In this post:
1. My FORT90 X BABYCASTLES report!
2. And the rest of Phil Fish’s stay here in NYC!
3. Along with some odds and ends.
One week later, and the dust has finally settled. Also, the pictures finally came in! So time to file a report:
“The CBGB’s of video games” – Phil Fish
Last week’s shindig at Babycastles was, simply put, incredible. Absolutely incredible. No exaggeration; some amazing shit went down, and if you love video games and were not able to attend, then I am truly sorry. Thankfully a TON of folks did come out, despite the fact that… well, I’ll get to that in a bit.
Though not gonna lie; when I first set foot in the space around the 7:15 mark, with less than an hour to go till show time, I had a mild heart attack. Phil, who had arrived around 10pm the night prior (and who was up till 4am, due to me overloading his senses with the wonder that is New York City cable access), had been at Silent Barn a good couple of hours beforehand, yet they had only just managed to get Super Hypercube to up and running. Which meant most of the rest of the show had been untouched.
The worst was when Phil was testing out the homemade 3D goggles and let out a scream; due to some exposed wires he had burned himself. And immediately I began to fear the same thing happening later on, and that person not being able to brush it off as easily. But you know what they say: gaffers tape fixes everything.
Something I had completely forgotten amongst all the pre-show jitters: things are fairly fast and loose at Babycastles. Anyone familiar with the place knows already that, when they say DIY, they mean it. Folks began showing up at eight, on the spot, but thanks to some hustling and a large pile of spare parts, most of the show was up and running in time. Then more people showed up. Then more. And even more. After all was said and done, when things were at their most crowded, I’d say there was…. I shit you not… over a hundred people in attendance. Easily the biggest turnout yet for Babycastles!
As noted the day of, the invite list on Facebook had grown to such a degree that the party had to be moved from the basement to the upstairs. Which under normal circumstances I would have been ecstatic over, except for one thing; it was seriously the hottest, most humid day of the year up till point, no joke, and given how completely anemic the air conditioning is when there’s just a few folks in the space, I began to have visions of folks showing up and immediately going home. Yet they all came, and they all stayed. Nothing made me happier than to see EVERY game get heavy play. As if there was any need for doubt; every single title on hand was amazing. But still…
I knew Super Hypercube would get the most attention, since it was the star attraction and all. Also knew both ARTXGAMES would drop jaws, especially those belonging to fans of Cactus, since nothing else he’s ever done looks even close to how “untitled” resembles. Yet it made me so immensely pleased to witness the big crowds surrounding Rescue: The Beagles and everyone cheering on whomever that controlling the action that moment. A game that both myself and Dave were obsessed with upon its debut, but which went largely ignored, even by the indie game loving masses. Even Katawa Shoujo, which I knew would be the hardest sell (since it is a Japanese style dating sim, never mind the subject matter: trying to woo crippled girls), got plenty of love! Granted, having it on the same table as the bar helped considerably.
Things got disgustingly hot very early on; no joke, just an hour or two in and everyone looked as if they had jumped into and had just come out of a swimming pool. It was that gross. Early on, during set-up, Kunal made the decision to split things up and have Katawa Shoujo and “untitled” in the basement, where the refreshment was, and a part of me was afraid that everyone would be in one place and not the other. Didn’t happen. And people stuck around all night long, though mostly to hear glomag perform. Who fucking blew the roof off btw! Kunal also took the opportunity to formally announce Babycastles: Manhattan! Long story short: Kunal, Syed, myself, and others will be running a space in midtown between October and December. More news as things develop!
By now you might be asking where all the visual aides are, and there were plenty of pics taken! But you’ll have to wait for them to appear over at the Attract Mode blog, which will more than likely tomorrow, since at this very moment Adam is headed towards a midnight screening of Scott Pilgrim, and I still need the guy?s help posting stuff. Though here’s a small taste….
UPDATE: And they’re all up!
… Unfortunately, EarlMadness, my ace furry photographer, had left by the time many had made their way up on the roof, where folks had taken their clothes off to cool down in the kiddy pool. Which means no photographic evidence of Ramiro Corbetta (the creator of Glow Artisan, which co-headlined my zine party from a few months back) getting into a Greco-Roman wrestling match with another game designer, practically naked, in ankle high water. Bummer.
Easily the biggest highlight for me were all the faces that evening, many new and many familiar. It was quite the thrill seeing Kim, a former student of mine, interacting with Raina Lee, who has been a MAJOR inspiration to myself over the years. I’ll die happy if in the end, my zine comes within the 10% range of awesomeness that the 1Up MegaZine encapsulates. Speaking of, I was also touched that she had gone through the trouble (i..e. paid the big bucks) to change her flight just so she could spend the extra night to hit my party. It was really nice seeing a bunch of my non video game pals in attendance, like Joe Simko and June, and especially our pal Drew, whose basically the one person I’ve known the longest in NYC (I met him like the second day I had arrived). I had also given up ages ago trying to convince my non-gamer pals to check out a chiptune show with me, so I’m glad a few finally got some much needed exposure to Game Boy music at long last. Told Chris afterward that he should expect some new people at his shows from this point forward. Was also pleased as punch to finally meet Ryan, aka Lin Swimmer in the flesh! About God damn time. And of course, my lovely girlfriend was there the whole time, offering support as she always does.
