Day two and day three at Casual Connect have been super busy. There were just too many games, and too many cakes.
Day two was the official launch of the event. The first thing we did was to get in touch with developers. We wanted to try as many games as possible as well as to get inspired by as many developers as possible. It was possibly the most productive day ever in our lives.
A day of horror
It is difficult to ignore horror games since the titles featured there are mostly award-winning and popular in the international market. This was the reason why we interviewed two horror game producers on that day – Kaigan Games who made the Youtuber’s favorite Sara Is Missing and Gattai Games who made the game reviewer’s favorite Stifled.
▲ QooApp with Kaigan Games’ CEO Shah Rizar
▲ QooApp with Gattai Games’ designer Andre Pong
Chinese-made Dying: Reborn by Oasis Games caught our eyes with a really striking fish-man that was featured on a sizeable TV. 10 minutes into it had already got us awestruck by its complicated puzzles.
▲ Dying: Reborn
Other horror games also got a lot of attention, well, that’s mostly because visitors screamed when trying them.
No need to starve
Our schedule for this day was filled with food. From 12pm to 1pm, there was a all-you-can-eat lunch buffet made specially for all attendees. It had local Singaporean dishes as well as something western like a salad bar. The buffet also came with a dessert section where a wide variety of cakes were unlimited!
After everyone took their meals, they could sit down at round tables and talk to each other. Some workaholics ate as they kept tapping on the keyboard. As for developers, we noticed that they liked walking around the hall with their plates and checked out other events or games.
Shortly after the lunch buffet, there was an afternoon tea buffet where we stuffed ourselves with our favourite – tiramisu!
▲ The biggest temptation
Become knowledgeable
Lectures and sharing sessions were very practical to those who were there for business. We attended the sharing session by Astuo Nakayama, the COO of BanG Dream’s producer Bushiroad. Not only did he explain a bit of how his business runs, he also shared something interesting – People in the U.S. actually spent more on different Japanese anime and gaming franchises than the Japanese themselves!
▲ There are about 150 lectures
Party with the fish
On day three, our schedule got less tight but we did not stop talking to the developers. We interviewed post-apocalyptic survival simulation game 60 Seconds! consultant, Vlad Micu, as well as students who made the award-winning title Lily: Colors of Santa Luz. The articles will be up later!
▲ The cute 60 Seconds! merch we got
▲ We also watched the official Twitch livestream
At night, the organiser hosted a party at S.E.A. Aquarium. We got to enjoy free drinks and marcarons as our little friends from the water watched us through a giant glass.
▲ Were we the audience, or was the fish the audience
There will be an award giving ceremony tomorrow. Of course we are going to put the list of best indie games up here. Stay tuned!