E3 was a lot of fun.

I’d describe it as the lovechild of PAX and GDC. This was the first year they allowed non-industry folks to join the fun. Allowing the public into the conference ruffled many of the industry-folk feathers… since this was our first E3, I honestly don’t have much of a preference either way.

We usually skip E3 and focus on conferences that do a better job of covering indie games. Over the past few years, though, E3 has been highlighting more and more indies so we decided on a whim to attend.

Literally, the day before the show opened.

This last minute decision to attend turned out to be amazing. At GDC and PAX, I’m usually booked solid with meetings where I have no idea what actually went on during the conference. Just like the folks at home, I also read up on sweet game/hardware announcements and watch talks on YouTube.

I didn’t have to do that this time!

Instead, I spent most of my time helping my good friends Serenity Forge at the Nintendo/Nyko booth and checking out the IndieCade spread.

I got to play so many games and had a chance to make videos of a few developers for our Twitter. Check them out:

Burley Men At Sea by @brain_and_brain

Borders by @Gonzzink

Detention by @Redcandlegames

A Case of Distrust by @TheWanderingBen & @MarowiTweets

Frog Fractions 2 by @mogwai_poet

Everything is going to be OK by @alienmelon

CHKN by Katapult Studio

Somewhere in the South by @Wonderneer

One Way Trip by @demon_cheeks

Delphyq by @DelphyqGame

The kind, marketing savvy folks of Devolver Digital set up a free foodtruck/booze area for industry and press personnel where I got to meet bunch of people in a casual setting. We drank, ate, laughed and had a great time discussing industry trends, problems and wins. Thanks Devolver!

The party scene is more comparable to PAX than GDC—Less parties and they’re more exclusive. You need to know someone to get in or maybe you applied to get in months ago.

We checked out MIX, which was on the rooftop of an LA high rise with amazing views of the city and complete with booze—supplied by TinyBuild (thanks!)

There were 52 games on display accompanied by their developers

My biggest takeaway from E3 was the perception of Game Jolt from those I met for the first time. I’ve lost count on how many people thought Game Jolt was run by “TWO GAMER BROS”

Game Jolt is run by myself and my husband (founder) CROS.

But, we could never build something this big without the community and individuals that have contributed to what Game Jolt is today.

k, back to E3…

With so many gaming conferences around the world, not sure E3 is a priority for us. It was still fun though!

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Next week we’re heading over to Brazil for BIG Festival and giving a talk. woot!