There was this one the guy who had actually blown off Arcade Fire, who was also playing that evening, for my thing! Plus two others that had both blown off Scott Pilgrim the movie sneak previews, again, all for FORT90 X BABYCASTLES. Also met a woman (the gf of Andy, one of the dudes that contributed to my Persona art contest last year) who knew me from my mini comics! Had so much fun watching Joe Salina and Dave explain to her that every word is true cuz they’ve known me long enough to know that I am indeed a shit magnet.
But yeah, I was simply blown away by the immense outpour of support, for indie gaming and everything in general. Once again, I must say thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made it out that night! It meant a lot to me. As it also did for Phil, whose efforts up north, via Gamma, was the direct inspiration for Kunal and Syed. He felt tremendously validated that evening, as he should. A few days later, I was back at Babycastles HQ, along with the rest of the gang who I’ve been meeting with for the past couple of weeks, to help plan out the Manhattan space. Since Phil was still in town, he was also in attendance, and mentioned how myself and the rest of the Babycastles crew were on the cusp of something… big. As it pertains to indie game, and perhaps much more! And I think he’s right.
Oh, also, he made note of how his recent exposure to Manhattan cable access might get him laid. Apparently all that he saw while staying over was of immense interest to this chick he was talking to on OKCupid!
Phil ended up crashing at my place for the rest of the weekend. With HARDCORE FEELINGS in the history books, it was finally time to unwind and show him a good time! Once I was done with work Friday afternoon (hate to complain, cuz I’m extremely appreciative to finally have a 9-to-5 job, benefits and all, but it could not have come at a worse time; got basically 30 minutes worth of sleep beforehand), I took Phil out to Brooklyn, to Dave’s kitchen to be exact, where Astro City awaited…
…. There you see Phil trying to beat the cat headed spider boss in Guwange. I also finally got the chance to give Ketsui for the Japanese 360 a spin. SO good.
Afterwards was dinner at Shake Shack, since Phil loves burgers so much (a fun fact that pretty much everyone on Kotaku knows already, lulz), followed by drinks at Hagi. For whatever reason, it was the very first time either Joe or Dave had heard of my plans for the “perfect pets”. And for those of you who don’t know already (I’ve mentioned it here at least once before, though ages ago): basically all future pet owners will have both a cat and a dog. Part of the package will be a silver bag whose contents must be mixed with water and feed to the dog. Who will then shit out a perfect cube that the cat will eat. Who will then shit out a perfect sphere that the dog will eat. And the process repeats itself. The end, and hello Nobel Peace Prize!
Pretty much all of Saturday was spent filling Phil’s brain with all the wacky media that I surround myself with. Introduced him to Karate Ruler, as well the Canzo Emperiyan. Best part was whenever I would tell him something particularly crazy, he’d immediately either do research on the matter himself (mostly of what I say seems too weird to be true… but usually is) or share it with the girl he was OKCupid chatting with. That evening, I went out to have dinner with Hilary, whom I hadn’t seen in a bit. Among other things, discovered that the best Japanese curry in Manhattan (at Typhoon Lounge) is sadly no longer the case, was introduced to seriously the best non-dairy/vegan ice cream I’ve ever had (I normally can’t stand the stuff), ran into a former colleague from my PixelJump days (ah, the days of cell phone game development, BEFORE the iPhone), and we both came across an abandoned eMac on the street, whose screen Hilary almost kicked in (as much of a fan as I was of Apple’s last CRT Mac, would have been cool to witness such destruction). Anyhow, after we parted ways… Hilary had to head home early to catch up on work… asked Phil if he wanted to come out and meet me downtown, to go on a pub crawl, but he insisted on staying in and watching even more cable access.
Which I was more than happy to oblige with; popped in some vintage stuff, circa 1999/2000, like old episodes of Zenbok, Damon Zex, Mad Dog, and Madam Chaos. Plus the Mark Birnbaum show, starring the world’s only Satanic ragtime piano player, far as I know. Also took the opportunity to check out a pair of tapes that Colleen had passed along; it was from a pile that the previous tenant of her place had left behind, and because it was mostly hentai, and the only inscription was in Japanese, we had all assumed it was porn of some kind. Sadly, it was nowhere as interesting. Anyhow, capped things of with the always popular Evil Video! K Thor really need to put volume 5 together.
The next day, Phil made his way onto the next couch and next leg of his NYC tour. Which was somewhere in Brooklyn, which I hate to say, but whose cable access can’t hope to compare to Manhattan’s. Anyhow, he’s back in Canada right now, though I’ll have another visitor soon enough; Mathew Kumar is slated to stay over sometime next week!
