Saturday, April 8, 2017

Sacramento Indie Arcade - The Fun Never Ends

It’s a rainy day as I cross the parking lot to the West Sacramento Community Center where a fun event taking place that I had never even heard about before. Behind the Community Center’s doors, dozens of video game developers and gamers of all ages have gathered for the 4th annual 2017 Sacramento Indie Arcade. Here is where all manner of gamers can come and interact with a huge variety of local game developers and vendors, as well as other gamers from all walks of life.
As I walk into the crowded hallways, I am led to two rooms right next to each other.
I go into the first room, where there are tables all across the room with a TV and a game going on each screen. Everything you can think of is screaming out at you to play it. There are RPGs, puzzle games, platform fighters, and racing games up for grabs. Each station has eager players either watching or playing what these local developers have to offer. As well, there were two tables dedicated entirely to game/geek related merch covered in all sorts of enticing pins, toys, and swag.
There were two games in particular that caught my attention as I was wandering around. The first one caught my eye, because it was different than what my eyes were being bombarded with. The game was named HAOS, a PC exclusive by Lucre Games, and all the screen consisted of was a black circle with a smaller white circle that you controlled. As you start the game, other different colored circles come into view and swarm to you, leaving you to push and hold the right button, so you can mimic their color, turn them white, and absorb them. All while trying not to die. As I was laughing, getting destroyed over and over again, I remarked how relaxing and easy the game was to Eric Howard, one of the game’s developers, he responded,
“Yeah, we just wanted to make a relaxing, comfortable game for everyone to play. It does get more frustrating as the game goes on, though (laughs).”
After too much fun with this game, I set the controller down and continue on through the rest of the room and stop in front of two tables for CastleQuest Educational Games Studio, and their tablet based-game Reading Quest. Now, while it looked obviously geared toward preschoolers and kindergartners, I couldn’t help myself. I found myself tracing letters and laughing at the goofy 3-D animation of all the fantasy themed characters. After too much fun, yet again, I set the tablet down and wondered where these games were when I was a kid.
Maneuvering my way out of the room as it was filling up, I shuffle into another room next door, and am presented with a similar scene from the one before. The difference lies at the opposite ends of the room. To my right, against the wall, are two TV’s set up with a PS4 and Street Fighter V going at each one. Nestled in front of them are a pair of players whose hands are moving at speeds I never thought humanly possible. From this dizzying display, I venture to the opposite wall where there are also TV’s set up with consoles attached. On one half of the tables are all Nintendo-related platforms. They had a Switch playing Zelda, a Gamecube with Super Smash Brothers Melee, and an SNES with Street Fighter going as well. On the other half, there were systems that belonged in a museum. An Atari 2600, an Atari 1200 XL, the Jaguar LYNX, and what I think was a ColecoVision were all hooked up to their own TV. The thing that both stations had in common, though, was that every person who was playing these games was laughing, chatting, and having a great time. The whole event had a vibe like that in every room, and it was obvious that people were tuned in as they continued to stream in.
As I am walking toward one of the doors, one game in particular caught my eye. It was a first person game, and it was very clearly set in a starship floating out in space. Stardrop, for PC, is the game featured here, and I can’t help but stare as the intricately detailed hallways stream past. It’s quality is very apparent, as was my slightly open mouth, apparently. I am greeted by Aryn Rozelle, one of the voice actors in this game, and she explains the basis of the game for me,
“It’s a narrative-based space adventure game, where it’s more focused on the story as a whole, instead of the usual kind of dread that has been in most space games, lately.”
She goes on to add that the version here today is only the demo version, and the final game itself should have 6-10 hours of complete gameplay. If the demo is any quality indication, then the final game itself should, hopefully, be a solid release.
Snagging a piece of candy from Stardrop’s table, I wander out the door and head upstairs, where there is a group of excited kids checking out and Oculus Rift VR set up, excitedly shooting at whatever bad guys were shooting back at that particular time. I go a bit further down the hall, into the room called The Black Box, where there is an open stage floor and a table where VOG(Voice of Geeks) Network are talking about the event for their podcast live from their table. People were filing in and out of the darkened speaking room as the next speaker was getting ready to set up.
Being overly-caffeinated as I usually am, I decide to head back downstairs to see if I can get a chance to try Stardrop, when another booth catches my eye. This booth in particular belonged to Gamers Gift, a local non-profit organization that aims to bring games to the disabled, elderly, and sick people in hospitals. I get the chance to speak with the group’s founder, president, and CEO, Dillon Smith, who started Gamers Gift in his senior year in early 2016. Using games as a tool for enjoyment, he remarks,
“It’s a good way for the people we help to escape from their situation and put some joy back into their lives.”
This simple philosophy has carried this group far since its humble beginnings. Gamers Gift is aiming to expand even further by hosting a multi-platform, charity gaming event called GG:WP. They aim to get people together to play across all form of gaming, while at the same time raising money for them to continue their mission of brining joy to people who need it the most. As well, they have, according to Dillon, 600 pounds (That’s right. Pounds.) of computers and computer related stuff to raffle off. Check the event on Facebook, here.
With a hearty handshake from Dillon, I make my way back out of the room and down the hall again. Laughter and excited chatter overlay the various sound effects echoing out from games being played and it fills me with happiness. Because isn’t this what gaming is supposed to be all about? Having fun with friends, along with potentially new ones? Local events like this help foster these feelings and the event’s organizers, Nascent Games and the IGDA –Sacramento Chapter, did an excellent job in making a fun and exciting environment for local gaming to flourish.