Will Porter: Due to a mix of climate guilt and a love of big tunnels, I went on Eurostar. Took a while longer, yeah, but super smooth and the connection in Bruge meant that I got to poke about somewhere new for an hour and eat at a powerfully exotic local eatery called ‘Pret a Manger’.
“The buzz about Baldur’s Gate 3 you heard from practically everyone you met.” Will Porter, The Indie Stone
What was your first meeting and how did it go? Will Porter: A very pleasant catch-up with a guy from the Epic Store, talking about where each other’s companies were at. This was alongside the dawning realisation that we both worked on No Man’s Sky on different sides of the Atlantic, and an expression of our shared love of Bojangles chicken n’ biscuit outlets in North Carolina.
Steve Swink: It was with Matthew Phillips from Future Games Showcase. Went off a storm. He was keen to try a fresh take on the classic skating formula and that’s just what we brought. He commented that the feel and physics felt perfect, which was lovely. We heard that multiple times over the week.
Henry Stockdale: My first meeting was with nDreams for PowerWash Simulator VR. I’d previously gone hands-on with it in May and the meeting went well, me and Harry quickly got competitive over who could clean the most in a short space of time.
Jennifer Bigell: My colleague Florian and I had our first meeting on Wednesday with the PR agency Dead Good Media – absolutely lovely folks and a 10/10 at what they’re doing! We had a nice chat about various projects and shared a soda, so overall it was a great first meeting!
Eleanor Porter: My first meeting was with Be Quiet and it was amazing to catch up with them regarding plans for next year.
Wearing your industry hat, what was the highlight of the week? Eleanor Porter: Tricky to pick a highlight of the week as I was only there for the day on Thursday and half a day Friday but the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG)
38 | MCV/DEVELOP September 2023
included new ROG gaming products, ROG Talk, and ROG Party at its Never Stop Gaming event.
Henry Stockdale: We didn’t see many major game announcements during Gamescom, so my highlight would be the new Alan Wake 2 trailer. I’m very keen to see how Remedy’s new direction unfolds and how things have changed after such a long gap.
Will Porter: I have reached the stage in life where I don’t like meeting new people, who are often younger and more beautiful in any case, and prefer to see the same people I have seen for two decades. The Irish bar and weird robot bar in the square over by the river seemed to cater for this admirably. Jennifer Bigell: Connecting with people face-to-face, meeting industry colleagues and friends – that part will always be my favourite! I was especially happy to see Stefanie Joosten and Marc Truijen as it’s been ages, thanks to both for taking the time to drop by! If we steer more in the direction of things to see, and games to play: there were so many exciting ones this year! Funnily enough, it was the Netflix booth which stuck with me as I got the Wednesday Adams make- up done there, right before our first meeting (sorry DGM)!
What was your inner gamer most excited by? Henry Stockdale: Persona 3 Reload. I love the series and I went through Persona 3 FES on my PS3, so I cannot wait to see how Atlus has recreated it in the new engine.
Will Porter: It wasn’t what was on show, actually, it was the buzz about Baldur’s Gate 3 you heard from practically everyone you met. I was lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time with members of the Larian team while I was out in Germany and their success was intoxicating, and likewise the reaction they seemed to get wherever they roamed.
Steve Swink: I’m keen to play more Arco. Low key innovative take on turn based physics. Still waiting on a wave of Toribash-likes, though.
Eleanor Porter: I absolutely loved seeing attendees dressed as May and Cody from It Takes Two, which was the last thing I played before gamescom!
Jennifer Bigell: Seeing all those beautifully designed booths! I would have loved to check some of them out, though I didn’t have enough time.
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