Fantastic Arcade Guide 2010 by Fantastic Fest

In the ongoing debates about whether video games can or can’t be Art, are games bigger than cinema, are games just trolls, alien babes, explosions, and karate—We’d rather ask you a different question. Are games fantastic? Hell yes! We are fascinated by the video game scene that is currently exploding around us. There has been innovative art, design and gameplay in video games for decades, but it feels like there is a groundswell in recent years of new, unknown developers reaching audiences. Today, game developers can take an original idea, make some amazing artwork, create cool action and write storylines with vibrant characters. Not only do they have a great game but can get it to the public right away. Bigger game companies are feeling the wave too, focusing on developing more artistic endeavors and getting involved in distribution of independently created experimental games.

Buried

The Fantastic Arcade is a hot rod lounge full of games that fit inside the “fantastic” realm. Whether you play a car-driving grizzly bear, a Russian chainsmoking seven year old, a clever robot stranded on a dense planet, or a hellbent Nordic redneck, It’s a great time for the independent video game world.

2010, dir. Rodrigo Cortés, USA, 95 min., Spain

At the Fantastic Arcade you’ll find kickass fun and biting political satire. And by the way…games can be art. Mike Plante Eddo Stern Roger Erik Tinch Arcade Curators

Fantastic Arcade Crew Tim League, Festival Director Mike Plante, Fantastic Arcade Artistic Director Eddo Stern, Fantastic Arcade Creative Director

Roger Tinch, Fantastic Arcade Curator Fiona Cherbak, Fantastic Arcade Development Dir. Kody Sandel, Fantastic Arcade Director

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Paul Seeds, Fantastic Arcade Technical Director Joshua Fields, Fantastic Arcade Assistant Director Ryan Harvey, Fantastic Arcade Tournament Dir.

Sponsors

Advisory Board

Fantastic Arcade Jury

Spotlight Games

Game Tournaments

Table of Contents Panels & Game Sessions

Xbox LIVE Arcade Games

Showcase Games

Texas Game Developers

Music Events

Arcade Films

About our Sponsors

Extra Special Thanks

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

title sponsors

texas game developers

industry partners pink ghost sponsors

regional media partners

blue ghost sponsors

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Heather Kelley is a media artist and video game designer. With the game collective Kokoromi, she produces and curates the annual Gamma game showcase promoting experimental games in a social context. Previously, Ms. Kelley was Creative Director on the UNFPA Electronic Game to End Violence Against Women. Her career in interactive entertainment has included games as a form of research, art games, mobile applications, AAA next-gen console games, interactive smart toys, handheld games and web communities for girls. She holds an MA from the University of texas at Austin. Jim Munroe is a “pop culture provocateur” according to the Austin Chronicle, and an “independent press icon” to Time Out Chicago. After leaving HarperCollins for political reasons, he founded No Media Kings and published five books, the most recent one a postRapture graphic novel called “Therefore Repent!” He also started The Perpetual Motion Roadshow, an indie touring circuit that sent 100 artists on the road between 2003-2007, and currently he is running the Artsy Games Incubator, a writer’s-circle style group helping creators without programming skills make videogames. He lives in Toronto with a crafty ladyscientist and their bafflingly attractive baby.

>> Arcade Board of Advisors Brenda Brathwaite is a game designer, artist, writer and game developer who entered the video game industry in 1981 at the age of 15. She worked with Sir-tech Software for 18 years on the Wizardry series and later the Jagged Alliance series among others before moving on to work with Atari on Dungeons & Dragons. During this time, Brenda had the opportunity to work alongside legends in the game industry and quite literally apprenticed in the ways of game design moving up through the ranks from lowly acolyte to lead game designer to creative director.

Brandon Boyer’s wild, pure, simple life has seen him acting as artist, programmer, and indie record label head, as well as writer, columnist and editor for outlets like Edge magazine, Gamasutra, Offworld and Boing Boing, where he currently serves as contributing editor. He was also recently named Chairman of the Independent Games Festival, the world’s largest and most influential yearly showcase of indie games, where he is leading the organization into its thirteenth year.

Greg Costikyan has designed more than 30 Since her days at Atari, Brenda has worked with a variety of companies, including Electronic Arts, Cyberlore, Firaxis and numerous companies in the social media space. She is presently Creative Director at Slide. Brenda develops her games both in analog and digital mediums, depending on the needs of the game. She has worked as a system designer, writer, level designer, world designer, lead designer and creative director throughout the years. She was named Woman of the Year by Charisma+2 Magazine in 2010 and also was a nominee in Microsoft’s 2010 Women in Games game design awards. In 2009, Train won the coveted Vanguard Award at IndieCade for “pushing the boundaries of game design and showing us what games can do.”

commercialy published computer, online, social, mobile, and tabletop games, won a number of awards, founded two companies, raised three daughters, written four published novels, and acquired the reputation of the angry middle aged man of the game industry.

Ron Jenkins is a the Deputy Director of Development and External Affairs at The Guildhall at SMU. Ron’s branding and communication experiences has been a part of the birth of the ATM business at EDS, the beginning of consulting at IBM and helping a semiconductor company (with the funny name of Texas Instruments) for over 25 years demonstrate how technology will affect how we live, work, learn and play in the decades ahead. Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

Sheri Graner Ray is author of the book, “Gender Inclusive Game Design-Expanding the Market.” She has served as the co-chair for the Women in Game Development SIG of the IGDA for 4 years and has been a spokesperson for the female game player for many years. In 2004 she was the Chair of the Women’s Game Conference, the first game conference to specifically address the issues of women and games held in the U.S. Sheri has served as a design consultant to Cartoon Network and as Sr. Game Designer with Sony Online Entertainment. Before coming to Sony, she served as President of her own studio, Sirenia Software, and before that as Director of Product Development for Her Interactive, where she began her research into females and computer games. She has also worked for Origin Systems as a writer and designer on the Ultima PC series. Eddo Stern works on the disputed borderlands between fantasy and reality, exploring the uneasy and otherwise unconscious connections between physical existence and electronic simulation. His work explores new modes of narrative and documentary, experimental computer game design, fantasies of technology and history, and cross-cultural representation in computer games, film, and online media. He works in various media including computer software, hardware and game design, kinetic sculpture, performance, and film and video production. His short machinima films include Sheik Attack, www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Vietnam Romance, Landlord Vigilante and Deathstar. He is the founder of the now retired cooperative C-level wherehe co-produced the physical computer gaming projects Waco Resurrection, Tekken Torture Tournament, Cockfight Arena, and the internet meme conference C-level Memefest. He is currently developing the new sensory deprivation game Darkgame and is a professor at UCLA.

Elizabeth Stringer is a Lecturer in Game Studies for The Guildhall at SMU with 12 years experience in project management and business development in the games industry. After graduating from USC, she began making games and has shipped over 30 titles in her career. She helped grow an independent development company, led internal studios for publishers and has expanded franchises with external development. She started her career as a Producer at an independent developer, Xatrix Entertainment, and created games for the PC and LBE. As Executive Producer at an internal studio of games publisher Activision, she worked on many franchises such as Zork, Star Trek and Heavy Gear. She also served as Director of Development for Atari on some of their most successful original and licensed properties including Blues Clues, Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora the Explorer and the Backyard Sports franchise.

Derek Yu is an independent game developer and illustrator. He also runs The Independent Gaming Source, a community website for indie games. Currently, he’s working on a title for Xbox Live Arcade called Spelunky. Eric Zimmerman is a game designer who has worked in the game industry for 16 years. For nine years, Eric was the Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer of Gamelab, a game development company based in New York City. Gamelab’s award-winning games include the casual game blockbuster hit Diner Dash. Founded in 2000, Gamelab created innovative games for broad audiences, including singleplayer and multiplayer online games, as well as games in other media both on and off the computer. Gamelab helped create two companies: Gamestar Mechanic, an online site that lets kids create games, and the Institute of Play, a nonprofit that looks at the intersection of games and learning. Eric is the co-author with Katie Salen of “Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals” (MIT Press, 2004). Eric has taught courses at MIT, NYU, Parsons School of Design, and School of Visual Arts. He has exhibited game artworks at museums and galleries in the US and abroad.

Guests in Attendance

The Arcade Jury will be choosing a Best of Show and other awards from the games in the Spotlight Section.

Developer Justin Smith

Spotlight Game

Rodney Gibbs is the CEO of Ricochet Labs and co-founded the Fizz Factor game studio and negotiated its acquisition by Amaze Entertainment. He remained with the company for eight years, during which time he led production, operations and business development. As executive producer, he shipped 17 titles for many of the world’s largest game publishers and franchises. Active in the game industry and Austin’s digital media community, Rodney frequently speaks at conferences and events on digital entertainment. He serves on the boards of the International Game Developers Association the Austin Film Society, and KUT, Austin’s NPR affiliate.