In Other News
Now that FORT90 X BABYCASTLES is finally over with, it’s been back to business as usual…
- For whatever reason, people are genuinely annoyed that I don’t game on a HD set. And once again, the reason why I prefer a standard definition set is simple: doesn’t make my Saturn or Dreamcast games look like ass. I don’t even want to know how horrible my old cable access VHS tapes would appear on a “modern” display. Though it would seem that the time to find out is finally here; I think my set is dying. I ask the following literally once every 6 months, but this time it’s for real: any recommendations towards what flat screen handle legacy hardware would be greatly appreciated. And despite the prospect of old favorites looking like crap, I’m also really looking forward to playing today’s offerings and finally being able to read the text.
- As for any notable games I’ve played recently, two titles in particular stand out, but can’t really talk about them due to a variety of reasons (plus there’s a third that I was able to also check out, that those who can add 1 +2 might be able to figure out), I can at least mention Dragon Quest 9. Which is pretty swell, but I can already feel myself fading. Need to get in some multiplayer action ASAP. And no, have not checked out the demo from PSN. Odd I realize, considering how Adam and I was the first to introduce to the world (outside of PAX East that is) of what it looked like! Just been too damn busy.
- Speaking of Scott Pilgrim, by tomorrow I should be done with the final chapter of the comic and ready to see the movie. Which I’ll also be reviewing for GameSetWatch! Followed by a small flurry of other game specific film reviews that I’ve been sitting on top of for way too long. Also coming soon, for GSW as well, will be the first installment of my semi-regular video game and performance art column! Plus I’ll be back writing for another outlet that I used to be a regular for; more on that when it finally gets underway.
- At long last, received word that I have two confirmed slots for the upcoming New York Comic Con/Anime Fest! So if you or anyone you know is interested in a career in the game industry, and would like to learn more from a panel of working professionals (hand picked by yours truly of course), then be sure to check out How To Get A Job In Video Games. Plus you also have The Best Games From Japan That You’ve Never Heard Of, which will star myself, Joe, and Dave! Not only are both dudes super keen on the import gaming scene, they’re also headed towards Japan early next month, for Blip Fest Tokyo. Before they leave, I’m giving them each $100 to blow on “something wacky” in Akihabara; stop on by to discover what they bring back!
Unfortunately, my immensely popular (if I don’t say so myself) Top Ten Best And Worst Games Of All Time presentation was not given the green-light this year, which is a bit of a bummer, cuz most of my pals were not able to witness it last time. Though I totally understand the organizers not wanting too much repeat programming, plus it’s gonna take a LOT to top myself anyway. At least both Katie and Hilary got to see me yuck it up on stage in front of a packed house of howling animu dorks (which again was a way to redeem myself in their eyes, over the atrocity that was my appearance at ICON earlier that year).
- Back to the land of soul cancer: guess what finally arrived?
… Worth every damn penny to boot. Pictures really do no justice. And here’s the thing: I have two of them! One is still in the box. Never mind the reason why, just know that she’s up for sale. Selling her for what I paid for, which is $90 plus shipping. Any takers?
- Meanwhile, not only does my girlfriend have a brand spanking, newly designed website, she just did this…
… For some kind of Katamari art show! But also, this finally went on sale, over at you know where…
… Along with a bunch of new items! With more to come; Adam will be making the big announcement once everything is up. And yes, very soon, everyone will have the chance to pick up the third FORT90ZINE (once again, it’s simply titled: THREE). Just got an email from a person at a MAJOR game studio (who shall remain anonymous) asking for a status update! Oh, and I forgot to mention another highlight from the Babycastle event; they managed to sell three copies, which is part of the “Babycastles pawn shop”! I gave Kunal and Syed ten copies at the launch party, and they had been just sorta sitting there the whole time (since most folks don’t really buy things like that there, though they hope to change that).
Thing is, they’re only selling each issue for $5, which is 50% lower than the cover price. Which I would normally be upset by, but they’re first run edition, which is horribly riddle with a ridiculous degree of typos and the such. On the plus side, that simply makes them collector’s items!
- And back to public engagements, like so many others, I have a SXSW panel that’s up for consideration! Again, I’d like to share my dating horror stories with a bunch of dorks at a tech conference in Texas. And I know this was asked once before, but things are a bit different this time around; instead of helping out on a friend’s presentation, it’ll be all me! I’m running the show solo, and trust me when I say that I have plenty of stories from my makeoutclub days to share.
You know the drill; it would be supremely appreciated if everyone could please go through the hassle of registration and give it a thumbs up. It’s quick and easy! But please remember to do so before the deadline, which is only two weeks from now, August 27th. And I’d be doubly grateful if you could please spread the word via Twitter and Facebook!
… I know I’ve said this before, but I’ve never been so busy, but I’ve also never been do excited for the future. A LOT of awesome things are in the works, some of which will be revealed very soon! As they say in Rez, stay alert.
