In case you couldn’t tell, E3 is huge; ridiculously, outlandishly big. It seems like every game publisher and developer is there, but something I noticed this year was the lack of smaller developers. Sure, a company like Natsume could be considered a ‘smaller’ developer, but I’m talking about the small three-man operations, the passionate game designers. Simply put, it seems like there’s no longer room for them at E3.
However, while I was walking around the massive booths for companies like Activision showing off their newest Rock Band entry, I found one booth off on its own. Surrounded by companies that will promote your game to Central and Latin America, sat a small booth, strung up with Christmas lights and a small banner.
This is what I had come to E3 hoping to find- the underdogs. Sure, Halo 5 is going to be fun, but we’re going to see tons of coverage of it in the coming months. For me, I wanted to give back to the community that provides me with so much enjoyment.
So, I decided to go over and speak with them and see what their game, Harmony of Dawn, was all about. I’m glad I did, because not only did I find a game that breaks traditional conventions of what a platformer could be, but I found a group of young and passionate game designers who want to create a heartfelt and unique experience. If you’re a fan of Loom and other musically-inspired narratives, this should be a journey that’ll interest you.
I want to thank Autumn Mason and everyone at What’s In The Box Entertainment for their time and enormous passion for not only music but for game design. The project is currently in development, and she continues to update their page with additional alpha footage. If you’d like to support their project, it’s currently on Steam Greenlight, so go on over and check it out.
On a side note; I’d like to officially say I’m proud I finally hit puberty, right at the end of the video. Good times.