Chapter Clear: Midwest Gaming Classic 2024!

Apr 24

*A welcoming sight as we approached the convention center in downtown Milwaukee!*

Earlier this month, the Advent of the Reaper demo was available at the Midwest Gaming Classic. The MGC is a three(ish)-day event and prides itself as “the largest game show in the Midwest,” with a convention center’s worth of arcade games, pinball, indies, performances, dealers, artists, and more. This was our third time showing off the game in public, but the first time across multiple days at a large show, and even more exciting — the first time Doug and Lucas got to meet and hang out in person. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but a memorable one! Here’s how the schedule shook out:

Thursday Night
Doug flies in, the crew grab drinks at a local cocktail bar, and get settled in at the Air BnB

Friday
In-Person Advent Dev Meeting (woo!), having lunch at a bratwurst bar, demo booth setup at the convention center, a little downtown Milwaukee jaunt, running the demo at MGC’s Preview Night, and an emergency supply run at Target before turning in

*Lucas and Doug setting up the booth Friday afternoon*

Saturday
A long day of booth running, demo showing, player interacting goodness (and, Doug proudly reports, shopping at the vendor hall!)

Sunday
A not-quite-as-long day of demo-ing, tearing down the booth, grabbing dinner at a video-game themed pizza place, and parting ways — Doug to the airport, Lucas and Leigh on an hour drive home

What were your favorite moments from MGC?

Doug: Every time we’ve gone to a show, just getting to talk to people excited by Advent is what it’s all about. We always get lots of great feedback from a public event — MGC was no exception, but on a much bigger scale! I got to meet some people who had already played Advent and met Lucas back at M+DEV in November, and were excited to see us on display again. Of course, most people we interacted with had never heard of us and it was wonderful capturing people’s reaction to the game, and chatting about what they liked (or didn’t like!) so we can keep improving.

*Doug, on the left, talking about how awesome Advent is*

Lucas: I loved watching folks’ eyes light up when they realized what we were going for. For some Advent scratches that itch of a perfect blend of nostalgia and narrative driven storytelling. I was amazed at the great ideas that people had from relatively brief conversations about tRPG strategy, and even better, some great questions about the characters and worldbuilding! If what we have so far resonates at all, I can’t wait to see what people will think after we finish the prologue and a few more chapters.

What were your favorite moments from Milwaukee?

Doug: Well, I would be remiss not to mention that Lucas and his wife Leigh were absolutely stellar hosts for this first-time visitor. I have chatted with both of them extensively online, so there was no doubt we’d all get along — but I couldn’t have been made to feel more at home and I thank them both for their hospitality and kindness! I am hopeful that I can return the favor if we get Advent into Super MAGFest 2025 and can lure them to the East Coast! Being able to demo Advent at a large event was awesome, but the real treasure was getting to hang out with Lucas and Leigh along the way.

I enjoyed the parts of Milwaukee I got to see, but naturally most of the weekend was spent in the Convention Hall. When we did make it outside, it was usually for food, and I have to say, the food did not disappoint. I would return to any of the food/drink establishments we visited, so here’s some Milwaukee local shoutouts: At Random, Vanguard, and Classic Slice!

Lucas: Can’t top Doug on this one! It was truly a pleasure hosting him in Wisconsin and we can’t wait to have him back!

*Lucas and Doug grab a drink on Thursday night at the “At Random” cocktail bar*

*Dev meeting (with lots of coffee) Friday morning before heading to MGC*

Was there anything you were surprised by?

Doug: As a pleasant surprise, it was awesome to see so many cool, clever, and unique booth setup ideas from the other indies in our area. (Some we simply admired, some ideas we intend to “borrow” for our own future setups…) For example, our indie neighbor opposite our booth, the adorable adventure Garage Sale, had styled their whole booth to look like a cozy and welcoming experience complete with comfy blankets on the player’s chair.

To wrap up, what were your biggest takeaways from the event?

Doug: My biggest takeaway from all of the feedback at this event is that we need to slightly shift how we’re approaching the “demo” of Advent. One of the most consistent pieces of feedback we get at shows (not from established fans of the genre, generally speaking, but consistent nonetheless) is that it takes too long between the opening dialogue scenes and the player gaining control. Some players give up and walk off before the scene even finishes! An average time measurement for that current opening scene is about four minutes — not lengthy at all by RPG standards — but for people who are just casually sitting down(and maybe haven’t experienced a visual novel scene before, or otherwise have no idea what they’re stepping into), that can feel extensive. As a result, one of my goals for the next show is to have a streamlined version of the demo chapters specifically for public shows, with reduced dialogue so that we still communicate the key parts of the story, allowing the player to get into the fight faster!

Lucas: Keep doing what we’re doing! So much of the feedback was to implement functionality we have on our radar, so our marching orders are to keep building the darn thing :) From a show standpoint — we’d like to add a demo reel to the monitors so passersby get a glimpse of what Advent is about prior to sitting down and giving it a go.

*Doug signing off in our airbnb guest book*

Next Up: Indie Game Fest in Baltimore

The Advent demo returns to the East Coast this June. We’ll have a table set up at the Indie Game Fest in Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library, Central Branch. If you’re local to the Maryland area, consider stopping by to see us and other indies from 11 AM - 4 PM on June 22nd!

Bonus Loot: Art Drop!

There has been a lot of Advent concept art, location explorations, character designs, and of course pixel art happening behind the scenes. Here’s a little preview of what the team has been working on — we can’t wait to get more of this into the game!