While seeing so many people play Blind Blades was exciting, there were many other highlights to MAGFest. Getting a moment with Aku and Samurai Jack was an unexpected delight. Having other Indies stop by and compliment us on Adam and Josh's art was a treasured encouragement. But one personal highlight was a group of four guys that came and stood at our booth late in the festival. They wanted to ask us questions about our design decisions and volunteer some suggestions (which are always welcome). The best part of meeting them was hearing that they had actually played Blind Blades the previous day. They had so much fun that they bought it and played it for two hours that night. We can't emphasize enough what a big deal that is since they had an entire festival's worth of stuff they could have been doing instead. Their enthusiasm touched our hearts deeply.

In such warmly regarded company, we were doubly honored knowing Blind Blades had been nominated for the DIW Game of the Year award. We were competing with games that have won our respect, and to us it’s an honor to be numbered among them. So when we won Game of the Year, we felt a responsibility to voice our admiration for the numerous overlooked developers in our area.

Indie game development is becoming Delaware's silent cottage industry. Between low overheads, a diversity of personalities and products, and an abundance of talent and education there is room for something special to take root in northern Delaware. However, the local sources of support to new businesses are highly adapted to a very different business model. It's going to be an adventure helping to cultivate the local industry in the coming years. 

We also really enjoy Gameacon for its emphasis on celebrating the local Indie dev community. The time spent with other local developers is an encouragement, even as the quality of their games is often intimidating. We're kind of a trio of weirdos, so we seldom find a place where we feel we can all belong. The community at Gameacon has helped make it a home for us, even if we only get to visit once each year.

Of course, in the last year Blind Blades has evolved dramatically. Since last Gameacon we've added four player support, multiple game modes, and five interactive levels. We were very excited to show our first fans just how far we had come. And we were pleased to see them smile again.

We were also exceedingly grateful to receive Gameacon’s award for Most Innovative game. It’s an honor and an inspiration to be recognized amongst so many fantastic games from brilliant developers. We’re already planning out something new and special for next year. We really want another innovation award!

Follow us on social media for more updates: