Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

jasonrohrer · 2015-01-27 05:42:11

So... PAX South is over now, and I'm recovering in my hotel room before flying back home tomorrow to resume parent and programmer duty.

First of all, it was totally exhausting, explaining the game to people hundreds of times over 24 total hours of standing in three days. I hired my two cousins from Austin to help out in the booth---it would have been impossible to do alone---but there were many times when all three of us were on duty at the same time and explaining to different people in parallel. My cousins are both like, "Man, I don't want to ever do this again!"

(One of my cousins was the artist and architect who designed and built the booth---but he too was saddled with booth duty.)

We handed out 371 $1 bills that were marked with a secret "door" URL to get into the game, and we set up probably 150+ pairs of people to play the game against each other over the course of the show. I'd say that each pair played for about 10 minutes on average.

Lots of people who played REALLY liked the game, which was cool. Quite a few of them (roughly half) even plunked down their own money head-to-head against their friend or family member (brother against brother, husband against wife, and even mother against son). Others had no cash, so we handed them free dollars to play with.

A few pairs played with their own money for higher stakes---there were three $20 vs $20 games where one person walked away with $40.

There was even a banana wagered at one point.

BUT... was it worth it?

I'm watching the web meter, and so far a grand total of 39 people have come through the PAX-exclusive door URL. Yes, 12 more came in today, so it's not over yet, but still, it's not very many people.

Even if all 371 people came through, it wouldn't be that many, given how much time and money we put into this.

Thus, the value of being at PAX clearly cannot be measured by headcount.

A Kotaku article, by comparison, costs nothing, takes very little time, and reaches many thousands of people.

So, impact must figure in. The booth gives people a unique experience connected to the game. But how much does that experience matter?

For the 39 of you who saw the game at PAX and are now here, can you describe your experience of the booth? Is it something that impacted you? Did you tell your friends about it? Is it something that you will remember more than you would remember an article online?

Kippasnix · 2015-01-27 06:05:59

I am one of the 39 that have joined since seeing your booth at PAX. I thought you did a very good job at showing off the game, and was intrigued from the moment I was lured in. I walked out with $14 after playing a few matches, and I honestly think it was the best gaming experience/discovery I encountered.

I have now been playing regularly, and have showed a few friends the game (although I'm not sure they have created accounts or not). The skill level of players online is much higher then what I experienced during the demo, but it hasn't steered me away from playing. The direct head to head experience really gave me a good feeling for the game; Something about the lighting from the panel setup, and money on the table really tied everything together.

Hopefully you will get more hits soon. You've had my attention since I played my first match.

Last edited by Kippasnix (2015-01-27 06:16:53)

jasonrohrer · 2015-01-27 07:03:50

Thanks!

sjon03 · 2015-01-27 08:01:40

Thanks for your thoughts on PAX South. It sounds like you and your cousins put in an enormous amount of effort which is admirable. I hope those who enjoyed the game tell their friends about it. I've gotten three people I know to deposit money into the game and if those 39 each bring three...

SteelNovember · 2015-01-27 22:01:55

I was one of the 39. I took pictures of the booth and the inside just because it was so eclectic. I've been showing the pictures of it to many people. The thing is, it's hard to explain the game without a picture. (I should have took a picture of the game board.) It's also hard to explain the legality of it. It'd be nice if you had a splash page somewhere that gave an image of a game. A quick overview. And it's legality.

People are interested. It just feels difficult to spread info.

LiteS · 2015-01-27 22:53:01

I was one of the skilled players to walk off with $20 in winnings against a stranger. I haven't had a chance to register for the game yet, but I will soon. I'd heard of the game before, and was relatively active around Castle Doctrine's launch last year, so seeing your booth on the PAX map was enough to get me to show up.

The booth was very intimidating to my friends, who opted to stay away on the first day. In the hotel room Saturday I explained the premise of the game and was able to bring them in for a dollar game on Sunday. The scary back alley look of the booth was thematically appropriate, but definitely initially off-putting. The SoundSelf booth was also enclosed and seemed to exist in a similar fashion, but they had hour+ lines early on Sunday once word got out. I hope booth attendance improved through the weekend.

Were the losers of individual games given the entry url?

sjon03 · 2015-01-28 01:58:08

SteelNovember wrote:

I was one of the 39. I took pictures of the booth and the inside just because it was so eclectic. I've been showing the pictures of it to many people. The thing is, it's hard to explain the game without a picture. (I should have took a picture of the game board.) It's also hard to explain the legality of it. It'd be nice if you had a splash page somewhere that gave an image of a game. A quick overview. And it's legality.
People are interested. It just feels difficult to spread info.

Hello, SteelNovember, and welcome to the CM forums! I shared Cordial Minuet on another website that I frequent. Perhaps it could help explain the game to others: Cordial Minuet by Jason Rohrer.

Twisted Jenius · 2015-01-28 08:14:09

Hello, I was one of the people who came in and played for about ten minutes. Given your first post in this thread and the questions you are asking, I'd like to give you a little bit of feedback about your booth itself, as that was something that my business partner and I discussed briefly at the time ( I'm an indie developer myself and so I understand how important this kind of feedback is).

