An Indie Developer's Rantings

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Takedown Tribunal: PAX East Stealth Games Panel

I'm probably in here somewhere, unless I was eating lunch.
I seriously cannot wait for PAX East. Besides being the first convention where I will be an exhibitor, I am also on my first panel! The panel's name is "The Takedown Tribunal: Three Indies Talk About Their Upcoming Stealth Games." Join myself, Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games, and Nels Anderson of Klei Entertainment as we discuss Children of Liberty, Monaco, Mark of the Ninja, and what makes stealth games great! Here's the panel description:
The Takedown Tribunal: Three Indies Talk About Their Upcoming Stealth Games
Cat Theatre
Friday 9:00pm - 10:00pm
Do you love lurking in shadows, stabbing guards in the back and/or stealing the stuff they're supposed to be protecting? We do! Stealth games have a vocal and passionate following, but among developers, they're notoriously difficult games to create. Even experienced AAA studios with hundreds of developers and multi-million dollar budgets will avoid stealth games in favor of more clear-cut genres. However, at least three small independent developers have thrown caution (and their sanity!) to the wind and set out to not only make stealth games, but rather non-traditional stealth games. So now we want to discuss the genre we love with an audience passionate, or simply curious, about these new takes on stealth. Andy Schatz's IGF award-winning Monaco demonstrates through 4-player coop just how well a heist can go with a good plan and how much can go wrong with a bad one. Klei Entertainment's Mark of the Ninja takes stealth action into 2D with style, flair and blood (and ninjas). Boston locals Lantana Games' upcoming 2.5D platformer Children of Liberty takes an historical approach to stealth, detailing the story of four young spies in the events leading up to the American Revolution. Matthew Weise, MIT's GAMBIT Game Lab's Game Design Director and the creator/host of a podcast documenting the history of Looking Glass Studios (creators of Thief, one of the most important games in the stealth genre), will moderate.
Panelists include: Nels Anderson [Game Designer, Klei Entertainment], Andy Schatz [CEO, Pocketwatch Games], Dan Silvers [Resident Game Designer, Lantana Games], Matthew Weise [Game Design Director, Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab]
Remember, the panel will be on Friday, April 6th at 9pm in the Cat Theatre. Hope to see you there!

Also be sure to stop by Indie Alley to play the latest build of Children of Liberty. With any luck (and a lot of crunching over the next month) all four characters will be playable!