11/15/2010

“Welcome To My Country & To My Unit”: ATTRACT MODE X BABYCASTLES Wrap-Up Part 2

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

For those who missed it, be sure to check out part one. Otherwise, where were we? Oh yeah:

The Opening (continued)

Easily the most pleasant surprise of the show was how much actual attention the zines got. All night long, folks were actually reading them!

Time to check out all the wonderful peeps that helped to make the night. First off, me and the gf

Adam with our unofficial booth babe from PAX Prime, Jenn

My new pals Caldwell and Creighton with some other dude, going at it on Octopounce…

Mia and her gal pal Michelle with Luke from Anamanaguchi….

And the band’s lead dude…

Hey, it’s one half of George & Jonathan, who also happened to be one third of the evening’s entertainment…

As previously noted, the best part were all the non-gaming peeps that made the trek out. Eric “the opera singer”, who was my partner from my census gig was a huge hit amongst those that are familiar with my wacky tales from that end (which I should honestly pass along here, with a few bits and piece omitted for security reasons, of course). Was also pleased as punch to see Chad and his brother make an appearance…

…. Some might recall Chad being the only other dude whose banned from SVA’s BFA Computer Art department aside from myself, as well as the center of that scarification ritual I attended earlier this summer. That’s his bro you see me chatting it up with, who I first met at that same evening (he was the MC, and a fine one at that, especially given the setting). There was some light talk of a potential FORT90/Eyeburn porno game zine collaboration. They also passed along a congratulatory gift in the form of a Double Dragon pin from France!

Another awesome part the event was seeing pals from one end of the social spectrum intermingle with another. Like Caldwell and Creighton, plus Mallory and Dave, plus Jenn (though they might be all best buds from way back for all I know)…

Eventually it was time to make a big stupid, longwinded speech. Which again was hampered by exhaustion and the lack of sleep…

But it was simply a formality, meant only to lead into the evening’s entertainment; an unholy trifecta of chiptunes, kicking off with Zen Albatross!

Myself with Jenn, chillin’ in the back…

Like I said, everyone loved Octopounce…

Adam with Minusbaby (whom I would have loved to have perform at the show, but due to constraints, didn’t happen, so I was more than happy to refer him to the dudes handling the show immediately ours, the IGF showcase)…

Here we have Dave playing with Dan, one of the volunteers at Babycastles. This dude?s truly the best, and dare I say the unsung hero of the entire organization? He’s always pulling in long hours and doing thankless work, like figuring out why shit is broken when everyone else is stumped, plus so much more. All that and he’s like the nicest guy on earth. We salute you Dan!

The second chiptunes act of the evening was George & Jonathan, whom some might know already as the hottest new chip act going around today. And they absolutely blew the roof off…

Here we have Mia sharing a special moment with Peter. Or something like that…

Mallory and Dave again, chatting it up amongst amongst all the game playing…

The one thing Adam was most blown away by the most was how he has more friends here in NYC than in LA!

Myself with Nathalie Pozzi and Eric Zimmerman. They’re the co-headliners, along with Eddo Stern, of the fifth major Babycastles show (the Attract Mode one you’re seeing was #3, and the aforementioned IGF showcase is #4), and I’m actually helping to put that one together as well, along with Zach Gage

The one thing that got everyone buzzing the most was how celebrities from the world of gaming was in the house! First you had Tim Shaffer, whom everyone should already know as the creator of Grim Fandango and Psychonauts, to name a few. Here he is sharing a game of Octopounce with Adam…

And here we have Chad and his bro again, playing Bogus Journey, with Tim in the background, picking his nose…

The other industry luminary to make an appearance was Cliffy B! Unfortunately, the only pic I have of him is this one; that’s the back of his head, to the left of James from Anamanguchi and myself. And what exactly am I talking to the creator of the Unreal franchise and Gears of War about? Mexican food of course…

Though the night ended on a sour note when Adam said something to piss Tim off…

Time once again for another video! This time it’s me on German television…

Babycastles Arcade – Celebrating the Indie-Game from Bayer in Brooklyn on Vimeo.

… Nevermind how I’m listed as Syed. And in addition to the Attract Mode show, I believe it talks about Babycastles as a whole, hence the footage from past exhibitions… I think? And much like the last video, I’m supremely embarrassed over my overly animated body language. Oh well. To be concluded in part three!

  • http://bltidm.com Jenn

    I’m such a camera hog!

  • http://www.super-villain.org Mia

    …I hate you, Matt Hawkins.

Previous post:

Next post: