More PAX West

by Ron Gilbert
Sep 06, 2016

More exciting pictures from Thimbleweed Park at PAX West.  PAX West was four days and the forth day was grueling, but the excitement and energy around the booth kept us going.

Like PAX East, we had four stations that remained full right up to closing time when we had to kick people off.  At PAX East we had a long line of people waiting to play, but for west we created a signup list, so people could get their name on it and then go off for a bit and come back. Hard to tell for sure, but it seem to work a lot better.

It was great to meet so many backers and blog readers.  We also had a lot of people come up that had never heard of the game before, but they were big Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion fans. We also had people that had never really played adventure games before, so it was nice to see their reaction.  Much disappointment that the game wasn't out yet.

But all good things must come to an end, and it was time to dismantle the booth. It took up a whole day to set up and a little more than an hour to tear down.

Everything packed into my Jeep ready for storage until next time.

Thanks to David and Chase for watching the booth and helping get people signed up and playing. Thanks to our friends Sophie and Owen who took some shifts and helped out.  Elise, who does the voice for Delores, even stopped by to help out for a few hours.  And huge thanks to ThimbleTeam member Jenn who designed and organized the booth and all our merch.

And most of all, thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hi and play the game.

We're trying to figure out how to do something like this in Europe. The logistic are a lot harder and it's quite a bit more expensive, but we're thinking... we've got our smart-glasses on.

- Ron



Michael Specht - Sep 06, 2016 at 14:54
Come to Berlin, reporting for booth duty! :-D

Michael Specht - Sep 06, 2016 at 14:57
...except there's no such thing a games convention in Berlin, so, uuuh... yeah, come to Europe!

what! - Sep 06, 2016 at 15:09
mmm... I was really hoping to play TP while showering comfortably sitting in my IKEA chair. Ron, can I please get a refund?

Mattias Cedervall - Sep 06, 2016 at 18:08
I would never have told anyone if that had been me! Being Swedish I know a guy working for IKEA that have met the founder a couple of times, but I'm guessing they don't want to hear about the purple tentacle, I mean, testicle. This is funny speaking of IKEA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiBt44rrslw

Juan Jose Velez - Sep 06, 2016 at 15:08
Do it in Mexico City, over here we have the annual ´Electronic Game Show´, and is coming soon! http://electronicgameshow.com/

Malc - Sep 08, 2016 at 01:35
Hey Ron, if I finish work on time can I go?  Can I?

Mikee - Sep 06, 2016 at 15:17
I want a CREEPER DOG like the one in the first picture!!!

Mikee - Sep 07, 2016 at 22:10
Seriously, where can I get one?

entropy - Sep 06, 2016 at 15:20
It really makes my happy to read about all the positive encounters! :)

And let's hope you all get away without the obligatory convention sickness.

Floris - Sep 06, 2016 at 15:24
How about http://firstlookfestival.nl/ in the Netherlands?

tokotoko - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:14
Paris is waiting for you too! :-)

Sebastian - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:14
Just as food for thought: if you want to demo Thimbleweed Park in Europe, the West of Germany would be a very good location.

Short drive from Netherlands, Belgium, short flights from UK or Scandinavia, eastern/southern Germany is about 3hrs away by train as well as is France.


Regards,


Sebastian (living close to a very good location to demo adventure games - pure coincidence *cough*)

Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:48
Germany already had its magic moment in Cologne.
Let's change country.
It's not fair to ask to come in the living country, so... I'll suggest two non-italian European countries.:
San Marino or Vatican City.

Guga - Sep 07, 2016 at 01:23
I'd suggest Ticino, Switzerland :D

Sebastian - Sep 07, 2016 at 06:14
Why would it be "unfair" to propose one's home country? Seriously, it is located in the heart of Europe with excellent transport connections and a substantial share of Europeans live there.

It' s up to Ron and the team. I do not know whether they are looking for a location where they've not yet presented Thimbleweed Park or which allows them to  reach the largest audience.

Best,

Sebastian

Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 07, 2016 at 08:46
Just because I wish they could come in a place near me :-)
Switzerland is fine...

Mister T - Sep 07, 2016 at 06:54
Now I so want to see the pope clicking along in that booth...

Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 07, 2016 at 08:47
Pope Francis would do it! :-D
He's young inside!

