PAX AUS Indie Showcase 2024 - MEAN!
The PAX AUS Indie Showcase is a chance to see some of the best new and upcoming titles from the ANZ digital and tabletop development scene, with past winners including such celebrated games as Unpacking, Copycat, Yum Cha, Kingless and many more. The 2024 Indie Showcase is shaping up to be another highlight of the event and Player2 encourages visitors to PAX AUS to make their way to the PAX Rising area and check out the following title, as well as the many other excellent indies on display.
Lots of holidays have been ruined by bad weather, but not for Doug and Justin – cooped up indoors, they made the best of a bad situation and created their first card game in the process. MEAN! is a shedding game that has players empty their hands as quickly as possible while sabotaging others in the process. We spoke to Doug and Justin about their Indie Showcase win and the creation of MEAN!
Player2: Justin & Doug, thanks so much for talking to Player2. As told on your website, MEAN! came about from a weekend of terrible weather trapping you both indoors. Had either of you dabbled in game design prior to this?
Justin & Doug: No! Neither of us had really done anything like it. When we started, we weren’t even planning on making a game either, it just happened. We think that’s part of why it’s a great game. MEAN! started out as two people just having a lot of fun with each other and then realising there was a real game along the way. Obviously there was a bit to tinker with after the first few tries, but it was a very organic and hilarious process.

P2: What was your reaction when told you had won a spot in the Indie Showcase for 2024?
J & D: Definitely a bit of happy shock. It’s nerve-racking putting something you’re so proud of out into the world. You have no idea how others will react and so it was really exciting and reassuring to know that we got selected because of the game itself and nothing else. Then it was immediately challenging not to tell literally everyone we know before it was officially announced.
P2: Do you have anything else in the works for MEAN! such as an expansion, or have you started putting some new designs together?
J & D: It’s interesting, after having made MEAN! it felt like the floodgates opened. We have SO MANY ideas about different expansions or variants of MEAN! We also learned a lot about game production and so we’re much more confident in our ability to make games and products. So, yes! We’re sure we’ll have other projects in the not-too-distant future, but there’s nothing concrete just yet. We want people to fall in love with MEAN! first.

P2: What were some of your biggest challenges in taking MEAN! from a prototype to a fully boxed retail product and do you have any advice for aspiring indie designers/publishers?
J & D: The hardest part was getting started with no real idea on how to do it. Honestly, the process is much easier than you’d expect. The challenges are finding manufacturers that you’re comfortable with and finding the confidence to follow through with it while paying out of pocket. Even steps like customizing the box was as simple as giving directions to the manufacturer and letting them come up with the solutions. Our advice would be: do as much as you can on your own and then reach out to manufacturers (Google them!) and see what they can do to help you finish your goal.

P2: Shedding games (where the players must get rid of all of their cards first) are having a sort of mini renaissance alongside tricktakers and climbers in some boardgame circles – do either of you have much experience with these mechanisms and if so, what would you say were some of the biggest influences on your design and development of MEAN?
J & D: We’ve played a few of them, some of our favourite games growing up were SPIT and Shithead, so that type of rapid turn-taking play is something we gravitate toward. And we love a game that is super fun in a group, but also perfect for just two people. One influence was UNO, specifically its simplicity and accessibility. However, it’s too luck-based for us, and a game can be over before it even gets going. We wanted something more challenging, where you can actually be strategic and play through the deck to be able to win, but still fun for adults and families alike.
Doug did all the design, and the basis for the main colour palette was “classic Disney Villain.” Beyond that our goal was simple but beautiful – which is why the cards make a vibrant colour gradient when ordered from low to high. It might be a fast game but it’s still nice to put down a pretty card as you destroy your friends! Justin’s favourite detail is when holding the cards in your hand, fanned, the icons on the left all indicate what the cards do (go up, go down, either direction, etc) so you can just tell by looking there.

P2: What can PAX AUS Attendees look forward to at the MEAN! booth? Which one of you should people be aiming to beat if they face off against you in a game?
J & D: Attendees can obviously look forward to a rousing test-play of MEAN!, some merch we designed exclusively for PAX, and two very fun guys to chat with. We’ll also have some freebies and a special gift-with-purchase for anyone that buys a copy at the booth! Both of us are pretty good at the game, but after a lot of internal heated debate and a couple rounds of MEAN! to prove it, we’d say Doug is (currently, but maybe not for long!) the one to beat.
PAX AUS Attendees can find the MEAN! booth in the PAX AUS Indie Showcase section of PAX AUS from October 10-13. MEAN! can be purchased right now direct from the official website.