A new convention is coming to town, this time looking into an all-new platform.
LudoNarraCon is a games convention unlike any other. This indie developer haven which primarily features narrative-focused games is set to feature exhibitions of all sorts, as well as discussion panels with well-known indie developers. Confirmed speakers include Inkle, Kitfox, Failbetter and Warm Lamp. The convention's main draw, however, is that it will not be held in a physical location; the entire convention will be held entirely on Steam, with a proposed “central theater stream” on a created dedicated event page. The convention also supports live streams with different creators and developers, as well as chat support on store pages. Like any other gaming convention, there are also playable demos for the featured games.
"We love conventions like PAX and there are some elements of physical cons that are irreplaceable, but it’s a challenge for indie narrative games to compete on the convention circuit," said Chris Wright, managing director at indie publishing label Fellow Traveller, in a statement. "Small teams can’t afford the time or money to be at all the amazing events around the world and it can be hard for narrative games to show well at a busy physical event."
"As a narrative game label, we’ve been thinking a lot about this challenge. When we saw what Steam was doing with streaming, we realized it provided an incredible opportunity to do something different," Wright continued. "This is very much a first go, but we expect to learn a lot and hope to build this into an ongoing platform to help narrative games punch above their weight."
The event is already being hyped by a lot of Steam users, seeing as Steam is one of the biggest places to get your indie game recognized. A list of more than 20 games will be showcased directly in the store page livestreams:
- Heaven's Vault (Inkle)
- Sunless Skies (Failbetter Games)
- Beholder (Warm Lamp Games)
- Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)
- Neo Cab (Change Agency)
- Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Cultist Simulator (Weather Factory)
- The Church in the Darkness (Paranoid Productions)
- Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games)
- Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)
- The Stillness of the Wind (Memory of God)
- Hacknet (Team Fractal Alligator)
- In Other Waters (Jump Over the Age)
- Orwell: Keeping An Eye On You (Osmotic Studios)
- Orwell: Ignorance is Strength (Osmotic Studios)
- Blind (Tiny Bull Games)
The even runs from May 10 to May 13, followed by a Steam sale for more than 40 games which will be marked down during the duration. You can find out more about LudoNarraCon here.
