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Indie Megabooth

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The Indie Megabooth is a section at game expositions, legally incorporated under the name Indie Megacorp, Corp,[1] dedicated to the display and promotion of indie games. It launched at PAX East 2012[2] and continued to only appear at PAX events[3][4][5][6][7] before expanding to other shows including the Eurogamer Expo,[2] Electronic Entertainment Expo,[8] Game Developers Conference,[9] and Gamescom.[10] It was founded by Kelly Wallick, who became the booth's full-time organizer in 2013.[11][12]

After a brief hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic,[13] the Indie Megabooth organizers announced their return in 2023.[14] As of 2024, the Indie Megabooth has not announced at which event they will be present.[14]

Throughout its existence, the Indie Megabooth has helped to shape video game culture and the industry, as a cultural intermediary.[1]

History

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The first Indie Megabooth took place at PAX East in 2012 with 16 developers and 20 games.[11] That same year, at PAX Prime (now known as PAX West), it held 30 developers and 30 games.[11] In 2013, its PAX East showing included 50 developers with 62 games.[11] In only a year, it had more than doubled in size.

Between PAX East 2013 and PAX Prime 2013, the Indie Megabooth organization legally incorporated under the name Indie Megacorp, Corp.[1] Kelly Wallick left her career as a project manager with Infrared5 to become acting president, secretary, treasurer, and only full-time employee.[11][1] Eitan Glinert became the vice-president.[1]

Beyond 2013, the Indie Megabooth receives between 200-300 submissions for each event.[1] They narrow that number down to between 60-80 games that are shown to the public.[1]

In 2020, the Indie Megabooth's organizers chose to "sunset" the Indie Megabooth for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

In 2023, Wallick announced that the Indie Megabooth would be returning from its "hibernation."[15] The announcement was a part of that year's Summer Game Fest during its Day of the Devs segment.[14] No specific events were stated in its future plans.[14]

Cultural Intermediary

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The term cultural intermediary was brought to the forefront by Pierre Bourdieu in his book Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste.[16] He describes cultural intermediaries as "sellers of symbolic goods," "taste makers," and "authorities of legitimation."[17] The idea of selling symbolic goods could be restated as manipulating culture.[1]

Academic scholars have commented that the Indie Megabooth fulfills the role of a seller of symbolic goods, a tastemaker, and an authority of legitimation.[1] The Indie Megabooth manipulates culture by deciding what games will be showcased at events, which influences what games are popular in the indie video game community. [1] This is now a main part of the Indie Megabooth's identity: they are experts who play hundreds of new games every year and pick out the most creative and most innovative to show to the public.[1]

References

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  • Parker, Felan; Whitson, Jennifer R; Simon, Bart (May 2018). "Megabooth: The cultural intermediation of indie games". New Media & Society. 20 (5): 1953–1972. doi:10.1177/1461444817711403. ISSN 1461-4448. PMC 6256716. PMID 30581359.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Parker, Felan; Whitson, Jennifer R; Simon, Bart (May 2018). "Megabooth: The cultural intermediation of indie games". New Media & Society. 20 (5): 1953–1972. doi:10.1177/1461444817711403. ISSN 1461-4448. PMC 6256716. PMID 30581359.
  2. ^ a b Bailey, Kat (October 23, 2015). "With Indies More Prevalent Than Ever, the Indie Megabooth Finds New Ways to Evangelize". USgamer. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  3. ^ Sarkar, Samit (August 15, 2013). "Indie Megabooth brings more than 80 games to PAX Prime 2013". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. ^ Sarkar, Samit (March 12, 2013). "Second annual PAX East Indie Megabooth features 62 games from 50 developers". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Lien, Tracey (March 31, 2014). "Indie Megabooth's PAX East line-up includes Aztez, Hotline Miami 2 and more". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  6. ^ Bailey, Kat (August 30, 2014). "PAX Prime 2014: Bob and Kat Pick the Best of the Indie Megabooth". USgamer. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  7. ^ Martin, Michael (August 11, 2015). "PAX 2015: Indie MEGABOOTH Reveals Full Games Lineup for PAX Prime". IGN. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Hall, Charlie (May 26, 2017). "Heres the Indie Megabooth lineup for E3 (update: public access has been canceled)". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  9. ^ McWhertor, Michael (February 21, 2014). "Indie Megabooth is bringing its indie showcase to GDC 2014". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  10. ^ Tach, Dave (May 23, 2014). "The Indie Megabooth will become international at Gamescom 2014". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d e Farokhmanesh, Megan (April 14, 2013). "Kelly Wallick departs Infrared5 to run Indie Megabooth full-time". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Billings, Kevin (May 27, 2017). "E3 2017 Will Have Strong Indie Presence". Tech Times. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Indie Megabooth winding down operations due to coronavirus". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d "Indie Megabooth resumes operations following COVID-19 hiatus". Shacknews. June 8, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  15. ^ Indie MEGABOOTH (June 8, 2023). Indie MEGABOOTH is BACK!. Retrieved October 11, 2024 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "The Cultural Intermediaries Reader". SAGE Publications Ltd. September 22, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  17. ^ Bourdieu, Pierre (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674212770.
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