Started piecing together the anthology mini this past weekend. The only thing missing is the cover art which I’ll finish up tonight and then do a final print and assemble either tomorrow or Wednesday. Gotta say that going down to the wire like this is pretty nerve-racking, but MK has assured me that I well ahead of the game, at least compared to most folks, many of whom will probably be still stapling at the show.
There are two things that I now have to conclusively deal with. The first is a title; the Matt Hawkins Anthology works and all, but I”d just rather not use my name… a bit too egocentric (as if writing a bunch of stories about myself wasn’t already bad enough). I considered a few that refer to things from individual stories, but in the end, I just found them to be too specific. They Call Me Nipple Boy for example sounds funny and all, but doesn’t quite fit as the title of a whole collection, plus I know people are gonna wanna want me to whip it out at shows, which I’d rather not do. I don’t want anything too wacky or out there… just something basic, which refers to a bit of every story, directly or not. In the end, I’ve decided to go with UNLUCKY, which I think fits like a glove. Though I’m still afraid that some might confuse it with Jeffrey Brown’s Unlikely. I thought adding an exclamation point at the end might help, but I’m hot and cold on the idea.
But the second thing to deal with is what to call myself. You see, there’s already multiple Matt Hawkins’s in the comic industry. The first works for Top Cow and there’s been a few occasions where I have been mistaken for him, both at the San Diego Comic Con and at smaller shows on occasion. But now I find out that there’s another Matt Hawkins that draws comic. Plus his site is even called Mad Hawkins, which is what I called myself on AOL and AIM, before I had to drop because of a nutso ex-girlfriend who was harassing me (at one point, I thought about calling the book My Name Is Mad Hawkins to play up the fact that I seem so pissed off all the time).
In the end, I think I’ll just go with my full name, with middle initial (my middle name is Edward). And yes, I use my initials for high scores in arcade games, which never fails to elicits a “Meh!!!” response from everyone who sees this (with a sense of vigor, as if they are the first ever to do this).
Otherwise it was a very low-key weekend. Though it should be interesting to note that maggots came up not once, but twice, during dinner conversation, on Friday and Saturday evening. And yesterday MK’d dad treated us to lunch at Callahan’s for perhaps the last time. The old timey hot dog stand is closing its doors at the end of this month to make way for a bank or something, which of course sucks. This world is far too fixated on money and not enough on delicious hot dogs! Though there is Hiram’s, another hot dog stand right next door, though it does look a bit sketchy in comparison. MK’s father has deep rooted loyalties with Callahan’s hence why he’s never stepped foot inside, and probably never will, though I remain curious and open-minded….
Also got a call from Robin on Saturday night, to let me know that he and Matt Singer were in the midst of watching Popeye the Movie (I could hear Singer in the back screaming “Make it stop, make it stop!”). I bet they secretly enjoyed every minute of it…
Game-wise, I’ve more or less completely given up on Killer 7. I just can’t deal with the controls and the enemies are too cheap. So now my attention is on Psychonauts, which is great and all, but it was pretty disheartening to discover that the music skip like crazy in the first level. I barely touch my Xbox, plus its new, so WTF?
As for gaming news, I really haven’t had much time to dig, but I did come across some industry reaction to Nintendo’s new controller. My fave has to be from Des Hinkson from Radical Entertainment:
Revolution controller = casual gamer paradise.
A lot of people are really intimidated by buttons. Console controllers are scary things that make you look dumb if you don’t know which button to press. I remember my frustration at switching from Nintendo to Sony and having to look for the Triangle button, Circle button, etc in Parappa the Rapper and it took time and dedication to feel comfortable with the controller. My wife is not a gamer, heck she doesn’t even use the TV remote proficiently, preferring to use the numbers instead of the channel up and down keys. I think Nintendo have been watching the people who put down the controller too quickly and the people who play with their tongues out and tilt their controllers to get that extra bit of corning control. Revolution means people can have fun more immediately and we can hook them on that fun without the time and dedication needed to learn how to use a traditional controller.
First off, I still have friends to this day who can’t figure out where the square button or the triangle button is on the PlayStation controller is (I’m still not a fan of the use of symbols quite honestly, despite being comfortable with them…. its up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and start, not up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, circle, square, and start). But the key thing here is that a whole new audience might be opened up the gaming, the “casual” audience, which seems to scare the shit out of a lot of people.
The first group are hardcore gamers, at least the loud-mouth, overly-pessimistic, self-righteous, pissy types who become outraged with the idea of games “changing too much” and reaching out to others. Its because these folks have developed a sense of pride and entitlement stemming from playing tons of games, mostly obscure, import, or “old-school” fare, like 2D fighters for example (as if spending too much time playing, thinking about, talking about, and spending money on video games, is something to be proud off… at least I have business related reasons for such behavior, as dumb as that may sound), to the point that its a part of their identity. So whenever they’re confronted with something new and different and challenging, they become angry. Very angry. They’re also extremely bitter that their favorite types of games are no longer popular or relevant, thanks to the mainstream. As if “non-gamers” are not entitled to having any fun. I thought the whole point of being evangelical about something meant getting as many people into your camp. Oh, sorry… I forgot the whole elitist aspect of being a gamer. Plus there’s the whole issue of losing of one’s hardcore identity; if everyone’s playing games, what makes them “different” and “unique” is lost… as if playing video games should be the thing that sets one apart from the pack. On one hand, I too get agitated that “nerdom” has been parlayed by the rest of the mainstream, particularly those who gave shit to geeks back when it wasn’t the in thing, but there’s a point when such petty complaining goes out of hand.
But the second group, one that has legitimate reasons to be scarred, are game designers. Because this is going to challenge them to be new and different like nothing else before, and as we all know, most simply are not up for the task.
Oh, and Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser sounds insanely awesome.
Lastly, the new season of Arrested Development premieres tonight! Watch it people!
