The Big Indie Pitch is a regular event run by the makers of PocketGamer.biz. It sees indie developers engage in a speed-dating-styled pitching competition for fame and those sweet, sweet promotional packages.
The event gives indies four minutes to pitch their games to a panel of press, publishers and industry pundits. The judges then pick three winners and everybody gets valuable feedback.
The indie view
The Big Indie Pitch is getting bigger and bigger as we bring it to events all across the world. To give you an idea of what the event is like, who attends the events and the games on show, we’ve sat down with a number of past BIP contestants to offer their views.
Today, we’re speaking to Ginny from Codex7 Games, who submited Pirate Code to The Big Indie Pitch at ChinaJoy 2018 and walked away as the champion.
PocketGamer.biz: Tell us a little about yourself and your indie studio. Who is in the team and what are their inspirations?
Ginny: We are from Tianjin, China. Our team has been developing mobile games for over ten years now. We started on Symbian systems and created many titles for Nokia devices, then we moved to iOS and Android following the market to reach a broader audience. The team co-developed the successful tank battle game ‘Iron Force’ which pioneered a lot of PvP gameplay and technology on mobile. We then developed ‘Battle Copters’ which took the battle to the skies! Both games attracted positive reviews and love from Apple and Google.
Tell us about your latest project that you pitched at the competition.
‘Pirate Code’ is a brand new game. It’s a PvP sea battle game. Our initial goal was to create an intense sea battle experience but with a more relaxed and causal user interface. After many prototypes for the look and feel of the game, we decided to build it with a low poly cartoon style. So far, we have had a great response, the game has been in Early Access on Google Play for a while now and we’ve had some great feedback from this with players really engaging with the open sea combat theme. The player feedback we received has really shaped the game and we are looking forward to launching it on Google Play and the App Store soon.
How hard is it to survive as an indie developer?
We believe the global market will keep growing. For us the challenge is maintaining a balance between creativity and commercialism. We want to make great games, first and foremost, but those games have to be commercial to ensure that Codex7 can survive and keep making games in the future.
How was your experience pitching as a part of the Big Indie Pitch?
This is my very first time being a part of the Big Indie Pitch so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was very competitive, we were up against some great games, but it was super exciting to be a part of it. We made new friends and got a lot of really useful feedback from judges but also from fellow competitors. I will definitely recommend the experience to other indie developers.
What do you feel you have gained from these experiences and what do you still hope to gain?
We were overwhelmed by the honour! Plus, the prize, in the form of support from Pocket Gamer, will valuable for ‘Pirate Code’. This type of exposure really helps to promote the brand to an engaged audience. We also made some great contacts at the event and look forward to exploring these in the future.
What are your hopes for this game in the future and do you have any plans for any future projects?
Pirate Code is the most important product for Codex7 in 2018. Maritime battles are an exciting theme and gives us lots of potential for expansion, events and content. We will keep providing exciting new content and optimizing play experience. We support over 10 languages in Pirate Code to land aim to have hundreds of millions of users in the game – an ambitious goal, perhaps, but we are confident in the game.
Want to show off your exciting new game? We host Big Indie Pitch events throughout the year, so be sure to keep an eye out on our events page for an event near you.
Upcoming BIPs include:
More coming soon so make sure to regularly check our upcoming events page here and over on BigIndiePitch.com
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