Again in July, indie writer Digital Bandidos and occasion organiser The MIX introduced the launch of a new showcase championing indie builders.
Indie Fan Fest, which premieres tomorrow (September 24), is about to spotlight upcoming indie titles getting ready to debut playable demos throughout October’s Steam Next Fest.
Ahead of the debut showcase, GamesIndustry.biz spoke with Digital Bandidos CEO Steve Escalante and The MIX co-founder Justin Woodward on their partnership, how Indie Fan Fest got here to be, and what they hope to obtain with future showcases.
The interview under has been edited for brevity and readability.
Steve, how’s it been going since Versus Evil shut down in 2023?
Steve Escalante: Versus Evil was actually simply a nice run. When Lance [James] and I made a decision to begin Digital Bandidos, it was as a result of there was a lot left undone and that is resonant within the relationships that we’ve got.
I really feel like we’re in the correct place – we have got about a half a dozen games that we have signed, a couple of which have not been introduced, a number of have. I am jealous of the again catalogue income stream that I used to have at Versus Evil, the place it had that income flowing in and paying for issues.
However we’re rebuilding, we’re having a lot of enjoyable. We’re seeing a lot of nice builders, nice games, and the crew we’ve got surrounding us at Digital Bandidos is superior. So we’re fairly psyched.
The place did the concept for Indie Fan Fest originate? What was the pitch?
Escalante: Digital Bandidos has been working for a while now to strive to assist indies with discovery. There’s solely a finite quantity of teams and occasions which you can be a half of to strive to get your title seen.
The fact is that indies are restricted, and we’re restricted by the truth that most indies have to use guerrilla-type techniques, they usually do not have a lot of cash. They cannot inject capital, they cannot do all of this stuff AAA or AA firms can do – coming from AAA, I do know that to be true.
The thought for Indie Fan Fest got here from [asking how we can give teams] a boost, maybe with sufficient advance discover in entrance of a Next Fest the place Steam can drive natural carry throughout that point interval. Since we did not know the way to do a present, we reached out to Justin and Joel [Dreskin] and the blokes over at The MIX. They’ve all the time been supporting indies in a very grassroots and genuine method.
The core competency of the occasion was to give indies momentum, after which as they roll into Next Fest, Valve and Steam sees what they’re doing and provides them a boost, and the remainder is hopefully historical past.
How is Indie Fan Fest financed? Do builders want to pay a submission charge to be featured?
Escalante: Sure, there may be a small submission charge, which is typical to what The MIX does. When you get chosen, there’s a $600 charge. We even have sponsors to assist with different issues as nicely.
We needed to present a low barrier to entry. As a result of as quickly as you say to an indie writer, ‘It solely prices $2,000,’ [They’re] like, ‘Excuse me?’ We guard each penny, every part that we are able to.
Justin Woodward: With that body of thoughts, we’re working with Steam [to boost the event]. Anytime we’ve got a Steam occasion web page, we drive hundreds of wishlists to the games. And we preserve to the barrier of entry so it is inexpensive.
So these builders can take benefit of the scenario with out feeling like their pockets are getting taken benefit of.
Even when one of the games is superb, however the developer cannot even afford that, we’ll nonetheless work with them and say, ‘Hey, we wish your sport, we wish your content material. We’ll take care of that. Don’t fret about it.’
It is all about constructing a grassroots group round this Indie Next Fest so as to have this as a sustainable platform for the long run, not simply this one occasion.
Each time there’s a Steam Next Fest, we [plan to] have an Indie Fan Fest in entrance of it, and hopefully it will get bigger and bigger. Perhaps sooner or later we might do a bodily occasion, which might be superb.
Steam Next Fest is a large occasion, and builders can battle to get observed. Was this one of the catalysts for creating your personal occasion to highlight indie builders?
Woodward: I feel it is a complementary method to spotlight games in order that they get visibility. We’re discovering… I do not need to say diamonds within the tough, however we’re discovering games that will not floor that may hopefully get a large boost from this sort of assist.
Escalante: The fact is, if you consider what number of games are launched from a month-to-month perspective, you’ve got received a couple thousand games popping out.
After we first crafted this concept, we thought that whereas we might help a lot of folks, the fact is a present format can also be restricted. So how will we strive to create the correct kind of momentum, acknowledgement, and promotion round a title to assist builders?
