semiformal-studios
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Breaking down the cost of an E3 booth
Semiformal Studios secured a 600 square foot space on the E3 show floor this year, and it ended up spending $100,000 on the entire show. That figure may be shocking – because it's so low. "If we hadn't second-guessed everything, worked really hard, and gotten clever it would have been about $300,000 - $500,000, but the necessity to put on a good show and the lack of funds forced us to think cleverly and work hard to make it happen on the cheap," Semiformal Studios Director Ian Kinsey tells me. "I'm confident we had the cheapest price per square foot (when you factor in all costs) of all the decently interactive booths at E3." The space itself cost $30,000 – 600 square feet is the smallest space offered – and that doesn't factor in the actual booth itself. For its construction, Kinsey got quotes from dozens of booth and expo designers, even museum exhibit companies, that ranged from $80,000 to $250,000, just for a standard design, no frills. "Some companies literally told us that the reason for the cost was simply, 'If you want an E3 booth, you have to pay E3 prices,'" Kinsey says. "Even some of the non-E3 expo makers, like the museum designers, gave that as their reason."
How 10 indie developers got into E3, legally, with Indies Crash E3
Reserving 600 square feet of space on the show floor of E3 costs $30,000. That's $50 per square foot for the smallest offered space, and it doesn't include other necessary costs – fees for the E3 management company GES, union labor and various red tape – which can add up to $15,000. More still, these prices don't include actual booth construction, game-demo tech, man-hours or convention swag. Semiformal Studios bought one of the 600 square foot spots to show off its game, Ensemble Online, at E3 this year, and the team ended up spending $100,000 in total. This was cheap – Semiformal could have easily spent $500,000, Director Ian Kinsey tells me. After dealing with the finances of E3 firsthand, Kinsey and Semiformal saw why more indies were unable to show their games at the event – and they decided to help. Semiformal established Indies Crash E3, a fan-voted contest to allow 10 indies into E3, using passes Semiformal was granted as a show-floor developer. The developers would demo their games in the Semiformal booth, share in its marketing campaign and have access to the most concentrated batch of networking opportunities of the year.
Ensemble Online gears up for beta, launches Kickstarter drive
It's been nearly two years since we first heard of Ensemble Online, a browser-based MMO that combines elements from RPG and RTS titles. SemiFormal Studios is gearing up to launch Ensemble's beta testing phase, and the firm has taken to Kickstarter to help with funding. SemiFormal bills the game as "the world's first MMORTS"; the company says that it allows you to "tactically control territory, harvest resources, and build buildings anywhere on an expansive, real-time, never-ending map." The game doesn't limit where you can build, either, and there are no text-based battles (nor do you lose your progress when you log out). If that's piqued your interest, head to the official site to learn more about the game, and don't forget to check out the Ensemble Kickstarter page to contribute.
Ensemble Online wants you for alpha testing!
Longtime Massively readers will remember a giveaway we had last year for Ensemble Online alpha keys. Ensemble Online has been under construction since then, and the small indie studio creating it has grown as well. The developers -- now operating under the SemiFormal Studios moniker -- are preparing for alpha test phase II, and you're invited! SemiFormal has given us 50 alpha test keys to share with you, so if you'd like to see how far the game has come since alpha test phase I, head to our giveaway page and pick up a key for yourself. It's an alpha test, so don't forget to report all those little bugs and glitches. Even more importantly, don't forget to have fun! [Sorry, all codes have been claimed]
