This weekend was crazy. There was a little bit of everything, good and bad.
FRIDAY
Bad: Due to a scheduling conflict, I was unable to attend the Games For Change Conference this past weekend. Needless to say, I was extremely upset since I was really looking forward to the event for personal & professional reasons, but I was also supposed to cover the event on the behalf of Gamasutra, so I was pretty embarrassing when I had to tell Simon the bad news, and only the day before. Thankfully, there was someone already attending who had expressed interest in covering the show, so Gama was covered.
Ben Sawyer, the co-director of The Serious Games Initiative, and one of the main men behind the conference and my main contact in regards to it, was also disappointed to hear that I wouldn’t be covering it, but still invited me to check it out, even if only for a few hours, which is what I did.
Good: So even though I was there for just a few hours, the G4C event was extremely enlightening. Ben kicked things off with a speech, which I missed the first part of due to the subways running like shit that morning (but what else is new), though I did catch his feelings about what the future of games might (or should) hold, which included…
… the move from an interface to the reliance of just visualization to control the game world (no head up display or anything of the like… things being so real that one simply uses real life actions to explore or manipulate the world).
… the advent of “virtual humans”, not for just the game space, but for educational practice as well, such as a means for surgeons to practice or even perform very delicate procedures (though Ben touch upon how such a practice is being utilized today, and how many in the medical community is up in arms).
…. putting the player in the charge of the game, which includes, but is not limited to modability (which is something that is elaborated upon by the next speaker).
… the fact that there is just so much data out there, much of it being under-ultized or even completely ignored, and that games might be the key to use it all. Ben used “Cannonball Run with Google Map” as an example.
Next was an amazing keynote address by Clay Shirky, who made numerous spot-on comments, much of which was based upon the fact that many “educational’” games fail simply because most of them are preachy and just plain not fun to play. The key reason for this is that the content of a game, for it to be successful, needs to be the form. Or more specifically, “What a game says is not what it means, but what it does.” One simply can’t throw out random messages in the game and expect the player to pick-up on them and care afterwards, they have to be engaged in the message, literally. The player is the one who ultimately brings meaning to the game, hence why form is so important.
Clay also spoke about an area which Ben touched upon, which is how games need to give players access to the rules, which are more or less locked away from the player. He cited Monopoly as a prime example, of how the game only truly starts when people argue the rules. Only by mixing formal and informal rules… basically, allowing players to argue…. can games that try to convey a social message be ever truly social. As he put it simply and yet very effectively: “Content of play is play. The content of the game is the gamer.” And another favorite line of mine from Clay has to be “The reason academics talk about play as opposed to fun is because you can make people play.”
There was just enough time to catch one last thing, a panel about education games, the work, the technology, and the philosophy behind them. Once again, the ineffectiveness of didacticism was brought up. The high-point of this particular session was when the moderator, Celia Pearce asked for a raise of hands from those who knew was play-mechanics was. The number was shockingly low, and she was quite justified when telling those who didn’t that if they had either better learn or not bother showing up to next year’s event.
Other highlights included a hummingbird ecosystem simulator for kids in which they had to cross populate several simulated environments by delivering the birds via tablet PCs, and in which their parents tried to un-do their work by “deforesting” the environments with a push of the button (it was just fun seeing little kids trying to slap away adults’ hands). Kate Salen also spoke about what it means to teach educational game design, plus Clay came back with his own thoughts of what game mechanics are and made some compelling equations between the act of game playing and dialogue.
Once again, I couldn’t stay too long, but I’m quite happy to be able to catch what I did.
Bad: I actually could have stuck around longer, but with the trains being so fucked up earlier in the morning (more so that usual), which caused me to miss the breakfast portion of the conference, I figured I’d play it safe and head out early. Good thing I did since I arrived at work just barely in time; the trains were still messed up, to the point that I had to do that ridiculous song and dance where one has to go twenty stops uptown for a downtown train (which this time lead me into the Bronx). So since I had to so straight to work at work, there was no time to eat lunch, and after a long draining work day with all the aforementioned hassles, I was extremely happy to for a chance to blow off some steam at Joe‘s…
Good/Bad: Friday night marked a combination Jay’s birthday party/horror night. There was plenty of booze, as well as food, but it wasn’t exactly the ideal things to have in your stomach, if its the only thing in your stomach when drinking, which unfortunately was the case for me. So I had plenty of chocolate eyeballs, cheesy poofs, deviled eggs, rum, candy corn, coctail wieners, ice cream cake, and Jack Daniels. But I wasn’t the only one got super smashed: I had never seen Joe so drunk in all my years. Thank God most of the crazier hi-jinks (which I ain’t even gonna bother to say to save him the embarrassment, but I will say that he did punch me in the crotch) was recorded on video.
As fun as it was, it was also pretty weird…. I was wish I could say exactly why, but things are a bit hazy. Again, thank God for the video. But I do recall Crazy Russian Alex drawing penises at one point, which got a good laugh from everyone, and then everyone took their stab at it, but when I decided to draw a vag, all of a sudden, that was in poor taste. Whatever. I also recall swapping filthy roommate stories with Richie (from the Beer Drinking Fools) along with initial plans on collaborating for a song about them. Plus Jay had to remind everyone about the really tasteless Jew joke I once made, and Joe sang the theme to Silver Spoons…. you know, the usual.
At around 2. I knew I had to be at SVA the next morning, plus my stomach was killing me (too much candy corn and alcohol), so I made my exit. Thank God the cab ride was short and sweet, but I didn’t get much rest at home since I was in the bathroom a good hour. At one point, when flushing, my roommate’s pick wig and mannequin head it was resting on somehow fell over and the wig started going down the rain. I managed to pull it out in time (otherwise there would have been a major clog) but then I had to wash all the feces out it if. So I threw it in the tub and hit the water, but Stephy had left the show on, so the top of my head got drenched. At that point I said “fuck it” and called it a night…
SATURDAY
Got up four hours later to go back to school for the yearly Open House event (which the pre-work was what I’ve been so busy with at SVA). Spent the rest of the day escorting parents and their children (prospective students) around the facilities, answering questions, and all that jazz. Afterwards I headed home for a quick nap and then it was back into the city…
Good: I finally made it to the Giant Robot store in the city, for the comic art show opening. Its tiny, but is wall to wall awesome. I took pictures, but I’ll pass them along a bit later.
Hung out with Robin for a bit, and chatted with Abby, Jenny, Alec, and even Raina Lee (who again was disappointed that I didn’t have a copy of Vib Ribbon on-hand for her). But aside from mingling and gawking at stuff, the true highlight (of the entire weekend actually) had to be shaking hands with Michel Gondry. When I first saw him there, I got all excited; I’m such a big fan of his, and wanted to tell him so, but I didn’t want to be a bother (plus I always get nervous whenever trying to talk to folks I admire). But after a while I said fuck it and just went up to him. I didn’t say much (too nervous); not to sound mister cool, but I have been into his work a very long time now…. his videos were the very first ones that really made an impact on me back in the early 90′s (you know, when videos were still cool and they weren’t all just After Effects reels and MTV actually still showed them), which directly led to me becoming interested in pursuing art… and I wanted him to know this, but only managed to blurt out “I really like your stuff”, or something to that effect. But he was still ever nice and warm…. and I brought up how I know he likes comics, so I gave him a copy of my mini!!! I really hope he likes it. And I wonder if he thinks I’m a freak for literally running away after our brief exchange.
Good:Afterwards I headed uptown for the International Chiptunes Resistance at the Tank. Of all the chiptunes shows I’ve been to, this one easily had to be the best. And it was also the first time I’ve actually managed to convince somebody to go with me (Robin). It absolutely kills me that none of my friends will even give it a chance, especially when a good number of them profess to be into video games, indie music, all-around weird/wacky shit, or simply claim to be “open-minded”. I know the idea of hearing music made with Nintendo’s does sound dumb (well, at least to most folks), but you have to trust me folks, its really fucking good. And I shit you not, it’s going to be the next big thing, I assure you. Anyhow, I’m super happy that Robin went and enjoyed himself. There’s nothing worse that taking a friend to something you hold so dear and them not liking it (I always end up feeling bad, like I wasted the person’s time or something).
But yeah, the show was simply insane. Even though Robin & I arrived over hour and half late, we still got about six solid hours of show. It also marked the first event of its kind that was not marred by technical problems whatsoever. The first time I saw Mark Denardo (aka OMAC) at that horrible arty-farty loft in Willamsburg a whiles back, he had to deal with one lone shitty speaker, but this time he finally able to completely rock out, along with a guitarist and drummer. As for the sound, just think indie rock stylings accompanied with a Game Boy (actually Mark used a PSP emulating a Game Boy, which totally blew my mind). Perhaps the best song was about 9/11. That or the one about fighting octopuses.
Bubblyfish, the lone female performer of the night, also had technical issues cut things short the first time I saw her, and again it was nice to finally hear what I had heard about in full effect. Her songs were intricate, long-form pieces that are performed with two Game Boys simultaneously along with a touch-pad driven sound mixer. And along with original tunes, she ended the night with some Kraftwerk covers.
Joshua and Jeremiah (aka Bit Shifter and Nullsleep) were present of course. Besides being super friendly, they’re easily the best in the business, so I really wanted Robin to see and hear them. Unfortunately, we missed Joshua’s performance earlier in the evening, but Jeremiah’s set did not disappoint. I got the chance to chat with Joshua and he told me about how they were both arrested earlier in the week for plastering flyers for the show; both were sent to jail, but Joshua managed to sneak in his Sidekick and take pictures! And Brian was also at the show, and it was nice to see him again, if only for a small bit.
The International component of the show was in the form of two performers. The first was a Belgium performer who’s name could not be said and his stylings was pure, hard techno with a very Euro-DJ esthetic. His set from top to bottom was outstanding. But I think it’s safe to say that the star of the night was David Sugar from the UK. His mix of acoustic guitar styled 50′s rockabilly and Game Boy drove everyone nuts. I can’t even begin to describe how fucking awesome his cover of Ricky Nelson’s classic Hello Mary Lou was.
I suppose I should mention the really young and very geeky girl who spent the whole night dancing away, and whom Robin danced alongside once he was sufficiently liquored up. I guess if I was younger or single I would have been interested…. she was actually very nice, though VERY young and a total spaz. It was actually her very first show in the city, and represented a big F.U. to her parents. Nice to see such a symbolic rite of passage used (or is it wasted?) on a show where the music is being played on Game Boys… After bobbing up and down for a while, she tried taking a cue from some dude next to her who was doing that thing that ravers do… you know, where the hands are locked while the arms gyrate and flail wildly about … its actually pretty cool when you watch someone who has rhythm pull it off. She unfortunately didn’t. hey, at least she was enjoying herself; others were dancing, but they were all hipsters, and well all know how hipsters dance (like idiots). At least it wasn’t as bad as later on when she started shaking her big butt like a hoochie mama out of some old 90′s 2 Live Crew video. Holy shit…
SUNDAY
Bad (not really, just sorta sucky): After the show, I was fucking beat tired. After-all I had been on my feet for literally 16+ hours. By the time I got home it was about 3 in the morning; the original plan was to get up the next morning early for the big 2 for 1 sale at Toys R Us. but I ended up sleeping in till 3 in the afternoon. And once I got a call from Robin stating that Toys R Us didn’t have what I was looking for (Shadow of the Colossus, Soul Calibur 3), I simply bummed around the rest of the day, playing video games and reading comics. I needed the rest.
