Philadelphia Grassroots Game Conference info and 'sudden opportunity'

[Peter Hanley]

Greetings to Hive76!

I haven't posted for a while for various reasons (none to do with you guys, this goes without saying!) - but I have a couple collections of information that I would like to share with you all - the second being a sudden opportunity for Phila nerd artists, and no --  I don't mean showing your work for free somewhere, at least not exactly ;-)

1) Philly Tech Week 2012 is approaching, which is probably not news to many of you. I'm participating this year mainly by volunteering with a conference happening in conjunction with it, the Grassroots Game Conference, which includes events focused on the implementation of games in art, business, education, and music, and will feature general interest events for game developers and those interested in becoming involved in the game development community. 

Of special interest to the Hive folks might be… well, everything actually.  But just to dangle a few things, there is a session A Collision of Music and Games that culminates with some Chiptunes, a day exploring Games As Art, as well as a weekend session we're calling Hacking Big Art for Fun and Games (Georgia Guthrie from the Hacktory is a panelist/presenter) that is part of an entire weekend (two whole days!  Saturday! and Sunday!) of developer-centric sessions. 

I'm also psyched that we were able to co-sponsor the Philly premiere (and I believe only currently scheduled screening) of Indie Game, the Movie  (at the Ritz! tickets available now, conference attendees get a code for a couple bucks off - email me for details) which was one of the few movies I really wanted to see this year.  I'm really hoping someone else in Philly wanted to see it, or seriously the Adobe rep will be pissed at me and a few other people.  

Also, there's a Unity3D Lunch Party/Expo at WHYY,  and a day of Games &  Gamification (for non-profits). 

Most of the events are free, and the ones that aren't are very reasonable in price (max ticket is $20, and that's for an entire day).  All of the links above have registration info & links. 

2) So, about that 'sudden opportunity' I mentioned: 

Well. 

After a series of unfortunate events that I hope were coincidences and not part of a plot against nerd art in Philadelphia, several panelists that were part or not-quite-confirmed parts of the Games As Art and the Hacking Big Art for Fun and Games let us know that they wouldn't be able to make it to Philly for the conference for various reasons.  I won't lie to you, this really bummed us out out, me in particular because the art part of the conference is the part I feel most engaged with.  Also the movie night, which is super exciting, but not currently the topic of discussion. 

So as I said, we were feeling pretty bummed out for a few minutes there, mostly late last night and this morning. 

But then we stopped being negative and said:  "wait a minute - maybe this is a good thing, because for whatever reason Philadelphia was way under-represented in those events, and that's silly considering how many potential participants there are..."  

So here's the deal - I really want to refill these events with Philadelphia nerd/culture/artists who have an engagement with games in their work and or practice… I know there's some people at the Hive who fit this bill -- I've talked to you about stuff you've worked on, upcoming projects, artistic practice, dreams, uh, probably also circuitry or open source software or laser cutters, that kind of stuff. The point is, I know there is artists in the Hive that might want to engage in some public intellectualism with like-minded folks.

Don't think so?  Ask yourself these questions then: 

What is the intersection of Labs, Art Galleries and Arcades?  

Do games, game motifs, or game structures inform my work or practice as an artist?  

Could I hold my own in a pubic discussion with the Director of Media Arts from the NEA about what video games could be considered art, while exploring the possibilities for intentional introduction of art into video games?  

Would people be interested in hearing me talk about my work, and how video games, hacking and art were not not separate modalities for me, but rather aspects of a unified practice?

If you could answer any of those questions with credibility, passion and/or a certain amount of panache, then you might be interested in participating in one or more of those events, or know someone who would be a good fit - and I would at least urge and/or perhaps playfully beg you to get in contact with me (pha...@temple.edu) or Nathan (nat...@philadelphiagamelab.org) so we can get these potentially beautiful nexii of nerd art & culture Phillified and back on the menu.