for others? That kind of thing. A bit like Dave's talk - although his was from the point of view of business and making a living. I think loads of people would be interested in story of a game/developer diary kind of thing.

*Panels/discussions are still really good and a great way to get people talking to each other.

*Some more professional input if it's available. I think many of us are thinking about indie development and hearing about Dave's story with Blackwell was a real inspiration.

*Dare I say it - talks about other software! Getting different viewpoints on other packages out there is really good, since some are starting to say that AGS may not meet their needs in the future - especially from a commercial point of view. Wintermute? Unity? Visionaire? Moai? Whatever...

On this final point, it may be worth thinking about Adventure X morphing into something a bit more than an extension of the AGS community - although it seems you might have pre-empted me already. It's well placed, now that it's been started, to cater to the adventure gamers community at large. I think that would get more people coming, more speakers, more exhibitors and we'd all learn a lot more.

Thoughts?

Hope that all helps.

Another thing - I would be up for helping next year to make things bigger and better in whatever way I can. Maybe start a new thread where you can ask for help and/or people can offer their skills/services to help next year?

Again, thanks for a great convention. Roll on 2013!

[cat]

AdventureX was great, definitely worth going there.

I enjoyed meeting people from Mittens again, getting to know those I only knew from the forums and also meeting a lot of other new people.

The talks were great and I also enjoyed the panels and game presentations. Often it was hard to decide what to watch because there was so much interesting stuff going on.
The games that were presented, either by their own booth or a presentation looked very promising and it was fun to try some of the demos. I'm looking forward to their release!

I think it was great that there was a focus on voice acting and the topic was covered from different points of view. Maybe next year there could be a focus on graphics for example?

The venue was perfect for this event. I especially liked the room with the tables, booths and presentations going on, it was great for socializing. It was also great to have a place in central London with lots of accommodation and it was easy to get there.

The only thing I would suggest for next year, is to include breaks for lunch and also time to socialize and play games. Several times I was talking to people or trying their demo when I got interrupted by a new talk starting.

Thanks to Mark, Berian and Rebecca for the organization!

I'm not sure if I can make it to Mittens AND AdventureX next year, but I'll definitely try!

[Dave Gilbert]

What was that PR ladies name please, and I forgot to ask during your talk, do you still use her/the same PR team these days?

PR lady is Emily Morganti. And I definitely still use her. She's become pretty indispensable these days!

[MurrayL]

Yeah, definitely the 'worst' thing (if you can call it that) was how much there was going on!

I can understand how difficult it is to fit all these awesome talks into just two days, but I think it needed some general down-time mixed in there. As Cat said, after the early morning it was often difficult to have a good talk with anyone or properly play their demo because of talks constantly starting in the same room.

[neon]

My 2 cents:

It was a great event, well organized and I had a lot of fun. It was interesting to meet a lot of good people (still missed some... WHAM, you've been there?) :-)

But of course I also have some points that could be improved. Most of them are pretty simple.

First, a plan of the current presentation should be on the door in addition to the 'QUIET PLEASE' sign, so everybody can see if it's interesting for him/her without opening the door.

The start times of the presentations in the two rooms should not be the same. If a presentation starts in the speakers room at 11 for example, the next game presentation in the other room should start at 11:15. So everybody has a chance to see the beginning of a presentation and if he finds out that it's not interesting enough to stay, he has a chance to move over without missing anything.

There should be a BIG timeline poster in the entry room where people can check where to go next.

There should be a coffee machine. I would donate coffee beans.

There should be some sort of kiosk with soft drinks (probably cans or plastic bottles) and candy bars and that kind of stuff. Actually if you ask a kiosk owner that he can send somebody there and give him a table, they will take the extra income and sell the stuff there.

The phone number of the chinese food restaurant downstairs should be available on the tables (I'm sure they have a flyer), so people can order and then 10 minutes later jump down and pick it up.


Overall, it was great to be there and I hope to come back next year.

[neon]

I think it was great that there was a focus on voice acting and the topic was covered from different points of view. Maybe next year there could be a focus on graphics for example?

Good idea to have a main topic every year. This one was really voice-recording-heavy, but it also was because a speaker got ill and there was need to improvise a bit. Actually it worked out because Dave was creative enough to jump in.

But yes, a focus on graphic design next year would be a nice option and maybe on storytelling the year after and so on. There are many interesting aspects in game design that deserve to be discussed.

