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Greetings from Nottingham – host of GameCity 09!

This year’s festival has been a fantastic blend of talents – wonderful animators, artists, game designers, hackers and academics from around the world. Even tho we are mid-festival, I wanted to take a break and report on its fantastic events!

This is in no small part due to the blend of talking and performance that permeates the festival. Today, for example, I attended a panel on creating media about/for games which featured a live performance of GameBoy synth, and showcased the festival’s “mega=mix” of pixel-art tribute animations:

These were created for the festival by the same amazing team behind the Oxfam “Face the Music” spot – which takes basic game concepts and blends them with a message about climate change to create something truly remarkable:

But that’s just the beginning! Other performances included live playthroughs of Crysis (!!!), karaoke, the passionate singing of game reviews, and the especially cool paper folding session (plus artful arrangement) that culminated in a session about the glory of Elite.

And – as part of my visit, I conducted a live performance of Flower, which was truly wonderful. Not only was the game projected on lovely gauze screens in a beautiful old building… but as I played, flower petals were dropped from above, floating down into the atrium.

My favorite part of the experience was definitely the sound – which filled the hall, reverberating and mixing with the voices of spectators. That was really spectacular. Post-performance, we had a few questions about our new game (sorry – it’s still under wraps!), requests for more Flower content (maybe, someday!) and many lovely compliments.

Many thanks everyone who worked so hard to create Flower (you guys just ROCK!), the team that helped set up the performance (it worked!!) – and of course, to all who attended (you were fantastic)! It was such a pleasure to play for everyone and I think it’s definitely something we should do more often, with all sorts of games.

Finally – three cheers to the organizers of GameCity! Congratulations on creating a wonderful mix of discussion, debate, performance and play!

This just in – there is a super comic from our friend Gabo over a Treee – all about what it’s like to play Flower! A super special gift, made for Jenova’s birthday!!!

So…. click the picture if you don’t mind a little spoiler….

*YAY GABOTRON*

Great post on Attract Mode about the impromptu party-game of Tuning which emerged during the post-IndieCade BBQ @ Casa Roja!

Awww – I miss you all so much! Here’s to great adventures and wonderful creations. See you @ GDC!!!

Thanks to Ross I’m totally falling for Pomplamoose. So genius!!

What did it for me, really? It was her singing in French. Happy Wednesday!

Warren’s new game is now officially announced, and on the cover of this month’s Game Informer. Fantastic, fantastic news!!

In addition to coverage of the game in the mag – GI has posted a piece on Warren’s relationship with Mickey (includes a great video interview) which is EPIC in and of itself. Watch and you’ll see that his dedication to creating a fantastic tribute to Mickey comes from a deep, deep love of the character and of animation, in general. Yes, really, seriously!

On a recent trip to the park (to see the re-vamped Fantasmic show), Warren shared his encyclopedic knowledge of the company, characters, films and rides. What’s more, his genuine enthusiasm came through in every interaction with guests, staff and the park itself. Browsing pins near the Haunted Mansion, stopping to admire the afternoon parade, cruising through It’s A Small World… nothing passed without insightful, passionate comment. I can not *wait* to play the finished game!!!

So excited to see this awesome effort finally getting out there in the press. Congrats to Disney and the whole Junction Point crew!!!

We did it! IndieCade 2009 was a resounding success, full of awesome games, laughter, clowns and balloon animals.

Ok, maybe not clowns and balloon animals – but… chalk drawing, full-contact stick figures, poetry, creative shouting (”F*** You, It’s Art!!”) and of course, miles and miles of Indie developer love. Beginning the the super-fun Micro-Talks session at our opening party, through the awards, conference and closing party – it was a blast.

And who do we thank? The amazing, talented and inspiring game creators who made our celebration possible. Without you it would just be beer and finger-darts.

Presentation coverage includes a write-up of the Fresh Perspectives for First and Third Person Shooters” session, the iPhone Art Showcase, as well as some great coverage in the Los Angeles Times.

And on top of all that? Noby Boy decided to stay with us in sunny California! Visitors to TGC will find him swimming around on my desk, amongst all the toys and to-do lists. So best!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out – and for all the fantastic support from our local friends and devs. You make it easy to love being Indie!!