UK gaming conference WASD wrapped up at the end of March with good news: 9,000 attendees over the event’s three days meant that attendance numbers had doubled when compared to 2022’s show. 85 different games were available for people to play, with Street Fighter 6 being a huge draw for those looking to get a taste of one of 2023’s most hotly tipped releases.
This is not only great for people who like the idea of playing indie games in a big hall in London, but also for gaming events all over the world. As bigger events seem like risky propositions – E3’s high-profile cancellation is still recent in memory – WASD’s success is a cause for hope.
NME spoke to David Lilley, a co-founder of WASD organiser Roucan Events and Content, about the challenges events have to face post-COVID, how events like this can help solve the discoverability issue for indie games, and also what is next for the event, which is planning to return in 2024.
Lilley seems to have a clear vision for WASD. Post COVID, he posits, events are going to need to work hard to win back their audiences, but they still have important things to offer— namely ways to build and foster communities, and opportunities to discover new games.
“Finding games used to be really easy. Go to GAME, get a box, go home and play,” explains Lilley. “Now there are games in so many different locations and, like music and home entertainment, discoverability is a massive problem.”
“What better way to discover new products than to sit down and try them? Also, consumers who pay for a ticket, or have their own channel, tend to be the “knowledgeable friend who makes a recommendation”. The way to long-term success in games events is to focus on the experience for players rather than profit.”
“Building a community around your game is vital to its success, and you can certainly do that online, but seeing these friendship groups come together in person, sometimes for the first time, is something we love to facilitate at WASD.”
Building those communities and putting player experience first are the main reasons why WASD only lets games be shown if they have playable code, and why it puts big and small games together in the same spaces. That and the fact that this gives players the best chance at seeing the widest selection of games as possible.
Roucan is a veritable supergroup of gaming event professionals, with the team working together for years at Gamer Network (later ReedPop) to bring EGX, Rezzed and several other events to eager fans. Lilley says that Roucan “know our audience and what they like from an event,”and suggests that branding everyone who plays games as gamers “isn’t right,” in that the gaming audience has huge depth and variety which the WASD team try to cater for.
“Principally, and this is important,” says Lilley. “We provide a joyful and safe environment for everyone to enjoy themselves. Everyone is welcome and we ensure it’s a happy and great space.”
The UK is well-known for its game development talent, with a game market valued at £7.05billion in 2022. Lilley says there’s no reason that the UK’s games events can’t be as big, as successful. For this to happen, Lilley explains, everyone in the UK needs to take part. “Putting yourself in front of a live audience brings hot-shot young developer talent. Sells product. Encourages wishlisting. Gives you stand out through meaningful engagement. It puts them on the map. We need everyone that benefits from the UK industry to support the UK industry at all levels.”
What’s next for WASD specifically?
“It’s obvious, but Covid hit events very hard and it’s taking a while to come back — we will sustainably grow our events, always with an eye on what our customers want,” says Lilley, who summarises everything WASD wants to be in four words: “Playable. Joyful. Fun. Inclusive.”
WASD will return in 2024.