Dec 15, 2014

Year-end Roundup 5: The Last GDC Next

This was my first GDC Next (neé GDC Online (neé GDC Austin)) and by some twist of fate also the last GDC Next ever (my bad??). This was also in some weird ways a kind of layover on the way to France (more on that tomorrow) but it was a treat to share a panel with my friends Rami and Zach and try to dig down into the different ways we approach marketing for indie games. Getting to spend an afternoon with Greg Rice and fellow Michigander Zac Gorman didn’t hurt nothin’ either!

A panel on grassroots marketing for indies at the last-ever GDC Next. Adam Robezzoli from LA GameSpace (we made Alphabet with Keita Takahashi for them!) was kind enough to host me while I was there, and I got a lot of work on my new prototype (more on that tomorrow too) done in his living room. We wrapped things up with some late night Spelunky with Beau:

Spunky Wrecking Crew with @ADAMATOMIC @AttractModeAdam cc @mossmouth

— Beau Blyth (@Teknopants)

November 5, 2014

I was reminded that night of just how generous a game Spelunky is, how rich and full of discovery despite the retro trappings. As a kind of … gift, of sorts, from a game maker to their audience, I find it so inspiring!

Dec 15, 2014

Year-end Roundup 4: Tecnopolis (Argentina)

The 5am aftermath of asado at an indie studio in Buenos Aires. Midway through October we traveled to South America for the first time, and went all the way to el fin del mundo, Buenos Aires Argentina, to participate in the game lectures segment of Tecnópolis, a kind of year-long indoor/outdoor science fair and hands-on museum a few minutes outside the downtown area. In addition to an ongoing gallery of beautiful indie games they also invite guests to speak to an audience of local developers about relevant topics. This trip was a blast. In addition to being outrageously kind and thoughtful hosts, the food and architecture were such a treat. It did not take long for us to discover alfajores, and the aforementioned asado almost defies vocabulary. And the whole time we were surrounded by beautiful courtyards, vine-covered terraces, wide streets, and meandering parks. As a big Christopher Alexander fan, it finally sank in how influential South American architecture was on his ideas. Every place we went felt like home. We also had the honor of spending quality time with a bunch of talented game makers from the area. I’ve known Daniel Benmergui for years, and some of the earliest Flixel contributors were from Argentina, but it was great to meet and talk with so many other smart artists and clever designers. It was pretty inspiring all around. I got the sense that Buenos Aires was kind of the indie capital of South America in many ways. I think we are going to see a lot more work from that region soon! We capped off the trip with a guided tour of La Boca, courtesy Agustín Fernández from Chimango / Pewma, and it was just the best. Thanks again to everyone and I hope that our talk was even remotely as interesting for you as this trip was for me!

Dec 12, 2014

Year-end Roundup 3: Indiecade

A bunch of super smart people (triple-D, Liz, and Loren) playing weird new games. Photo credit LA Times (i think). This was only my second IndieCade somehow, but it was a busy one. If you’re not familiar with IndieCade, it’s the closest thing we have in the states to GameCity, my favorite of all festivals. And IndieCade has grown into its own marvelous thing over the years. It is easily the most progressive and inclusive mainstream festival I’ve attended, and that deeply good vibe meant a lot this year especially. But it was busy! We did a live-coding Flixel demo, in which I built a Bit Pilot clone called (groan) Blit Pilot in Sublime in about 45 minutes (source code here). Then I represented Juegos Rancheros on a panel about communities and local game meetups. After that I got to sit in on a discussion of sustainability for small commercial studios. I really appreciated the opportunity to participate in these sessions and I hope they were helpful or useful to the audience! The sustainability panel especially had some great moments I think, and there should be a video of that available soon. Also I finally met DoseOne (and Loren Bednar and many other wonderful folks) in person, despite having made an entire game together last Christmas. So that was nice!

Dec 11, 2014

Year-end Roundup 2: NYU Lecture Series

The audio is a bit low on this recording, you’re gonna want to crank it way up! Shortly after Fantastic Arcade we traveled to New York City to present at the NYU Game Center lecture series. My good friend and collaborator Andy Nealen has been teaching at Game Center for a while now, but last time I visited they had not set up their new lab, nor acquired their current faculty lineup. I don’t visit a lot of academic institutions but when I do I rarely get the sense that all is well, or that the teachers are properly equipped to actually teach game design, much less independent game production. Game Center is a big exception to this rule, especially now that they’ve added a smart little incubator. The lab itself is fantastic - lots of open play areas for digital and analog games, private studio spaces for teams and collaborators, none of the weird traditional computer lab spaces that normally plague game programs. Combined with faculty like Frank Lantz, Eric Zimmerman, Bennett Foddy, and more, I’ve never seen anything like it. Was an honor and a pleasure to get to speak to them and work in that environment for a little bit. The one thing I question was Frank’s decision to take us all out to Hill Country BBQ, a weird like mirror dimension since I currently live in actual Hill Country in Texas. But it was pretty delicious. I also owe Andy a big thank you for introducing us all to One Night Ultimate Werewolf at EVO last summer, which has gone on to become one of my favorite games of the year, if not decade. Smart, tight, funny, hectic, a true gem. Fortuitously that intro ultimately led to Ashly Burch’s voicing the new narrator for the expansion pack too!

Dec 10, 2014

Year-end Roundup 1: Fantastic Arcade

Finji hasn’t technically been around for quite one year yet, but we had a pretty busy last few months and I wanted to start documenting some of what we’ve been up to and why as we approach the holidays. I’ll be doing a new post here every day until I run out of news or stories in a week or two. I wanted to start the roundup with a quick overview of Fantastic Arcade, our local Austin game festival that Juegos Rancheros puts on in partnership with the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest every September. Arcade is a funny event. I’m not sure that any one thing we do there is strictly useful or professional, and I’m not 100% sure what the takeaways are or what the educational value is. And yet, for many indie game makers it is their favorite event of the year. Whether that’s the bespoke upright arcade cabinets full of strange new games, the competitive tournaments we hold in the movie theaters, the creative panels, the special guests, the game jam, or some other thing, I’m not sure. But this was our biggest year yet, and our plans for next year are even better. The video above features Austin’s own George Royer interviewing some hairy guy, and we have a bunch more videos from the show right here.

Sep 8, 2014

new overland visual targets via our resident

New Overland visual targets, via our resident art-mage happydorid.