How to Show Your Game at a Non-Gaming Expo

In addition to the big shows like PAX and GDC, Mommy's Best Games has shown our games at some very small events. Comic Cons, Pinball Expos, Table-Top shows, Coding events, you may have some of these different events in your area that might let you show games there. In fact, this weekend is the Louisville Arcade Expo, a very fun show we've been showing at for several years. <br />With that in mind, here are some tips for showing at an event that *does not* feature recently-made video games as the main attraction!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNrkUr9EPxvLfAJHNPOTgdwLPLVSLlJZRf1vuB2z0Q2xV7rPTPZh5iUgH_A8Tc2uH3BWYvYaLhzlyfW4v9oui8lxOOHQXPV2pbrF9hySAU8MOec2uMG83caT88NMVcLFHJLZb1NTDzfBM/s1600/WP_20150418_013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNrkUr9EPxvLfAJHNPOTgdwLPLVSLlJZRf1vuB2z0Q2xV7rPTPZh5iUgH_A8Tc2uH3BWYvYaLhzlyfW4v9oui8lxOOHQXPV2pbrF9hySAU8MOec2uMG83caT88NMVcLFHJLZb1NTDzfBM/s400-rw/WP_20150418_013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lovely wife showing our iOS game "Finger Derpy" at the KY Science Center</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3>Free Play</h3>The games are free to try out! You're offering free demos!<br />You know that, but for the general public tugging their kids through the busy show, everything else is vendor tables. And vendor tables means *things cost money*. It's weird in their minds to come across a booth that let's you play games for free. Some people don't know this. The easiest thing we've found, in addition to simply saying the games are free play, is putting up a simple  'FREE PLAY" sign on a sheet of paper. Obviously, you can get fancier than that if you want.<br />(If your expo is organized enough to have all the indie games together, clearly marked, you may not need this, so that's cool! )<br /><br /><h3>Non-Gamers</h3>Be nice when showing your game, and understand lots of people there are probably not 'hardcore' and may possibly be put off by your game. Don't take it personally about your game--you are simply getting a very large slice of the general public at non-gaming shows. <br />Don't be surprised if you get some kids playing, but the Mom or Dad does not want to play. If you have chairs, offer them a seat while the kids play and they may be more interested in your game!<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7DS_IqFnxs1psE8DFp4EDGPq_iXE9GQdG_AHL03YgQK4H-gH6fRC4hJKsm5QpOq44c37DouJLpXCC7QTqEutUtT0VKP3NnsjaIhYF8utELaoMQ3HeFn5LuNLcc_seBhagp-MN6f4eLID/s1600/WP_20150919_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7DS_IqFnxs1psE8DFp4EDGPq_iXE9GQdG_AHL03YgQK4H-gH6fRC4hJKsm5QpOq44c37DouJLpXCC7QTqEutUtT0VKP3NnsjaIhYF8utELaoMQ3HeFn5LuNLcc_seBhagp-MN6f4eLID/s400-rw/WP_20150919_001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A family getting into our Steam game "Shoot 1UP" at the Louisville Mini-Maker Fair</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3>Xbox 360 guide button</h3>If you use Xbox 360 controllers and have Steam running, and a user accidentally holds the Guide button it will stop your game and bring up Big Picture mode. This is really annoying.<br />Users are having a blast with your game, but may be so enamored that they don't notice they are holding the wrong button to do something. It may seem obvious "Just don't hold that button" but for some reason Valve has not released a simple option to disable BP mode for the Guide button.<br /><br />The easiest fix is to not have Steam running. Have a DRM-free version of your game without running Steam. There are also Steam community threads in which people are trying to figure out workarounds to it.<br /><br /><h3>Locally-Made, Recently-Made</h3>A lot of regular folks are still coming around to the idea that video games are being made in their own backyard! They may be pretty surprised to learn that you are developing games there. Take some time to explain the cool thing to them and if they express interest in game development, mention your local development support group! Here in Louisville, it's <a href="http://louisvillemakesgames.org/">Louisville Makes Games</a>.<br /><br />The other thing we've noticed is a lot of these shows will have <i>Super Smash Bros</i> or <i>Mario Kart</i> or some other tournament running at the event. That's some tough competition to show your game against! The important thing is to communicate that you are personally making the game they are playing now, and it was made recently--not by a huge, well-funded company (such as Nintendo).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9Ua5Y1ebguYzrvWAhEGj6VFvMeh7SJWairylf1gYJtwUDYmlO0pob4dhqTt1IqG9fnDKUcwEVsdSzoV7gfUAJ70Cl7G4AFdoHw9O5YAv4t8i-dW0vNC8q0jt6KbaeYzyR8DOhRma9wv_/s1600/WP_20150306_011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9Ua5Y1ebguYzrvWAhEGj6VFvMeh7SJWairylf1gYJtwUDYmlO0pob4dhqTt1IqG9fnDKUcwEVsdSzoV7gfUAJ70Cl7G4AFdoHw9O5YAv4t8i-dW0vNC8q0jt6KbaeYzyR8DOhRma9wv_/s400-rw/WP_20150306_011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The MBG booth at the Louisville Arcade Expo 2015, with our upcoming "Pig Eat Ball".</td></tr></tbody></table><h3>Expo Experience</h3>Most of the regular expo moves still apply here. For example, if you want people to remember your game's name tomorrow, print cards and hand them out! You can get 500 custom cards for under $20 at GotPrint, or basically for free if you print them on a 8.5"x11" sheet and cut out a few dozen by hand (or on stock paper). Remember to mention your release date and platform if you have one. And of course take extra cords, connectors, monitors, tape, sanitizer, drinks, signs, snacks, and controllers for backup and any other booths that need help!

