INTERVIEW: Gamers, get ready for Play NYC
Top photo: Play NYC is an all-gaming convention in its second year in New York City. The two-day event will feature many types of games, including VR experiences. Photo courtesy of Play NYC / Provided with permission.
Video games and game development will be front and center at the second-ever Play NYC convention, which is an all-out celebration of the gaming community, especially indie developers. The two-day event is set for Aug. 11-12 at The Manhattan Center and Hammerstein Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan.
Dan Butchko is the founder and CEO of Playcrafting, the company that hosts Play NYC. He is excited for this year’s new digs (last year they packed it in at Terminal 5), and he expects the community to turn out strongly for the summer festival.
“Last year was the first year that we had done Play NYC as a convention, and it really emerged because [through] my organization, Playcrafting, we have been doing events in the New York community since way back in 2009 when we started out as a Meet Up group,” Butchko said in a recent phone interview. “We had been running a local, New York-focused expo at Microsoft in Times Square for four years, and by the end of 2016, we had gotten to the point where those events had about 150 games and 1,200 people coming through without us actually advertising it at all. So that was a clear indication to us that New York really needs its own full-scale, all-games convention, and having worked with this community and helped grow it out, [with] all the different developers here in New York City for the past several years, we thought that that was the indicator and now was the time. So we launched it last year primarily as a way to help amplify the voices of creators, streamers and players and fans in the New York area and really give New York the all-games convention that it deserves.”
Last year was a smashing success. The two-day event at Terminal 5, which usually hosts concerts rather than conventions, saw hundreds of people descending on Play NYC. One of the days was almost sold out.
“We had practically sold out on one of the days last year, and it got a little bit tight in there,” Butchko said. “So we wanted to make sure that our new home would be a place that we could call the home of Play NYC for years to come, and we wanted to lay the groundwork so that as it’s growing and growing, we can stay in the same place, make sure that we’re fitting as many games as possible in the space and also as many fans and families and players, too.”
This year’s Play NYC promises four levels of entertainment, with developers and companies showcasing their latest games. For example, Bomb Shelter Games will be offering fans a chance to play a demo of their new title, Depths of Sanity, a game that will take players to the depths of the ocean.
Nostalgia buffs should check out Saturday Morning Games, which is a battle tabletop game based off popular Saturday morning cartoons. Gamers win if they snag their opponents’ bowls of cereal. James Seetal, the developer, is hosting a Kickstarter campaign for the title.
BareHand will have Cede, a combat farming game, at its booth. The Sheep’s Meow will showcase Exposure, a game of camouflage coming to Steam and Xbox One, and No Body Home, coming in 2019 to Steam.
“The heart and soul of it is really a reflection of the developers in this region, which is primarily independent developers, but there are a smattering of larger-scale studios like Avalanche Studios,” Butchko said. “[Avalanche] will have one of the biggest presences at Play NYC, whereas the majority of the folks on site are independent developers and studios that are a little bit smaller.”
Butchko stays busy this entire week in preparation for the weekend event. On Friday, Aug. 10, he and the team will load in the booths, kiosks and stage, and during the convention, he’ll ensure everything is running smoothly.
“So we do a full set build out on the stage inside the venue, and from there we stream developer interviews, gameplay footage, some panels and talks, etc., onto Twitch in partnership with some of the top streamers in and around New York City,” he said. “So I will be largely focused on that throughout the weekend. It is an early morning and late night each day, too, and I think that the most activity will likely be happening on Saturday morning of the first day when we’re just making sure that everything is fully set. We’re ready to welcome press and influencers for that first hour, and then once the first half of the first day is out of the way, it’s kind of self-sufficient and self-running. We have tons of volunteers and production assistants, etc., there to make sure that all of our guests are having a good time and everyone’s safe. The Manhattan Center is a great partner on that end as well, so once it gets going, it’s going to largely be self-running. But the day before and the first half of the first day will be a lot of running around.”
To enjoy Play NYC, ticket buyers should consider their options. There are four time intervals to choose from, and, of course, gamers can participate in all four:
- Saturday, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 11 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Aug. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Sunday, Aug. 12 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Tickets are $33 for each five-hour session, but discounts can be found online.
“In the interest of being able to fit as many people in the space as possible, we’ve lengthened the public hours for each day versus last year,” Butchko said. “And we’ve also timed it so that you’re basically getting tickets for a time period, so 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and/or Sunday. Really what to expect is you come in and get ready to explore all four floors of the Hammerstein Ballroom inside The Manhattan Center. Really what we’ve done is we are doing all this work to convert that space into a completely playable building, so what to expect is some games that you know, many games that you don’t know and just to play as much as you possibly, possibly can while getting to meet the developers themselves.”
He added: “Just get ready to pound the pavement once you get in there. Dive in, roll up your sleeves and play as many games as possible.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Play NYC will take place Aug. 11-12 at The Manhattan Center in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
