Speaking at Gamesforum and PC Connects, $5 million raised for charity, what’s coming up in 2018, and more...

We’re back for another year of making games set in your favourite worlds, refreshed after a well-deserved break after a very big 2017. We’re barely halfway through January but already there’s loads to share with you, so we’ll get right into it.

We’re speaking at Gamesforum London 2018, and PC Connects London 2018

If you’re attending PC Connects on the 22nd - 23rd January, or Gamesforum on the 24th - 25th January, then do come and say hello to us!

At PC Connects Auroch’s Production Manager - Nina Adams - will speak about how we translated Ogre from a tabletop game into a digital game, including the challenges we faced along the way and the solutions the team came up with to solve them, meanwhile the studio’s Producer and Marketing Manager - Peter Willington - will be on a panel on the Digital Discovery Track talking indie publishing and why making niche games can be so rewarding for studios.

Then later that same week our Design and Production Director - Tomas Rawlings - takes to the stage at Gamesforum to discuss what happens when games intersect with the real world, highlighting how players engage with difficult subjects through the medium, plus Peter will make an appearance on a panel discussing the future of games media that draws on his experience as a critic and running a successful gaming podcast.

For times and more details of our talks and panel appearances, check out the full schedule for PC Connects and the full schedule for Gamesforum.

$5 million raised for charity with the Yogscast Jingle Jam 2017

Regular readers of the blog will remember that last month we announced we were part of the Yogscast Jingle Jam for 2017. With the opportunity to purchase the bundle now over, we were thrilled to learn that it raised over $5 million for a number of very worthy charities.

Our heartfelt congratulations to Humble, Yogscast, and all the developers involved!

Ogre and Steve Jackson Games celebrity multiplayer session a big success

As a big “thank you” to the Ogre community for supporting us over the last year or so, we put together a surprise for the last AD-organised multiplayer session of 2017 - a day of Ogre online gaming filled with Steve Jackson Games and Auroch Digital players to challenge.

The day featured Steve Jackson (yes, THE Steve Jackson), Winchell Chung (the man behind the iconic artwork of the original Ogre), Drew Metzger (Ogre Line Editor), Steve Martin (Designer on the adaptation of Ogre), and Jake Connor (Community Manager at Auroch Digital), plus Steven J Marsh (GURPS Project Manager) and Devin Lewis (Game Designer and Munchkin Editorial Assistant).

The event went down really well with our players, a big thank you to everyone who turned up and joined in the fun.

Auroch in the media

Though we’re currently all heads down on Dark Future: Blood Red States and some unannounced new titles, we’ve still had a bit of time to talk with the press and even write a couple of guest posts.

We were delighted to find Kotaku featuring Dark Future: Blood Red States in their big round up of British games coming out in 2018, and to be interviewed by Bammsters Rated-R. Plus Tom was asked to talk about his favourite game of 2017 (the fantastic The Shrouded Isle) for IndieGames.com, and Peter also wrote about his top 5 for God Is A Geek.

What’s in-store for 2018?

Quite simply: a whole heck of a lot! We’ll be revealing our plans for this coming year as and when the stars are right, we hope you’ll stick with us in 2018 to see what they are...