This week Melbourne hosted the 3rd annual gaming convention “PAX” at the exhibition centre. PAX refers to the Penny Arcade Expo web comic series which also means peace in Latin. PAX is the world biggest video gaming festival dedicated entirely to gamers and creators.
This was my first visit to PAX and I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people visiting from all over Australia and the world. They had every type of game imaginable and many more on the up and coming from both indie developers and AAA companies. With only 3 days to see everything and countless panels with industry experts to sit in on, prioritising and planning was a must.
For me this was a chance to experience the Oculus rift headpiece, have a chat to inspiring developers and gamers, sit in on some panels and watch some pro gaming competitions. (Oh and the odd photo)
The bonus reason for heading to PAX though was to check out a new up and coming video game release called “Keep Defence” which was being exhibited for the first time.
“Have you ever wished that your trading cards came to life, a la YuGiOh? Well, before virtual or augmented reality devices tick that dream off the list, Grantley Day and his team at Good Games Productions, have you covered with their latest title” – Keep Defence.
There is a full review of Keep defence by GameCloud at:
http://gamecloud.net.au/features/reports/paxaus-2015-best-of-the-show-day-two
A brief description Keep Defence would be that it is a hybrid style game consisting of tower defence and collectible card game elements. It features real time PVP action with the goal of destroying or defending the Orb. The strategy lies in constructing and placing your best cards which is then converted into real time action and fighting.
I really enjoyed helping with the sound design for this game, the team at Good Game Productions have been amazing. I was provided assets that allowed me to begin work straight away. So far for me and Jackson the other sound designer we have created over 130 unique original sounds. This includes monsters, bosses, heroes, spells, resources, orbs, menus and many more. The music composition was created by “Az” from Square Frame Music who delivered world class quality music which captures the theme and heart of the game. Az has also created more music which is yet to be implemented.
https://www.facebook.com/SquareFrameMusic
At the end of the day the PAX experience has reinforced what I was already starting to lean towards, sound design for games. It’s such a booming market at the moment and I feel like I have been very fortunate to have a passion in this area. Keep Defence is still in early stages (Alpha/ Pre Alpha) and I look forward to seeing this game evolve and sculpt into the enjoyable and strategic game is destined to be.
If you wish to keep in the loop and watch this game evolve visit http://keepdefence.com/# and enter your email and we will be in contact.