James Renovitch is the video-game writer for The Austin Chronicle, and his blog column, This Week’s Waste of Time, covers the world of indie browser games. He sings a mean rendition of “Greatest Love of All” and can speedwalk with the best of them. “Them” being relatively fast people.

enviro-bear 2000 dev. Justin Smith, Canada

Wiley Wiggins is a performer and designer from Austin, Texas. He is the author of the wildly underplayed text adventure Fiddlestixx® based on the short film series of the same name by David and Nathan Zellner. His equally groundbreaking textual simulation of a log was displayed at VIVO Media Arts Centre, Vancouver, and he acted as visualist for the Octopus Project’s 16 channel audio/video live event Hexadecagon this year.

SUMMARY

Who is driving the car? A bear is driving the car! How can that be?! Operation: Hibernation.

developer bio Justin Smith lives in the remote wilderness of Vancouver, Canada. He was exiled from the games industry after 10 years of diligent service due to his radical beliefs about steering wheel physics. Now he lives a serene life in the woods, documenting the bear population’s interactions with the automotive world, and occasionally making an indie game.

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Guests in Attendance

Developer Molleindustria

Developers Florian Faller and Adrian Stutz

Spotlight Game

every day the same dream

Feist

dev. Molleindustria, United States

dev. Florian Faller and Adrian Stutz, Switzerland

SUMMARY

A short existential game about alienation and refusal of labour. Or, if you prefer, a playable music video.

developer bio Molleindustria aims to reappropriate video games as a popular form of mass communication. Our objective is to investigate the persuasive potentials of the medium by subverting mainstream video gaming clichĂ¨ (and possibly have fun in the process). Paolo Pedercini was born in 1981 somewhere in Northern Italy. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently based in Pittsburgh after surviving in Milan, studying in Troy, NY and lounging around in Brooklyn. At the present moment heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly a teacher at Carnegie Mellon University and a game designer working under the project name molleindustria but he often poses as artist or new media expert.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

SUMMARY

Completely physics driven and inhabited by capricious creatures, FEIST puts a strong emphasis on exploration, an unpredictable course of action and narration that stems from the small actions and reactions created when playing the game. The player has to guide a fragile but mysterious fur creature through a forest with many unknown and often hostile creatures living in its darkest parts. FEIST is more like a narrative toy than a game.

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

developer bio Florian Faller and Adrian Stutz have met during their design studies at the Zurich University of the Arts, collaborating together on different projects before inventing FEIST. Florian has worked in different fields of creative media like audiovisual communication, video postproduction, visuals for DJs and music production. He is one of the founders of the Interdisco label for electronic music and has worked as game designer on major titles like Simon the Sorcerer IV. He is currently working as lecturer and researcher at the Zurich University of the Arts with a focus on visual art and is co-curating the independent game design exhibition at the Fantoche international animation festival. Adrian has worked on numerous independent design and programming projects and is an active contributor and owner of open source software projects. He has previously worked as interaction designer, amongst others for exhibitions of the Swiss National Museum. Adrian currently works as game designer at Nothing in Bern, developing casual games for different platforms.

Guests in Attendance

Spotlight Game

Developer Andy Schatz

Spotlight Game

Machinarium

Monaco

dev. Jakub Dvorský, Czech Republic

dev. Andy Schatz, United States

SUMMARY

developer bio

Jakub Dvorský is a 30 year-old game designer and visual artist from Brno, Czech Republic. He started producing computer games in 1992 and after finishing The Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague in the department of Graphics Design and Visual Communication led by Professor Jiří Bárta in 2003, he established the independent game studio Amanita Design (www. amanitadesign.com) and started to work on Flash games with animator Václav Blín—his former university schoolmate. Dvorský and Blín collaborated with programmer David Oliva, musician Tomáš “Floex” Dvořák, sound maker Tomáš “Pif” Dvořák and painters Jakub Požár and Adolf Lachman on MACHINARIUM.

Andy has the soul of an artist, and the scars to prove it. He’s been an independent video game developer since 2004, and was the sole programmer, designer, and producer on his company’s first three titles, Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa, Venture Arctic, and Monaco. While he has struggled with many of the issues common to creative entrepreneurs, he has seen his share of wild success as well. Venture Africa was nominated for the IGF Grand Prize in 2006 while Venture Arctic won “Sim Game of the Year” from GameTunnel in 2008. MONACO took home the top honors at the 2010 IGF. Andy graduated from Amherst with a degree in Computer Science and Fine Arts.

MACHINARIUM is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game of brain teasers, as you play Josef the Robot, abandoned on a junk heap and searching through a futuristic city.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

Steal from the rich, keep it for yourself! MONACO is a 4-player co-op crime caper inspired by classic heist movies and set in modern day Monte Carlo.

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Guests in Attendance

Developer Mark Essen

Developer Cactus

Spotlight Game

Nidhogg

Norrland

dev. Mark Essen, United States

dev. Cactus, Sweden

SUMMARY

NIDHOGG is a two-player territorial dueling game, where one hit kills you, but you have infinite lives. Get to your endzone, as your opponent tries to move the screen towards his zone. Fencing meets football.

Pack some beer, your fishing pole, a hunting rifle and everything else you need for a nice hunting trip in the wilderness of Sweden’s north side. It’s time to shoot some animals, row some boats, climb some trees and catch some fishes. Watch out for bloodthirsty mosquitos and close encounters with the angry wildlife. At night you’ll make a fire and dream the strangest dreams as you sleep under the starry skies.

developer bio Mark Essen is a game designer living in Los Angeles. He has created a number of short experimental games, among them “Flywrench”, “The Thrill of Combat”, “Jetpack Basketball”, and most recently “Nidhogg” which can be downloaded from his website at messhof.com.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

developer bio ”I’m a game developer living in Gothenburg, Sweden. I’ve been making small freeware games since 2004. My aim is to create interesting things, whether it be through visuals or gameplay mechanics. A lot of the games on my site are just small experiments dressed up as games. I’m glad that people still seem to enjoy them.”

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Guests in Attendance Developer Lea Schönfelder

Spotlight Game

Ulitsa Dimitrova dev. Gerard Delmas and Lea Schönfelder, Germany

SUMMARY

Try to survive in the streets of Russia. This adventure game is about seven-year-old Pjotre, a homeless child in St. Petersburg. Pjotr is a chain smoker and has to get cigarettes all the time. He spends his days robbing, begging, visiting his prostitute mother and he even falls in love with a girl. His life will never change. And once the player gets bored and stops playing, Pjotr will lay down and freeze to death in the Russian winter.

developer bio Gerard Delmàs, born in 1982, started studying Interaction and Graphic Design at the School of Art and Design Kassel, Germany in 2004. Currently he is employed at an advertising agency in Frankfurt, Germany. Lea Schönfelder was born in 1985 in Heidenheim. Since 2006 she studies Visual Communication at School of Art and Design Kassel with focus on Animated Film, Illustration and New Media. During her studies, she twice spent several weeks in China to hold workshops about interactive animation. According to “The Independent” the Russian Parliament plans to ban Schönfelders and Delmàs’ game ULITSA DIMITROVA from the Russian audience

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

Join us for all-ages game competition, giveaways and massive fun at Fantastic Arcade, 11 am to 7 pm, September 23-26. Prizes include an Epiphone electric guitar from Gibson Guitar, Onitsuka Tiger shoes from Asics, Guitar Hero accessories from Game Over Videogames, T-shirts, games and cash! No entry fees required for competitions. Show up early for pre-lim rounds. Finals held at 6 pm daily. Friday, September 24

Fantastic Arcade Tournaments >> presented by Thursday, September 23

Canabalt

6 pm to 7:30 pm Sponsored by ASICS Canabalt, the hit online flash/iPhone indie title by Semi-Secret Software cofounder Adam Atomic, is all about how far you can go... with just one button: Jump. Start practicing Canabalt at 12 pm on Thursday, and join us for Happy Hour at 6 pm (sign-ups start at 5:30 pm) for an epic tournament to determine just who is best prepared to run away from the robot apocalypse! Canabalt PRIZES 1st Place: $125 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, a free month’s subscription to Moviestorm. 2nd Place: $75 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. 3rd Place: $50 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt Runner-up: Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. Canabalt RULES Sign ups begin at 5:30 pm • Tournament begins at 6 pm for Happy Hour Each player gets two escape attempts • Highest score is taken Player Cap: 32 Players • Top 3 scorers advance to Finals In the finals, each player gets ONE attempt. Highest scorer wins!