How to Show Your Game at a Non-Gaming Expo

In addition to the big shows like PAX and GDC, Mommy's Best Games has shown our games at some very small events. Comic Cons, Pinball Exp...

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Finger Derpy Nominated for IMGA Award!

<h4></h4><h3>Doubly Nominated </h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNv1Pr-QxFMs0E806nY-GjQTAMwjdkplvxLAxiVi96kixirWiIRt-d8v6pyrJ18Yp0xowZISWrruIblyAC5czzaDlAUP1speMaCdV5rn0ZNRwjar-f1ngkdGb3Q6bvPlK4Zbl2LnPNf3iF/s1600/imga1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNv1Pr-QxFMs0E806nY-GjQTAMwjdkplvxLAxiVi96kixirWiIRt-d8v6pyrJ18Yp0xowZISWrruIblyAC5czzaDlAUP1speMaCdV5rn0ZNRwjar-f1ngkdGb3Q6bvPlK4Zbl2LnPNf3iF/s320-rw/imga1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We have fun news! Our mobile horse-racing game, <a href="http://mommysbestgames.com/fingerderpy.html"><i>Finger Derpy</i></a>, has been nominated, in *two* categories, for an International Mobile Game Award! The 12th IMGA competition recently announced the nominations, and your favorite drunken-horse-racing game is up for "Best Multiplayer Game" and "Guilty Pleasure"!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2M3JYE5yvIVRcYl5_jMvJiGppQyXUpdTUfZJZCTsYzD-SwEndVSHRg8DInJqn5EXuDGYyI8Dm-OxgIQDLI1Bm7L25bngghhl3EJMhZ4FzV8mHhEh6QJ0kUh1ksARsaHx6eq1TSTVacKg/s1600/FingerDerpy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2M3JYE5yvIVRcYl5_jMvJiGppQyXUpdTUfZJZCTsYzD-SwEndVSHRg8DInJqn5EXuDGYyI8Dm-OxgIQDLI1Bm7L25bngghhl3EJMhZ4FzV8mHhEh6QJ0kUh1ksARsaHx6eq1TSTVacKg/s320-rw/FingerDerpy2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finger Derpy nominated for Guilty Pleasure</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxET-1WcEYMlWCsd1VbjPRP5FXBtT0z5JzPrdhtCnrK4-UjLmt3w-TgYWpszDgv5Z_rRA3-gHSg4zOMqyCdbfnu0hWFQNY4zmv5EdyGKQcUp60DhAepHO0zG5wLqWQo4usE9FRRv06kRd/s1600/FignerDerpy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxET-1WcEYMlWCsd1VbjPRP5FXBtT0z5JzPrdhtCnrK4-UjLmt3w-TgYWpszDgv5Z_rRA3-gHSg4zOMqyCdbfnu0hWFQNY4zmv5EdyGKQcUp60DhAepHO0zG5wLqWQo4usE9FRRv06kRd/s320-rw/FignerDerpy1.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finger Derpy for Best Multiplayer!</td></tr></tbody></table>Here's the trick: The final awards are determined by a <b>crowd vote</b>!<br /><b>That's where YOU come in. Yes, YOU!</b><br /><br />Do you like Mommy's Best Games? And/Or do you like video game development in Indiana/Kentucky? Then please vote for <i>Finger Derpy</i>!<br />Winning awards helps us with future and current projects. It will help Finger Derpy continue to succeed, which feeds our future games.<br /><br /><i>Finger Derpy</i> is a game made in the Louisville area, and it features the city of Louisville!<br />The game is really well received and we love that people enjoy it. To see it nominated out of thousands of games is certainly exciting. But to have it confirmed with the award would seal the deal.<br /><br />I ask you, I implore you, please take 5 minutes of your time to help our very tiny, indie team win this <b>international </b>game award.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;">How to Vote for <i>Finger Derpy </i></h3>Here's where to vote:<br /><a href="http://www.imgawards.com/awarded-games/12th-imga/">http://www.imgawards.com/awarded-games/12th-imga/</a><br /><br />It takes a few steps, but that means each vote is <i><b>even more valuable</b></i>.<br />You do have to register an account and confirm it and all, but then you can vote with one click.<br />When you register, and it asks you what "You Are" just pick "A fan of IMGA!"<br /><br />The odd part is you only get to vote for *one game* in any/all categories! So make it count.<br />Please vote for Finger Derpy in the Best Guilty Pleasure category!<br />This is not a situation of "vote early and often".<br />You get one vote, it's very quick once you register, and it really, <b><i>really </i></b>helps us. <br />Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.<br /><br />

