2023 Spring Showcase Wrap-Up

That’s a wrap on the first Regional Indie Games Spring Showcase! Thank you to everyone who came out to support the studios, artists, designers, and creators that showcased their talents and projects! We couldn’t have done it without the generous help of Schell Games, Vertex Herder, and Four Horsemen, who supported our showcase participants, provided lunch, and donated the awesome prizes for the raffle. Another thank you to Garrison Correllia, who’s incredible Star Wars cosplays added just another level of fun to the event.

Spring Showcase Photo Gallery - Photo Credits: David Smith

The Media Innovation Center was buzzing from noon until three! Attendees were greeted with a floor layout, nametag, and industry insight and commentary from Starlight King Press as they recorded an episode of their podcast, “Most Writers Are Fans,” live from the event! On the other side of the lobby, guests could stop by to enjoy complimentary sandwiches, drinks, fruits, and snacks in the kitchen. (Thank you, Schell Games and Vertex Herder!)

Starlight King Press recording an episode of 'Most Writers are Fans' (Photo Credit: David Smith)

It’s always fun when the garage doors in the Media Innovation Center are up! There were too many studios for just the main lobby, and we loved seeing attendees trail their way through the tables.

In the first room on the floor, Play Higher joined us from the WVU School of Social work to show us how VR and AR gamification can help students succeed professionally through career preparedness. X-Reality’s VR game, Cliff Westward’s Shooting Gallery, had players lining up to fight for their place on the leaderboard. It was a blast checking in throughout the event!

Attendees try out VR experiences from WVU's Play Higher. The leaderboard for X-Reality's shooting gallery game got longer and longer throughout the day!

MonRiverGames (us!), Schell Games, and BitBridge were right by the windows. We are grateful for all of the helpful feedback on Spy Cats and Purple House. It was fun meeting everyone, and we appreciate you coming and trying out our games. This was the first time we’ve hosted a showcase like this, so it means the world to us to see so many folks come out to support it.

Our Pittsburgh neighbors, Schell Games and BitBridge, were a hit with aspiring developers and community members. We heard rave reviews from our studio members that stopped by Schell Games. They were excited to speak with industry professionals and fellow passionate game enthusiasts. They appreciated the career advice, and many look forward to applying.

It’s always a pleasure to see BitBridge! It was fun to see them in Morgantown, as we’re usually at their events up in Pittsburgh. We were ecstatic that so many attendees stopped by to learn more about them - they’re essential to the game community in our local area, and we’re so fortunate and humbled to have them at the showcase. We also loved checking out their new title, Pyreside Waltz. The pixel art was so charming! We hope to see some familiar faces at the next BitBridge event.

BitBridge and Schell Games chatting with aspiring developers, students, and community members. (Photo Credits: David Smith)

A Morgantown staple, Four Horsemen Comics and Gaming was right next door. Their table was filled with board games, D&D accessories, plushies, books, Magic: The Gathering, and everything else an enthusiast could ever want. While we’re grateful beyond words for all of the generous raffle donations, we’re most importantly grateful to have a shop so beloved and important to the Morgantown community at our event.

Four Horsemen's awesome table! (Photo Credit: David Smith)

A table over, Tongue Surgery’s game, Tempest Inc., attracted attendees with its action-packed goodness! You couldn’t miss the colorful, eye-catching graphic poster featuring aircrafts, missiles, and giant wasps racing down the cityscape. We’re definitely looking forward to the official release.

It was also impossible to miss Vertex Herder and their game, Arms in Tartarus. We especially loved their table setup: attendees could playtest their latest title, as well as check out the game behind the scenes in Unity. We can’t wait to command the fate of the troops once the game is fully released.

We were at the Game Design and Interactive Media table next door. Thank you to all who stopped by to learn more about our growing program. We hope that the incredible student and community developers inspired you to pursue a career in the game industry. We were also ecstatic to have such an impressive spread of raffle prizes. In addition to all of the special hand-picked items from all of the attending studios, attendees were also able to enter for WVU Baseball tickets, board games, and even an entire Mortal Kombat II cabinet!

Tongue Surgery, Vertex Herder, and the Game Design for Interactive Media booths! Peep Professor Cole at the GDIM table! (Photo Credit: David Smith)

The Pittsburgh Community for Unreal Engine was a fantastic addition to the showcase floor. Ryan, one of MonRiverGames’ community members, took the lead in demonstrating the Unreal Engine, and encouraging aspiring developers to try it out for their next game. We know that MonRiverGames is looking forward to developing their newest titles in Unreal.

Lonely Hero Games had a cool split setup to show off their games, Bank Heist and Hungry for Humans. Bank Heist was a sleek and stylized social deduction game with a more strategic twist that kept all players in the game until a secondary phase. In Hungry for Humans, players partner with a very hungry cryptid-type monster, and must satisfy its appetite without getting eaten! Players have to be careful not to feed it too many of West Virginia’s favorite foods, like pepperoni rolls, ramp focaccia, and Tudor’s Biscuit World! We loved the charming and familiar art from Keep On Creepin’ On.

Lonely Hero Games showing off Bank Heist and Hungry for Humans. Next door, Pittsburgh's Unreal Community booth! (Photo Credits: David Smith)

Decrepit Games’ Dispossessed was a stunning adventure pixel-art experience. Players ventured through the wilderness and abandoned cities to reclaim their ancestral land while fending off unknown ancient creatures. Like many other studios at the showcase, the game is still in development, so we can’t wait to get our hands on the final product!

Over at Blue Falcon Board Gaming, Chris demonstrated how to play his newest title, The Foxes in the Hen House. As an organization passionate about accessible games, we loved how easy it was for kids to pick up, but how deeply strategic the rounds could be for advanced players.

Attendees stopped by FYRE Games’ booth to check out We Never Left, an atmospheric horror game featured in the Dread XP Collection. The demo table, complete with a blood-splattered CRT TV, was almost never empty. It’s always a pleasure to see WVU student developers showing off their talent. Nearby was Richie Ray's "Oh Crap TGM", a hilarious trading card game, recently recognized by Becket Grading Systems.

Decrepit Games, FYRE Games, and Blue Falcon Board Gaming were in the second class space! (Photo Credits: David Smith)

We couldn’t have asked for a better first event. We’re absolutely thrilled with the turnout, and hope to see everyone back next year! To all of the incredible studios, vendors, and organizations that supported the event, we could not have done it without you. Another huge thank you to WVU’s Reed College of Media and the Game Design and Interactive Media program for supporting us through to the end!

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on how we can improve the event for next year, please feel free to reach out to info@monrivergames.com - we’re all ears!

If you’re interested in signing up for the MonRiverGames summer session, we’ll be posting information on how to register shortly.