Mattias Cedervall - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:42
It was smart of you to create a signup list! You have once again improved the user interface. :-)

I hope you can come to Gamex in Sweden! http://www.comiccongamex.se/

Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:52
If they come to Sweden, I'll come to visit my italian friend living there, and we'll come together! He dressed in cosplay, me too :-)

Mattias Cedervall - Sep 06, 2016 at 17:46
It would be nice to meet you! :-) I won't be dressed as anything special.

Arto - Sep 08, 2016 at 14:17
If TWP comes to Sweden, I'll be there!

Mattias Cedervall - Sep 10, 2016 at 00:30
You are very welcome to Sweden, Arto! ;-) You speak some Swedish, right? Have you been here before? I've been to Finland. I saw the hockey game Thursday night with my Finnish buddy. He thought Sweden would win (he was rooting for Finland) and I thought Finland would win (I was rooting for Sweden). Finland won by 3-2. Some people call me Matti. :-)

Aubrey Alexander - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:44
Your booth was great.  Enjoyed visiting you guys and loved playing the game for the first time.  Thanks for being so friendly!

Carsten Jensen - Sep 06, 2016 at 16:55
We'd love to see you guys here in EU.

can I call shotgun already to be the fist guy playing the demo at your booth? :-P

Damian - Sep 06, 2016 at 17:03
Talk to Octavi and go to: http://www.retrobarcelona.org/

Sunny Spain is waiting for you!

Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 07, 2016 at 03:51
At the end of the home page, there is this "Arcade" image that looks somehow familiar to me...
http://www.retrobarcelona.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ARCADEcat.jpg

Steffen - Sep 06, 2016 at 18:22
Hello Thimbleweedpark-team.

What did all the players and testers say about the new UI?
Have you skipped some ideas, have you got new ideas? What was most interesting, most funny reaction of all the players??

Many thanks...

Ron Gilbert - Sep 06, 2016 at 18:27
No one I talked to said anything about the new UI, not specifically.  Just general comments about how great it looked. One person said everything I've been talking about on the blog makes sense now that he's seen it close up.

Paulup - Sep 06, 2016 at 19:45
I see one of the team has an Aphex Twin logo sticker on their white laptop...
I'm guessing it's David, he seems the most likely to be into avant-garde UK electronica.

David Fox - Sep 07, 2016 at 21:37
Nope, not mine :-)

Zuckerberg - Sep 08, 2016 at 08:17
Aphex Twin sticker there - second that!
(My guess: Jenn)

It still amazes me that there are people from one of the focus groups (LFL nuts, MI players, 30something) who have not yet heard of the game.

These frilly curtain tables - so 80s Americana computer expo...

Quarnz - Sep 06, 2016 at 20:26
If Europe is a struggle then I'm guessing PAX Australia is definitely out??

Mikee - Sep 06, 2016 at 20:27
Seriously, where can I get a CREEPER DOG?

skarsson - Sep 06, 2016 at 21:46
Oh wow, it makes me strangely happy to see the game being played with no keyboard in sight... Simply wonderful! :D
By the way, you're always welcome here in Iceland. We may not have any regular gaming conventions, but still... Feel free to visit!

Magnar - Sep 06, 2016 at 22:41
I just thought about the long list of people signing up to play. Would it not be more fun to provide an actual iphone/android app with a queue ticket system which would notify people through the app that in 5min time a station would be ready for you to play on - so get your ass over to the booth immediately etc. It would make people feel they could roam around and look at other things, but still don't miss out on the action at your booth. Of course this app could also notify people about other things, maybe a mini-quizz or try to find something in the mess of the event, or just don't forget to buy that t-shirt before leaving etc :)

Cheers Magnar

Ron Gilbert - Sep 06, 2016 at 22:45
Good idea, except.

1) That would take some time to write.
2) There is no/really-flaky internet/cell-reception in the convention hall.  Too many phones! I would go hours and never get a connection.

Dominik - Sep 07, 2016 at 15:25
From a marketing perspective this would not be a good idea: Long waiting lines are very good for photos and for the overall impression of high demand. Alle the bloggers and journalists should leave with the feeling, that it was very crowded. If you organize it perfectly and get rid of most people waiting, than the photos would suggest that there is only a very mediocre interest.

