The Road to E3-Like Events 2022: Summer Game Jests

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Road to E3-Like Events 2022: Summer Game Jests

Who Will Win E3????
	The Gamers
	This year, it's all about the Gamers
	Finally, it's Gamers
	Power to the Players

The 7th Guest: Dec 17, 2003

Summer Game Fest is, functionally, the 'new' E3, a large keynote event created and hosted by Geoff Keighley that will feature looks at upcoming AAA and indie games coming out in 2023 and 2024.

Year in, year out, I have posted the E3 thread with apprehension... what started as a fun excercise in dunking on extremely awkward corporate presentations became a desperate prayer for even one stage skit with a Youtube celebrity. Companies grew wise and started focusing solely on gameplay teasers/demonstrations... but without showing off anything actually interesting, turning E3 into a FUNCTIONALLY competent gaming showcase, but a boring and cynical one.

I thought honestly that last year might be the final thread I'd post, especially with the rumors that E3 was dying (I was a year off, I guess). And then E3 went online-only..... and it was kinda... good??

Seriously, I believe that leaving the confines of a physical show floor has made the summer showcase events better, by shifting the dominant focus away from AAA titles that largely have little to show in early development, to AA and indie titles that are quirkier, more interesting, and more accurately previewed. Instead of just Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, we got Tribeca Games Festival, Day of the Devs, Future Games Show, Guerilla Games Showcase, and one of the more baffling Japanese Indie presentations I've ever seen. 13 games in my top 50 last year were indie games I learned about through Not-E3, and another is going to probably end up in my top 10 this year (Norco). I've got another 8-10 still on my wishlist, and a few still in my library to play. Without this month, I would not have known about TOEM, or Dodgeball Academia, or Behind the Frame.

Okay, I will admit to bias here. I am primarily an indie game fan, and games that others would go "this is just a 2 hour walking simulator, who cares" I go ayum yum yum, slop that in my gamer mouth. I couldn't have cared less about the reactions to the Saints Row reboot, but a game where you methodically unpack a bunch of boxes into houses over and over?? gently caress yes. But if you are a AAA-or-die video game player that only cares about how many polygons are in Spiderman's armpit, there are still events for you this year. Just not with the "E3" designation.

SCHEDULE:

Sony State of Play
Date: June 2nd, 3PM PT/6 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube

I group this in, although it's a week earlier, but I'm not exactly sure it actually will be an E3-level showcase, rather than a State of Play that just happened to be during The Big Month. The release says they will have new game reveals and sneak peeks, and show off PSVR2, but it is also only 30 minutes long.

Sega New Project Announcement
Date: June 3rd, 4 AM PT/7 AM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube

This one will be over while you're asleep, and it's probably not the new Sonic game but something else.

Limited Run Games
Date: June 6th, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET
Where to Watch: Twitch

This year's LRG Showcase is produced by Mega64 and will feature 30+ trailers. LRG's focus is physical releases of indie games, so a lot of the trailers should be of existing digital-only (to date) games but there may be some upcoming game reveals as well, certainly there will be day and date LRG/indie collabs.

Summer Games Fest 2022, Day of the Devs 2022
Date: June 9th, 11 AM PT/2 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube, Twitch

The first 'official' event of the month, Geoff Keighley will present W O R L D . P R E M I E R E S . and updates on many AAA titles.

Of course, the actual highlight for me comes after, when DoubleFine presents Day of the Devs, which is basically a showcase of curated cool indie titles. Last year's introduced TOEM, Road 96, Axiom Verge 2, Garden Story (my #9 game of 2021!), Death's Door (#5!), Behind the Frame (#20), Last Stop (#47), Elec Head, A Musical Story, and Unbeatable (my runner-up for GOTY). So yeah, it's bangers front to back.

This year's Day of the Devs will feature games like Planet of Lana, A Little to the Left, Little Nemo: Guardians of Slumberland (which has Anamanaguchi music that will be spotlighted), Animal Well, Escape Academy, Roots of Pacha, Birth, Bear & Breakfast, Choo-Choo Charles (ugh), Naiad, and more.

