More Juvenile Humor

I promised a Vince statue to Dave Halverson from Play Magazine longer ago than I care to remember. He was patience itself, and now he has this fine decoration in his lovely home. It depicts a somewhat off-model Vince reading Dave's excellent publication while sitting on the can.

Dave was remarkably understanding and has agreed not to sue me.

CK

TA-ncient History #10: E3

The Electronic Entertainment Exposition 1997 was in Atlanta

My first trip to E3 was in1997. It was also my favorite E3. I wasn't burned out on the annual dose of noise and stress and I was only marginally aware of the colossal production road bump E3 would create for so many future projects. This was when E3 still alternated between Atlanta and Los Angeles each year.

I almost didn't go. Many parts of Total Annihilation were unpolished, broken or just plain nonexistent as we crunched our way into the Summer of 1997. Multiplayer was touch and go. The interface was in the middle of a major overhaul at that point. Our producer didn't think the project could spare me, but Chris went to bat for me. He mentioned that I'd already bought some clothes for the trip, fer gawd's sake. The moral weight of that carried the day.

We were beyond excited to show our game to the world. The recent magazine ad was getting some good buzz. We launched the Cavedog website right before the show and there was already a lot of activity in the very first fan forums. The "animated screen shots" on the site also helped to build anticipation. E3 was the perfect opportunity to build on that.

So, like an idiot, I bought new shoes. Things were going great until we got off the plane in Atlanta. Chris and I were feeling more hyper than usual, so we decided to run to baggage claim. How far could it be? Anyone familiar with Atlanta's behemoth Delta hub only need to combine that with the"new shoes" concept to imagine the state of my feet by the time we got to our luggage. Remember those sides of beef Rocky trained with? You get the idea. Cavedog's new VP of production, Scott Wallin, was nice enough to provide bandages and and soothing unguent.

We checked in to the hotel then went immediately to a press reception at the convention center. GT Interactive and Humongous PR folks whisked Chris away before we were there five seconds, taking him from one clump of press to another. I decided to seek out free food and drink while trying not to ruin the carpet with the bloody stumps that passed for my feet.

Okay, it wasn't that bad, but they really hurt.

After the reception Chris and I went down to check out the booth setup. For anyone who hasn't witnessed it, the construction of "old" E3 was in many ways more impressive than the end product. Picture a gigantic room, filled with thousands of workers all building what amounted to a small city in a few days. It was busy. It was noisy (almost as noisy as the show itself). It was damn hot with the loading bays wide open and the whole placed jammed with workers and machinery. Disney's Greco-Roman fantasy was rising up in one neighborhood, while an ersatz Medieval dungeon received dabs of paint next to a futuristic assembly of lighting truss and monitors.

There wasn't much to see of the GT area, much less a Cavedog display to inspect. Just about everything related to Cavedog was still packed in crates while the union guys wrestled with wiring and other logistical concerns. There were shipping problems. Parts of the display was still in transit and nothing could happen until everything was there. This is when we learned the laserdisc containing the TA trailer had been sat upon.

It was hard to see how it was going to come together, but the crew working on the booth were unconcerned. I'm sure it was a walk in the park for them.

It did come together, such as it was. GT Interactive was touting itself as the number three publisher, so they had as much real estate as the other big shot publishers. Thanks to their cutting edge design sense, they conceived of a booth that looked like a cross between a 1980's hair salon and a scrap yard. It looked like it was built out of leftovers from 11 other booths, or like a giant robot had taken a large, clattering dump on the show floor. When E3-goers weren't wondering where to get a sassy new mullet they savored GT's lineup of games.

GT featured a bevy of games that year, including Shadow Warrior, something Duke Nukem related and the little RTS that could, Total Annihilation.

I'm sad to say I don't have any pictures of the Cavedog section of GT's chrome wonderland. The setup was simple enough. We had three kiosks, each with three screens. We mostly ran skirmish mode with cheats enabled so we could quickly toss together a conflict during quick demonstrations. A couple PC's were networked, so we could do a little multiplayer, but that didn't run particularly well. This was flanked by a wall with a GIGANTIC 35" monitor set into it that showed the Total Annihilation intro movie all day (sort of like the one in the Unreal display below).

When you show product at E3 you don't always get to see E3. I pretty much lived around our three kiosks featuring Total Annihilation, with occasional trips to the nearest bathroom. I didn't mind. It was fun to show off our game. The enthusiasm from the people who stopped by just fed that. Some people stopped to play TA every day of the show (in the case of one guy for three hours). I met countless game developers, buyers for every major retail outlet, press and lots of gaming enthusiasts. Unknown to me at the time, I met and demoed the game for two future co-workers.

About the only folks who didn't seem happy to see our upstart RTS was Activision. Our kiosks were practically surrounded with Activision employees the morning before the main doors opened. Most would just stand there and play with grim looks on their faces. It was generally accepted that Dark Reign was destined to rule in 1997 (at least until Starcraft showed up). Suddenly, they were forced to share Christmas with Total Annihilation.

We never planned to have a showdown with anybody. We generally avoided those endless "bullet point wars," but "TA vs. Dark Reign" was a common forum thread until TA shipped. Given the wildly different resources, marketing and E3 visibility, it's amazing Total Annihilation did as well as it did against such a high profile game.

We left the show floor buoyed up by the reactions to TA. It really was a great experience. After three days of demos, parties and shouting ourselves hoarse, it was time to get back to Woodinville and finish our game.

