|
Just wanted to write up a recap of the event and address future plans. First off, I want to thank a few people for helping to make this event a success. I want to thank Michael Nickoloff, Chief Executive Officer for Sorvent. Michael was instrumental in the organization and operation of Protospiel West. We were not quite sure how this first event was going to turn out, and it certainly wouldn't have been as successful without his help and assistance. Thank you also to Eric Elder, Academic Director of the Game Art & Design department at The Art Institute of California, Los Angeles. Eric was kind enough to provide space for the event and support of the college. Having students attend who did not know much about the Euro game genre was a good addition as designers were able to get feedback from some of the more frequent Euro game players as well as fresh, new eyes. Lastly, I want to thank Marcelo Figueroa from Alderac Entertainment Group for being our guest speaker. He talked about a number of important aspects of the industry that pertained to designers. I received numerous compliments on Marcelo's presentation and he kept a room of gamers so engaged that they wanted to extend his talk over his budgeted hour. Overall, the event was a success. In total, we had 44 people attend Protospiel West. My initial goal was for 30 attendees for the first event. We had 8 designers in total, with the furthest driving down from Reno that morning. I can not speak for the other designers, but I had a lot of good feedback and ideas come from the three playtest sessions I got in with my game "Breeder's Cup". In talking with some of the other designers, everyone was very enthusiastic with the responses they received and were eager to return home and make changes to their games for future playtesting sessions. I plan on running another Protospiel West convention in the future; however, I am not sure when it will be scheduled. In order for the event to be run over multiple days, we would need to triple the number of designers attending. Most likely, the next event will be a single day as well. In addition, I am looking to form a small local design group made up of designers and dedicated playtesters. This group would meet every 1-2 months for a day to discuss member designs and playtest prototypes. We would likely cycle through so that everyone gets their respective designs tested. If this sounds like something you would be interested in and you are in the Los Angeles area, or are willing to commute, please email me at tball {at} limelitemedia {dot} com. Finally, one more thank you to everyone who attended the event. I look forward to the next event and to seeing you at Orccon and the next So-Cal Games Day. -Travis BallGame Designer |
|
