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Studio Mercato

PAX East 2015 & Indie Games Live!

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Ben

We went to PAX East! Despite there being waist-high snow everywhere in downtown Boston and Shu flying directly to the show from GDC that same week, this ended up being damn fun.

pax-east-2015-madness

I believe the word is “teeming.”

Crystal Brawl got accepted into Indie Games Live, a cool game party held in an underground club!

crystal-brawl-indie-games-live-2015

Setting up for a night of gametimes

crystal-brawl-indie-games-live-2015-2

Indie Games Live wooooo!

Pluuus, Mike from Game Informer showed up, played the game and not only included us in their list of PAX East’s Amazing Indies, but had such a good time he wrote this gem:

“Towerfall and Samurai Gunn touched off a wave of arena multiplayer games. I’ve played a number, and Crystal Brawl stands out as one of the best.”

Works for me!

Mercato Art Mastermind (and occasional lead programmer) Chris also showed off his other game Rad Raygun, which always recruits a few superfans at these things.

Playing @trufun202‘s Super Rad Raygun while Sabrepulse spins gameboy tunes: it was meant to be #PAXEast https://t.co/4yHoD47z3E — Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) March 7, 2015

We also demoed both the analog and digital versions of Nika for Brad at BoardGameGeek…

pax-east-demo-nika-2015

Hands-on Nika demo

… and we streamed some Crystal Brawl at Gung Ho’s booth! You can catch the whole thing here (the sound is fubar’d at the start, but comes back after about a minute).

crystal-pax-east-stream-2015

Gung Ho was streaming indies all day!

There was a ton of other cool stuff, like ominous music racer Thumper, the return of Harmonix’s Kickstarted Amplitude, and Extreme Exorcism from our buds at Golden Ruby!

.@MagicCircleGame is a gorgeous adventure into the soul of a vaporware game #PAXEast https://t.co/KzS3WvEEBJ — Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) March 6, 2015

Duel @ThumperGame action! Game is so gorgeous #PAXEast https://t.co/pnRLEZUAsc — Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) March 7, 2015

Stop by booth 10189 to play some #extremeexorcism at #PAXEast today. A ghostly good time! pic.twitter.com/kWudbfQTu7 — Golden Ruby Games (@GoldenRubyGames) March 8, 2015

Live by the sword, dad by the sword @rocketcatgames #PAXEast https://t.co/WktKdsXIan — Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) March 6, 2015

jet-set-radiooooo

JET SET RADIOOOOOOOO

 

Excellent choice of music for @shapesnbeats #PAXEast #FINISHHIM https://t.co/4nAQ0yvtHD — Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) March 7, 2015

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Development, Events, Nika, Press | Tags: boston, gdc, indle games live, pax east | Leave a comment |

We Survived MAGFest 2015!

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Ben

MAGFest is a beast unto itself. Arcade games as far as the eye can see. An ocean of console games for almost every system in creation. Tournaments, concerts, field games, big games, weird game merch, impromptu jam sessions – all happening around the clock for the entire four days of the festival!

We brought Crystal Brawl last year as part of the MAGFest Indie Videogame Showcase, and this year we returned with reinforcements – the whole Death By Audio Arcade squad!

Setting up Crystal Brawl before the #MAGFest horde is unleashed! pic.twitter.com/p81II3JL78

— Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) January 23, 2015

The Death by Audio cabinets, in all their glory #magfest2015 @magfest @StudioMercato @Andy_Makes pic.twitter.com/IFIVnU0BcP — Michael P. Consoli (@MichaelPConsoli) January 23, 2015

Maybe it was the concerts, maybe it was discovering awesome new indie & arcade games, maybe it was trouncing foes at our old favorites, maybe it was the non-stop partying, maybe it was the “holy-shit-there’s-a-huge-blizzard-coming-so-let’s-change-our-bus-tickets-to-6:30AM-and-not-sleep-so-we-can-play-games-all-night-until-we-have-to-leave” burst of adrenaline, but this year’s fest was just the best.

If you’re reading this at all, consider coming next year!

Miles of games!

Miles of games!

Whaaaaaaaat in the hell

Whaaaaaaaat in the hell

Super Mario 3 for Genesis: Egyptian Mario’s Romhack Revenge https://t.co/zKGhTUi6nO

— Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) January 25, 2015

Late night air hockey

Late night air hockey.

Aerobat is so gorgeous and ingeniously designed I almost can’t even @AmazingThew #MAGFest https://t.co/N9XTDLlXZv

— Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) January 23, 2015

#magfest

#magfest

Table flipping for charity #MAGFest https://t.co/0NHAdAwFU4

— Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) January 23, 2015

Virt in concert!

Virt in concert!

Even muppets getting down #MAGFest https://t.co/rqPVzExNud

— Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) January 26, 2015

People got pretty into Crystal Brawl. A few folks remembered it from last year and were all about it!