Nidhogg

1 pm to 7 pm Sponsored by ASICS, GameOver Games Nidhogg is an indie game of old-school dueling with fantastic visuals, smooth animation, and a virtual tip-of-the-hat to classics like Karateka and Prince of Persia. You’ve been waiting for decades to get revenge on that punk at the arcade you couldn’t beat at Karate Champ, and this is your chance. Join us Friday at 1 pm (sign-ups at 12:30 pm) to compete and play the finals in front of The Highball Happy Hour crowd at 6 pm! Niddhogg PRIZES 1st Place: $125 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Old School T-Shirt, Yellow Spandex Body Suit, a free month’s subscription to Moviestorm. 2nd Place: $75 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Old School T-Shirt. 3rd Place: $50 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Old School T-Shirt. Runner-up: Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Old School T-Shirt. Niddhogg RULES Sign-ups begin at 12:30 pm • Tournament begins at 1 pm Narrowed down to 8 players by 6 pm for Happy Hour Player Cap: 32 players • Double Elimination • Versus mode • Best 2 out of 3 Saturday, September 25

Left 4 Dead 2 with special Fantastic Arcade Mod! 12 pm to 5 pm Sponsored by ASICS This is Left 4 Dead 2 like you’ve never seen it before! The Alamo Drafthouse, the Highball and the whole shopping strip have been overrun with zombies and it is up to you and your 3 teammates to defend the projection booth, bowling alley, karaoke rooms and stores from the undead apocalypse. Survival gameplay will be available throughout Fantastic Arcade with a tournament taking place on Saturday from 12 pm-5 pm complete with prizes for teams who survive for certain amounts of time. Come by and complete with your friends or strangers you’ve met at the festival! Winning Team: $500 Cash Prize ($125 per player), four (4) pairs of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, four (4) ASICS hat, four (4) ASICS T-Shirt.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

Saturday, September 25

Dance Dance Revolution

1 pm to 7 pm Sponsored by ASICS Dance Dance Revolution, or “DDR” as anyone who has ever played a video game knows it, has been a staple for arcades and consoles since 1998. Over 10 years later, there’s still no better game to break a sweat to. Saturday at 1 pm (sign-ups start at 12:30 pm), we’ll start our good ole’ fashioned dance-off; the Top 3 Finalists will show off their moves for our entertainment during The Highball’s Happy Hour at 6 pm. Dance Dance Revolution PRIZES 1st Place: $200 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, a free month’s subscription to Moviestorm. 2nd Place: $150 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. 3rd Place: $100 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. Runner-up: Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. Dance Dance Revolution RULES Sign ups begin at 12:30 pm • Tournament begins at 1 pm Player Cap: 32 Players • Each player will take turns playing a predetermined preliminary song; the top 8 scorers move on to Round 2. • Round 2: The Top 8 scorers will play another predetermined song; the top 3 scorers move on to Grand Finals. • Each Grand Finalist will play a predetermined set of 3 songs. The highest scorer in the set wins! Sunday, September 26 - Broadcast live on the web!

Super Street Fighter 4

12 pm to 7 pm Sponsored by ArcadeUFO, ASICS, GameOver Videogames If you haven’t been on the Internet for the past two years, you may not have noticed the phenomenon that is Street Fighter 4 and just how much of a renaissance it brought to the fighting game scene in the United States. Live streams on the Internet for Street Fighter 4 events happen several times a week, with major events drawing tens of thousands of viewers from around the world. Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong have pretty much become household names. Austin’s own Arcade UFO is bringing us the Fantastic Arcade Cup, which will pit 16 of the Southwest’s best against each other in a deadly singleelimination tournament with cash prizes for the top placers. 12 players will be pre-qualified for the event from satellite tournaments around Texas, but 4 more warriors will have a chance to participate in the finals, determined by a Single-Elimination event starting Sunday at 12 pm (sign-ups start at 11:30 am). Leave your pads at home; this event will take place on an authentic Japanese Vewlix Arcade Cabinet, the standard for tournament play in Japan’s national Street Fighter championships. Super Street Fighter 4 PRIZES 1st Place: $500 Cash Prize, Street Fighter: The Movie, Street Fighter: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter Energy Drink (12-pack), Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Fantastic Arcade Cup, a free month’s subscription to Moviestorm. 2nd Place: $300 Cash Prize, Street Fighter: The

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Movie, Street Fighter: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter Energy Drink (12pack), Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. 3rd Place: $200 Cash Prize, Street Fighter: The Movie, Street Fighter: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter Energy Drink (12-pack), Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. Runner-up: Street Fighter: The Movie, Street Fighter: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter Energy Drink (12-pack), Complete SNES w/ Street Fighter II, Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt. Super Street Fighter 4 RULES Sign ups begin at 11:30AM • Tournament begins at 12:00PM Player Cap: 64 Players • Each match is Best of 5 rounds, only 1 match Single Elimination • Top 4 Players in the bracket will move on to the Grand Finals! • Finals: The Top 4 will be joined by 12 other players who have prequalified through other Texas events • Finals: 16 players, Best of 5 rounds, only 1 match • Single Elimination • Must stick to one character, but you may choose a different Ultra each match • Cash prizes to top placers! Sunday, September 26

Guitar Hero

1 pm to 7 pm Sponsored by ASICS, GameOver Games, Epiphone Guitars Guitar Hero revolutionized the peripheral-based music game in the United States as the first title to bring a plethora of well-known licensed songs to Western gamers. Just in time for Fantastic Arcade 2010, we’ll see the release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the sixth consecutive title in the series. If you consider yourself a true Warrior of Rock, you’ll want to be at The Highball on Sunday at 1 pm (sign-ups at 12:30 pm) to compete for the title. Our Top 4 contestants will shred their hardest for Happy Hour at 6 pm! Guitar Hero PRIZES 1st Place: $300 Cash Prize, Epiphone Special II electric guitar from the Les Paul Collection ($300 value), pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Guitar Hero accessories from Game Over Videogames, a free month’s subscription to Moviestorm. 2nd Place: $250 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Guitar Hero accessories from Game Over Videogames. 3rd Place: $200 Cash Prize, pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Guitar Hero accessories from Game Over Videogames. Runner-up: Pair of Onitsuka Tiger shoes, ASICS hat, ASICS T-Shirt, Guitar Hero accessories from Game Over Videogames. Guitar Hero RULES Sign ups begin at 12:30PM • Tournament begins at 1:00PM • Player Cap: 32 Players Each player will take turns playing a randomly determined preliminary song on “normal” difficulty; the top 8 scorers move on to Round 2 • Round 2: The Top 8 scorers will play another randomly determined song on “expert” difficulty; the top 4 scorers move on to the Finals • Each Finalist will play in a versus-style single elimination bracket for Top 4 • Songs will be randomly selected with “expert” difficulty; the winner of each match advances to Grand Finals In Grand Finals, a final song will be randomly selected with “expert” difficulty to face off simultaneously for the prize!

<< panels game sessions >> Richard Garriott - Keynote Thursday, September 23 at 2:00pm One of the original do-it-yourself game developers, Richard Garriott will be delivering the keynote speech to kick off the inaugural Fantastic Fest Arcade.

Declaration of Independents Thursday, September 23 at 3:00pm Few outside those working inside the indie game circle realize how widereaching and “successful” it truly is. With loads of blogs devoted to the scene and millions of downloads each year, a vibrant undercurrent of game developers are thriving and working without bureaucracy, utilizing accessible software and various lo-fi techniques to pump the games out. From inspiration to design and publishing, how do you make a game by yourself, and why? SPEAKERS: • Moderated by Brandon Boyer, Chairman, Independent Games Festival • Derek Yu, game developer and illustrator, Editor-in-Chief of TIGSource • Jonathan Blow, game designer, partner in the Indie Fund • Jim Munroe, novelist, game designer

The Guildhall at SMU Approach Thursday, September 23 at 4:15pm

TSL Live has been performed at Picnic 09 in Amsterdam, The Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI), Perform.Media at Indiana University, City University of New York’s Graduate Center and at The Tank performance space also in NY. ABOUT THIS SPARTAN LIFE Independent media artists, Bong + Dern, conceived This Spartan Life, in late 2004. A talk show in “game space” which uses Xbox Live as a programming platform and Halo 3 as its backdrop, This Spartan Life is a unique concept, likened to “a mash-up of The Charlie Rose Show and Doom” by Wired Magazine. It has been lauded for its brilliant combination of traditional filmmaking with the creative, interactive possibilities of videogame technology by numerous mainstream media outlets, including The BBC, Reuters, Stuff Magazine, PRI’s Studio 360 and BusinessWeek, and won Best Machinima Series at the 2005 and 2007 Machinima Festivals. This Spartan Life has also created exclusive online content for Spike TV’s Videogame Awards, featuring an in-game interview with KoRn amongst others. For more information, visit www.thisspartanlife.com.

