When discussing the major game publishers such as Activision, EA Games, and Ubisoft, one can become a little bored of all that prim and proper corporate presentation. Folks in suits on a stage proudly proclaiming about how their game is the best yet…well, that just doesn’t sound like fun.
That’s what most games strive to be about, right? Yet the whole “business-person” board room schtick is bland and, frankly, just not all that exciting. Publisher Devolver Digital has set themselves apart from the competition by shirking that boring public image and has established itself, in a front-facing manner anyway, as the irreverent publisher who doesn’t care about convention. Something further reinforced through their latest bit of marketing…
While most of Devolver’s previous press conferences have poked fun at other companies and have even challenged the form entirely be actually crafting some kind of ongoing narrative around their presenter Nina Struther, Head Chief Synergy Officer for Devolver Digital’s Big Fancy Press Conferences, this year, following its Saturday Devolver Direct showcase, Devolver has further pushed their marketing envelope by releasing Devolverland Expo, a free first-person shooter that sees the player sneaking through a convention centre after the actual event was cancelled.
The point of Devolverland Expo is for the player to explore this abandoned building while avoiding an “advanced security system” to find secrets and watch videos of Devolver Digital’s upcoming games, such as Carrion, Shadow Warrior 3 and Serious Sam 4 Planet Badass. Don’t expect much substance from Devolverland Expo, it’s very specifically being pushed as a “marketing simulator” but it’s still a neat way to go about the process when basically every convention has been cancelled.
Devolverland Expo is free to download on Steam, so if you feel like getting a closer look at Devolver Digital’s upcoming catalogue, you know where to look.
(Source: Engadget)