Changing the narrative

Five years of LudoNarraCon, showcasing videogame storytelling on a digital stage

Back when Fellow Traveller was still known as Surprise Attack, the Australian publisher exhibited at a lot of game shows, from PAX East to Gamescom. “We were out at these events three or four times a year, as well as doing stuff here in Australia,” says founder Chris Wright. “So a large part of our marketing spend was doing these events.” Each trip, Wright says, would cost around $20,000, including travel and hiring a booth. “Increasingly, we were just saying: ‘Is this really where we should be spending our money?’”

It’s a question that is particularly pertinent in 2023, in the wake of the cancellation of E3 – once the firmest fixture in the videogame calendar – as many of the major publishers move instead towards online showcases. But for Fellow Traveller this shift started back in 2018, following its rebranding from Surprise Attack and the tightening focus of its portfolio. “We were looking at our games and saying, ‘you can’t make a 15-minute demo of this emotional narrative game – you need an hour with it’,” Wright says. “And that doesn’t suit a show floor.” The solution was LudoNarraCon, a digital-only festival, run entirely through Steam, which marks its fifth year this May.