DIY with Your Boots On: Indie Game Developers in Texas Friday, September 24 at 3:30pm

This panel provides potential students with information on the game industry as a viable career. Panelists representing faculty, staff and alumni from SMU’s Guildhall game development program provide information on how to prepare for a career in the game development industry, including schooling options and how to choose the right option for you. Additional topics include roles and responsibilities on a team, specializations one can pursue, and the work required to complete a game. SPEAKERS • Elizabeth Stringer, Lecturer in Game Studies, Team Game Production • René Archambault, Mgr., Admissions and Alumni Affairs • Ashley Rochelle, Alumni, Guildhall Cohort 12 Artist • Jimmy Cross, Alumni, Guildhall Cohort 12 Level Design

Why is Austin quickly becoming a burgeoning scene for the indie game development movement? Independent Games Festival chairman Brandon Boyer talks with fellow non-natives & now-devoted-transplants Semi Secret’s Adam Saltsman (Canabalt, Gravity Hook), Tiger Style’s David Kalina (Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor) and Twisted Pixel’s Michael Wilford (Splosion Man, Comic Jumper) about what makes Austin an ideal environment for living The Indie Life, what’s happening here to make it even better, and what people should do to get more involved. SPEAKERS: • Moderated by Brandon Boyer, Chairman, Independent Games Festival • Adam “Atomic” Saltsman, game designer, Semi Secret Software • David Kalina, game designer, Tiger Style • Michael Wilford, CEO, Twisted Pixel

This Spartan Life: A Talk Show in Game Space Friday, September 24 at 12:00pm

Jonathan Blow meets Nacho Vigalondo Friday, September 24 at 4:30pm

Set up with 3 Xboxes, a projector and an internet connection, our stripped down 2 person crew bring an ‘interview under fire’ to a live audience. The audience sees the live game space on the screen as well as the process, as Damian and Fyb3roptik from TSL join the guest in a game of Halo and battle aliens and other gamers in order to bring the best interview they can, between the grenades, sniper fire, and other virtual obstacles.

Game developer Jonathan Blow in conversation with filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo about the crossover of genre films and genre games, their designs, styles, and the good and bad of interactivity in each creative form. It’s not just wanting to be thrilled and scared, we need it. SPEAKERS: • Jonathan Blow, game designer, partner in the Indie Fund • Nacho Vigalondo, actor-writer-director, Timecrimes and the upcoming Extraterrestre and Gangland

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

The Intoxication of Mythology: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm A sneak peek behind the scenes, swords, loincloths and pixels of the Superbrothers and their upcoming game. With a stylish and eclectic track record of unique art design and beautifully pixelated short films, and an endless love for all things Frank Frazetta, Superbrothers will be on hand to show their highly anticipated game-in-process, Sword & Sworcery EP.

SPEAKERS: • Moderated by Eddo Stern, Artist, Associate Professor at UCLA Design Media Arts Department • Paolo Pedercini, game designer and artist as Molle Industria, teacher at Carnegie Mellon University • Derek Yu, game developer and illustrator, Editor-in-Chief of TIGSource • Sheri Graner Ray, Studio Design Director for Schell Games, author, “Gender Inclusive Game Design-Expanding the Market”

Wizard Takes All Saturday, September 25 at 4:30pm

The World of Machinima – The Panel Sunday, September 26 at 2:30pm

What is it about computer games and magic? Magic and computer games have been linked from the very beginning when Fantasy themed, text-based, MultiUser Dungeons started popping up on mainframes in the 1970s. Generations of gamers have crawled their way through Adventure, Wizardry, the Ultimas, Bard’s Tale, King’s Quest, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Everquest, and World of Warcraft. Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and most recently Harry Potter have snatched the brains of children and adults alike. Why are magic and medieval fantasy such prominent themes in our media landscape? What do 20 million role playing Elves know that we don’t? SPEAKERS: • Moderated by Eddo Stern, Artist, Associate Professor at UCLA Design Media Arts Department • Sheri Graner Ray, Studio Design Director for Schell Games, writer and designer on the Ultima series • Jim Munroe, novelist, game designer • Tom Hall, Creative Director at KingsIsle Entertainment

Machinima is more than a simple term, it’s a vibrant way to make films. By providing a solid resource to creative talents – a game engine to create computer animation - a new style of filmmaking has emerged that combines traditional animation and video game play with affordable cinema and the opportunity to take chances. As the technique has a long history of fans, critics and legal issues, this panel of experts will discuss the ups and downs and the past and future of the scene, now over a decade old. SPEAKERS : • Moderated by Burnie Burns, Managing Partner, Rooster Teeth Productions • Paul Marino, Co-Founder of the Machinima Academy of Arts & Sciences, Lead Cinematic Designer Bioware • Alison Stroll, Content Manager at Halo Waypoint • Daniel Miller, Director, Smooth Few Films

Making Overgrowth Sunday, September 26 at 12:15pm The developers of Overgrowth, the much anticipated supernatural rabbit ninja fighting game are here to discuss their inspiring development story. How a team of four game developers are building an impressive AAA game in true indie fashion. Including a home brewed top-quality game engine, comic zine, their own distribution and publishing apparatus and a groundbreaking open development blog.

Taste This Game: Ethics in Games Sunday, September 26 at 1:15pm Focusing on games that have sparked debate and controversy, this panel looks into the bigger questions about the specifics of how video games wrestle with the challenges of political positioning in entertainment. Can games still be stigmatized as being “for kids” when as many adults seem to be playing? Can games that wrestle with serious issues, still be defined as games at all? While gamers and the game industry wrestle with these questions, independent game developers have been infusing political and social issues into their work for years. Have some games gone too far? what would going too far mean? When does provocative exploration turn into perverted exploitation?

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

The World of Machinima – The Screening Sunday, September 26 at 3:30pm Now that you’ve heard from the experts, check out some of the classic films of the Machinima world, big and small, and see the winners of our official 48-hour Machinima challenge.

Indie Game Developer Sessions:

30 minute game sessions with each of our Spotlight titles, where each developer will play games they created and talk in a movie theater with a live audience. Friday, September 24: • 1:00pm game session with Monaco • 1:30pm game session with Feist • 2:00pm game session with Enviro-Bear 2000 • 3:00pm game session with Norrland Saturday, September 25: • 2:00pm game session with Ulitsa Dimitrova • 2:30pm game session with Nidhogg • 3:30pm game session with Every Day the Same Dream • 4:00pm game session with Machinarium

Brand new Xbox LIVE Arcade games! Play them on Xbox console displays at Fantastic Arcade! Meet the game designers who created these original games!

A World of Keflings

Comic Jumper

Hydrophobia

Super Meat Boy

Trials HD

Toy Soldiers: Invasion!

Build a robot, rescue the princess, make friends with a dragon and help a creepy witch get even creepier. Take your Xbox LIVE Avatar on a journey through exotic lands while you help the tiny Keflings build and customize their kingdoms! Play with a friend on the same console or with three friends over Xbox LIVE in this story-based, kingdom-building adventure.

Threatened with becoming just another failed superhero, Captain Smiley is rescued by the fine folks at Twisted Pixel who provide him with a base of operations and Comic Jumping technology allowing him—and his back-talking “chestkick” named Star— to leap into other comic books and save misguided plotlines, so that they may earn enough cash to catapult their superhero careers back into the limelight. From the creators of the award-winning titles Splosion Man and The Maw, Comic Jumper is the team’s most ambitious game yet.

Set in the near future when the world has become massively over-populated, Hydrophobia takes place aboard the “Queen of the World”, a city sized ship sailing the globe as home to the wealthy elite escaping the chaos of the outside world. An epic backstory reveals the rise of Neo-Malthusian terrorists, who are intent on controlling the world population. The great vessel is attacked, and as systems engineer Kate Wilson, you must use every tool at your disposal to survive and escape the flooding lower decks. Hydrophobia is powered by the revolutionary HydroEngine™, the world’s first true fluid dynamics game engine, which models flowing water to behave realistically, resulting in dynamic and dramatic gameplay.

This game is a tough-as-nails platformer where you play as an animated cube of meat who’s trying to save his girlfriend (who happens to be made of bandages) from an evil tux wearing fetus who lives in a jar. Leap from walls, jump over seas of buzz saws, and run through crumbling caves and pools of old needles. Super Meat Boy relives the old school difficulty of classic retro platformers and streamlines it down to the essentials, no BS, just straight-forward twitch reflex platforming.

The Trials HD “Big Thrills” game add-on features thirty new professional tracks for the Xbox LIVE Arcade hit Trials HD, all lovingly crafted by RedLynx’s level designers, the new expansion will bring a whole new world of obsessive challenge and bone-crushing gameplay to the game’s large and loyal fan base. Unique with this release, RedLynx will also include ten user-created tracks, fully credited and featured right alongside the professional levels created by RedLynx. This is the first time this has ever been done in Trials HD and response to the contest we held in July was phenomenal!

