Chris Algoo

SPRINGFEST is back! For those of you who don’t know what that is (so most of you), it’s an annual anime con run by an extremely cool bunch of people at Polytechnic University. It’s got games, anime, and a bunch of cool events, one of which is by me. If you’re not doing anything March 14th, come on over!

Here’s what I’m running – I will have several scripts of scenes (three times etc) from anime, games, and other things that the con crowd would enjoy (Shakespeare, perhaps). I’ll hand these scripts to audience members, who will proceed to come on stage and act them out. Don’t tell anyone, but I got this idea from a panel at Otakon, and it should be tons of fun. If you would, dear reader, what are some scenes that are particularly actable?

Allow me to end this message with a bit of light jazz.

NYAF sucked. That wasn’t going to stop me from checking out the NYCC, which you could say is like an Otakon for westerners. Except… it was Otakon, and then some (in scope, not in execution. NYCC did not get Jam Project to perform, to my chagrin). This Con had Western Comics, Eastern Comics (known to some of you as manga), Cartoons, Anime, Video Games, Novels, Webcomics, and… well, a totality of geek culture. Cosplay abounded, as did a few shameful elements of our culture (Hug Me signs and Yaoi paddles ranking high). My main goal for the con was to go to the booths of my two favorite webcomics – LeastICouldDo and Penny Arcade. As ambitious as those goals are, I managed to accomplish them, so I rewarded myself with five apple pies (note – author did not eat five apple pies). Along the way, I learned a few things – for example, Tycho’s favorite author is Mark Twain. Writing this makes me feel like i’m in the seedy world of tabloids – I think I’ll do a story on Britney’s baby next.

I found my way into a Warhammer Online post-con party on Saturday, which was an awesome time. (Dave and Busters is surprisingly good at making cheeseburgers!). I felt like a bit of a fish out of water at first – conversations opened there with “Hi, I’m so and so, what server do you play on?”, and I don’t play Warhammer. Once I learned what a Squig Herder was, things got better. There was Rock Band – the game’s lead (some sort of Jeff) possessed a rich baritone (and one of his favorite games is Zelda. That’s it, I’m applying at the Enquirer). I gave a particuarly spirited rendition of Wanted Dead or Alive – I should really get out to Karaoke more often. I don’t play the game, but the Q+A session at the end was a lot of fun – almost all of the devs were comfortable on stage, and witty. Afterwards, some of the devs and I went bar-hopping – there was a great Southern Rock band playing at Smith’s Bar, and there was a great crazy old man dancing in front of the stage. The White Russian I had was not so great. The overall feel I got from the devs was one of passion, dedication, and a genuine belief that their game is awesome. I’m not sure if my computer can run their game, but I’ll definitely give it a try – passion always produces great products (say that three times fast).

Game Jam was so cool, I’m going to go every year forever. In the aforementioned Jam, you (and a bunch of cool strangers) get 48 hours to make a game. That includes coding, testing, art, music (and hopefully) sleep and showering. It’s rough, but every team managed to make something that could objectively be referred to as a game. I love little games made by small teams, they tend to ooze with character, as I imagine independent films do (why do movies have to take so long?).

So, here’s our game. It involves skydiving out of a plane, destroying everyone’s luggage with a big industrial chainsaw while you look for the one parachute amidst the falling wreckage. Here’s the link – I think you’ll like it.

I’m going to Comic Con this weekend, mainly because the Penny Arcade guys are there. Maybe I’ll run into you.