Finger Derpy Nominated for IMGA Award!

Doubly Nominated We have fun news! Our mobile horse-racing game, Finger Derpy , has been nominated, in *two* categories, for an Internationa...

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Development Year in Review 2015

We can't find out what's wrong or what went well if we don't take time to see what we've done!<br />With that, let's look at what Mommy's Best Games did in 2015!<br /><br />We released a new game this year, <b><i>Finger Derpy</i></b>. We also re-released 4 of our classic games, as enhanced ports to Steam, and called it the "Mommy's Best Action Pack". <br /><br /><h3>January</h3><i><b><a href="http://www.pigeatball.com/">Pig Eat Ball</a></b></i> is the main project, but after talking to Nintendo and Sony and wanting to have the game on those platforms, it's clear we can't do it as it stands. The game is written in Java and simply won't run on consoles. I talk to John Meister from nearby game group <a href="http://supersoul.co/">Super Soul</a> and we start working together. His team starts to port the game to Unity. This will allow us to more easily choose what <i>Pig Eat Ball</i> is available on.<br /><br />In the meantime I start heavily working on <a href="http://www.mommysbestgames.com/fingerderpy.html"><i>Finger Derpy</i></a>. Matthew and Andrew continue work on <i>Pig Eat Ball</i> core content. This means Matthew is writing code for new gameplay objects, and Andrew is designing and building new levels.<br /><h3>February</h3>I focus on <i>Finger Derpy</i> and getting deals with local businesses to support the game. <a href="http://mommysbestgames.com/Presskit/sheet.php?p=finger_derpy">Here in the presskit</a>, you can read more about our integration with Louisville landmarks.<br /><h3>March</h3>More of the same, development wise.<br />Plus we show our games at the Louisville Arcade Expo!<br /><br /><h3>April</h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqteKVfThklt9JGoFiiSforsPOhCKIPGxWRIrJfokbWqxEpH4Nyjy4ZMGzRdRXlbPkhMJK78dOoH0knWG1xVHNrDw9G9mDt_YqyHX_2EWdVFCkySxJPd_JoDCLQx4XsPuT6qia_bxrcpo/s1600/fingerderpy_tile_android4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqteKVfThklt9JGoFiiSforsPOhCKIPGxWRIrJfokbWqxEpH4Nyjy4ZMGzRdRXlbPkhMJK78dOoH0knWG1xVHNrDw9G9mDt_YqyHX_2EWdVFCkySxJPd_JoDCLQx4XsPuT6qia_bxrcpo/s200-rw/fingerderpy_tile_android4.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finger Derpy launched April 9th</td></tr></tbody></table>Released <i>Finger Derpy</i>! First to iOS on the 9th, then to Google Play on the 19th. We held our big "Chomp the BIT" launch party that Friday. We organized the event in which 25 local developers showed off their games at an arcade bar in town.<br />Apple featured the game in the App Store as a 'Best New Game' which was a big deal and really helped downloads. <br />Also youtuber 'Cuqquake' featured the game, got plenty of views, and we've gotten a decent number of user reviews saying they saw the game on her channel.<br /><br /><h3><br /></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNLzyTAGXJaOIoZfr_VrQXNP7gv1AC40dURgA8wD9NdqBBWJ6y_8qX30mqSuXHD0ndWAygic0wj0ouPziU2lNUMECY_uPYBe1O6uxFqPzmC6WAh36MYGV-DQLwI2Z007wwUL6x2LN1Sko/s1600/EventsAprilMay.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNLzyTAGXJaOIoZfr_VrQXNP7gv1AC40dURgA8wD9NdqBBWJ6y_8qX30mqSuXHD0ndWAygic0wj0ouPziU2lNUMECY_uPYBe1O6uxFqPzmC6WAh36MYGV-DQLwI2Z007wwUL6x2LN1Sko/s400-rw/EventsAprilMay.png" width="400" /></a></div><h3>May</h3>During April and May we showed Finger Derpy at 10 local shows (in 5 weeks). It was exhausting. Between all of them, the Pegasus Preview Parade and the Thunderblast were beneficial in terms of download numbers. I think this was a matter of 'correct engagement' with large crowds that actually were interested in games.<br /><b>Some of the events we showed the game at just had lots of drunken people.</b> There was high traffic, but low interest/engagement/memory retention. Just because there's lots of people at an event doesn't mean you should show your game there.<br /><br /><h3>June</h3>Started porting the Mommy's Best Action Pack to Steam. This involved changing the games <i>Weapon of Choice</i>, <i>Shoot 1UP</i>, <i>Explosionade</i>, and <i>Game Type</i>, and making them great Steam ports. These games were all originally released between 2008 and 2011. They were made in XNA.