Hey, all. Edmund McMillen just had gall bladder surgery a few hours ago and is recovering right now. He fell ill yesterday and went to the hospital early last morning. Thankfully, he is okay and will hopefully be able to go home soon.
Please send him your love and if you’ve ever wanted to give Ed a donation for all the fun and hijinks he’s given us, now would be the time! Unfortunately, a trip to the hospital means a bill, and Ed doesn’t have health insurance. You can donate via PayPal here. Also, here’s his Facebook if you want to write something to him on his Wall.
Get well soon, Edmund! We’re looking forward to Super Meat Boy and whatever games the surgery will inspire in you.
Charlie Brooker is a not-quite-well-enough-known-as-he-should-be british writer/telly person in the employ of ‘The Guardian’ paper. He also produces some brilliantly wry programs acting as commentary to society’s relationship with TV, the news media and most recently games.
Embedded is the first part of the 50-minute episode which covers everything from Street Fighter II to Perfect Cherry Blossom. The rest of the program is also online on youtube as well as on the UK-Accessible BBC iPlayer. Similar to the ‘Rev Rants’ of Destructoid’s Anthony Burch, only with a somewhat bigger budget, it’s an interesting and entertaining deconstruction of videogame culture. Whether viewed from the mind of an indie games developer, a general enthusiast or simply someone fed up with half-hour, half-arsed sensationalist pieces on gaming addiction featuring at least one fat guy who has customised his chair to double as a toilet, I cannot recommend it enough.
TIGJam 2, follow-up to last year’s extra awesome TIGJam in Phoenix, is coming up fast! October 9th—October 11th are the dates, homies. Reservations will begin soon.
Watch TIGJam.com for more information as it’s released!
(There’s also a forum thread here, if you have any questions.)
Posted by Guest Reviewer
Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:50:00 GMT
[Guest announcement by jstckr]
Sometimes it’s hard being European. There’s Japan to the East, obscured in a haze of gigantic robots, explosions and awesome flu mask fashion accessories. To the west lie the expanses of America, presided over by the regal Derek Yu and guarded always by the mighty fists of David Whitlark. What do we have to show for ourselves? Countless failed empires, some french guy riding a bicycle with a baguette under his arm, and questionable musical adventures like Eurodance.
Well, Europe, your fortunes are about to change. It’s time to stand up and be counted. We give you…
This summer, from Friday, July 31st to Monday, August 3rd, an indie game jam will be taking place in the lovely city of Berlin, Germany. Cunningly titled the Berlin Indie Game Jam, it offers the opportunity to meet a bunch of awesome, like-minded people and work together with them on some cool games, as well as participate in a smattering of events such as 3-hour game development competitions.
We’ll be kicking back on the second floor of the lovely St. Oberholz café. The café not only guarantees a smooth atmosphere to jam and work in, but also offers an assortment of beverages and tasty foodstuffs to help you ward off death by starvation or thirst.
Tickets are limited, and cost 5 Euro each. More information about the jam and further discussion can be found here.
Well, after nearly 12 hours of sleep I’ve almost recovered from this year’s Game Developer’s Conference. For indies, this was the best year yet. Many of us have been good friends now for a year or two, veterans of GDC’s past. Many were here for the first time, popping their GDC cherries. It was absolutely nuts to have so many independent guys in one place, sharing their excitement with one another this past week.
The Independent Game Summit sessions I attended were fantastic. The ones I missed I sorely regret not being able to attend. Overall, they were informative, interesting, weird, funny, sad, honest, personal… and very inspiring.
That’s what I love about GDC – during the rest of the year many of us are working alone from bedrooms and basements, struggling with the highs and lows of independent development, and having to discuss our (admittedly still pretty niche) industry or community with people who may have trouble really getting it. But for at least one week a ton of us get together here in sunny (thankfully) San Francisco and can rejuvenate each other with the stories, jokes, and excessive drinking, game-making, and game-playing that is now the hallmark of the GDC experience…
It’d be impossible to relate all the things that went on last week. If you couldn’t make it this year, just make sure you go next year. In the meantime, let’s keep up the compos, jams, and everything else – because one week definitely ain’t enough!
Hit the jump for links to people’s photos and videos from GDC ‘09:
Okay, probably not what you were expecting to see, but hear me out.
Brass Restoration is a Visual Novel by Japanese based Twincle Drop and translated by Yandere Translations. Unlike a lot of Visual Novels however this was released as a free game, so the translation installer actually includes the full game in its entirety.
The story surrounds a young musician who suffers a cruel accident that robs him of his arm. This leaves you making the occasional choice which slowly affect his life after the accident. Will he be able to mend the connection he had with music now that he can’t create as he used to, or will he instead forge new relationships as a result?
You’ve already left haven’t you? Bugger…
Well if you are still reading, here’s why you should care.
Last year, Josh “TwiTerror” Whelchel and the independent game community raised over $800 for Relay for Life, a program sponsored by the American Cancer Society to help patients with cancer and to honor those who have died. Josh did this by selling copies of the very excellent Spirit Engine 2 soundtrack for $5.
For this year’s Relay for Life he’s hoping to raise even more by giving donors (of at least $10) a digital soundtrack that will contain music from a variety of talented musicians, including Kyle Gabler (World of Goo), Alec Holowka (Aquaria, Paper Moon), and my good buddy David Saulesco (Eternal Daughter). If you donate $25 or more, you’ll receive the soundtrack on disc. Not only that, but Josh will throw in a free copy of his upcoming album for anyone who donates $10+!
It’s a fantastic deal by itself. The fact that you get to beat up cancer at the same time makes it a must-have! Let’s try to blow Josh’s $1500 goal out of the water!