People got pretty into Crystal Brawl. A few folks remembered it from last year and were all about it!

Magic + Risk Legacy = Whatever this crazy variant is called!

Magic + Risk Legacy = Whatever this crazy variant is called!

Concert at MAGFest

The convention center where it all happens.

The convention center where it all happens.

Time machines!

Time machines!

NeonFM!

NeonFM!

Check out more pics here on Facebook!

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Events | Tags: concert, magfest | Leave a comment |

Introducing the NYC Arcade!

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Ben

Last night was the first edition of the NYC Arcade, a cool new playtest night from Brian & GJ over at The Sheep’s Meow! Over 50+ indie game devs brought their projects to Microsoft’s space in Times Square, and a whole lot of people showed up to play!

Completely packed at @TheSheepsMeow tonight! Games by @Andy_Makes @StudioMercato @untamegames and so many more! pic.twitter.com/DXjzK1fkh4

— Brian McMillan (@bmac_64) January 16, 2015

We brought improved versions of both Nika and Crystal Brawl, and everyone had a grand game-playin’ evening. Plus, we got to check out a bunch of our local favorites and see some cool newness all in one place!

Even more pictures can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.419345798242054.1073741832.306348229541812&type=1&l=da34be2ba6

4-player Nika Digital at @TheSheepsMeow's NYC Arcade! pic.twitter.com/0IXLk0YbPz

— Studio Mercato (@StudioMercato) January 15, 2015

One of my favorite games @particlemace is at the NY Arcade! @TheSheepsMeow pic.twitter.com/Bm9pbffeJc

— Julia Keren-Detar (@quiltingcrow) January 15, 2015

So much fun playing #deepdarkhole , a great game by @willstall @dainsaint @andreimarks @TheSheepsMeow #NYCarcade pic.twitter.com/dLBEm8BtAx

— Mokuni (@MokuniGames) January 16, 2015

Thanks to @TheSheepsMeow 's Meow for having us in #NYCarcade! look forward to more awesome events! pic.twitter.com/mWQR7yUBSL

— Mokuni (@MokuniGames) January 16, 2015

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Events, Nika | Tags: nyc, nyc arcade, playtest, sheep's meow | Leave a comment |

Crystal Brawl at the Smithsonian American Art Museum!!!!

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Ben

WHAT! So by an amazing turn of events, our arcade version of Crystal Brawl was featured at a game event at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC!

...So our game is going in here? What universe is this?

…So our game is going in here? What universe is this?

We were invited down to the pop-up event as part of the illustrious Death By Audio Arcade, courtesy of the fine folks at MAGFest (which we’re also heading to in January!), and it was just nuts. Over a thousand people showed up!

WHAT IS GOING ONNNN

WHAT IS GOING ONNNN

Not only did the DBA Arcade have its own section, alongside the venerable Killer Queen, but there was also a classic arcade section, a collection of console setups ala MAGFest, panels and talks, plus curated sections from Games For Change, IGDA Baltimore, Philly and DC, and the museum itself!

Killer Queen always draws a crowd!

Killer Queen always draws a crowd!

IMG_2593 small

A mini version of MAGFest's venerable console setup.

A mini version of MAGFest’s signature console setup.

Crystal Brawl and X-Men, a perfect pair.

Crystal Brawl and X-Men, a perfect pair.

Behind every arcade machine is a tired, phone-checking developer.

Behind every arcade machine is a tired, phone-checking developer.

It was a really bizarre (and humbling) experience to see our homemade games and cabinets alongside amazing works of art.

After the night wrapped, the awesome folks from MAGFest packed up the DBAA cabinets to take to their warehouse in DC until MAGFest in January. If you’re heading down for the fest, we’ll see you there!

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Events | Tags: arcade, DC, museum, smithsonian | Leave a comment |

Death By Audio Arcade Cabinets Invade Maker Faire!

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Ben

Holy crap! So not only did the Death By Audio Arcade (including Crystal Brawl Arcade) get into Maker Faire, but we won Editor’s Choice *and* Best in Class ribbons!

Death By Audio Arcade at Maker Faire

Maker Faire is a huge weekend-long event celebrating makers of all kinds. Electronics, art, crafts, games, music, technology, weird innovativeness – there was so much there to absorb it was kind of overwhelming in the awesomest of ways.

Death By Audio Arcade at Maker Faire

Best in class and editor’a choice! #makerfaire pic.twitter.com/ixBScS7tIh— Mark Kleeb (@kleeb930) September 21, 2014

Death By Audio Arcade at Maker Faire

Death By Audio Arcade at Maker Faire

Posted in Awards, Crystal Brawl, Events | Tags: arcade, award, death by audio arcade, maker faire | Leave a comment |

Return of the BFIG!

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Ben

Once again, we journeyed up to Boston for BFIG, the Boston Festival of Indie Games! This year they hosted the games floor in the massive indoor track a level above last year’s space. So cool to see this event growing and pulling in more indies from all over the place.