This bring six new levels to the Toy Soldiers universe with some brand new toys in the toy box. Flying saucers, laser-shooting robots, and Knights all come to put your soldiers, snipers, and fighter pilots to the ultimate test! Will these WWI toy soldiers have what it takes to win this war of worlds? Find out this fall, only on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

About NinjaBee NinjaBee, located in Orem, Utah, began developing games in 2004. With every game they make, NinjaBee’s goal is to create a unique, top-quality, fun experience for people of all ages. Their popular titles include Outpost Kaloki X, Cloning Clyde, Band of Bugs, Boingz, Doritos Dash of Destruction and A Kingdom for Keflings.

About Twisted Pixel Austin-based Twisted Pixel is an independent studio that specializes in character-driven, original IP titles that shake up what games are all about. Formed in early 2006 by a passionate team of industry veterans armed with innovative ideas, Twisted Pixel focuses on memorable characters, creative gameplay, impressive presentation and how games can be made more accessible and distinctly more fun.

About Dark Energy Digital Dark Energy Digital is a developer and publisher of videogame software renown for innovative and ground-breaking technological advancements. Hydrophobia has been developed using Dark Energy Digital’s own InfiniteWorlds™ game creation system, which uses custom procedural technology that allows for high quality experiences for a fraction of the usual downloadable file size.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

About Team Meat Edmund McMillen: One day when Edmund was 7 he found his father living in a soda can under his front porch. For months Edmund and his father would search for bottle caps and beer. Edmund decided it was best to put him back in the soda can and move on, until he found out his “dad” was actually a small dead stink bug. This realization caused Edmund to become an alcoholic recluse hell bent on making a game called Super Meat Boy. Tommy Refenes: A programmer, probably the best programmer ever. He is the one and only programmer for Super Meat Boy. He travels the world searching for other programmers to kill and absorb their powers, but so far he’s only killed the homeless people outside of the Taco Bell up the road. Also he likes orange.

About RedLynx RedLynx Ltd. is a multiplatform game developer and publisher based in Helsinki, Finland. Since its founding in 2000, it has published more than 100 games on many platforms, including Xbox™ Live Arcade, Nintendo DS™, Sony PSP®, Apple iPhone®, Apple Macintosh®, PC, web, interactive TV, and mobile phones.

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

About Signal Studios Signal Studios is a Seattle-area developer of video games and interactive software applications. Signal’s founders combine years of experience across all disciplines in the games industry, working as leads and developers together at some of the industry’s top studios and publishers. Signal Studios is actively developing multiple projects across several platforms, using its proprietary engine and toolset, SigEngine™. Built from the ground up to facilitate today’s demanding content creation needs, SigEngine™ provides an extremely optimized and user-friendly production pipeline.

CREATE TOMORROW MEDIA ARTS & ANIMATION BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS DIGITAL FILMMAKING & VIDEO PRODUCTION BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS We offer programs in the following areas:

MEDIA ARTS DESIGN FASHION CULINARY 101 W. Louis Henna Blvd., Suite 100 • Austin, TX 78728 Toll-Free: 866.583.7952 • Local: 512.691.1707 www.artinstitutes.edu/austin The Art Institute of Austin is a branch of The Art Institute of Houston.

Showcase Games

SUMMARY

A well-dressed man attempts a daring escape as his noir-city collapses.

Chicken space pirates, psychic dog advisors, and rhino bounty hunters. Just another adventure in Flotilla! Fight, trade, and explore to make a name for yourself in the galaxy.

developer bio

Adam “Atomic” Saltsman created Flixel, Gravity Hook, Fathom, Canabalt, Trashpaint, and the Flash Game Dojo. With his climbing buddy Eric, Adam cofounded Semi Secret Software, a successful and independent iPhone game company. He spends most of his time in Austin, Texas with his lovely wife and pug dogs.

Canabalt

Blendo Games is an independent games company run by Brendon Chung. He’s been making games since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Flotilla

dev. Adam Atomic, United States | Guests in Attendance

dev. Blendo Games, United States

SUMMARY

The followup to 2009’s Dead Samurai, THE DISHWASHER: VAMPIRE SMILE is a combo-fueled, fast-paced, stylistic 2D action platformer that features the series’ staple gritty, graphic novel-inspired art style, built on a brand new engine.

Don your shades and swing the gnome to explosive victory. Anything can happen in this whacky arcade brick-em-up. The simple surface hides an array of features, bonuses and ways to knock your enemies flying. Protips are gradually unlocked, revealing the finer points of gnome-assisted carnage. Don’t ask why - ask why not.

developer bio Ska Studios LLC is a Schenectady, NY based independent game studio. Ska Studios is responsible for The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai on XBLA and 2009 Indie Game of the Year I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!! for XBLIG. Ska Studios consists of Dustin Burg and James Silva.

The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile dev. Ska Studios, United States

developer bio Daniel Remar is an independent game designer living and working in Sweden whose past works include HERO CORE and IJI.

Garden Gnome Carnage dev. Daniel Remar, Sweden

SUMMARY

DUSTFORCE! is an acrobatic platformer in which you must use your trusty broom to sweep an area clear as thoroughly and stylishly as you can.

To make it in Nuevos Aires, one needs nerves of silk and the filthiest of hands. Mix together a batch of espionage, some high-speed car chases, fire-spewing assassins, and you’ve got one oven that’ll never bake cookies again. We provide the pliers and you bring the moxie.

developer bio Hitbox is a new independent game development team currently based in Australia. Woodley Nye does game design and art. Lexie Dostal does all the code and program design. They are both 22 and enjoy the fine delights of making games.

Dustforce!

developer bio Blendo Games is an independent games company run by Brendon Chung. He’s been making games since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Gravity Bone

dev. Hitbox, Australia

SUMMARY

dev. Blendo Games, United States Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Showcase Games

sUMMARY

Human……Centipede……..The Game.

SUMMARY

Making money in a corporation like McDonald’s is not simple at all! Behind every sandwich there is a complex process you must learn to manage: from the creation of pastures to the slaughter, from the restaurant management to the branding. You’ll discover all the dirty secrets that made us one of the biggest company of the world.

developer bio Unlike most humor/entertainment sites, I-Mockery has been setting itself apart from the rest of the pack for the past 13 years by never setting any boundaries for itself. Rather than having one small focus, I-Mockery has material on just about anything you can think of. Pop culture, nostalgia, cheesy movies, video games, comics, bad music, weird toys, absurd novelties, bizarre foods... and original flash games. If you can think of it, chances are we’ve covered it

developer bio Molleindustria aims to reappropriate video games as a popular form of mass communication.

Human Centipede The Game!

McDonald’s The Videogame

SUMMARY

dev. Molleindustria, United States | Guests in Attendance

dev. I-Mockery, United States

A music video game for the song “The Building” by Jesse Stiles, based on Jesse’s brief tenure as a videographer.

Now you can be the protagonist of the petroleum era: explore and drill around the world, corrupt politicians, stop alternative energies and increase the oil addiction. Be sure to have fun before the resources begin to deplete.

developer bio Molleindustria aims to reappropriate video games as a popular form of mass communication. Our objective is to investigate the persuasive potentials of the medium by subverting mainstream video gaming clichè. Paolo Pedercini was born in 1981 somewhere in Northern Italy. He’s currently based in Pittsburgh after surviving in Milan, studying in Troy, NY. At the present moment he’s mostly a teacher at Carnegie Mellon University.

Inside a Dead Skyscraper

developer bio Molleindustria aims to reappropriate video games as a popular form of mass communication.

Oiligarchy

dev. Molleindustria, United States | Guests in Attendance

SUMMARY

LIMBO puts players in the role of a young boy travelling through a hostile world in an attempt to discover the fate of his sister.

Once again the Church is in the midst of controversies for the sexual abuses committed by the priests. The Vatican created a task force to prevent sinners from being captured and put on trial according to the secular states’ laws. You have to control the operations: estabilish a code of silence and hide the scandal until the media attention moves elsewhere!

developer bio Playdead is an independent game development studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by Arnt Jensen and Dino Patti in 2006, Playdead creates and publishes original games based on artistic vision. LIMBO is Playdead’s first production and its first game to be published.

developer bio Molleindustria aims to reappropriate video games as a popular form of mass communication.

Limbo

Operation: Pedopriest dev. Molleindustria, United States | Guests in Attendance

dev. Playdead, Denmark

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Showcase Games

SUMMARY

THE PATH is a short horror game inspired by older versions of Little Red Riding Hood, set in modern day. THE PATH offers an atmospheric experience of exploration, discovery and introspection through a unique form of gameplay, designed to immerse you deeply into its dark themes.

Your nemesis Big stole the only heritage your grandpa left you: A fine pair of white underpants and he‘s surely up to no good. Run, jump, drag, shove and laser your way up that mountain! Get back those underpants!

developer bio

TINY AND BIG is an independent game production by Black Pants Studio, currently rooted in Kassel/Germany. A team of three programmers, four 3D animators, two illustrators and one technical director create this extraordinary adventure. They have been working 7 months on the project, so far.

