Atoms: From College Project, to Adult Games and Beyond

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Contributions Postmortem

Atoms: From College Project, to Adult Games and Beyond

January 16, 2019 — by Industry Contributions

The following Postmortem is by a winner of Gamacon 2018 which is a nomination partner of Indie Prize. As a winner, Juan Pablo Méndez Altuzar is provided with 2 free conference passes and free spot to showcase his game at Indie Prize. Gamacon is a convention for independent game developers. It is a conference which celebrates the artistry and fans of indie game development. Juan has decided to participate at Casual Connect USA 2019 in August at Indie Prize.

Juan standing with Hugo, Gamacon organizer and Juan’s booth with his prize to Casual Connect

At the event, Juan met a person that became his friend there, and this new friend seemed more excited about him winning than he felt. He relates that was because it all felt like a dream, “I was all like: really? Holy cow, I didn’t think I’d win.” When asked how he feels about coming to Casual Connect and competing at Indie Prize, he said “It does still feel kinda unreal, but it makes me really excited. I’ve seen a ton of videos of Indie Prize and oh, boy - I wanna go! I feel really pumped! It also pumps me to polish the hell outta my game to share it at Casual Connect.

My name is Juan and a few years ago I set myself the goal of releasing a simple game I could complete on my own.

The original idea for the game started as my college graduation project. I wanted to create an educational game that was as attractive as any commercial game. One that could simultaneously appeal to gamers and to students seeking to learn whatever the game wanted to teach.

Events Game Design News

Indie Prize Asia 2018 Participants from North America, LATAM and Australia

November 12, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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Games from around the world will be shown at Indie Prize at Casual Connect Asia 2018. And there is plenty of variety in this group of games from North America, LATAM and Australia. When you play these games you may be the hero your town needs or the hero your kitchen needs. You could visit space as a Martian cockroach or visit distant planets as part of a game of dice. There are intense strategic games and relaxing golf games and even a cooperative battle game.

Game Title: Hamsterdam
Developer: Muse Games
Platform: iOS, Android, Desktop Win, Desktop Mac, Console Nintendo Switch, other consoles
Country: United States

Hamsterdam is an arcade brawler with you, the player, as the Hamster-fu Master trying to save the town. Will you be able to defeat Chinchilla Marlo, the whisker twister in chief? Will you be the hero the town needs?

This game was a finalist at 2017 Big Indie Award and a nominee at 2018 IMGA. In 2017 and 2018 it was a runner up at Big Indie Pitch for E3 and Reversed. In 2018 it was selected for the MIX showcase for E3, EVO and Pax West.

Events Game Design News

Introducing the Indie Prize Serbia Participants From Latin America and Asia

September 16, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

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There are two entries for Indie Prize at Casual Connect Eastern Europe 2018, both from Brazil. One is a turn-based RPG, using imagination to explore the galaxy. The other is a side-scrolling platformer based on the medieval world.

Game Title: Galaxy of Pen & Paper
Developer: Behold Studios
Platform: iOS, Android, Desktop Win, Desktop Mac
Country: Brazil

Galaxy of Pen & Paper is a turn-based role playing game. It takes place in 1999 with a group of players rolling dice as the take their turns. You create your own RPG party and Game Master as players use their imaginations to explore distant aliens, fight aliens and save the galaxy, in the era of dial-up internet and floppy disks.

Development Exclusive Interviews Indie

Escabeche and the Creation of Manzana Misteriosa

March 12, 2018 — by Catherine Quinton

Argentine game studio Escabeche and their game Manzana Misteriosa won the Indie Prize at the Awesome Game Awards in Cordoba, Argentina. They were invited to participate in Indie Prize at Casual Connect USA 2018 held at Disneyland.

The team of Escabeche first heard about Indie Prize when they applied to the Awesome Game Awards hosted by ADVA. They relate, “We didn’t expect much, but since we were showcasing the game at EVA Cordoba, we thought we could try, and then it was all surprise and joy when we won!” And they are so excited at the opportunity to show their game at Casual Connect. “If our work happens to inspire other developers, especially from Latin America, that would be just awesome.”

Events News

Introducing the Finalists from Latin America for Indie Prize

December 22, 2017 — by Catherine Quinton

The entries for Indie Prize during Casual Connect USA at Disneyland® Hotel from Latin America cover a number of different genres, although the majority emphasize some type of fighting or battles: brawlers, warfare, battling monsters for treasure. But there are also games that have a lost character trying to return home, a game with a character trying to find the way along a forest trail before it grows cold, and even a game to teach children with cancer about the disease.