Devolver Direct 2022
Date: June 9th, 3 PM PT/6 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube, Twitch

I'm not gonna lie.... these hit a little different after Devolver went public with a worth of nearly a billion USD... not exactly an underdog indie publisher taking down the big boys, they are a big boy. But that doesn't make me dislike their games or anything, I'm obviously an indie game stan and Devolver had a solid 2021 (Olija, Loop Hero, Death's Door, Inscryption).

This year they have a solid slate of games to talk about, like Card Shark, Wizard with a Gun, Terra Nil, Cult of the Lamb, Tentacular, and maaaaybe The Talos Principle 2. But by far the biggest game they've got, and maybe one of the biggest they've published in years, is the proper return of Monkey Island which was teased back in the winter. Now, I need to set your expectations properly, because this isn't a AAA Monkey Island, as the trailer itself had puppety animation in a lineless vectory art style. But I have seen the BGs and they are quite gorgeous, like the angular style of DOTT but in HD. Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman are writing this one and it is meant to be an 'alternate' sequel to Monkey Island 2, not outright uncanonizing Curse, but essentially shifting Curse & Escape & Tales to the side and showing how Ron personally would have followed up Big Whoop.

Netflix Geeked Week: Gaming
Date: June 10th, 10 AM PT/1 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube

It's probably not as widely known as Netflix would like, but Netflix does have a games division, and there are games you can play on your phone as long as you have a Netflix subscription, like a remaster of old Steam thread breakout favorite Shatter. So I guess this event partially exists to get the word out and also announce other phone games Netflix is putting money into. For what it's worth, Netflix also now owns the developer of Oxenfree, which calls into question whether Oxenfree II will have brief launch exclusivity on mobile before going to other platforms. It's not the only developer they've acquired either, and they may announce another acqusition here.

Tribeca Games Festival 2022
Date: June 10th, 12 PM PT/3 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube

Last year's inaugural Tribeca Games Festival (the same as the film festival) featured The Big Con, Norco, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Lost in Random, Sable, 12 Minutes (oops... well we were all fooled), and upcoming games Harold Halibut and Signalis. Their selections are pretty solid this year as well, with looks at A Plague Tale Requiem, Oxenfree II, Thirsty Suitors, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course and others. I can't say I care for the "Tribeca Game Pass" thing they are doing, though, where you pay $5 to reserve a timeslot to.. stream three demos over Parsec?? Have they seen the Steam Demo Fests? Demos are... like.. free, folks.

Guerilla Collective 3 Day 1
Date: June 11th, 8 AM PT/11 AM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube. Twitch

Last year's Guerilla Collective event (by Guerilla Games but produced by The Media Indie eXchange (MIX)) was so large they needed two days for it, and that is the case this year as well. Like Tribeca and Day of the Devs, this is an indie-centric show, though one whose demos will actually be available to everyone on Steam. I'm looking at you Tribeca!!!

Day 1's spotlight featured 35 games alone, including ANNO: Mutationem, Chernobylite, El Paso Elsewhere, Industria, Kraken Academy, Lamentum, Omno, Rubi: The Wayward Mira, The Eternal Cylinder, Ultra Age, and Ynglet.

Wholesome Games Direct
Date: June 11th, 9:30 AM PT/12:30 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube

Last year's Wholesome Direct sparked a bit of debate and controversy over the concept of what games are considered wholesome and which aren't. There's definitely something to be talked about here, with 'wholesome' as a word being reconfigured for the zoomer generation to mean "no conflict, nothing problematic". This leads to a presentation that has a lot of games that are... well... childish is the nicest word I would use. I also think it is a little odd to schedule so close to the Guerilla showcase, in the event that it runs overtime. Usually these events do a decent job of staying out of the way of each other.

