10/31/2012

bio

Portrait

My name is Matthew Edward Hawkins and I specialize in pinpointing, highlighting, preserving, curating, advocating, and actively producing video game culture.

Most of my efforts on that end has been via the “game culture collective” known as Attract Mode. As its driving force, I have produced exhibitions all across North America; collaborators include Giant Robot, Fangamer, Babycastles, Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto Comics Arts Festival, NYU Game Center, and First Second Books.

I also managed the Attract Mode shop when it was up & running, which was online boutique that sold art, apparel, film, music, toys, and zines. Including my own, which collects various writings on the subject of game culture that originally appeared on this blog and elsewhere; the FORT90ZINE has been cited as ”the publication that helped spark the video game zine renaissance currently in effect.”

Culture has been my forte as a journalist, and bylines include NBC News, MTV News, Nickelodeon Magazine, Kotaku, Gamasutra, GameSetWatch, and Tiny Cartridge. My unique voice has led me to be called “the Harvey Pekar of video game journalism”, one that I’ve shared at various conferences and other events as guest speaker, including IndieCade, Penny Arcade Expo, New York Comic Con, New York Anime Festival, Anime NYC, and Toronto Comics Arts Festival.

I’m also a game developer; as the lead designer at Ubisoft New York, I came fairly close to making a Charles In Charge RPG for the PlayStation. I’m also a vet of NYC’s indie dev scene; as the co-founder of PixelJump, a pre-iPhone mobile dev consultancy, clients included NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Classics, Warner Bros, and Miramax.

Noteworthy roles outside of video games include the title of Associate Producer for 30 Years of Garbage, the feature length documentary on Garbage Pail Kids, a guest programmer role at Spectacle Theater, the DIY screening space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and a full-time film programmer role at Wonderville, the indie art-cade in Bushwick, Brooklyn. I currently reside in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn with my wife Ashley and our three daughters, Madeline, Luna, and Kimchee. They’re cats, btw.

GAME DESIGN (as designer):
Ubisoft New York, PixelJump, Black Hammer, Wax Eye

GAME DESIGN (as consultant):
NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Classics, Warner Bros, Miramax Films, MTV Networks, Weekly World News, Deep Focus, Gotham Wave Games

GAME/TECH JOURNALISM:
NBC News, MTV News, Nickelodeon Magazine, Giant Robot, Kotaku, Gizmodo, Joystiq, Gamasutra, GameSetWatch, Tiny Cartridge, Siliconera, Insert Credit, Electronic Gaming Monthly, GMR, Gameranx, Retro Gamer, Anime Insider, Comic Book Resources, Super Hero Hype, Coming Soon, Inside Kung-Fu, Wrestling Observer Online, TechRadar, Giant Realm, Guyism, Heavy, Zedge

GAME/INTERACTIVE INSTRUCTION:
School of Visual Arts, Marist College

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
IndieCade, Penny Arcade Expo, New York Comic Con, New York Anime Festival, Anime NYC, the Toronto Comics Art Festival, RE/Mixed Media Festival, the Connecticut Film Festival, the Doomsday Film Festival, I-CON

EVENT PRODUCER:
“30 YEARS OF GARBAGE WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING” July 1 2016, Anthology Film Archives (New York, NY)

ART CURATION:
“THREE: FORT90ZINE RELEASE PARTY” May 1 2010, Silent Barn (Queens, NY)
“FORT90 X BABYCASTLES: HARDCORE FEELINGS” Aug 5 2010, Silent Barn (Queens, NY)
“ATTRACT MODE X BABYCASTLES: HEAVENLY SYMPHONY” November 4 – 13 2010, Showpaper 42nd St Gallery, (NY, NY)
“FLATLANDS” December 2 – 11 2010, Showpaper 42nd St Gallery, (NY, NY)
“COMICS VS GAMES” April 29 – May 6 2012, Magic Pony & the Toronto Comics Art Festival (Ontario, CA)
“FANGAMER [VERSUS] ATTRACT MODE” September 1 2012, Penny Arcade Expo (Seattle, WA)
“NO QUARTER 4″ May 3 2013, NYU Game Center (New York, NY)
“COMICS VS GAMES 2″ May 9 – 12 2013, Bento Miso (Ontario, CA)
“FANGAMER [CROSS] ATTRACT MODE” August 31 2013, Penny Arcade Expo (Seattle, WA)
“COMICS VS GAMES 3D” May 8 – 11 2014, Bento Miso (Ontario, CA)
“FANGAMER [HEART] ATTRACT MODE” August 30 2014, Penny Arcade Expo (Seattle, WA)
“PANELSCAPES” May 9 2015, Bento Miso (Ontario, CA)
“THE TETRIS BLOCK PARTY” October 8 2016, RESOBOX Gallery & Cafe (Queens, NY)

FILM PROGRAMMER:
“SPLATTER UNIVERSITY: LIVE SCORE REMIX” May 24 2019, Spectacle Theater (Brooklyn, NY)
“CONCRETE TV: THE FINAL EPISODES” September 13 & 17 2019, Spectacle Theater (Brooklyn, NY)
“CINEVILLE AT WONDERVILLE/THE FORT90 FILM CLUB PRESENTED BY WONDERVILLE” July 29 2019 – ongoing, Wonderville (Brooklyn, NY)

AFFILIATIONS:
Attract Mode, Death By Audio Arcade

Contact: matt [at] fort90.com

Illustration by Lamar Abrams