Dear diary,
with Gamescom behind us, I can say it was a rollercoaster: challenging, but also a ton of fun and a great learning experience. This was the first time ever I had a booth at Gamescom, let me tell you how it went for us.
Wednesday - Press Day:
The adventure began on Wednesday, the first day of Gamescom 2023. The event wasn't too crowded as it was primarily for the press. I had the incredible support of our wonderful 2D/3D artist, Patrick, by my side. We had the pleasure of meeting the amazing team from our publisher, ESDigital Games. They had prepared these adorable tiny flasks as giveaways for our players at our booth in the indie area, which people liked a lot. We also found the time to have a beer and great evening together.
Thursday - The Real Deal:
Thursday marked the first "real day" of Gamescom. The venue was packed, and my feet were already starting to hurt from standing up all day. It was incredible to see so many players at our booth throughout the day. My voice started to get scratchy from all the talking and trying to scream louder than the Rockband booth next to us, blasting Bon Jovi's "It's my Live" in what seemed like endless loop. My sister-in-law bought me some "GeloRevoice" in preparation for a longer interview scheduled for the next day and luckily it worked and my voice returned.
Friday - Interview Galore:
On Friday, I managed to get Patrick to man our booth, supporting the ESDigital crew and lifting everyone's spirits with his positive presence. Meanwhile, I spent most of the time filming with the fantastic folks from the World Trailer Awards (whose Emerging Talent Award we had won earlier this year) and AMD. From my perspective it was a whirlwind of attention on me as a person, which I am not used to. But of course I enjoyed it to talk about my work and the game.
Saturday - Two Booths, One Adventure:
Saturday was a double-duty day as we had our regular booth and were also showcasing BattleJuice Alchemist at the GameUp RLP and Media Funding RLP booth, the latter being one of our generous funders. They had a giant TV that actually drew quite a lot of attention.
Once again, Patrick came to the rescue, running around and organizing everything. I had forgotten a crucial item, a mousepad, and he had to make a rather expensive purchase, a giant Diablo 4 mat, which we later gave away to thrilled fans who showed a lot of love for BattleJuice Alchemist and also happened to be Diablo fans.
In preparation, we had this pop-up book made that resembles our ingame cinematic style. I love how it turned out and even though the book isn't huge, people complimented us for the attention to detail.
Sunday - Farewell and Gratitude:
The last day of Gamescom had arrived, and by this point, my feet were absolutely destroyed. However, the enthusiasm of the players remained undiminished, as they continued to pour into our booth. We wrapped up our unforgettable journey and bid farewell to our fantastic booth neighbors, the creators of Drake, a top-down Mass Effect-style game. They were incredibly friendly and supportive, and being in the trenches with them was a memorable experience.
I also can't express enough gratitude to the tireless team from ESDigital Games, who never seemed to slow down and powered through the event with us. We couldn't have done it without them.
Gamescom 2023 was a ton of of fun, challenges, and I was able to share great moments with the team and the players. I collected a lot of invaluable information from talking to people and watching them play our game. The feedback and support from players, colleagues, and partners left us with a heart full of gratitude and excitement for the future of BattleJuice Alchemist.
Alain
