The Long Dark E3

[MueckE]

I can't find anything about TLD on E3. Isn't the E3 (and gamescom) the most important event to promote new games? Everywhere people are talking about the games that are shown there.

Why on earth would Hinterland miss this opportunity and don't go to these events? Especially because this year there are no super hyped triple AAAs that steal the show and everybody is looking for "small diamonds"?

[ChillPlayer]

My guess would be that you need an AAA budged to be able to afford a booth there, money the team can spend better otherwise. Google says about an indie from 2014 which had a 200sqft booth:

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In total we spent a good $30,000 on our booth, and I can assure you this is at the far low end, as most of the big publishers use expensive state-of-the art equipment, custom props, and much more. All of that at a much larger space, of course.

and for an indie like TLD the biggest advertisment are Steam Sales and they don't have to pay anything for it

[MueckE]

I thought so too at first but 30k is nothing compared to how many copys you will sell with this.

Even if you would have to pay 100k it would be worth it for an Indiestudio. I mean, in the german game-media you don't see anything about TLD, no coverage, and that's one of the biggest gaming markets on the planet. The only reason people know about tld is because a few popular youtuber played it back in 2014 - and that's basicly it. The major gaming news/testing sites don't say anything.

[ChillPlayer]

That's true for most indie games, they hardly find any coverage in the mainstream media. Watch Raph's speech on the GDC 2015 or 16 where he tells his fellow gamedevelopers that the major jackpot to reach for an indie game is to be advertised during a steam winter/summer sale, it's when they sell the most copies. But that's just my guessing, maybe @bethany or @Patrick Carlson can elaborate why TLD is not being advertised on the big conventions like E3. 

[Patrick Carlson]

11 hours ago, ChillPlayer said:

That's true for most indie games, they hardly find any coverage in the mainstream media. Watch Raph's speech on the GDC 2015 or 16 where he tells his fellow gamedevelopers that the major jackpot to reach for an indie game is to be advertised during a steam winter/summer sale, it's when they sell the most copies. But that's just my guessing, maybe @bethany or @Patrick Carlson can elaborate why TLD is not being advertised on the big conventions like E3. 

E3 is a big, complex event. It's not right for introducing every game or indeed even for showcasing every game that's already released this year. But we appreciate you thinking of us! 

[Crimson Foxx]

I think Hinterland and specifically The Long Dark will be fine without having had to showcase the game at E3. Its already an established game on steam for anyone that enjoys this style of game. Its community is big and even in my small local world, everyone i know that is a gamer has heard of it and owns it and also endorses it through word of mouth.

I do wonder sometimes if Hinterland should charge for the story episodes as i think its worth it but thats my own opinion. I know the price of the game has or will increase in general on Steam etc but for existing owners i really dont think people would mind paying for each story episode. I doesn't even have to be very much at all, but every little helps the developers and team to grow and stay strong. But thats my own opinion.

However, E3 is a great gaming convention but sometimes not always the right call for a team or game . (Although i do have my eye on the announced prequel for Life is Strange ;). )