That said, I don't lay this on the developers whose games are chosen and highlighted. And there were plenty of neat games shown last year (out of a whopping 75 shown!), such as: A Little to the Left, Hoa, KeyWe, Cloud Jumper, Unpacking, Toodee & Topdee, Fossil Corner, Powerwash Simulator, Luna's Fishing Garden, Apico, Bear & Breakfast, Lake, Teacup, We Are OFK, Princess Farmer, Here Comes Niko, Button City, Tracks of Thought, Rainbow Billy, The Outbound Ghost, Floppy Knights, Alekon, and Wytchwood.

Future of Play Direct
Date: June 11th, 10:30 AM PT/1:30 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube

Another indie showcase, one I didn't even know existed but apparently has run for a couple of years (invisibly I guess). This one is hosted by an "AI" host which I assume is just a gimmick. Claims to be 'inspired by Toonami' and will have updates on Cook Serve Forever, Creature Keeper, The Wandering Village, Infinite Guitars and possible port/dlc announcements for Boyfriend Dungeon and Soundfall. Also will have some developers reading 'spicy reviews and comments' of their games which seems like it'll annoy the gently caress out of people. Just a guess.

Will include: The Cartomancy Anthology, Love Shore, Railbound, Psychroma, Mossfield Origins, OU, Hill Agency, Rocket Rumble, Midnight Girl, ValiDate, Creature Keeper, and more

Future Games Show
Date: June 11th, 12 PM PT/3 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube, Twitch

I only just now realized that Future has a second meaning because GamesRadar+ is 'presenting' it, which is a magazine published by Future PLC. Future Shows tend to be hosted by voice actors from popular games, such as last year's (Last of Us actors for the E3 show, RE8 actors for the Gamescom show), and also have a Steam landing page with demos. The show also has brief segments where they flash a bunch of random Steam keys, for the fast typers out there. This year, the hosts will be VAs from The Witcher 3 (including Geralt).

Featured last year: Immortality, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View, Two Point Campus, Batora: Lost Haven, Tails of Iron, OlliOlli World, Minute of Islands, Happy Games, Greak: Memories of Azur, Gestalt Steam & Cinder, The Riftbreaker. Their Gamescom event featured Life is Strange: True Colors, In Sound Mind, Salt & Sacrifice, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, DokeV (remember that weird trailer??), 9 Years of Shadows, Trepang2, and FAR: Changing Tides.

https://images-ext-2.discordapp.net...n-hell-hell.mp4
Xbox & Bethesda Showcase
Date: June 12th, 10 AM PT/1 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube. Twitch (Regular), Twitch (ASL)

With Game Pass a behemoth of cool third-party titles & indies, and disappointing first-party titles, Microsoft is primed to reveal a slate of even more cool Game Pass additions, bolstered by the addition of additional disappointing first-party titles from Bethesda.

Arkane's vampire game will be shown here for sure, as will Microsoft's attempt to salvage Halo Infinite's online community. We'll see Starfield and Outer Worlds 2 (somehow not in competition with each other), and probably Obisidian's other RPG. Maybe the KOTOR remake. I'm not sure what else though. Hey speaking of Obsidian, are you guys actually gonna finish Grounded or just sort of putter around with random content updates that don't progress the campaign?

PC Gaming Show
Date: June 12th, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube, Twitch

Last year's PC Gaming Show tried to have some sort of 'plot' and 'skits' like the early era of G4TV, not sure if they're gonna do that again. Day9 is hosting yet again. This year will have a new announcement from Klei, a new game from 11bit, ARMA 4, WH40K Space Marine 2, and.. a Half Life Alyx mod. ...sure.

Guerilla Collective 3 Day 2
Date: June 13th, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET
Where to Watch: Youtube. Twitch

A continuation of Guerilla/MIX's indie showcase, last year's second stream featured 40 games (yep, it was even longer!), including: Aragami 2, Archvale, Arietta of Spirits, Black Book, Death Trash, Demon Turf, Ghostrunner, GRIME, Kitsune Tails, No Longer Home, Serial Cleaners, Severed Steel, and Wolfstride.

