There and Back Again

We’re back from a whirlwind weekend at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo. This year we went a little overboard – what started as a pitch for a talk on retro RPGs turned into a talk plus a table with live playtesting AND a private suite party. It was an incredible experience we won’t soon forget!

We have to give a very special shoutout to Unknown Realm fan and SDG guild member, John, who flew all the way from the east coast to attend PRGE with us. We met in person for the first time on Saturday morning at 7am and by Sunday night when we said goodbye, he felt like a dear friend we’ve known for years.

Playtesting Unknown Realm

Last year we ran a playtest at our suite party (recap here). This year, since we were offered a booth along with our speaker slot, we decided to bring Unknown Realm to the floor for anyone to playtest. We used the intro level of the game for this playtest. It’s a meaty slice (~45min) of gameplay which demonstrates many of the main mechanics of the game, and has a rewarding end for players who make it all the way through.

All totaled, we got about 6 solid hours of playtesting in, and a wealth of useful feedback, particularly minor UI tweaks. We’ve spent the days since incorporating the useful playtesting suggestions into the game. One of the most amusing observations we had was people getting so wrapped up in exploration that they forget to equip their weapons and armor and ended up running around in their “skins” (the D&D equivalent of your birthday suit), bashing things with their fists. 

IRL Feedback

The highlight of playtesting in person for us is seeing players’ reactions to the game in real time. It’s similar to being there when someone opens a gift you give them. You get a lot of genuine information from watching how they react, that you wouldn’t get if you were not there in person. This extra information is often lost when doing distance testing because you can’t observe player reactions the same way.  When a player reaches the end of our playtest and their face breaks out in a huge smile – it’s such a good feeling.

Are you releasing the playtest build?

A few people have asked if this playtest build will be available for the community (e.g. a demo) and the answer is no. We’ve been consistently clear that we’re committed to releasing the game in full, when it’s done – no early access, no demos. We feel this is the best thing for this particular type of single player RPG. The build we used for playtesting is our own internal development build, and not for public release. 

Speaking Of Heroes

The list of speakers this year included Dan & Gary Kitchen and David Crane, Michael Cranford (the original creator of Bard’s Tale), and a whole host of other industry alum and creators. Bruce was so excited to meet David Crane, and Gary Kitchen as big sources of inspiration for him as a teen who spent many hours in Gary Kitchen’s Game Maker trying to unearth game development mysteries. 

Beyond Nostalgia: Why Old School RPGs Still Rule

We had the honor of speaking about old-school RPGs and why they’ve stood the test of time.
We got the ‘death slot’ talk time, at the same time as a huge Metal Gear Solid panel, so we figured we’d see 10–20 people tops and even had a backup plan to turn it into a roundtable hangout. Instead, we found ourselves in front of a packed house of enthusiastic retro RPG lovers. It was great to share some of our inspiration for Unknown Realm, diving into the origins of CRPGs with what Bruce calls “The Four Fathers of RPGs” (Tolkien, Gygax, Garriott, and Horii), and exploring the elements that make RPGs great.

SDG Gathering

Last year’s suite gathering was such a success, we had to do it again. This year we had a mix of fellow game devs, Unknown Realm backers and fans, Michael Cranford. The suite party was a chance to unwind and connect with new friends away from the chaos of the expo and get a bit more playtesting in from guests who wanted to try the game. 
It was surreal for Bruce to have one of his heroes, Michael Cranford, play his game and rap with him about the game industry and RPGs. 

Back to Work

Once again, we’ve returned from PRGE feeling inspired and grateful for the incredible people in our community, from backers who’ve been around since day one to brand new fans. It takes a huge amount of determination and passion to keep working on a project like this – with all the ups and downs we’ve had along the way – it’s very affirming to be face to face with the people who love games like ours and see how much they enjoyed trying out Unknown Realm. 

We can’t wait to share what’s next for Unknown Realm with all of you!