Game Title: Manzana Misteriosa
Developer: Estudio Escabeche
Platform: Desktop Win
Country: Argentina

The central character of Manzana Misteriosa is Nina, a woman lost inside the Parque Neighborhood. She can only find her way out by interacting with other characters she meets, but the type of interaction she chooses alters the course of the game.

Events News

Indie Devs from Spain, Tunisia, France and Paraguay Coming to Kyiv

October 16, 2017 — by Catherine Quinton

One independent development team from Spain, one from Tunisia, one from France, and one from Paraguay will compete at the swiftly coming Indie Prize and Casual Connect Kyiv 2017.

The only participant in Indie Prize from Spain is fittingly named Solo. It combines the best of puzzle adventure with introspection.

Game Title: Solo
Developer: Team Gotham
Platform: Desktop Win
Website: http://www.teamgothammadrid.com/

In Solo, you are exploring a dream-like archipelago while contemplating your love relationships. This metaphoric puzzle adventure invites introspection and reflection.

Events News

Indie Prize Participants from Argentina and Canada in Kyiv

October 7, 2017 — by Catherine Quinton

Two participants from Argentina and one participant from Canada will join the competition at Casual Connect Kyiv and Indie Prize. The two excitingly different games from Argentina is represented at Indie Prize Kyiv both demand skill and determination but are very divergent types.

Game Title: Darkestville Castle
Developer: Epic Llama
Platform: Desktop Win
Website: https://www.facebook.com/epicllamagames/

Darkestville Castle has graphics reminiscent of the twisted aesthetics of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Add to that the classic point-and-and click techniques of games like Monkey Island and you are ready to follow the comedy narrative of Cid, the mischievous demon of Darkestville.

Business Development Exclusive Interviews PR & Marketing

Matthieu Burleraux: PlayLab in His Pocket

May 14, 2017 — by David Radd

Matthieu Burleraux is the Business Development Director at Pocket PlayLab. The company is helping to provide mentorship on different matters to developer Cupcake, which the company invested $1 million into.

“We are helping them understand how to work around game KPIs, including in user acquisition, using these KPIs to optimize the game as well as their marketing campaign,” said Matthieu. “For example, we are focusing a lot on the daily cohorts, the LTV45 associated to them, the CPI, retention numbers, etc. We are also starting to help them on producing visual assets for UA and provide mentorship regarding developing the game on new platforms.”

“Before making the decision to work with Cupcake, we looked at the basic KPIs (ARPU, ARPPU, retention, virality, DAU, etc.) and their evolution over time, but we also looking into UA KPIs such as the CPI they had, ROI on UA, etc.” Matthieu continued. “The goal was for you to see if the game was sustainable and if we could grow it.”

Tel Aviv 2016 Video Coverage

Hernan Lopez and the Emerging LATAM Market

November 9, 2016 — by Catherine Quinton

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Hernan speaking at Casual Connect Tel Aviv 2016 conference

Are you looking for a new and growing market for games? Latin America might be the place to consider according to Hernan Lopez, Founder and warchief of Epic Llama Games. Hernan founded the company in 2008 and focused on the casual games market. Their latest game is Darkestville Castle, a graphic adventure reminiscent of such classic games as Monkey Island and Grim Fandango.

Hernan epitomizes passion for games and dedication to the games industry, and as such, is eager to encourage game developers to follow their own passion. And the LATAM market is an excellent place to gain a foothold. Although it is largely unexplored, it is also growing and new developers are starting to emerge. At Casual Connect Tel Aviv, Hernan discussed this market and why it the game industry should be paying attention to it. Hernan explained, “APAC is the hot topic today, so LATAM can get overlooked. Don’t underestimate LATAM as a great region for soft-launching your games; it isn’t heavily contested but it’s influenced by U.S. and European culture. You’ll also be surprised at the budding developer community there.” To learn more, watch this video of the full presentation.

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For more information about Hernan’s career, see this exclusive article.

Contributions Development Industry

Cordoba Leading Argentina to Strengthen Their Position in LATAM Video Game Industry

October 25, 2016 — by Industry Contributions

BY HERNAN LOPEZ, EPIC LLAMA

After a lot of hard work, the new law “Ley audiovisual” was approved by the legislature in Cordoba, Argentina. What does it mean? Why should you care about it?

Well, first let’s talk about the law itself: to clarify, it’s not a law that helps only video games, but any audiovisual production, but since we like videogames… let’s talk about what it does for the video game industry!

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