The purpose of Tale of Tales is to create elegant and emotionally rich interactive entertainment. We explicitly want to cater to people who are not enchanted by most contemporary computer games.

The Path

Tiny and Big: Up That Mountain

dev. Tale of Tales, Belgium

dev. Black Pants Studio, Germany

SUMMARY

You are a spider who discovers an abandoned mansion. Draw webs of your own design to trap insects as you make your way from room to room unraveling the mystery of who lived here and why they left.

A physics-based action game where three characters allow clever solutions to challenges created by hazardous puzzles and threatening enemies.

developer bio

Frozenbyte is an independent game developer focused on games based on original IP for consoles and PC. Frozenbyte’s current original IP titles include the highly acclaimed Shadowgrounds series and TRINE. The company is currently working on TRINE 2 in addition to another project. Frozenbyte was founded in 2001 and is based in Helsinki, Finland.

Founded in late 2008 by game industry veterans Randy Smith (Thief, System Shock) and David Kalina (Splinter Cell, Deus Ex, Thief), Tiger Style is comprised of a network of talented artists, musicians, and developers distributed throughout the country.

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor dev. Tiger Style Games, United States | Guests in Attendance

Trine

dev. Frozenbyte, Finland

SUMMARY

developer bio

A 2004 graduate of Emerson College’s film program, Danny Ledonne holds a Master of Fine Arts in Film & Electronic Media at American University in Washington, DC. He has worked as a wildlife documentary film teacher in locations such as the Florida Keys and northern California coast.

ACE Team is an entertainment software developer based in Santiago, Chile. Most of our members have worked in the videogame industry for years, but just recently we have decided to found our own independent company and make the kind of games we really want to play.

The controversial game that helped spark the debate around the boundaries of role-play, implication, exploitation and escapist entertainment in gaming—by placing players smack in the middle of the the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! dev. Danny Ledonne, United States

SUMMARY

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

ZENO CLASH is a unique adventure set in a fantastic world where you will encounter incredible challenges. Powered by the acclaimed Source Engine, the beautiful environments breathe new air in the fantasy game genre.

Zeno Clash dev. ACE Team, Chile

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Showcase Games

SUMMARY

Puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess.

developer bio See “Jonathan Blow meets Nacho Vigalondo”, pg. 22

Jonathan is a designer-programmer whose goal is to make games that are mind-expanding in ways special to that medium. He is best known for the wellreceived game BRAID. He is also a partner in the Indie Fund, an initiative to help creative new developers grow stronger while remaining independent.

Braid

Texas Game Developers at Fantastic Arcade << September 23-26, 11 AM - 7PM <<

dev. Jonathan Blow, United States | Guests in Attendance

SUMMARY

Drop in to any of our game demo rooms on the 1st and 2nd floor of the HighBall to play new games and meet game designers from: Devolver Digital, GameSalad, GL33K Audio, Playtechtonics, Powerhouse Animation, Ricochet Labs, Semi Secret Software and Twisted Pixel

Overgrowth takes place in a world where creatures must use paws, claws and medieval weaponry to engage each other in brutal melee combat. It is the spiritual successor to the classic fighter Lugaru.

developer bio See “Making OVERGROWTH”, pg. 23

Wolfire Games develops innovative, independent games for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. It was started by David Rosen in 2003 to organize his open source video game contest entries. After graduating college in 2008, he was joined by his twin brother and three friends and Wolfire Games was born.

Overgrowth

Karaoke Rooms Rappers Delight

Low Places

The Casbah

The Trip

Xanadu

Thursday, Sept 23

Microsoft Game Studios

Powerhouse Animation

GameSalad

Ricochet Labs

Twisted Pixel

Friday, Sept 24

Microsoft Game Studios

Powerhouse Animation

GameSalad

Ricochet Labs

Twisted Pixel

Saturday, Sept 25

Microsoft Game Studios

GL33K Audio

Devolver Digital

Semi Secret Software

Twisted Pixel

Sunday, Sept 26

Microsoft Game Studios

Playtechtonics

Devolver Digital

Semi Secret Software

Twisted Pixel

dev. Wolfire Games, United States | Guests in Attendance

SUMMARY

A fresh approach to adventure & action designed for Apple’s touchtronic machinery. A 21st century update to the pioneering works of Miyamoto, Mechner & Chahi. A crude videogame haiku about life, love & death. See “The Intoxication of Mythology: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP”, pg. 23

developer bio Superbrothers: An ambiguously pluralized & irritatingly cryptic audiovisual art & design organization located in Toronto. Capy is an award-winning independent game studio anchored in Toronto, currently known for making beautiful puzzle games. Jim Guthrie: A prolific composer.

Sword & Sworcery EP dev. Superbrothers, Jim Guthrie, Capy, Canada | Guests in Attendance

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Arcade Music Events <<

Fantastic Arcade features four nights of nerd-tastic celebrations at the HighBall, September 23-26. Your Fantastic Arcade badge gains entry every night!

Thursday, September 23 at 10 PM

Friday, September 24 at 10 PM

MC Frontalot to headline Fantastic Arcade opening night party MC Frontalot kicks off four nights of gamer revelry at Fantastic Arcade. Following the screening of Red vs. Blue Revelation, join us at the Highball for an ‘80s dance party, followed at midnight by MC Frontalot live in person!

Nerdeoke

Friday night is Nerdeoke (karaoke on the Highball stage with a song-list exclusively of nerd anthems). Everything from Doctor Demento classics to Weird Al Yankovic to Buckner & Garcia and everything in between that arguably narrow bandwidth. We’ll have drink specials, pocket protectors and prizes for the “white and nerdiest” of the night. We’ll also be raffling off a coupon for a free Segway tour of Austin.

Saturday, September 25 at 11:30 PM

30 DAYS OF NIGHT FLASHLIGHT DANCE PARTY

Sunday, September 26 – 10 pm

Datapop 4.0

co-sponsored by Fantastic Fest We’re turning off our lasers and lights and letting you control the flow on the dance floor when we hand out 100 free flashlights to people who start tearing it up. From then on, the party is in darkness unless you shine your light on it! It’s the most vampire-friendly dancefloor in town.

Fantastic Arcade closes on Sunday with Datapop 4.0, a dance party featuring music from hacked Nintendo Gameboys from a lineup of 8-bit bands, including Rainbowdragoneyes (10 pm), Fuckjazzforaminute (11 pm), glomag (12 am) and IAYD (1 am).

MC Frontalot

8-bit Music

MC Frontalot first came on the scene through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where to this date he still has never lost a battle. In 2000 he released the song “Nerdcore Hiphop”. The song became an instantaneous geek anthem and brought him to the attention of popular webcomic Penny Arcade. He has since played at every Penny Arcade Expo from 2004 to 2010 and even wrote and recorded the “Penny Arcade Theme.” MC Frontalot’s meteoric rise to geek glory is chronicled in the 2008 documentary film NERDCORE RISING, which will screen as part of Fantastic Arcade film programming

Music artists like glomag have taken the music from computer and gaming consoles like the Nintendo Gameboy and Atari Commodore 64 and tweaked it like a mad scientist to create a sound unlike anything you’ve heard. What results in concert is an organic and absolutely infectious set of beats that will take you back to the days when cheat codes and Trapper Keepers were the hit, while also keeping you on the dance floor until the early hours.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

Arcade Film

Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet

Joysticks

BRIEF SUMMARY

2008, dir. Paul Owens, 82 min., United States

Maps out the genesis of the first annual Blip Festival, a four day celebration of over 30 international artists exploring the untapped musical potential of low-bit video game consoles.

full description “...one of the best music documentaries I have seen in years.” —Brian C. Gibson, Filmschoolrejects.com “...if you’re a fan of the music or a videogame enthusiast in general, then this movie is a must see.” —Eric Moro, IGN.com “...a perfectly entertaining and legitimate look at a new musical trend...” —Scott Weinberg, Cinematical.com. BLIP FESTIVAL: REFORMAT THE PLANET is a feature length documentary which delves into the movement known as chiptunes, a vibrant underground scene based around creating new, original music using old video game hardware. Familiar devices such as the Nintendo Game Boy and Nintendo Entertainment System are pushed in new directions with startling results.

Using New York as a microcosm for a larger global movement, REFORMAT THE PLANET maps out the genesis of the first annual Blip Festival, a four day celebration of over 30 international artists exploring the untapped potential of low-bit video game consoles. With floor-stomping rhythms and fist-waving melodies, trailblazers of the chiptune idiom descend upon Manhattan.

1983, dir. Greydon Clark, 88 min., United States

From the director of SATAN’S CHEERLEADERS and BLACK SHAMPOO comes this “comedy masterpiece” about an evil meanie who tries to close down a town’s only video arcade. The ragtag band of customers—Quincy punks, geeks and teeniebopper strumpets—band together to fight the power.