I would argue that the biggest advantage of your booth design was the fact that it was a bit mysterious. At least that's what attracted me to it. It was unique in that it was a small but completely enclosed booth, all black with only a strange archaic or alien looking symbol on the outside.

The thing was, while this did eventually cause us to wonder what it was and go up to it (at which point we were very pleasantly welcomed inside), it definitely wasn't the first thing to get my attention on the show floor and I think one of the problems with it is that it only had that "curiosity factor" going for it and I don't think that was necessarily the most effective way of getting people's attention or drawing them in.

Now don't get me wrong, it was a unique setup and I commented to my business partner that I actually kind of like the way you did it, but I also mentioned that it may have been more appealing to someone like me than it may have been to larger portions of the general public (because I'm a huge fan of dark, weird and mysterious things).

The outside of your booth gave no real indication of what it was about at all and to be honest I wasn't entirely sure if it was even a game or what was going on when I first approached it. From the outside, it was impossible to really tell what was going on there and I honestly thought that maybe it was a tent or some sort of area for convention staff or something. It was only the placement of it and the strange symbol on the door flap that made me get closer to it and want to investigate.

However I will say that once inside, the experience was most memorable. I'm not sure if it was you or one of your cousins tending the booth at the time but whoever they were, they were very enthusiastic and helpful. If the person hadn't been so quick and so excited to invite us in, I don't think we would've ever found out what it was about. That is something that a lot of booths didn't do nearly as well as you guys did and you also explained things very well and thoroughly, taking us through step by step to show us how the game was played.

So in conclusion, I think there is some room for improvement in the physical setup you had and in some of your marketing (though putting your information on dollar bills was definitely an interesting touch, and worked especially well considering the type of game that you're making), but your enthusiasm and personal interaction was excellent. I can understand why you must be tired after three days of that, as I can see that you left it all out there.

If you do decide to attend another convention, my suggestion would be to try to find a way to better streamline the process of both getting people into the door and find a way to communicate how the game works without tiring yourself out quite as much. Maybe through additional signs or other graphics or something like that. Something to better summarize and briefly explain what it is that you're doing, even if it doesn't go into all the details.

I'll also say that despite not getting the kinds of numbers that you might get on the Internet, being physically there and having people play the game definitely left a greater impression which may just be very important for a game like this, without a lot of flashy graphics or screen shots that might normally get your attention online. If I'm being honest, this isn't the sort of thing that I would even give a second glance to, if I just happened to see it over the Internet, but it definitely made me take notice and appreciate it a lot more since I got to stand there and play it. It's the kind of game that you really can't appreciate until you get into it and play it and getting people to do that is definitely a strength and so attending a convention like that may have been a good move.

Although I'm sure that you have a much better idea of what's going on with your marketing than I do, those are just my observations based on what I saw and experienced from the standpoint of someone attending the convention. I hope that this feedback helps and I wish you the best of luck!

.. · 2015-01-28 09:03:29

Welcome, all.

Can someone post photos of the booth? The rest of us want to see it!

jere · 2015-01-28 13:57:46

from photos posted on Twitter:

B8IVdJIIAAAbRPa.jpg:large
B8O4Wm_CEAApgrH.jpg:large

.. · 2015-01-28 23:31:29

Cool. Had to laugh when I saw that pile of dollar bills.

Looks like half-dismantled LCD screens with exposed backlights. I guess that the players don't actually throw money into the pot during the game, but split it afterwards? Seems too bad to miss out on throwing money down on the table (after placing simultaneous bets in the client, of course)

jasonrohrer · 2015-01-28 23:46:00

Thanks for the feedback, folks!

SteelNovember, have you tried showing them the how-to-play video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4HbCUAFUrA

It's a little rough. I'm going to make a new one before the game goes public. Also, there will be a better "Welcome" type page before launch.

cullman · 2015-01-29 01:37:18

I too thought the booth was cool looking, but probably hurt you functionality wise. As you mentioned you had to explain the game to hundreds of people. If your both was an open concept you could have explained it to more than 6-8 people at a time, and even better than that people walking by or standing around could watch others play. This is not an inditement of your cousin's booth design skills, as it definitely was the most interesting thing there for money spent, which I am sure was one of the main goals....

On the plus side, it was the least I've ever lost at CM.

Also, I'd argue that Kotaku article did not cost nothing!

Last edited by cullman (2015-01-29 01:39:49)

PortaPotty · 2015-02-02 05:01:37

i was 1 of the 39 i came by with my dad on day 1 around 2 i loved the booth but i was already interested in the game and determined to stop by

CORDIAL MINUET ENSEMBLE

#1 2015-01-27 05:42:11

Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#2 2015-01-27 06:05:59

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#3 2015-01-27 07:03:50

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#4 2015-01-27 08:01:40

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#5 2015-01-27 22:01:55

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#6 2015-01-27 22:53:01

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#7 2015-01-28 01:58:08

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#8 2015-01-28 08:14:09

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#9 2015-01-28 09:03:29

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#10 2015-01-28 13:57:46

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#11 2015-01-28 23:31:29

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#12 2015-01-28 23:46:00

Re: Thoughts about PAX South, and Feedback

#13 2015-01-29 01:37:18

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#14 2015-02-02 05:01:37

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