The following post originally appeared on attractmo.de, on November 5, 2012.
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Unfortunately, a very lucky few were able to witness Blip Festival Tokyo 2012 firsthand, a little over two weekends ago. Thankfully, some individuals have stepped forward to deliver much-appreciated scraps for the rest of us.

First we have the images you see above, courtesy of Marjorie Becker, who without question is the chipscene’s most prolific and accomplished photographer; she’s essentially the 8bit equivalent to Charles Peterson, for those of your familiar with world of rock and roll.

More can be seen here, here, and here. Next we have actual performances from the event, courtesy of YouTube user “monkeyturn mass”. His playlist pretty much has it all, and in quite excellent quality to boot.

With the lone exception being the special, unannounced special guest: Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka, or “Chip” Tanaka as he was called, who closed the show. Attendees were asked to turn their recording devices off, to make it a super special treat for all the live attendees and other performers. And not surprisingly, it was fairly mind-blowing.

My pal Dannel’s personal highlight of the heavily game inspired set was his Dr. Mario remix, mostly due to the fact that he created the original soundtrack himself and all. Unless there’s an official recording, we’ll all have to use our imaginations.

But here’s a more than decent consolation prize: Chibi-Tech, who according to Dannel again had “just destroyed the place with Moe Moe Kyunstep” before Tanaka hit the stage, just posted the aforementioned dubstep track onto her Bandcamp for maximum portability and enjoyment.

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05/14/2019

Splatter University, Class of 1984… The 25 Year Reunion

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

I interrupt your regularly scheduled installment of the “Attract Mode Archive” to say… Save the date: Friday May 24. Also, remember these times: 7:30pm & 10:00pm. Why? Well…

Fun-fact: Chris Burke, aka glomag, before he became one of true godfathers of the NYC chiptune scene, used to score music low budget horror flicks. Okay, maybe that’s not a total surprise, at least to anyone familiar with Confessions Of An 80s Low Budget Horror Film Composer.

Anyhow, one such film was Splatter University, directed by Richard W. Haines. A rather obscure gem in Troma’s catalogue, it was recently restored by Vinegar Syndrome, and to celebrate the release of the Blu-ray, there’s going to be a screening at my fave indie screening room in the city, Spectacle Theater.

But not just any screening; Chris will also be performing his remastered/remixed original soundtrack live, alongside the movie. On top of all that will be a panel, including Chris and other individuals who worked on Splatter U, with yours truly serving as the host!

Perhaps some of you might recall Chris performing at my very first event, some 9 years ago (Jesus Christ) and I’m beyond honored to be collaborating once again. And I’m especially proud that it’s taking place at the Spectacle, which is where I’ve discovered SO many fave flicks, including Roar, Angst, and Doomed Love. Anyone who knows me also knows my love for films, and I owe a LOT to Spectacle in this regard.

Oh, I also need to give a special shout out to Jessen Jurado; Splatter University X Spectacle Theater is technically the latter half of a two-part celebration. Part one was the most recent showcase from I/O Chip Music, which is Jessen’s baby, at Pine Box…

… You can see more pics here. But once again, May 24TH, BROOKLYN, SEE YOU THEN!

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The following post originally appeared on attractmo.de, on November 2, 2012.
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 Perhaps you’ve heard of Cassandra Creighton; she’s the little girl that made an iPhone game last year. Well, maybe not all by herself, but she played a large role in its development.

The game in question is Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure, which Cassandra (who was five at the time) developed with her father, Ryan Henson Creighton. And they just gave a TED talk in Toronto.

Here’s the deal: I have a real love/hate relationship with TED (mostly the latter). But I’m giving myself a free pass on this one, since I have a thing for game makers below the age of ten; one of the first things I do when I go to LA is to hit Caine’s Arcade.

Also, the bit at the end, in which Cassandra’s dad explains how technology in the classroom is so woefully inept overall is something good to hear, even if we all know this fact already. But also how tossing iPads in the classroom is hardly a solution either.

Thanks to The Hand Eye Society for the heads up!

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