megabooth-mapBy far, the biggest concentration of iOS developers at PAX East will be found at the Indie MEGABOOTH.

Comprised of 76 developers and 79 games (not all mobile titles), this year’s Indie MEGABOOTH offers loads of interesting and unique gaming experiences to event-goers across a wide variety of platforms, iOS included. The MEGABOOTH takes up the equivalent of 10 mid-sized booths, subdivided into 44 individual booths, and one mid-sized booth dedicated to the Mini Booth.

Last year I spent a large amount of time in this area. While always busy, the lines are not as ridiculously long as the AAA console titles and you can get a lot of fun and memorable gaming experiences in. The developers are always friendly and excited to show off their games and answer any questions you might have. The Indie MEGABOOTH is a great one-stop shop if you want to see a huge number of games that will be hitting your iPhone and iPad in the coming months.

As I previously indicated, this large chunk of exhibition space is broken into two sections, the MEGA Indie Showcase and the Mini Booth. The MEGA Indie Showcase booths remain static throughout the 3-day weekend, while the Mini Booth features a rotating group of presenters throughout the weekend. So make sure to grab a schedule/map when you enter the Indie MEGABOOTH or visit the official site for details on which developers will be showcasing their games on which days.

Map_East15This year, the MEGABOOTH features a couple of repeats from last year (Tumblestone and Dog Sled Saga) which I’m curious to see how they’ve progressed. However, overall it is a completely new crop of games to check out.

Some the titles which look especially interesting to me include: Band Saga, “a modern Action Roguelike where every level, enemy and item is generated by music which is synthesized in real-time as you play”. Gathering Sky, “a playful and emotive experience where you guide a flock of birds with your finger” and Antihero, “an asynchronous multiplayer strategy game about running a thieves’ guild in a Dickensian city overrun by corruption and greed”. Then there is The Hole Story, a top-down RPG fantasy adventure created by a group of young female designers who attended the Girls Make Games series of international camps, workshops, and game jams, Finally there is FallMan, a funny looking trampoline jumping game from a Finish studio, Glad.

Below is the complete list of iOS-related projects available at this year’s Indie MEGABOOTH

MEGABOOTH
  • Band Saga by Playism
  • Downwell by moppin
  • KWAAN by Ankama Canada
  • Mini Metro by Dinosaur Polo Club*
    not scheduled to show iOS release at PAX East, but we hear it’s in the works
  • Tumblestone by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
MINIBOOTH

Here’s a full list of iOS-related Mini Booth presenters.
Last year they time-shared booths, so not all games were available all three days of the show, I’m not sure if that’ll be the case this year as well.

And if all that wasn’t enough to keep you entertained, in the Indie MEGABOOTH area there will also be loads of indie PC, console and tabletop games to see and play as well.

In fact, we’ve just received word that one card game in the tabletop section of the booth, Cinelinx: A Card Game For People Who Loved Movies, will be coming to iOS (and Android) this Fall. Born out of a successful Kickstarter last February, Cinelinx looks like an entertaining little card game where you attempt to play cards from their hands by making links between previously played movie genre, title, actor and director cards. Going to have to check this one out as well.

So make sure you budget at least a half to full day to visit this area alone.

Plus the Indie MEGABOOTH is not the only place for iOS gaming, there are quite a few one-off booths as well as the PAX East Indie Showcase.

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