My recent experience at UK Games Expo was my first time bringing Godflesh to a major convention. As I mentioned on the Game Burning podcast, it was both a chance to pitch the game to industry professionals and a learning experience that ultimately pushed development forward in ways I didn’t expect.
Convention Preparation and Early Lessons
I deliberately timed Godflesh’s public playtest launch to coincide with UK Games Expo, ensuring I’d have fresh promotional materials ready for the convention. I prepared both detailed booklets and simple postcards, though I quickly discovered something about convention dynamics.
Nobody wants to carry booklets around a convention. When offering information about Godflesh, attendees consistently chose postcards with download links over full booklets. Makes sense – people accumulate bags full of stuff, and lighter options always win. Small lesson, but useful for future conventions.
Finding Success Through Genuine Connection
The best promotional moments didn’t happen during formal networking events, but through casual conversations at exhibitor booths. My approach was straightforward: I would talk to creators about their projects first, show genuine interest in their work, and then share information about Godflesh when it felt natural.
These conversations often revealed shared experiences that went beyond just exchanging promotional materials. Whether discussing working with artists, complaining about design software, or comparing development approaches, these interactions led to genuine connections with fellow creators.
The takeaway was clear: authentic engagement works better than traditional networking approaches.
Meeting Steve Jackson
The highlight of the convention was meeting Steve Jackson (of Steve Jackson Games, creator of GURPS and Munchkin). After I explained Godflesh’s development and core concepts, he told me something I won’t forget: “You need to finish this game.”
Coming from someone with his experience in the industry, those words felt like both validation and a clear directive. Sometimes you need to hear from a respected professional that you’re on the right track – and that moment provided exactly that.
Positive Reception Fuels Development
Throughout the convention, I received encouraging feedback on the Godflesh pitch. People found the concept engaging and were drawn to the game’s approach to dark fantasy RPGs. This response reinforced my belief that I’m developing something that resonates with both industry professionals and potential players.
But convention enthusiasm is only valuable if it translates into actual development work, which is what happened next.
Post-Convention Playtesting: Where the Real Work Begins
The energy from UK Games Expo motivated me to run more focused playtesting sessions. These revealed several mechanical issues that needed attention – the kind of detailed feedback that only emerges through dedicated play.
Refining Combat Consequences: The Take a Powerful Blow move wasn’t creating the right sense of escalating danger. The original fixed damage amounts (“take 1 injury” or “take 2 pressure”) felt disconnected from whatever triggered the move.
I’m changing these to additional damage: “take 1 extra injury” or “take 2 extra pressure” on top of the initial damage. This creates genuine escalation where powerful blows become more dangerous as characters accumulate damage. This damage also can’t be mitigated by treasures, armour, or threads.
Solving Mechanical Interactions: We discovered that using threads after rolling creates problems with the disfavour mechanic – you can’t add a third die when you’re already keeping the lowest two. The solution is to let players declare thread usage before rolling when they have disfavour, with the thread removing the disfavour and making it a normal roll.
Integrating Damage Tags: The damage tag system needed better integration throughout the game’s moves. Currently, Catch Your Breath clears various marks but ignores damage tags, making the move feel incomplete. I’m working on systematic ways for moves to both apply and remove damage tags consistently.
Balancing Recovery: Playtesting showed that injuries clear too easily, reducing their narrative impact. The Rest and Recover move’s “clear 1 mark per day” proved too generous for longer journeys. I’m exploring caps on total healing per journey and requiring specific conditions to maintain the tension these mechanics should create.
Adding Travel Flexibility: When travel moves results significantly change the band’s situation or goals, players should be able to choose different travel moves for the journey’s remainder. This needs clear guidelines about when this flexibility applies and how to handle transitions.
What I Learned from the Convention
UK Games Expo taught me that effective convention promotion requires a specific approach:
- Pack smart promotional materials – postcards work better than booklets for convention distribution.
- Engage authentically – genuine interest in others’ work creates natural opportunities to discuss your projects.
- Be ready for organic pitching – the best promotional moments arise in casual conversations, not formal networking events.
- Industry validation helps – encouragement from experienced professionals motivates indie developers.
- Convert enthusiasm into development momentum – positive reception must translate into focused design work.
Looking Forward
The positive reception at UK Games Expo validated Godflesh’s potential, but the real value came from how that validation energised my development process. Steve Jackson’s advice wasn’t just encouragement; it was a clear directive to finish what I’d started.
The post-convention playtesting sessions have been productive, revealing mechanical issues that only emerge through dedicated play. This represents the kind of development momentum I needed: external validation followed by rigorous internal refinement.
Sometimes the most important thing a convention provides isn’t industry connections or promotional opportunities – it’s confirmation that you’re working on something worth finishing. UK Games Expo gave me that confirmation, and now the focused work of bringing Godflesh to completion continues.