So: Waiting lines are good.
...Excpect for the people in the line ;-)

Big Red Button - Sep 07, 2016 at 18:25
In my opinion, you can see so many curious people on the photos that this interested crowd is even more advantageous than a long queue full of thirsty, hungry and tired grumblers.
It seems that there wasn't even enough space for a queue, unless you are looking for a fateful confrontation with the host.

Big Red Button - Sep 07, 2016 at 05:25
Of course, it would be more complicated if you did something like this in Europe. Well, you could ship every item you can't carry with your personal luggage via airfreight to Robert or Malcolm, who may store it for the period until the convention. Since there are lots of IKEA stores, too, even the pieces of furniture might not be a big issue. And, maybe some backers would adopt them when you pull down your booth.

Unfortunately, I personally would not be able to visit your booth in Europe. But, I'm okay with just waiting for the release of the game.

Big Red Button - Sep 07, 2016 at 05:31
Well, at least it's unlikely that I would get the opportunity for some reasons.

Nor Treblig - Sep 07, 2016 at 10:12
So you think shipping a chainsaw and a can of gas via airfreight is a good idea?
You are in for a surprise :-)


True, for such case it is really great that you can just buy the same furniture from IKEA but on the other side of the planet.

Nik - Sep 07, 2016 at 07:13
Don't worry about expenses. I'm sure you can sleep on Europe's couch.

Big Red Button - Sep 07, 2016 at 07:40
This is a short article regarding the demo at the booth:
http://operationrainfall.com/2016/09/06/pax-west-impressions-thimbleweed-park/

While he rendered a positive overall assessment, the author surprisingly wrote that the controls could have been a bit more streamlined. Well, I honestly don't know at all what he means by this. I couldn't imagine a better UI. Perhaps he would have preferred a game controller.

Zak Phoenix McKracken - Sep 07, 2016 at 08:54
I did not understand me neither... 'a bit more streamlined'... in the sense of 'aerodynamic' ?
Maybe a webcam watching the eye-movements could be such an improvement?
Bah...

Big Red Button - Sep 07, 2016 at 10:36
Yes. Maybe he is simply a VR fan.

David Fox - Sep 07, 2016 at 21:36
We usually didn't explain the finer details of the UI, like hitting the right mouse button to use the default verb... And since there was no keyboard available, they couldn't rapidly move through the dialog/text.

Big Red Button - Sep 08, 2016 at 13:37
Thank you for your reply, David! This may be the reason indeed.

Brian Small - Sep 08, 2016 at 20:57
Thanks for this link!  As far as his 'could have been more streamlined' command, I suppose someone could just ask him what he meant.

Zombocast - Sep 07, 2016 at 19:37
Team Thimbleweed Park

Ron: Use Jen on mission, "Setup PAX booth"
Jen: "Setup PAX  booth,
"Serup PAX both" was super effective
Unlocked! New customers!

Mikee - Sep 08, 2016 at 02:44
I want a CREEPER DOG like the one in the first picture!!!  Where can I get one?

Ron Gilbert - Sep 08, 2016 at 13:38
It's a balloon animal.

Katie Parsons - Sep 09, 2016 at 18:19
I was going to suggest EGX Rezzed in London, but TP is due to be released before then. If that changes, let me know - we have a comfy shed.

Gabriele - Sep 11, 2016 at 14:58
I would love to see this booth somewhere here in Italy but I suppose it's far from happening... maybe Milan or Rome. I wouldn't miss such a fun opportunity, to play the game and meet you guys!

Domino - Sep 12, 2016 at 15:11
You should consider GameOn in Lithuania, EU on 29-30 October, 2016: http://www.gameon.lt/en/ :)

Rapp Scallion - Sep 15, 2016 at 11:24
Great to hear about all the positive reactions you guys are getting, just gets me more gee'd up in anticipation of the release!

16BitDude - Sep 20, 2016 at 11:41
May I draw your attention to the Dreamhack Lepzig 2017? ;-) Quite in the middle of Europe and close to the release date...

http://www.dreamhack-leipzig.de/en/?language=en

mr. T - Sep 26, 2016 at 14:24
Seems like a great event, I wish I could have been there. I'm all for a visit in Europe some time :)

I wonder how adventure game newbies percieved the game the first time they played. I mean not your averige call of duty guy but one who appreciates a bit more thoughtful game. It would be cool if the effect was often the same kind of amazement as when I got my first doses of Lucasfilm/Sierra games.