What happens during GDC week?

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual gathering of professionals in the video game industry aimed at exchanging knowledge, networking, and presenting new games. It encompasses a variety of activities like panels, presentations, workshops, and exhibitions. It serves as an excellent platform for game studios and developers to exhibit their creations and raise awareness among potential publishers, press, and investors.

This year, the event was held in San Francisco, USA, from the 18th to the 22nd. In line with tradition, several other gaming events are organized during the GDC week in San Francisco. This setup allows attendees to participate in additional events alongside GDC, providing more opportunities to showcase their games, connect with publishers and press, or engage in casual conversations with industry insiders in relaxed settings like CourageXL and GDC 2024 Post Awards Expo Party with HashiCorp, Unity & 50+ Indie Game Demos.

South Pole Bebop, a multiplayer game inspired by Into The Breach and developed by Sentience Game Studio, traditionally takes part in all the noteworthy events of the GDC week.

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South Pole Bebop at the GDC week events

CourageXL

The GDC adventure for South Pole Bebop kicked off with our presence at the yearly pre-GDC bash, CourageXL, on March 17th. Unlike the more formal settings of GDC, GCA, and PGConnects, this event boasted a relaxed vibe. The main concept behind CourageXL was to allow attendees to play games showcased by developers or studios and receive a complimentary drink in return. Our bar table attracted a steady stream of visitors who eagerly played our game throughout the event.

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GCA and PGConnects

This year, both GCA and PGConnects were hosted together from March 18th to 19th, providing South Pole Bebop the opportunity to participate in both events. GCA and PGConnects primarily focus on fostering B2B relationships within the gaming industry. The merging of these events expanded the network of gaming professionals, allowing us to engage in additional activities such as the Journalist Bar and the Very Big Indie Pitch. This amalgamation provided an excellent platform to connect with publishers, investors, press, and other industry insiders. The agenda featured numerous talks by AAA game studios and other experts in the gaming field.

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GDC 2024 Post Awards Expo Party with HashiCorp, Unity & 50+ Indie Game Demos

GDC 2024 Post Awards Expo Party typically serves as a wrap-up event for GDC. In 2024, it took place on March 20th, marking the final day of GDC. Within this laid-back setting, we presented South Pole Bebop to attendees seeking relaxation after a series of GDC sessions, meetings, and workshops. Similar to our participation in CourageXL, South Pole Bebop was also featured at GDC 2024 Post Awards Expo Party. Throughout the event, gaming industry professionals and enthusiasts of turn-based strategy would visit our bar table to play South Pole Bebop.

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Preparation for the GDC week

Preparation for the GDC week commenced weeks ahead of the events.The game team wanted GDC week attendees to experience the latest version of our game firsthand. Therefore, our primary objective was to make the South Pole Bebop 0.12 version (the latest version) demo available on Steam. Our developers dedicated significant effort and time to update the demo, ensuring it was ready just days before the start of the GDC week.

In addition to the demo, we arranged a booth for GCA and PGConnects, as well as a bar table for CourageXL and GDC 2024 Post Awards Expo Party.

To ensure a robust media presence, we reached out to press outlets both overseas and in Korea to announce our participation in the GDC week. Furthermore, we strategically promoted our involvement across various social media platforms including Twitter, Discord, TikTok, Steam, and Reddit.

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Reaction from the gaming industry

The reception of South Pole Bebop among GDC week attendees was highly positive. Throughout CourageXL, GDC 2024 Post Awards Expo Party, GCA, and PGConnects, gaming industry experts frequently visited our booth and bar table to experience South Pole Bebop firsthand. While some were impressed by its unique fusion of elements from Into The Breach, deckbuilding mechanics, and a multiplayer mode, others pondered why a multiplayer game inspired by Into The Breach hadn't been conceived earlier.

Consequently, a renowned British video game journalism website, Rock Paper Shotgun, highlighted South Pole Bebop in their weekly game news coverage, which prominently featured the gameplay trailer of the game (read the Rock Paper Shotgun South Pole Bebop coverage here: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-maw-11th-16th-march-2024). This marked the inaugural mention of South Pole Bebop in a top-tier overseas game magazine.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, an acclaimed writer for Rock Paper Shotgun, described South Pole Bebop as 'Into The Breach with penguins, zombies, and cards - the classic combo.’

South Pole Bebop gained exposure in several Korean publications, including This is Game (https://www.thisisgame.com/webzine/game/nboard/225/?n=186038) and Inven (https://www.inven.co.kr/webzine/news/?news=294004).

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South Pole Bebop plan for the nearest future

South Pole Bebop is set to launch in Early Access this summer. Ahead of that, catch us participating in the Turn-based Thursday Fest from April 4th to April 8th. During this event, we will be streaming mini-league tournament videos among our developers on Steam. Additionally, South Pole Bebop will be showcased at events such as PlayX4, Gamescom Europe 2024 and #PitchYaGame. While we have applied to numerous other events, confirmation of our participation is pending. Rest assured, once confirmed, we will announce it via Social Media. Follow South Pole Bebop on Social Media and join our Discord server to stay tuned.

Rock Paper Shotgun was the first significant overseas magazine to feature South Pole Bebop. Moving forward, we're committed to expanding our presence in overseas press and strengthening our Social Media presence.

Since the release of the previous demo of South Pole Bebop v0.9, the game has seen a wealth of new features added. Check out our April devlog on the v0.12 demo of South Pole Bebop. The devlog has been shared across all our Social Media channels, including TikTok and Discord. Furthermore, this month, we are planning to upload our first video documenting the game's development journey to the South Pole Bebop Official YouTube Channel. Stay tuned!

Follow South Pole Bebop on: Twitter, TikTok, Steam
‍Join the Official South Pole Bebop Discord Server

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