Small developers who could enter for free received a small table to promote their game while larger sponsors received large amounts of space along the walls of the room. The atmosphere was rather casual and the developers were very friendly though they weren't too pushy about getting you to try their game. Having presented creative work to large groups of people before I know that even someone simply ignoring your booth can feel like a personal rejection. I made a point of letting the developers know when I really thought their game was interesting.
It was about a 50/50 split between Japanese and foreign developers. Probably the most interesting pieces came from the Japanese developers. There is a trend right now in the Japanese game industry where senior employees quit their jobs at large companies (something typically unheard of in Japan) and starting their own projects. Most notably, the creator of the Megaman series, Kenji Inafune, has left Capcom to produce his own games at his new studio Comcept. Though I can't be sure, I would imagine that the creator of the game pictured above, an older Japanese man, is likely an ex-employee of one of the big Japanese studios of the past. He was promoting a brand new game for the NES. I'm now sure how he obtains the cartridges, but he has taken the current cute anime style and applied it to the very graphically limited NES platform making for an interesting visual effect. This is an excellent example of Japanese dedication and I suppose of the Japanese resistance to change.
One wall of the building was occupied by a stage that hosted several speakers from the industry. The final speaker was the man behind the music for PaRappa the Rapper.
I had a lot of fun at the convention and saw a lot of cool games I would have probably never heard about otherwise. This has also reinvigorated my interest in my own game. I have always enjoyed creative pursuits and it looks like making games may be the perfect fit for me.
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