Welcome back to the stage of history!

Sunny Koda is a concept artist from Australia who went to the US filming a Documentary about Gamer Culture. He went from Sand Diego to Vancouver, from Comic Con to PAX. Now he's following his dream of working in the daunting US Games industry. Will he make it? I hope so. Because I am that guy.

Monday, March 29, 2010

My Major Maxim

"Our theory regarding PAX is that it is something that happens when we get enough of you together, quite on its own, and it is our task to construct an ecosystem around you that does not impinge on that culture's inherent virtues. When they had us down at GDC for that Ambassador Award thing, what I told them (when I was thrust before a microphone in abject terror) was that the basis for our work is the idea that the experiences that games create form the basis of a coherent culture - that the bank of shared experiences, simulated but no less real, coalesce into a collective memory.

I say things like this for two reasons. One, it's vitally important to me that people think I'm smart. But more importantly - well, maybe not more importantly, as important perhaps - that is the world I want to live in. Even if we have to make that world with our bare Goddamned hands for three days, to reclaim it from the Earth, it will be so."

Taken from today's Penny Arcade post written by Tycho. This is why I love these guys. This is why I feel PAX (not Blizzcon in October) is the perfect way to finish off the gamer leg of my documentary (Afterward I'm heading to Vancouver to meet some of Jeff's connections and hopefully set myself up for a job before returning to Australia). If my documentary has a thesis, then Tycho put it succinctly when he says "...the experiences that games create form the basis of a coherent culture - that the bank of shared experiences, simulated but no less real, coalesce into a collective memory." and I appreciate the timing not days after I myself came to the conclusion. This documentary is to be a celebration of the unique culture of the gamer, to literally live in that world. As an event, this is the essence of PAX.

Jerry also recently pointed fans towards the thoughts of Daniel Cook who turns out to be an excellent writer/thinker on the subject of games. His site Lost Garden will serve as a great asset to my film as he has provoked or confirmed many of my own musings on gaming and the industry. He has the best essay on genre lifespans and raises intelligent points in all his work. He is definitely writing from the position of an independent developer which is not really an area I'm interested in, but ultimately it's clear that he loves games and wants to see the community thrive and this coupled with his intelligence would make for a great interview.

Another indie developer I'm excited to get in touch with is of course Jonathan Blow who created Braid. I've seen a few of his presentations which mainly focus on being an independent developer but I do know he has a fair bit to say about the social influence of games in modern culture and I'd love to pick his brain. Braid finally came to the PlayStation Network and I thought it lived up to the hype. I was particularly impressed by the storyline which, simply, surpassed that of most big budget releases. Plenty to talk about, hope he's interested.

Oh and Felicia Day! Creator of The Guild which in turn was heavily supported by gamers. Microsoft then supported the second season and it appeared on Xbox Live. I'd like to know how she feels about the gaming community, as someone in her unique position (fringe gamer, celebrity, red-haired goddess to gamers everywhere).

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