Feeling the Improvements and Growth since Last Time: COMITIA150 Report on “Yami Yuri Girls’ School” from My First Challenge!

Greetings, everyone. This is the Yamiyuri Girls’ Academy circle. We are a group of people who love lovely girls, weaving various stories set in a school filled with darkness.

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CIRCLE “Yamiyuri Girls’ Academy”

A circle formed by people who love lovely girls, creating games, manga, novels, and other works set in a school filled with darkness, weaving various stories. We are currently conducting a mysterious entrance exam simulation at events throughout the year.

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On November 17, 2024, we exhibited as a circle for the first time at COMITIA 150 held at Tokyo Big Sight! We will reflect on this challenge, utilizing the experience from the Digital Game Expo 2024 we participated in on November 3 to improve our setup and operations.

Additionally, we will include points to be careful about when exhibiting games at COMITIA, so we would be delighted if you could read through to the end.

For the report on our participation at the Digital Game Expo 2024 on November 3, click here ↓

初挑戦で見えた課題と喜び！「闇百合女学園」のデジゲー博出展レポート

For the trial presentation, we prepared a mock exam lasting 1 to 3 minutes, like at the Digital Game Expo. Furthermore, we distributed an illustration booklet titled “The Designated Notebook of Yamiyuri Girls’ Academy That Someone Dropped”! It is currently available for sale on booth.

[blogcard url=”https://yamiyurigakuenn.booth.pm/items/6325190″]

Implementing Reflections from the Digital Game Expo

In this COMITIA, we attempted to improve on the issues faced at the last Digital Game Expo using the methods outlined below.

1. Guiding Those Who Want to Take the Exam

Issue: Is it a game? Is it playable?

Improvement: By changing the design to have a waiting screen for the mock exam, visitors naturally recognized it as a game.

2. Securing Vision and Creative Use of Space

Issue: Items were arranged at eye level, making it hard to establish eye contact with customers.

Improvement: I avoided placing anything of the same height around the postcard stand and play area to not obstruct the view. I also clearly divided paid and free distributions. This led to an easier distribution of flyers and goods.

3. POP Display for Game Duration

Issue: Unclear game duration.

Improvement: Pasting a POP next to the iPad led to more people checking the duration before playing.

4. Setting Up a Place for Bags

Issue: No place to put personal bags (mostly flyers).

Improvement: Prepared a basket for bags. However, it wasn’t used much this time, but we plan to utilize it in the future!

Thanks to these improvements, the flow on the day went smoothly, and the process for taking the mock exam was better!

Unique Challenges of Exhibiting Games at COMITIA

1. No Power Supply!

Since COMITIA is not a game-specific event, there are no power supplies such as outlets. Therefore, if you’re bringing a playable game, a charger is essential. This time, I used a 50,000mAh mobile charger to keep the iPad running with visuals playing. There were also proposals to have a paper-style mock exam prepared as a backup.

2. Uncertainty About Internet Environment on the Day; Possibility of Instability!

While free Wi-Fi is available, congestion is expected, so it’s vital to arrange for internet connectivity. This time, we set up the iPad as a server. Many thanks to the members who helped out with their PC expertise…

Since this is not a game event, when bringing data, you need to consider the environment on the day; otherwise, you might end up not being able to play!

Things That Went Well at COMITIA

The Option to Send Packages to the Venue Proved Beneficial

Setup starts early on the event day, so we opted to send items to the venue beforehand. After gathering free distributions, goods, and supplies, we ended up with three boxes. However, since they could be sent in advance, we managed to limit the items we brought on the day to just one almost empty suitcase, making transportation much easier.

Creative Setup

By securing two spaces, we were able to separate the playable area from the promotional area. Placing the play area toward the aisle made it easier for visitors to stop by, facilitating smooth explanations and bug fixes. However, there was an incident where one of the legs of a brand-new poster stand broke suddenly during the morning setup, leading to an emergency fix using Velcro and masking tape… The setup took about an hour and a half with three people, but we were able to complete it without major issues.

Reactions from the Day

On the day, we received many compliments from neighboring booths and visitors, saying “The detail is amazing!” Given the large number of participants at COMITIA, gaining visibility solely through platforms like X is still a challenge for us, emphasizing the importance of how we design and attract visitors to our booth.

The illustration booklet we brought for the first time was picked up by far more people than we expected, and I was truly delighted and surprised. Some visitors had marked us on Twitter or in the catalog and came to buy, while others were drawn in from the sample exhibit and came to check us out, so thank you very much!

Regarding the mock exam, the response to our mysterious exam was favorable again, continuing from the Digital Game Expo. We unexpectedly had more participants than anticipated at COMITIA, and we nearly ran out of exam tickets on hand. I was thrilled to see individuals who attended the Digital Game Expo come just for the exam!

Personally, a mini-point I’d like to keep in mind for future warehouse-style exhibition events is the difficulty of temperature regulation due to being semi-outdoor! This time, our booth was sort of in the middle of the hall, so it got quite warm when the crowd thickened, but became slightly chilly when there were fewer people due to the wind from the shutter, so it’s wise to wear clothes that are easy to adjust for temperature.

Conclusion

COMITIA 150 was a substantial challenge for us at “Yamiyuri Girls’ Academy,” yet I believe we effectively utilized the reflections from the Digital Game Expo in our booth setup. It provided us with a valuable opportunity to let many people enjoy the mock exam. With this, our event participation for 2024 has successfully concluded. I am genuinely happy to note that we were able to connect with so many people and had many encounters in the latter half of 2024!

We look forward to meeting everyone again at various events in 2025.

Until then, may the pure flowers bless you!💐