Capcom Showcase
Date: June 13th, 3 PM PT/6 PM ET
Where to Watch: https://www.capcom-games.com/showcase/en-us/

More of a recap than an announcement show, Capcom Showcase will go over games that have already been revealed with more detail, like the RE 4 Remake, and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

STILL WAITING ON
Ubisoft, Nintendo (rumored June 15th). EA Play 2022 has already been cancelled, probably because they have no games but also because they're shopping for a merger.

I NEED MORE FUNNY GIFS
From what, five years ago? That era of E3 is over, I'm sorry.

GAMES YOU'LL LIKELY SEE THIS YEAR

Starfield - Bethesda's next jankfest in space. You know it's going to be good because it was delayed by a year only a few months before release, and they've only shown concept art so far.

Avowed - Obsidian's next RPG set in the Pillars universe, I think all we saw of it was a teaser two years ago.

Outer Worlds 2 - Teased not too long ago, we might not get too many details on this one unless they're rushing it out.

God of War: Ragnarok - Should get a deep dive in the State of Play with release info.

Redfall - Arkane's "borderlands with vampires" game as a service. Arkane is normally pretty good, but we'll see on this.

Bushiden - Moving on to indies, Humble Games' catalog will likely show up in Microsoft's presentation because of their Game Pass contract, possibly elsewhere too. Bushiden is a Ninjavania with a super 16-bit aesthetic.

Signalis - Humble Games: Top-down survival horror on a spaceship with a slick PS1 2.5D look.

Mineko's Night Market - Humble Games: Long-awaited life sim with Meowza art in a world of cats.

Ghost Song - Humble Games: EVEN LONGER-awaited Metroidvania, like years and years, a solo dev project that will hopefully see completion now that Humble is funding it.

Midnight Fight Express - Humble Games: Really rad isometic beat-em-up that looks fuckin' cool every time it's shown. Wouldn't be surprised if it had a summer release or even shadowdrop.

Monaco 2 - Humble Games: Sequel to a beloved Steam 'stealth' co-op classic. The kind of co-op 'stealth' where something goes wrong and everyone panics and total chaos ensues.

Coral Island - Humble Games: Life sim similar to Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley.

Moonscars - Humble Games: Souls-like with incredibly fluid character animation.

Stray Gods - Humble Games: A "roleplaying musical" detective noir by the former lead writer of Dragon Age where Greek gods live on earth. Has a real 'motion comic' look to it.

Totemic - Humble Games: Top-down action game with gameplay that looks similar to Hyper Light Drifter.

Infinite Guitars - Humble Games: Music/rhythm RPG where you fight giant mechs with your electric guitar.

The Bookwalker - Cool adventure game (I've played the demo) where you switch between first-person walking simulator and isometric 2D inventory puzzling, with the ability to switch items between the worlds.

Fallen Aces/Gloomwood - The two big New Blood games on the near horizon, one a fisticuff immsim, the other a Thief-style experience.

Beacon Pines - Story game that I'd describe as 'furry Stranger Things' where you have the ability to change the story by replacing words in the narration with word pins you acquire.

Chained Echoes - Gorgeous looking 16-bit JRPG published by Deck13 (The Surge)

NAIRI: Rising Tide - Sequel to a very charming VN/puzzle game, I didn't even know a sequel was coming until just a couple of days ago.

Morbid Metal - A splashy action hack and slash roguelite where you can switch between characters on the fly.

Roots of Pacha - A life-sim set in the stone age.

Birth - Odd Rusty Lake-esque point and click adventure/escaper by the developer of Landlord of the Woods.

Jack Move - Slick cyberpunk JRPG with a free prologue on Steam.

Animal Well - Metroidvania with a focus on non-linearity, items with multiple uses, and tons of hidden puzzles. Quoting the Steam page: "Players will be discovering hidden puzzles for years."