We might love to give you the option to assist everyone, however within the present format and a lot of different codecs, which incorporates Steam Next Fest, it is actually, actually onerous as a result of there’s simply so many titles.
As those controlling what games are featured, how do you select which titles shall be proven on Indie Fan Fest?
Woodward: Each groups [Digital Bandidos and The MIX] went by means of this plethora of games. Additionally, we’ve got to suppose in multiples, we’ve got to suppose of our viewers [and what they want to see].
We even have to take into account the pacing of the present and the categories of games we’re going to showcase inside that.
For instance, we had a bunch of Metroidvanias. We will not decide 20 of these games, so we had to work out which of them are distinctive, which of them have been overexposed, and which of them have not had the publicity that we predict that they could want to transfer ahead.
We even have to take into account our broadcasting companions, who’re wanting on the content material to see what their viewers desires. So in that context, we wish these tentpole games that may assist carry up the smaller games that do not have the publicity.
So there are some strategic issues we’ve got to take into consideration whereas we’re choosing the games. The entire thing could be very nicely thought out, and we’re speaking with the Digital Bandidos crew, who’ve a completely different eye and ethos behind what they’re . So it’s extremely useful to have these contrasting ideas.
Have you ever been inundated with builders sending trailers to be featured within the showcase, or have you ever had to chase folks?
Woodward: After we began actually pushing it on LinkedIn and all these completely different locations, we’re getting trailers after the actual fact, and we’re attempting to work out how to slot stuff in.
In whole, we have had about 700 trailers are available for this combined with the Fall showcase, however an amazing quantity of them had been for Indie Fan Fest. It is a actually clear constructive that that is one thing that people need. As a matter of reality, it was variety of troublesome to say no to some of these. They’re superb, however [we] cannot have a three-hour present, or else folks would get misplaced.
However there’ll undoubtedly be extra alternatives. It is good as a result of I feel a lot of builders and even publishers break their backs to hit the primary Steam Next Fest and take a look at to get a place. Now that we’ve got this present, of us can strategize and perhaps they are often extra considerate on the place they slot their Steam Next Fest positioning, since you solely get one. So I feel that is going to be a internet constructive and useful for folk.
Escalante: We have been actually flattered with how many individuals needed to be half of this primary present. The subsequent one’s going to be greater, higher, with a lot extra providers and data, and hopefully we might help folks strategize. It is a crucial occasion for indie builders – it is a wishlist driver, it is about creating a relationship with Valve, as a result of they’re seeing the pickup that you just get, and the hope is that we’re simply serving to.
Taking part in satan’s advocate, there’s a lot of these showcases… do we’d like one other one?
Woodward and Escalante: Sure!
Woodward: The factor is, a lot of of us do not have the experience that we’ve got in positioning these showcases. Not everybody has the partnerships that we’ve got, both. There’s a lot of reveals popping out left and proper, and a lot of them do not final. Some of them do, and there is a few that I actually maintain in excessive regard. That is one thing I am personally obsessed with – it’s extremely, very mandatory and I feel we’re going to kill it.
It looks like discoverability is the issue that everybody’s dealing with, and it will get worse and worse on a regular basis. How can that drawback presumably be solved – or can it’s solved?
Escalante: Digital Bandidos is actively engaged on a platform proper now to remedy discoverability. We really feel that there are firms which can be doing items of it, however they don’t seem to be doing every part that may be performed.
There are solely so many instruments in indie growth to get that kind of discover and press for a console or PC launch. Now that the platforms have just about lowered the barrier to entry for merchandise, that is why we have seen an inflow of content material. So the problem goes to worsen. We’ve not even seen the affect of what AI growth goes to do, both.
I feel it is going to be exacerbated within the subsequent couple of years, and since of that, we’re hyperfocused on how will we assist groups pre-launch, discover customers, create relationships with these customers, have direct communications, and hopefully give you the option to mobilize them in direction of wishlists, purchases, and pre-orders.
So that you’re speaking about constructing a platform for indies?
Escalante: We really feel that we’ve got a system to do it. I am hoping that we are able to get there. It is going to be a problem, it is going to be a lengthy course of, however I feel it is 100% wanted to assist them self-publish. There are firms which can be doing items of it which can be completely mobilizing and useful, and folks must be looking for these issues out.
Disclosure assertion: Former GamesIndustry.biz editor-in-chief, James Batchelor, is an worker at Digital Bandidos.