Game Republic headed to MCM Comicon Birmingham for a weekend in November 2025, amongst 24 demos, showcasing some of the amazing talent from members. Alongside the Game Republic zone, Game Republic hosted two panels held on the Gaming stage, chatting to indie developers demoing at the event about developing games, breaking into the industry and tips for aspiring game developers on getting started.
In addition a few of the games on show at the Game Republic Zone were reviewed on the Finger Guns podcast which are summarised in these two features – Highlights Part 1 and Highlights Part 2. Â
Dr Jackie Mulligan (Development Director, Game Republic) hosted a panel on Saturday 29th November with Marco Ng (Otterweave Games Studio), Raine Danger Reynolds Osborne from Devroom Vantasia and Dan Baird from Infinity27.
Jamie Sefton (MD, Game Republic) hosted the panel on Sunday 30th November and was joined by Nareice Wint (Miami Avalon), Alex Johansson (ALJO Games), Martin Caine (Retroburn) and Harry Knott (Observer Interactive).
There were many interesting points made and information shared but here we summarise the feedback from both panels
Why you should attend events like MCM as a game developer
Connections, feedback and testing were key factors that panelists agreed were all gained in abundance at large events like MCM. Highlighting the importance of building connections with your player base, whilst at the same time being present to answer questions about the game and being able to provide in depth answers or explanations to players. High attendee events often result in more play testing opportunities which, coupled with feedback are something to be gained.
Alex Johansson who was showcasing MORSE said “I love seeing people’s reactions, and in particular engaging people in using all sorts of controllers who don’t normally play games”
Nareice Wint who brought Ascend to the event highlighted “it was great to engage with players in the game to see people navigating the zodiac puzzles. The game also tackles mental health and anxiety, so it really seems to get good reactions at shows and in online communities”
Harry Knott showcasing Good Boy said that at Observer Interactive “we’ve lived and breathed coming to these types of events and we’ve always taken things back from it”
Martin Caine, lead developer of Positron “people like playing the game and it is great to watch how they are playing it, and they really enjoy talking to the developers of the game in-person too”
Dan Baird producing Samsara said “He liked to hang back and watch those playing the game to get the feedback”
Raine Danger Reynolds Osborne showcasing The Saplum Cradle admitted that it was quite scary to do an expo for the first time, but then people are friendly and advised “Feel the fear and do it anyway”
Marco Ng who was showcasing EmiTime enjoyed the fan creations gained at the event and confirmed “the expos and shows give me a lot of feedback.”
Events of this scale also allow developers to reach out to their target audience and start building communities around their game that will hopefully continue to support both the development and game as it progresses. In regards to the courage of showcasing a game at a show, Harry summed up the general feelings of the panel…
“Be authentic, be yourself. Keep creating things and don’t be scared to do this” -Harry Knott Observer Interactive
Things you should be doing if you want to start making games
Panelists agreed networking, building a strong network around you that allows you to develop skillsets as well as providing opportunities within industry and attending as many industry events that you can is a great way to get started. Improving your skillset by talking to other developers, ask for advice and immerse yourself with available knowledge that will help you to start developing games and ideas. Don’t be afraid to release your game, get it on a playable platform so that people can play it.
“Four things I recommend students do by the time you graduate. Have three polished games, they don’t have to be long. Take part in three game jams, make three active industry connections and attend three industry events. That is all doable during the course of your studies” – Alex Johansson ALJO Games
If you are studying, you need to be working on games outside of your games course. Push yourself beyond your studies, take extra steps that will make you stand out alongside your peers. Most importantly, work on things you are genuinely passionate about and start to build a portfolio that supports your passion.
Final thoughts
The panel closed off with a few final thoughts from the developers, encouraging others that want to make games to get into the community, start building a network of support, stating the game industry is a friendly place where people are just as passionate as each other and are happy to support people who want to make games. Experiment with different different tools and don’t be scared to step out of your comfort zone.
Big thanks to the team at MCM Comic Con for providing this opportunity to share knowledge from our network of game developers and to enable them to showcase their brilliant games including An Elaborate History of Chess, Thingy Paint, Evolutio, Mithra, The Cascadier. Legends of Spin, Wander, Gata Gueressi, Vextorial, Project Leo, Hyper Sentinel Fusion and Phantom Floor, A very British Campaign Kickstarter, Race Car Crashers, Hidden Dogs and assorted games from University of Staffordshire and Manchester Metropolitan University.Â
Game Republic is the largest games industry network in The North of England managing Game Republic and indie game developer network GaMaYo. Game Republic specialises in delivering high-profile game events like Game Republic New Horizons, GaMaYo and the Game Republic Awards, development support for game and game-related businesses, trade missions to the US and Europe and curating events and festivals.
To find out about this event and other Game Republic partnered events, and Game Republic events, follow Game Republic on LinkedIn or apply to join the network on gamerepublic.net/join-usÂ
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