Splatoon 3/Breath of the Wild 2 - If Nintendo has a Direct, they'll be there. Will Advance Wars get a release date? Is it just flat out cancelled?

Maybes?: Atomic Heart, Metal Slug Tactics, TMNT Shredder's Revenge, Slime Rancher 2, Somerville, Alan Wake 2, Dead Space remake, Jedi: Survivor, Suicide Squad, Gotham Knights, Darkest Dungeon 2, Max Payne remake, Mina the Hollower, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, STALKER 2, SteamWorld: Headhunter, Street Fighter 6, Neon White, Sea of Stars, Silkson--ahahahahahaha

---

I'm sort of expecting a more neutral/positive thread this time around, since the "lol cringe E3" days have come and gone... if you want to poo poo on everything, you can, but that probably won't be the vibe this time around and YOU might end up being the one who is cringe. Just chill, watch the streams, have fun, post about stuff that looks neat, IDK. I might make fun of AAA games or something but I'm just here for the indies mostly.

Enjoy! And :justpost:

The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Jun 8, 2022

# ? May 29, 2022 19:13

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 20, 2024 05:08

Andrast: Apr 21, 2010

video games

# ? May 29, 2022 19:16

mutata: Mar 1, 2003

Exclusive World Premiere

# ? May 29, 2022 19:23

Baller Time: Apr 22, 2014; by Azathoth

# ? May 29, 2022 19:30

CharlieFoxtrot: Mar 27, 2007; organize digital employees

my vibe going into this:
https://twitter.com/aitaikimochi/status/1530188067914452994

# ? May 29, 2022 20:35

Chieves: Sep 20, 2010

lol cringe E3

# ? May 29, 2022 20:47

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

where the gently caress is silksong

# ? May 29, 2022 21:55

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Wow can't believe I won E3

# ? May 29, 2022 21:56

Vermain: Sep 5, 2006

haveblue posted:

where the gently caress is silksong

off with Scorn to go get some smokes from the store

# ? May 29, 2022 21:59

The Walrus: Jul 9, 2002; by Fluffdaddy

Let no man denyth me my cringing

# ? May 29, 2022 22:28

Infinitum: Jul 30, 2004

haveblue posted:

where the gently caress is silksong

Where you left it

# ? May 29, 2022 22:31

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

congrats to the gamers, finally getting that w

# ? May 29, 2022 22:38

Terper: Jun 26, 2012

I really like the E3 time of the year, excited to see cool new things

# ? May 29, 2022 22:50

Kevyn: Mar 5, 2003; I just want to smile. Just once. I'd like to just, one time, go to Disney World and smile like the other boys and girls.

# ? May 29, 2022 22:52

Mordja: Apr 26, 2014; Hell Gem

I guess E3-adjacent if you like Warhammer, Games Workshop's supposed to be showing off Darktide and Space Marine 2 in the general period.

# ? May 29, 2022 23:11

Sakurazuka: Jan 24, 2004; NANI?

I'm of work starting on the 2nd it's a coincidence I swear

# ? May 29, 2022 23:40

wuggles: Jul 12, 2017

Please slop the Gamer Advertisements into my Gamer Mouth.

# ? May 29, 2022 23:52

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

wuggles posted:

Please slop the Gamer Advertisements into my Gamer Mouth.

# ? May 29, 2022 23:55

Zil: Jun 4, 2011; Satanically Summoned Citrus

Rarity posted:

Do they come with sprinkles?

