The OCIA Spark team recently stepped into the world of Insomnia 70 (i70), the biggest games festival in the UK. Being our first time attending as a business, we were excited to see how this well-known gaming festival balanced the release of triple-A games with the vibrant indie scene. While i70 is known for its enormous LAN party and Esports scene, we had a different goal. Our main interest was to discover what it could offer for up-and-coming developers. To our surprise, i70 was a giant blend of gaming in all its forms - from PC and console games to tabletop gaming and Dungeons & Dragons.
One of the highlights of our two-day adventure was the chance to play students’ final projects from the local university; and discuss Duck Race, a fun Twitch-integrated racing game, with its solo developer. We also met the founders of Patch Magazine, an independent publication covering video games from indie developers or studios (to which we instantly bought a subscription!). Away from the hustle and bustle of game demos, we had the chance to attend a live comedy D&D session hosted by the charismatic Josh Strife Hayes (Session Zero). The interactive and unpredictable story, guided by audience suggestions, had us in stitches. I also snagged an autograph from actor Nick Apostolides, the voice of Leon Kennedy in the Resident Evil 4 remake, before the queues got too long!
This picture shows the Session Zero crew gearing up to throw a plushie dice at the crowd for purly interactive purposes I’m sure…
Insomnia 70 had a distinct commercial air to it, which made it markedly different from our previous experience at WASD. With big brands like Monster and Jacklinks present, and even a visit from the British Army’s Esports team, the event felt more like a gaming carnival than a focused expo. The vast merch marketplace added to this atmosphere, selling everything from artisanal D&D dice (which, I’ll admit, I couldn’t resist buying some to add to my shiny click-clack maths rocks collection) to, disappointingly, real-life mystery loot boxes from popular franchises.
While Insomnia 70 was a great place to engage with gaming culture, we found it less fruitful for connecting with indie developers. It was clear that the event catered more to gamers than game creators. This experience will help us focus our efforts in the future on events more closely aligned with our goals as an indie games accelerator. Despite the hectic nature, my camera roll is filled with pictures of the many attendees in fantastic cosplays, some professional, and many just attending with their friends for fun.
Managed to meet Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy 7
As you would expect, Tiny Tina is very protective of her energy drinks
Turns out Ender-ladies are just as rude as Endermen, always stealing blocks…
My advice for anyone considering a visit to Insomnia i71 and beyond? Be prepared for the crowds, and be sure to arrive early. If you’re an Esports fan or want to immerse yourself in gaming culture, i70 is the festival for you.
Here are some glow-boxes with anime characters on them sold at the market and one with ‘game over’ text we thought was appropriate to have at the end of this post 👍
