What’s up? – #1

This week’s links, interesting articles, indie game releases, deadlines for festivals/ submissions etc.

Articles:

“Four Types of Videogame Tragedy” by Line Hollis – where she “discusses some games that pull off tragic storylines, with varying degrees of success, and how they fit into strategies for addressing the wrong ending problem”.

“Leaning Games” by Line Hollis – About the “representative cliche of the entire art games world”.
Interview with Annette Mees (Coney, collective that designs participatory stories through play) by Virtueel Platform, about transmedia and theatre: http://virtueelplatform.nl/kennis/theaterregisseur-annette-mees-over-theater-en-transmedia (in Dutch).
“Opinion: Video Games and Male Gaze – are we men or boys?” by Brandon Sheffield on Gamasutra. Reflecting and iterating on topics with regards to gender & sexism in videogames, that have come up a lot in the past couple of months. Can actually recommend reading the comments as a lot of discussion is going on there (last time I checked).

Calls & Awards

Creative Industry NL: Call for Research Proposals (NWO) http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOP_8VUCJA. Deadline: 16 October 2012
Dutch Game Awards 2012: Annual Dutch Game Awards hosted by Game in the City and Control Magazine. Submit your game here. Overview of games already submitted. Deadline: 17 September 2012

Game Releases:

SWIFT ☆ STITCH by Sophie Houlden: On July 2nd, the game came out on Desura, July 5th meant an iOS release for this “game about going fast, taking the right route and trying not to crash into stuff”.

Spelunky by Derek Yu’s Mossmouth, IGF winning game, originally came out on PC and is now made available for Xbox Live Arcade (July 4th). Spelunky is a randomly generated platformer with fully-destructible levels. Fun but not painless! Oh, and co-op! And while you’re at it – Watch this: Antony Carboni interviews the developer Derek Yu for Rev3Games where he challenges Derek to play his own game: http://youtu.be/46iftwnm0oQ

Resonance by Ruud van Boerdonk (paralogic media): #Global Game Jam 2010 game, earlier released on the iPad, the musical puzzle-platformer is now available in flash: http://www.gamesgames.com/game/Resonance-.html
Pre-Alpha release of further developed LD48 game TRI by Rat King Entertainment. The Pre-Alpha TRI is a “first-person 3D game with environmental puzzles”.

Women in Games

“Dames Who Make Games” – New interview series with “ladies who make games”. Initiative of Gamerwife Mariko, former video game translator. First interview with Erika Benacka.
Reddit has /r/girlgamers – not sure what to make of it yet.
Kotaku has a specific area for gender articles: http://kotaku.com/gender
Lot of things about misogyny, misandry and sexism in games again this week. For links I point you to feeds of WIGNL twitter, - WIGNL Google+ page and this pearltree.

(Indie Game) Events this week

Rezzed: “The PC and Indie Games Show” – The Leftfield Collection is a special indie line-up, curated by good friend David Hayward who is also known of Bit of Alright and Eurogamers Indie Games Arcade. Rezzed Leftfield collection will feature games such as Thomas was Alone, Proteus, Mc Pixel and BaraBariBall. Rezzed will take place: 6, 7 July, in Brighton, UK
EVO 2012, the “longest running fighting game tournament” has an Indie Showcase this year. With games such as SpyParty, Nidhogg and Super Time Force. July 6-8, Las Vegas, US.