# ? May 30, 2022 00:07

The 7th Guest: Dec 17, 2003

haveblue posted:

where the gently caress is silksong

honestly, if it shows up i feel like it would be during Summer Game Fest. but if the devs haven't hinted at news then I probably wouldn't get my hopes up.

here are some other games that were showcased last year that I would expect to see again this year in indie events:

Cloud Jumper, Tracks of Thought, The Outbound Ghost, AK-xolotl, El Paso Elsewhere, Elderand, Onsen Master, Trifox, Akatori, Batora: Lost Haven, Hunt the Night, Kitsune Tails, Rawmen: food Fighter Arena, Serial Cleaners, Slime Heroes, Pekoe, We are OFK, Kokopa's Atlas (will have a demo during wholesome direct), Spirit Swap, The Garden Path, Venba, Witchy Life Story

some games that weren't shown last year but MIGHT show up:

8-bit Adventures 2, Knuckle Sandwich (surely this time!), UFO 50 (SURELY THIS TIME!!!), ProtoCorgi, Kingdom Shell, Exophobia, Rebel Transmute, Lab Rat, Small Saga, Lost in Play, Infinite Mana, Weirdlands, Berserk Boy, Selaco, Spark the Electric Jester 3

The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 03:04 on May 30, 2022

# ? May 30, 2022 03:00

The 7th Guest: Dec 17, 2003

One other one I missed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKciRkgWNjg

Looks like Infinite Guitars might show up in this one. Not sure why Soundfall is featured in the trailer unless it's about something like Stadia.

# ? May 30, 2022 16:22

BeanpolePeckerwood: May 4, 2004; I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK

summer of james

# ? May 30, 2022 16:33

Feels Villeneuve: Oct 7, 2007; Setter is Better.

haveblue posted:

where the gently caress is silksong

# ? May 30, 2022 16:34

BeanpolePeckerwood: May 4, 2004; I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK

BeanpolePeckerwood posted:

# ? May 30, 2022 16:38

Kevyn: Mar 5, 2003; I just want to smile. Just once. I'd like to just, one time, go to Disney World and smile like the other boys and girls.

Looking forward to more info about Beyond Good and Evil 2!

# ? May 30, 2022 17:10

Feels Villeneuve: Oct 7, 2007; Setter is Better.

Can't believe Verizon isn't having a show again

# ? May 30, 2022 17:13

BeanpolePeckerwood: May 4, 2004; I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK

Feels Villeneuve posted:

Can't believe Verizon isn't having a show again

good news for the competition tho

# ? May 30, 2022 17:33

man nurse: Feb 18, 2014

I already dearly miss the days of companies making total asses of themselves live on stage. I need the cringe.

# ? May 30, 2022 20:13

CottonWolf: Jul 20, 2012; Good ideas generator

I hope Stray is good. Want more cute cats about now.

# ? May 30, 2022 20:25

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

CottonWolf posted:

I hope Stray is good. Want more cute cats about now.

Really hope the PlayStation State of Play is where we see Stray with a release date finally.

# ? May 30, 2022 20:35

Mordja: Apr 26, 2014; Hell Gem

It should be called "Spay", too many feral cats in these robot apocalypses if you ask me.

# ? May 30, 2022 20:46

THE AWESOME GHOST: Oct 21, 2005

Thank you for the really cool OP i didn�t know they still were going to have �fake e3� this year

# ? May 30, 2022 21:09

Rageaholic: May 31, 2005; Old Town Road to EGOT

Seeing STALKER 2 at last year's E3 was what convinced me to buy a Series X (because it was announced as a day 1 Game Pass title). Wonder what this year's will get me to shell out for :shepspends:

# ? May 30, 2022 22:55

wuggles: Jul 12, 2017

in honor of Keigh3 season here's what is possibly the last great corporate cringe moment

https://youtu.be/vicSTM_OukU

# ? May 30, 2022 23:19

Mordja: Apr 26, 2014; Hell Gem

Rageaholic posted:

Seeing STALKER 2 at last year's E3

I've got some bad news for you...

# ? May 31, 2022 00:12

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Kevyn posted:

Looking forward to more info about Beyond Good and Evil 2!

Still think every so often about that (awesome) CGI video they played and then the project lead coming out weeping with happiness that it was FINALLY happening.... then a year later Joseph Gordon Levitt offered to steal people's art for the game, and then I think that was the last we ever heard of the game again?

# ? May 31, 2022 00:15