And sorry for the double post.

[Ali]

*Dare I say it - talks about other software! Getting different viewpoints on other packages out there is really good, since some are starting to say that AGS may not meet their needs in the future - especially from a commercial point of view. Wintermute? Unity? Visionaire? Moai? Whatever...

Maybe next year there could be a focus on graphics for example?

If anyone was interested, I'd be happy to do introduction to Blender3D. Perhaps with a view to creating low-poly assets for Unity3D? A workshop might be more fun than a talk, if there were enough laptops available.

[AGA]

I don't think we were deliberately limiting anything to AGS.  It's just it's pretty difficult to find people who are willing to talk about stuff, and it's easier to gain people's interest from within the AGS community as we're established names here.  If we had a way into all the other adventure dev communities we'd be glad to have speakers from them.

[Andail]

So when can we see videos? There were some talks I missed while listening to other talks, and it would be swell to watch those at some point.

[Azure]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I am going to try and collate as much as I can. It meant a lot that people were saying " see you next year" or " how do I book a table?"

-As was said the high VA content was completely accidental, we probably could have done with a composer or sound designer on the audio panel. Ali's suggestion for an event sounds cool though we'd have to plan the logistics, while we can try and invite folks to do talks on other engines, the simplest and easiest thing is if we get volunteers.  I made a big effort to find people from other communities we didn't get to everyone but it meant we had a coningent of general indie devs, gamebook makers, visual novels etc.
-Not entirely sure about the start times thing when I was trying to get a moment of peace to make some announcements one in the other room was running late it was very hard to, we do need gaps where no talks are happening and chat times sound good. I guess it is good people want more! but it's finding the time.
-Thanks for being tidy! I also spotted people helping confused looking new arrivals showing them the schedule etc which was great.
-The suggestion for a schedule stuck outside the doors is good though. People kept stealing mine everytime I put it down ( also my hat and the stickers too ). I also wonder if we could have a google calender or something next time so Berian doesn't have to keep printing them for people with phones/tablets/laptops and people can get alerted to changes.
- Would it be helpful if I made some kind of brief guide on dos/don'ts in terms of demos and presentations & booths ( and what can /can't be shown) ? In general the standard was fantastic but I think it would have helped if people started getting ready ( e.g moving laptops) before their talk started, some of you did which was great. It's also inevitable things will run late whilst we will try and give everyone the same time, you have to be flexible. If your time is up people can ( and will) come find you to talk to you after I for one am still replying to messages! I also plan my presentations to be flexible so if I do run over I can cut stuff, but still cover the main topics. A 30 mins slot shouldn't mean you talk for 30 mins it should probably be around 10-15 mins talk, then you have about 15 mins for a Q & A and set up/take down. I agree we could have been a bit firmer on end times, but on the other hand meet us halfway -eh ?
- I was wondering about zone c having the booths, but I think Mark's  layout was pretty good for the numbers as there was a lot going on without it feeling too empty or crowded. There were slight conflicts ( with the lights once one person dimmmed them everyone wanted too sorry exhibitors XD). If the numbers go up then I think more space would be great. Mark ( with some Berian recon) did a fantastic job of the layout.
- Another thanks to folks who joined in the tweeting, as people have been saying ( and did panels on!) PR is important! I think the stuff we did impacted our numbers positively and I think converted a few sceptics about the event into supporters. If you happen to stumble across write ups about the event let me know.

[MurrayL]

If anyone missed it - here's the intro to our presentation. It was fun making this, inspired by the errors that kept popping up the day before

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I started out talking a little bit about subAtomic and Plan M, and then things took an unusual turn...

[neon]

So when can we see videos?

Working on it, give me some time.

[m0ds]

Brill. There was another nice big room behind Zone A that would be great to hire out next time too I reckon. And perhaps the small one near Zone C that I slept in for a bit It was great to see mums and dads sitting patiently in zone c and that area was quiet, which was good, and was needed - but yes not much was made of that. Refreshments didn't work out, the guy coming to do that, er, couldn't come in the end. But I'd like to organize a deal with Tinderbox next time and perhaps the restaurant at the least. The PDF printout of all the schedules, company logos and stuff to print and stick up on the day...well, that was the one thing I forgot to put on my USB. Otherwise, yes, the schedules, floorplan and other items would've been stuck up on doors and stuff. There was no way to salvage that. Also some instructions next to the presentation desks would've been useful. But I like all the comments, valid points... nice one folks!

