9/26/23
Hey there!
Today we have some updates from one of the best game conferences I’ve ever worked at, as well as some news on the upcoming Sundancer Book 3 and a trip to the wild country of Lake Tahoe.
PAX West Game Conference
For those who don’t know, PAX West is a Seattle game conference filled with thousands of game fans, all wanting to play the next big games. And this year Steel Wool Studios hosted the first ever Five Nights at Freddy’s booth.
I thought the booth would be popular, but I had no clue the amount of people who wanted a sneak peek at my upcoming game, Help Wanted 2. Two and a half hour lines stretched around the booth, with some fans waiting even longer than that.
But more importantly, PAX helped reinforce why Steel Wool makes games in the first place. A great story involved Atreyu Alcantar in a Glamrock Freddy suit. Atreyu is a young man Steel Wool hired to create all the physical animatronics in the booth, including TWO giant Freddy suits, as well as others. (All using a 3D printer and his amazing imagination).
So Atreyu was walking the conference floor as Glamrock Freddy and posing for pictures. One day this young girl waited in line so she could give one of her Security Breach plushies for Freddy to hold. Then, later on, I saw her with a different plushy waiting in line to take a picture with Freddy again.
I was standing with our VO actress, Marta Svetek, when the girl waited in line for a third time to take a picture with Freddy. Afterwards, the girl and her mother stepped up next to us to take a picture with the neon Chica sign on the outside of the booth.
“Hey,” Marta said to the girl, “who’s your favorite animatronic?”
“Chica,” the girl said.
“You like Roxy (the animatronic)?”
The girl nodded.
“I’m the voice of Roxy,” Marta said with a smile.
The girl almost burst into tears. She was speechless. She took a picture with Marta and gave her a big hug. The pure joy coming from that girl was like a breath of fresh air. I turned to Marta and said “This is why we do what we do.” She couldn’t agree more.
For a lot of fans at PAX, Five Nights at Freddy’s is more than just a scary video game. It’s more than the story, and more than the mysteries and the easter eggs. It’s about connection. It’s about being there with others who love the same thing you do. It’s about all the parents who connect with their kids over the franchise, just like I did with other games when Kyle was younger.
Witch Fire Update
Book 3 of the Sundancer Mysteries, Witch Fire, is in the final stages. We’re going to do a pre-order this time, and we’re trying to find some ideas for some good giveaways.
What’s some great giveaways you’d like to have from us?
Lake Tahoe
We spent the weekend going to Lake Tahoe! It’s so gorgeous up there right now. We stayed in a nice little house a little south of the lake, tucked away at the foot of a rocky ridge among the trees. It was a great way to refresh, that’s for sure.
That’s it for this month! Now that the holiday season has officially kicked in, time to grab some hot coco (or Pumpkin Latte) and open your favorite entertainment. What are you watching, playing or reading this month?
Brian
p.s. Juliet says hi and hopes you have a great week.
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