Pre-gaming with an indie dev pizza party on the lawn!

Pre-gaming with an indie dev pizza party on the lawn!

Our Crystal Brawl setup at BFIG. So many games, man... SO MANY GAMES

Our Crystal Brawl setup at BFIG. So many games, man… SO MANY GAMES

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Events | Tags: bfig, boston, indie | Leave a comment |

Death By Audio Arcade @ LWLVL! (Low Level)

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Ben

So lwlvl (Low Level) happened this weekend. A whirling art show, a series of concerts, an arcade game gallery – it’s kind of hard to properly describe what exactly happened, but it was definitely an awesome time.

lwlvl low level

Photo by Marjorie Becker of Chiptography

Photo by Marjorie Becker of Chiptography

And of course, the Death By Audio Arcade made an appearance, including our Crystal Brawl cabinet!

lwlvl low level

lwlvl low level

Photo by Marjorie Becker of Chiptography

Photo by Marjorie Becker of Chiptography

Photo by Marjorie Becker of Chiptography

Photo by Marjorie Becker of Chiptography

More pics here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/84555579@N08/sets/72157646860327601

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Events | Tags: art, festival, music | Leave a comment |

IndieCade East!

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Ben

Last week we brought Crystal Brawl and Nika to IndieCade East’s Show & Tell! The Grasshopper Round Table also made an appearance with an improved Don’t F**k Up. So awesome to have a relative of IndieCade here in NYC.

Crystal Brawl at IndieCade East 2014

Oculus at IndieCade East 2014

Posted in Crystal Brawl, Events | Tags: Crystal Brawl, indiecade | Leave a comment |

Nika Available on Kickstarter

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Josh

The non-digital version of Nika, the Greek war-themed board game designed by myself with beautiful art by our own Chris Hernandez, is now available on Kickstarter! Here’s a preview of the lovely box it’ll come in:

Nika box

The campaign has gone great so far, thanks in part to our publisher Eagle Games, but there’s still a long way to go to hit some of those stretch goals. If you want to help us get there, support the game and tell your friends about it!

Posted in Nika | Tags: board game, kickstarter, war game | Leave a comment |

Global Game Jam 2014 Roundup

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Ben

This year, a bunch of us Mercatoites participated in the Global Game Jam, the world’s biggest simultaneous game jam! The GGJ holds special significance for us since the team first came together at last year’s event where we made the bacon-oriented platformer Gird Up Your Loins.

The theme for this year’s jam was, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Based mainly out of NYU’s jam site at their Brooklyn campus (with Nathaniel contributing from LA), Mercato folks in various teams ended up working on six games – one of them even won an award!

Here’s the final tally:

Nyoncat and Bleuteuth Flock Ink Blot Ballet
Nyon and Bleuteuth live in a world of neon lights. Control the environment around them as you choose the paths they take. Will Nyon catch Bleuteuth and knock his lights out, or will Bleuteuth escape to shine another day? The choice is yours! Flock is adorable. I can’t really say anything more without spoiling it. A random Rorschach physics dancer generator.
By Mark Anderson, Anthony Conta, Chris Hernandez, Yury Pavlotsky, Ben Serviss, Neil Sveri By Josh Raab, Jenny Jiao Hsia, Nathaniel Chambers By Jon Stokes, Eleanor Howe
Official Jam Page Official Game Page Official Jam Page
Play Now! Play Now! Play Now!
 
Ant Simulator Prototype Thing Harmony Couch Surfing
Simulating what it might be like to experience the world as an ant, where everything you know about the world comes from pheromone trails left behind by your colony mates.
**Winner for Best Visuals at the NYU game jam site!**
You are the leader of a cult. The world is going to end in 10 days. You must recruit as many true believers as possible! Sometimes, when people keep assuming you’re something you’re not, when the same old routine starts weighing you down, the only way to find yourself is to take a chance on something crazy.
By Chris Hernandez By Nick Robalik, Nathaniel Chambers, Joe Kowalski, Mike Lazer-Walker, John Bujalski, Chris Wolf, Erwin Perez By Ben Serviss
Official Jam Page Official Game Page Official Jam Page
Download Now! Play Now! Play Now!
Posted in Events | Tags: global game jam, prototypes | Leave a comment |
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Recent Posts

  • PAX East 2015 & Indie Games Live!
  • We Survived MAGFest 2015!
  • Introducing the NYC Arcade!
  • Crystal Brawl at the Smithsonian American Art Museum!!!!
  • Death By Audio Arcade Cabinets Invade Maker Faire!

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  • PAX East 2015 & Indie Games Live!
  • We Survived MAGFest 2015!
  • Introducing the NYC Arcade!
  • Crystal Brawl at the Smithsonian American Art Museum!!!!
  • Death By Audio Arcade Cabinets Invade Maker Faire!

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