With a lot leading up to September 13 for the Boston Festival of Indie Games, I got a chance to ask Dan Silvers, co-director of the festival a couple of questions.
Oz: What Indie Games are you most excited for to be at this years festival?
[blockquote]DS: There are so many it’s hard to pick favorites. Some of the more intriguing ones that I’ve seen though include Never Alone, a game about an Iñupiaq girl and her pet fox; The Counting Kingdom, a math game that does the kind of educational gameplay we really haven’t seen since the early days of The Learning Company; and Le Sablier, a game where players must work cooperatively to run a restaurant.[/blockquote]
Oz: A nice addition to the Festival has been the art, are you looking to explore more of this medium in future festivals? Perhaps a bigger showcase for them?
[blockquote]DS: This year we are encouraging our exhibitors to bring their art themselves and have their own mini-galleries or art books handy. Due to space limitations we had to cut the gallery this year, but I am hoping to see it return in great fashion in the future![/blockquote]
Oz: Early Access is the pillar of indie gaming, do you think ID@XBOX and Sony’s Indie Collection will help shine a bigger spotlight to those games or would it create more clutter?
[blockquote]DS: Wow, loaded question here. Personally I think Early Access has a place on just about any platform, as it helps developers build their communities and make their games a whole lot better through bug-checking, analytics, and feedback. It is still a business model that has a lot of room for exploration, though! If it’s a topic that interests you, I recommend the “Early Access Panel” and Epic’s talk on developing the next Unreal Tournament with community involvement, both of which will be at BostonFIG.[/blockquote]
Oz: With a larger audience expected this year, and its success in the previous years, is it possible we’ll see a new Boston location next year?
[blockquote]DS: Right now we’re just focusing on the 13th. We have a great relationship with MIT though, and both the attendees, exhibitors, and community love having the fest on campus. My preference would be to keep it at MIT for as long as the show exists.[/blockquote]
Oz: Will the Festival of Indie Games explore outside of Boston and potentially expand to other cities or states?
[blockquote]DS: There’s no reason why it couldn’t, but other than guidance we’re not in a position to really make that happen.[/blockquote]
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Now for the business side of things, get your Boston FIG passes and meet me there! I promise you it will be fun!
Hey, I definitely appreciate the shout-out from Dan about Le Sablier. I had a great time presenting it at the Festival this weekend. The organizers did a great job putting together an event that ran very smoothly, was well-attended, and was a lot of fun. (There’s much more info about Le Sablier at http://www.lesabliergame.com).