If you enjoy the film, check out the Fantastic Arcade closing night party at THE HIGHBALL (1142 S. Lamar) for DATAPOP 4.0: MUSIC OF THE NINTENDO GAMEBOY! If you haven’t heard any 8-bit music, I feel bad for you. Artists have taken the music from computer and gaming consoles like the Nintendo Gameboy and Atari Commodore 64 and tweaked it like mad scientists to create a sound unlike anything you’ve heard. What results in concert is an organic and absolutely infectious set of beats that will take you back to the days when cheat codes and Trapper Keepers were the hit. It’s an event The Highball is proud to present.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

full description No program celebrating the awesome synthesis of video games and movies would be complete without a screening the 1983 video arcade comedy JOYSTICKS, starring a very young Jon Gries as the badass punk villain King Vidiot. From the director of SATANíS CHEERLEADERS and BLACK SHAMPOO comes this “comedy masterpiece” also starring Joe Don “Walking Tall” Baker as an evil meanie who tries to close down the town’s only video arcade. The ragtag band of customers—Quincy punks, geeks and teenie-bopper strumpets—band together to fight the power. If the word Zaxxon sends shivers down your spine, be there.

free screening!

Arcade Film

Nerdcore Rising

Nightmares

2008, dir. Negin Farsad and Kim Gatewood, 80 min., United States

1983, dir. Joseph Sargent, 99 min., United States

BRIEF SUMMARY

In anticipation of MC Frontalot performing live at The Highball on September 23 at the opening night of Fantastic Arcade, we’re screening the documentary that chronicles the rise to power of the undisputed champion of nerdy rap.

full description

BRIEF SUMMARY

If you’re looking for a movie with giant super-powered rats, lunatic gas station slashers and Satan in the form of a 4-wheeldrive monster truck bursting out of the desert and attacking a fallen priest, NIGHTMARES should be among your top 10 choices.

This hilarious and all-too-real music documentary follows MC Frontalot— the “Godfather of Nerdcore”—on his first national tour to reveal the roots of the genre, the dorky complexities of its artists, and one MC’s fight for nerd stardom. Featuring Weird Al Yankovic, Prince Paul, Jello Biafra, Tycho & Gabe, Brian Posehn, MC Frontalot, MC Chris, MC Lars and a slew of other nerdcore artists and commentators.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

full description The four stories in this deeply unhinged horror anthology were originally shot as individual episodes for eerie TV series DARKROOM, but were deemed too intense and/or ridiculous for broadcast. Fortunately, they were later souped up with new, more offensive footage and released to capitalize on the success of CREEPSHOW. If you’re looking for a movie with giant super-powered rats, lunatic gas station slashers and Satan in the form of a 4-wheel-drive monster truck bursting out of the desert and attacking a fallen priest, NIGHTMARES should be among your top 10 choices. Did I mention punk rocker/video arcade addict Emilio Estevez going one-on-one with digital demonoid The Bishop of Battle? Ai yi yi. Be here, and leave your attention span on the bus. (Zack)

Arcade Film

Playing Columbine

Red vs Blue Revelation

2008, dir. Danny Ledonne, 94 min., United States

BRIEF SUMMARY

Achronicle of the controversy surrounding the indie videogame Super Columbine Massacre RPG! The film explores how controversial media is covered in the press, the school shooting phenomenon, and the future of games as an expressive medium.

full description On April 20th 1999, the United States was rocked by a horrific school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. In the years to follow, many forms of media began to sort out the events of that day. Books were published. Films were produced. Then in 2005, one Colorado man created an amateur videogame exploring the actions and possible motives of the two shooters. Offered as a free online computer game, it was downloaded over half a million times, became immensely controversial and brought a pressing question to the public discussion: we can read Columbine, we can watch Columbine, but can

2010, dir. Burnie Burns, 90 min., United States

we play Columbine? Moreover, should we? After being made on a shoestring budget with entry-level middleware, Super Columbine Massacre RPG! easily provoked more debate and discussion than one could imagine a 16-bit role-playing game ever would. In the documentary PLAYING COLUMBINE: A TRUE STORY OF VIDEOGAME CONTROVERSY, the journey of the game is traced back to its inception, through the 2006 shooting at Dawson College in which the game was singled out by the media as a “murder simulator” that “trained” the shooter, and finally the game’s removal from the list of finalists at the Slamdance 2007 Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition—prompting half the entries and a sponsor to pull out of the festival in protest. Clearly the game has polarized audiences worldwide, giving way to ardent defenders as well as staunch critics. Beyond the controversial game itself, the film explores how controversial media is covered in the press, the school shooting phenomenon, and the future of games as an expressive medium. Why is playing Columbine so controversial when watching or reading about it has become commonplace?

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

BRIEF SUMMARY

As former alliances are betrayed and friends become enemies, the Reds and Blues find themselves in an impossible predicament; in order to save the universe this time, they can’t be totally incompetent.

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

full description As former alliances are betrayed and friends become enemies, the Reds and Blues find themselves in an impossible predicament; in order to save the universe this time, they can’t be totally incompetent. While on the run, the two teams must find a way to put aside their past differences and figure out the mystery behind Project Freelancer once and for all. Then they can get back to their past differences. The entire cast of RED VS. BLUE returns for the most hilarious and eye-popping season to date. With a unique combination of machinima from the blockbuster video game Halo, and stunning new animated sequences, this is RED VS. BLUE unlike anything you’ve seen before. Prepare for a REVELATION.

Arcade Film Program This Machinima program has been lovingly assembled by the best in the industry and creators of Red vs. Blue—Rooster Teeth Productions. They scoured the world wide web to bring Fantastic Fest the most creative and eclectic independently made video game shorts around. This screening is a veritable crash course on the genre as well stunning showcase of the state of the everspreading movement.

Showcase of Machinima Animation 2010, dir. Various, 80 min., United States

No Russian

Rusty Whispers (Dennis)

dir: Michael Barnes A re-edit of one of the most powerful levels from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Barnes puts together an incredible take on a horrific event.

dir : Robert Stoneman Get to know Dennis in this melancholic glimpse into the his world. From the director of the epic Machinima film “War of the Servers.”

Dragon Age: Warden’s Fall

dir: Bo Schitt Like a Machinima Kentucky Fried Movie, this piece incorporates characters from multiple games to great effect.

dir: Dillon J Mac The cinematography, choreography, music and decapitation work together here to tell a new story in the world of Dragon Age.

Boom De Yada (WoW) Sweden dir: Irdeen Productions Widely regarded as a World of Warcraft Machinima masterpiece, this entertaining short musical features cameos from actual game voice over actors and enough in jokes to warrant watching again and again.

Freeman’s Mind (Episode 1)

GMOD Idiot Box (Episode 7)

No Scope Was Involved dir: Darkspire Films If you are proud of your accomplishments, why not share. Why not sing?

My Spartan Girl dir: Darkspire Films It’s about time there was a crude rock ballad dedicated to a pink armored Spartan who may or may not be a woman.

dir: Ross Scott This hilarious Half-Life Machinima series follows the inner thoughts of Dr. Gordon Freeman, a 27-year-old physicist and overall neurotic individual.

Half Life: Full Life Consequences

A Day in the Life of a Turret

How to Make a Successful Internet Video

dir: Smooth Few Films Do robots dream of electric sheep? Better yet, do they get as frustrated as humans?

dir: Burnie Burns Church and Sarge from Red vs. Blue give some tips on how to make a successful internet video. Spoiler alert: boobs.

Ignis Solus

Fire Safety

dir: Lit Fuse Films In Latin, the title of this Team Fortress 2 short roughly translates to “burn alone.” Together, the music and the camera work tell a nice little story of a Blue Pyro who gets tired of just collecting intelligence.

dir: Burnie Burns Sarge and Simmons from Red vs. Blue give their best advice on how to deal with flammable situations.

dir: David Young A look at what happens to the lesser known brother of a super scientist.

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

TITLE SPONSORS

BLUE GHOST

Alienware manufactures high-performance computer desktop and mobile systems and leading-edge professional systems. Alienware offers unique and award-winning products that incorporate state-of-the-art components, innovative engineering and design, and unprecedented customer service.

Moviestorm is the virtual movie studio for everybody. Powerful and flexible, yet easy to use and affordable, it’s the choice of both professionals and amateurs for a wide variety of film projects. Whether you’re making drama, romance, horror, sci-fi, music video, documentary or anything else, Moviestorm makes it fast and easy to make your films, your way.

AMD Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play.

Game Over Videogames has a huge selection of more than 10,000 games, systems and accessories for Atari 2600, Intellivision, NES, SNES, Genesis, Dreamcast, Playstation, Saturn, 3DO, Turbografx-16 and many more!