PS. Totally agree on the breaks, and the staggered timings. But hm, so much to fit in to so much little time as rebecca says...... more rooms could help.. But yeah breaks and a time to "chill out" definitely a good thing. But I kind of felt zone c was there for that. That said, I can see some ways of allowing for a break period. Something for consideration next year, certainly

[neon]

I don't think we were deliberately limiting anything to AGS.  It's just it's pretty difficult to find people who are willing to talk about stuff, and it's easier to gain people's interest from within the AGS community as we're established names here.  If we had a way into all the other adventure dev communities we'd be glad to have speakers from them.

That's actually not a problem. I tried to get in touch with some people, but it was on too short notice, at least that's what Charles Cecil, Jonathan Boakes and Matt Clark told me. I can help out with my contacts next year, it just has to be early enough. Most of them are pretty busy, so they should be contacted at least four months before the event takes place.

Actually I didn't feel like this was too AGS related. Of course there were some AGS topics here and there (what is normal for an event organized from within the AGS community), but overall I more felt it was about adventure games than about AGS.

[Broomie]

So when can we see videos? There were some talks I missed while listening to other talks, and it would be swell to watch those at some point.

Jack recorded majority of talks and got some interviews with developers/speakers so will have them up soon. He'll also be making a short documentary but the full talks will be uploaded to an Adventure X YouTube channel.

As for the event, I had a great time. Very friendly people, lots of promising looking projects and an abundance of talent in one room. And it was even better winning the big bundle prize! .

Thanks for everyone who stopped by our booth and gave Quest for Infamy a whirl. Really pleased with the feedback.

But especially thanks to Mark, Rebecca, Biriam, Ali and for everyone else who helped make this event possible. Look forward to 2013!

[Azure]

Contacts are helpful Neon , I think there is a difference though between talking/alerting to other fans/freeware people to come and show their game or run a tutorial  and a guest speaker.

Though at least one of those we were already talking to *way*  before the event ( and was also invited last year)  We started planning in June which is way more than four months ago and we snagged four guests! In the end it worked out we had four special guests  each doing at least an hour plus panels and I don't see how we could have fit in more!  I'm guessing that you just mentioned the event to them in correspondence  fairly recently? I think we can keep them in mind in future now we know they are interested, but I think there's a difference between mentioning /tweeting the event to people we know ( encouraged) and official invites which should I think only go through one person on the ADVX staff.
As much as it'd been awesome have have every adventure person ever, we can't, and if both us and attendees start inviting people it's going to cause problems. Again it's super appreciated you mentioning the event, next time now we know you have those contacts we can possibly bring you in more officially? I mean it'd rock to get them all, but I then suspect we'd have to raise more money so we need to know ourselves who's been invited!

[neon]

Yes, actually I talked to Mark if there are free slots in advance. He would have probably had free slots left, but I did not invite anyone, because they had no time anyway. And yes, I came to this very late because I waited until funding is secured before asking if they also plan to visit the event.

And sure, if you want to bring me in more officially, sure, we can talk about that next year. We do the Adventure-Treff party in Cologne every year, so I check them all anyway starting May.

Oh, and actually why do you think you need to raise more money? If those people are interested to come, they will come, even if they do it on own costs. It's also good for them to get free coverage and most of them also like such events because it's a good chance to meet fans, developers and probably find new contacts that could get important in the future.

[Azure]

OK fair enough that you talked to Mark I didn't know it had happened, sorry for any confusion of offence inadvertently caused.  it's just if you read the context of the thread before it, we were talking about getting people talking about practical how-to topics ie tutorials on other game engines like Unity, Wintermute, Lassie..etc It's easier to get someone to come speak about their games we had an entire room for that, I think what people are asking for is a bit more tutorial/workshop content and an increase in effort to welcome Adventure Makers who use other engines ( most in zone B were AGS).
As for costs some guests did incur costs which were covered by the convention, which was mentioned on the indiegogo. The Indiegogo could have been earlier, but on the other hand I suspect some people won't donate unless they have some idea who will be there ( catch -22). I think you raise a valid point about timing.

Man organisin' is hard.

[neon]

No offense taken, don't worry, you're absolutely right. I wouldn't have invited anyone but connected them to Mark on FB instead.