<br />This involved adding lots of extra, though small features, which takes time. Some of the games did get new content as well, such as the collectible MBG pies in <i>Weapon of Choice</i>.<br />Scott Slucher from the U of L area started as a coop student working on the port.<br /><br /><h3>July</h3>MBG Action Pack porting by Scott and myself.<br />I also help Andrew and Matthew continue on PEB. We try to limit too much extra additions because John has to constantly port things from the old Java to the new, half-working Unity build.<br /><br /><h3>August</h3>Much of the same as July.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWIogJez314rPuGuuq1V4mKx29-lHTAerZqxTPp1MDegHp8mezNIuHDSPb6DQfpsk5ofVt20BX-NKSBd5rFqDxCF4lpp950pGc2R_Vxb0UnwOeNxqwWRP7m-s1qNbGirFNieVPA2Epmli/s1600/MBG_Actionpack_art_outnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWIogJez314rPuGuuq1V4mKx29-lHTAerZqxTPp1MDegHp8mezNIuHDSPb6DQfpsk5ofVt20BX-NKSBd5rFqDxCF4lpp950pGc2R_Vxb0UnwOeNxqwWRP7m-s1qNbGirFNieVPA2Epmli/s400-rw/MBG_Actionpack_art_outnow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h3>September</h3>Shipped the <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/sub/76770/">Mommy's Best Action Pack</a> on September 23rd!<br /><br />For Pig Eat Ball, we're continuing to wait on the Unity build to be finished and usable on our side. Until we can write new code in the actual Unity build and until I can give Andrew the level editor that way, we have to continue with the Java build, which is tough having two versions being developed.<br />  <br /><h3>November </h3><i>Finger Derpy</i> Thanksgiving update!<br />Got featured again by Cupquake, definitely helped our player numbers.<br />Working on <i>Pig Eat Ball</i> gameplay in Java, as the Unity build continues.<br />Steam Autumn sale for MBG Action Pack. <br /><br /><h3>December</h3><i>Finger Derpy</i> Winter update! <br />Unfortunately no big youtubers covered it, but the numbers were up through Christmas.<br />Working on <i>Pig Eat Ball</i> gameplay as the Unity build continues.<br />Steam Holiday sale for MBG Action Pack. <br /><h4></h4><h3>Finances</h3>This was our most prolific game year, if you look at straight 'games shipped'--we ported 4 games and released 1 new game. So 5 games were released in this year. <b>But this was our worst year financially.</b><br /><a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/111600/"><i>Serious Sam Double D XXL</i></a> continues to sell well and supports us, but it's sales are slowly declining.<br />In years past we were releasing one big game every two years. 2011 was Serious Sam DD to Steam, and 2013 was Serious Sam DD XXL to XBLA and then back to Steam (with lots more content).<br />2015 should have been <i>Pig Eat Ball</i>, in theory, but it's simply not finished. So instead, we released a free-to-play game, with ad-supported revenue and In-App Purchases, but while it made some money, it has still not covered it's development costs. Then we also released 4 ports of our older games, but they did not sell as well as hoped.<br /><br /><h3>2016</h3>The good news for January is Super Soul finished the Unity port and the game works great! We're working on the game now in Unity and things are moving swiftly. <br />This is the year for <i>Pig Eat Ball</i>.<br />Let's make it great, and get it out the door!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwuYmk5V-bKevn5GIeBjBJFQC-mNMMsnIDFk46Y5fejFokDDImr6eSQrjRQCTvEjCjUUxBh0pS1emU6aqyeKsuWdW9CZ2mVGJmVTrSY38zDDyl06FIzRhKj8PhUB-a_tyJuPXBN7PXMQY/s1600/PigEatBallBow_medium_circle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwuYmk5V-bKevn5GIeBjBJFQC-mNMMsnIDFk46Y5fejFokDDImr6eSQrjRQCTvEjCjUUxBh0pS1emU6aqyeKsuWdW9CZ2mVGJmVTrSY38zDDyl06FIzRhKj8PhUB-a_tyJuPXBN7PXMQY/s320-rw/PigEatBallBow_medium_circle.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />

Development Year in Review 2015

We can't find out what's wrong or what went well if we don't take time to see what we've done! With that, let's look at ...

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