In a first for Australia's Premier Collectables Show, 93 Made Games exhibited its Australian-designed card games Viewpoint and Show'n'Go. Australia's Premier Collectables Show is a fantastic opportunity for people to view and purchase a range of collectables from different eras. At each show, attendees can find a wide range of vintage, retro and modern collectables, such as trading cards, sports memorabilia, action figures, die-cast vehicles, toys, sci-fi figurines, gadgets and now... Australian-designed card games. 93 Made Games spoke with the show's organiser, Sonny Sen, about collaborating with games stores around the country to host games conventions and tournaments together with the collectables shows. This type of venture will benefit attendees, who will receive a richer and more varied experience, and exhibitors, who will have more people browsing through their merchandise. Sonny also plans to continue hosting special guests at the collectables shows. The show's first ever special guest was Australian Rugby League icon Laurie Daley, whom 93 Made Games spoke with back in October 2008. Other special guests have included AFL identities - Anthony Rock and James Manson - and Rugby League legends - Wayne Pearce, Ben Elias and Paul Sironen. Australia's Premier Collectables Show is held throughout Victoria and New South Wales. To find out when the next show is on at a venue near you go to http://www.cshow.com.au/.
0 Comments
Sydney-based game design company – 93 Made Games – has recently released its first card game, Viewpoint, to shake-up the reign of foreign games in Australia. Viewpoint was designed to provide Australians with a new, highly-interactive and replayable card game amid a multitude of American-designed games. “It’s all about designing something from an Australian perspective – with our unique culture and our jovial nature in mind,” according to 93 Made Games’ Sean Carroll. Viewpoint provides perfect entertainment for Australian families on a tight budget. It’s a game to be enjoyed by the whole family – both parents and children. 93 Made Games’ main challenge in releasing Viewpoint has been getting Australian retailers to stock a product that was not produced by one of the larger US game publishers, such as Hasbro or Mattel. But by releasing Viewpoint at Australia’s premiere games and entertainment expo, Gen Con Australia, they have garnered great support from Australian retailers, including Good Games and Games World, which now stock Viewpoint. “However, we’re totally confident the overseas audiences will also enjoy something that is designed from a unique and fun Australian perspective, so we are intending to distribute Viewpoint throughout the US, Europe and Japan,” according to Carroll. And there’s more in the pipeline with 93 Made Games intending to release more games in 2010 including a Rugby League card game. To assist other up-and-coming Australian game designers 93 Made Games has also provided a forum for game designers to pitch their ideas. “Australians have always been known for their ingenuity and inventiveness and these are exactly the skills that we’re after,” said Carroll. Viewpoint sells for a RRP of $14.99 and can be purchased from your local game store or via the 93 Made Games website at www.93madegames.com.au. 93 Made Games is an Australian game design company specialising in the design and production of card games, board games and miniature games. 93 Made Games has recently released its first card game, Viewpoint, and has plans for the release of several other games including the Show’n’Go Rugby League card game, Gladitorus Millennia medieval miniature battle game and Monster Town card game.
93 Made Games will be exhibiting at its second games expo when it sets up its booth at the Australian Games Expo in January 2010. The Australian Games Expo is the premiere expo in Australia for games designers, developers and publishers. The expo has been running since 2006 and in 2010 it will be run in conjunction with CanCon, Canberra's long-running gaming convention. The expo is being held at the Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) on 23-25 September 2010 and entry is free. Once again, 93 Made Games will be demonstrating a range of its released and developmental games as well as its game design and art services. In a addition to the expo, 93 Made Games will be entering Viewpoint into the 2010 Australian Game Awards. The winners for the 2009 Awards will be formally announced at the 2010 Australian Games Expo. To find out more about the Australian Games Expo go to http://www.toyandgameexpo.com.au/.
After eight months of developing Viewpoint, 93 Made Games sold its first copy of the game today and has orders for many more. This milestone marks the first step in what is planned to be a big year for the company and Viewpoint. 93 Made Games' first customer is Kieran McLaughlin of Munich, Germany. Kieran was so impressed by the story behind Viewpoint's creation that he insisted on buying the first copy - even if it was only a sample copy. Premiere copies of Viewpoint will be available for sale from mid-August 2009. 93 Made Games' Game Design Manager, Sean Carroll, joked that the sample copies of Viewpoint might even become collectors' items in the future. Sean also looks forward to watching kids and adults alike getting great enjoyment out of playing the game and knows that with the assistance of a supportive Australian games industry this is a likely reality. 93 Made Games has taken several advanced orders for the game from parents and children who say they want to buy the game so they can give it as a Christmas gift to their friends and family. Anyone interested in buying Viewpoint for themselves or as a gift can do so through 93 Made Games or by visiting their local games store. Viewpoint is a fun-packed and easy to learn card game for 2 or more players aged 7 and up. Be the first player to reach 100 points by looking into the future, spying on other players and blindsiding your buddies!
93 Made Games' Game Design Manager, Sean Carroll, talks about the fun and games of play-testing Viewpoint. Before a game is deemed acceptable for production, 93 Made Games (and any other game design company worth its weight in salt) conducts months of play-testing on the game. Play-testing is simply the act of testing how a game works when it is played. The elements that are tested include whether people enjoy it, if the game's mechanics are balanced and what aspects can be improved. Viewpoint went through two main stages of play-testing - design play-testing and development play-testing. Design play-testing is where the original game concept is tested using simple prototypes to assess if the concept is suitable for refinement into a playable game. The main element of Viewpoint that changed during design play-testing was that the aim was changed from maintaining the lowest score until all cards had run out to reaching the highest score first. Development play-testing is where the playable game design is tested against a set of criteria including that all elements work with each other, the game is fun to play and easy to understand and the game pieces, such as the cards, look right. At 93 Made Games, we have several other criteria, which are too numerous to mention here. 93 Made Games conducted as series of Viewpoint development play-test parties to test these criteria and ensure that Viewpoint provides a superior quality of gameplay. If you're interested in play-testing developmental games, sign up to our mailing list to keep apprised of when the next play-testing session is on.
Exactly one year after 93 Made's incorporation, 93 Made's Managing Director, Sean Carroll, discusses the past year and the plans for the year ahead. 93 Made was incorporated as an Australian company on 18 April 2008. Prior to this, the company operated for several years as two separate entities - 93 Made (table top game designers) and Julia Fergusson's piano and Japanese tuition. These entities came together to share their skills and initiative in providing high-quality and cost-effective education and entertainment media. The company's Music and Education Division now provides music and Japanese language tuition throughout Sydney City and the Eastern Suburbs. The company's tuition services are planned to expand to servicing over 150 students by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, the Entertainment Media Division is producing a range of card games and miniature games to be released in 2009-10. Viewpoint is scheduled for release in July 2009 and a range of other games are scheduled for release in 2010. The company will exhibit Viewpoint and other games it is currently developing at the Gen Con Oz games exposition in Brisbane in September 2009. 93 Made is very well poised for the future and its employees are excited about all of the opportunities for providing the best education and entertainment media in 2009-10. Happy Birthday 93 Made! Contact us to find out more about 93 Made's plans for 2009-10.
|
Indie Games UnitedIndie Games United is a retailer and advocate of independently designed and published tabletop games. We collaborate with designers and publishers to provide gamers with unique, high quality and novel games. Archives
May 2023
Categories
All
|