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to its customers and uses that insight to make technology simpler and create innovative solutions that simplify daily activities and help people stay, entertained, connected and in touch.

Logic Approach has been in business since 1988 and is an original provider of surplus, refurbished and used computer equipment in Austin Texas. Our Company has been awarded “Best Spare (Computer) Parts” by the Austin Chronicle. We have served tens of thousands of customers in Central Texas. We consistently provide great deals on popular as well as hard-to-find products.

Microsoft Game Studios is proud to publish the biggest and best games on Xbox 360, including great games only found on Xbox LIVE Arcade. The upcoming Game Feast campaign brings four more great titles to the platform: “Hydrophobia” (Dark Energy Digital, Microsoft Game Studios), “Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley” (Twisted Pixel Games, Microsoft Game Studios), “Pinball FX 2” (Zen Studios, Microsoft Game Studios), and “Super Meat Boy” (Team Meat, Microsoft Game Studios). Xbox LIVE Arcade is your one-stop shop for fresh downloadable-only games. Test your skills with hits like “LIMBO” (Playdead, Microsoft Game Studios), “Trials HD” (RedLynx Ltd., Microsoft), and highly anticipated upcoming title “Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley” (Twisted Pixel Games, Microsoft Game Studios). With free trial downloads for every game and more than 300 titles to choose from, Xbox LIVE Arcade is the premier destination for quality downloadable games.

The Art Institute of Austin, a branch of The Art Institute of Houston, educates and prepares students through hands-on learning using industryrelated equipment. Programs include: Audio Production, Culinary Arts and Management, Fashion and Retail Management, Graphic Design, Media Arts & Animation, Photography and Digital Filmmaking and Video Production. Texas Game Developers Devolver Digital is a small, laser-focused production and publishing company based in Austin, Texas aimed at bringing the best and most unique ideas to the gaming masses. The publisher’s most recent release, Serious Sam HD, reintroduced a new generation of gamers to the legendary first-person shooter and brought a little fun back to a genre that has begun to take itself too...ahem...seriously.

PINK GHOST Arcade UFO is the only independently owned coin-operated arcade in Texas. Since 2008, we have followed in the footsteps of the legendary Einstein’s Arcade to both carry on the scene for dedicated regulars and to expand the appeal of arcade gaming by importing new arcade cabinets and titles directly from Japan. ASICS Founded 60 years ago, ASICS has become the product of choice for athletes across the globe. Staying true to the philosophy by which it was founded, every ASICS innovation, every concept, every idea is intended to create the best product. Our mission is to become the number one brand for the sports enthusiast. Epiphone Epiphone fretted instruments, amplifiers, strings and accessories are known worldwide for offering the best combination of quality, performance and value. One of Gibson’s most formidable competitors through the first half of the 20th century, Epiphone was acquired by Gibson Guitar in 1957. Halo Waypoint is your hub for all things Halo: news, community content, insight into Halo Universe, and exclusive, never-before-seen Halo series. You can access Waypoint via Halo: Reach’s Main Menu, the Xbox LIVE dashboard on your Xbox 360 console, or on the Web. Tek Republik is Austin’s finest gaming center and console repair shop. Since 2006 we have had almost 6,000 get their game on using our in house gaming PCS, and Xbox 360s. We have repaired over 6,000 gaming consoles including Xboxes, Playstations, DS, and Wiis.

GameSalad is the world’s most advanced game creation tool for nonprogrammers. With GameSalad, game makers of all levels can bring their ideas to life using a drag & drop interface - all without a single line of code - and publish them to the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an Austin, Texas-based animation studio that develops and produces traditional and Flash animation for television series, motion pictures, video games cinemas, commercials, and the internet. Powerhouse also creates Flash based interactive games and applications for console games, online MMORPGs, and advertising. Ricochet Labs Named by Esquire magazine as one of the “80 people, places, and ideas that matter right now,” QRANK is a free iPhone and Facebook trivia game you play with friends. Refreshed daily with with new questions ripped from today’s news and filled with Fantastic Fest goodness, QRANK is a social quiz addiction developed by Ricochet Labs. Play on your own anytime or go head-to-head in person with your friends in real time. GL33K Audio is a game audio company based out of Austin Texas that focuses on content creation, integration, and audio direction for the worlds most exciting industry. We are a group of individuals who are dedicated to the art of game audio and understand the effort and focus it takes to ship a great title. Playtechtonics The hit game Starport: Galactic Empires from Playtechtonics is now available and still 100% free to play. Be the captain of a space-ship in this fully graphical, real-time action game, set in a strategic, multi-player world. Team up with other real people, or blow them out of the sky. Explore distant star systems, start colonies on alien worlds, hunt for treasures, and become the most famous captain in all the galaxy!

Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010 | www.fantasticfest.com/arcade

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Semi Secret Software Austin-based creators of self-published iPhone and iPad games wurdle, Canabalt, and Gravity Hook HD. Founded by Eric Johnson (programming) and Adam Saltsman (design) in 2008, Semi Secret remains a two-man operation, though they depend on talented musicians like Danny Baranowsky to help complete their game ideas. Twisted Pixel is an independent game studio that specializes in characterdriven, original IP titles. The experienced team strives to make games that illustrate the meaning of the word “personality”, not only through memorable characters, but also through creative gameplay and impressive presentation. We also specialize in sploding scientists into big meats, incorporating FMV’s in interesting ways, and eating delicious Texas tacos. Industry Partners GDC Online is the community meeting point for developers and business professionals looking to distill best practices, exchange ideas, and take full advantage of the opportunities of connected gaming. GDC Online offers an in-depth review of diverse online game genres, development platforms, and industry trends. SXSW ScreenBurn is the video game element of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive festival that merges the new media, music, film and video game industries all in one place. The ScreenBurn Arcade is the space to showcase your company’s latest developments to independent developers, publishers, consumers, digital media industry professionals, and internet trend-setters and taste-makers from all around the world who attend SXSW. IGDA-Austin is a nonprofit advocacy group for the video games industry in Austin, Texas. Our goals are focused on strengthening professional game development in the Austin area by attracting talent to Austin and showcasing the fact that Austin has an excellent game development community

REGIONAL MEDIA PARTNERS 101X Indepenent. Local. Alternative. Since 1995,101X, Austin’s Independent Local Alternative has filled Austin, TX’s alternative rock needs. The Austin Chronicle celebrates 30 years as Austin’s independent news source, covering music, film, arts, and politics. The Chronicle is the eloquent and incisive voice of the city, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. The Austin Chronicle is available at over 1,900 locations every Thursday. CW Austin is Austin’s entertainment destination on-air, on-line and in the streets. Connecting with viewers through great programming, localized web features and contests. The CW Network was formed as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corporation. The CW is America’s fifth broadcast network. Time Warner Cable is the second largest cable company in the United States, connecting more than 14 million customers with our cable television, internet and telephone services. At Time Warner Cable, we connect people and businesses with information, entertainment and each other. G4 is the one destination on television that feeds your addiction for the latest must-have tech gadgets, web culture and video games. G4 pushes the boundaries of TV to bring you fresh and original shows with groundbreaking interactive features. G4 offers tons of ways to watch with exclusive broadband video on G4TV.com, heaps of VOD, mobile content, and more podcasts than any other network in America.

Guildhall at SMU The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University is the premier graduate video game education program in the US. Many of the school’s founders are industry icons, and classes are run by industry veterans. In seven short years, the program has graduated over 350 students and alumni have worked at more than 100 video game studios around the world. ThemePark Studios is a marketing and PR agency based in Austin, Texas. ThemePark Studios offers comprehensive marketing strategy, business development, corporate communications services, innovative public relations and event production for the games, film, TV and media sectors.

www.fantasticfest.com/arcade | Fantastic Arcade | September 23 - 26, 2010

fantastic arcade gives an extra special thanks... ...to our team Josh Fields, Assistant Tech Director John Gross, Tournament Lead /Machinima Coord. Damon Jones, General Manager at HighBall Justin Keilbasa, Game Wrangling Peter Lu, Game Kiosk Development Lauren Myers, Texas Game Dev Program/Publicist Daniel Osborne, Alamo/Highball Maintenance Brittany Palmer, Dark Agency sales representative Steve Sanders, Audio-Visual Tech at HighBall Nick Todd, Tournament Coord. & Prize Master Sean Zigeler, Fabrication Specialist

...to our colleagues

...to our advisory board

Arcade UFO Halo Waypoint Logic Approach Microsoft Game Studios Rooster Teeth Tek Republik UCLA Game Lab ZapWizard

Brandon Boyer Brenda Brathwaite Greg Costikyan, Ron Jenkins Heather Kelley Jim Munroe Elizabeth Stringer Sheri Graner Ray Eddo Stern Derek Yu Eric Zimmerman