CK

Sweet, Sweet Voodoo

I really thought I'd do another post about Total Annihilation or something next, but this was too good to pass up. A very talented mom named Toni sent this picture of a Voodoo Vince cake she made for her kid's birthday. As if the cake wasn't impressive enough, Toni says she created a whole Voodoo Vince party to go with it.

"I used the spool of craft wire in the background of the close up picture for his pins, and topped them off with gum balls. The whole party had a Voodoo Vince theme, with Mardi Gras colors, an Imp piñata (which sadly I don't have a picture of) filled with Mardi Gras beads and candy and super balls, just to give it the same feel as the big loose beads from the game. We had jambalaya, gumbo, catfish...we ordered the VDV Cd...blah blah blah...I could go on and on!"

What a lucky kid (and a creative mom)! For those who don't remember or care what the Imps in Voodoo Vince looked like, here is a dark, murky picture:

One thing is bugging me, though. Given that Vince is a voodoo doll, who feels chewed when he gets eaten?

CK

Good News From The Distant Land of Canada

I'm happy to announce that a concept I developed with my old friend Ron Gilbert has been picked up by Hothead Games. DeathSpank: Episode One: Orphans of Justice will be winging your way via the Intertubes in the not-too-distant future.

DeathSpank started as a joke character on our sporadic Flash cartoon on Ron's Grumpy Gamer site, but the big lug assumed a life of his own. Before too long he had a world, supporting characters and our insane belief that the game had to be made. This had to be more than a wiggly cartoon. It had to be a game.

Before I rejoined the ranks of the respectably employed last year, Ron and I spent a couple years developing and pitching this game. We loved everything about the concept, but it was nigh-impossible to convince publishers to back something that wasn't A. The Be All, End All Blockbuster, B. A Sequel To The Be All, End All, Blockbuster or C. Something Based On A Famous Crappy Movie. Anyway, Ron continued to fight the good fight and met up with a great publishing team. I'm delighted that something I co-created is going to see the light of day.

One question that might remain is whether I will be involved in the day-to-day work on DeathSpank. I wish that were possible, but I've been working on yet another cool game in the meantime (as yet unannounced) with Gas Powered Games. I'll be looking in on DeathSpank, though and pitching in where I can.

It's a feast or famine situation. Sometimes the game industry spanks you. Sometimes you spank back. Here's to Ron raising his mighty designer hand to paddle the bum of mediocrity.

Go DeathSpank!!!

CK

The Trio in The Flesh

Not to be outdone by Stewart Howe, Leesa G. sent this photo of her lovely tattoo art. Leesa has opted for a part of the Beep Industries logo, namely our alien mascot Arichitor and his two victims, Chet and Brenda.


I'm still amazed when someone likes my art enough to have it inscribed in their skin. Once again, I'm impressed and a bit flabbergasted. Mostly impressed, though. I just didn't want to get too far into 2008 without writing the word "flabbergasted."

CK

Belated Pumpkin Post

I'm kicking myself for not thinking of this one. A thoughtful dad did this superb Voodoo Vince portrayal for his kid last Halloween.


CK

¡Hola Vincente!

I'm amazed at how many Voodoo Vince fans have created their own dolls. The resourcefulness and creativity they show is a whole new level of cool. I posted about this phenomenon back in '06.

Over four years after VV's release, they're still at it. This latest Vince doll was created by a player with the tag "DanteNeverDies" from Spain. It certainly ranks among the best!

CK

Voodoo Vince Prehistory

I almost forgot about this.

I've always loved that vaguely creepy rubber hose animation from the 1920's and 30's. I did a little Flash movie back in 2002 showing how Vince may have appeared in an earlier era. The music is from the Zombie Guidance Counselor level of the game and is one of my favorites, as always by the extra super talented Steve Kirk. This doesn't have the scratchy film filter pass I did for the final edit, but that lovely YouTube compression kind of delivers that.

CK

Lions & Tigers & Cthulhu... Oh My!

An ultra cool cartoon by GPG animator Bobby Pontillas

Some of the artists at my new job decided to start a blog where they can have fun, showcase some art and generally goof around. They were nice enough to include me, even though I've contributed squat to the communal art pool. It's called Unleaded Artists. Check it out!

The blog issues periodic art challenges using a random word generator, though the crew can contribute whatever they like. It's a little portal into the twisted minds of some very talented, funny people.

CK

Vince Gets Under Man's Skin

Of all the things Vince fans have done, this has to take the cake. Stuart Howe didn't let the lack of toys and merchandise get him down. Far from it. He now has this awesome 7" Voodoo Vince tattoo on his left forearm. It shouldn't be surprising in this golden age of body art that somebody somewhere would want a Voodoo Vince tattoo. I'm surprised anyway.

The tattoo was done by Jeremy at CMB Tattoo in Huntsville, Alabama, and he did a fantastic job. It's appropriate that the image was created by poking Stuart countless times with a needle. He can now relate to Vince on a whole new level.

CK

My Cup Runneth Over... With Gas!

A lot of people have expressed curiosity as to where I ended up in the brave new post-Beep era. By "curiosity" I mean "apathy," and by "a lot" I mean "virtually none." "People" still means "people" but they're strange and different now. They smell funny.

Still, there is bound to be some concern that I might be sprawled in a gutter tilting back a jug of Everclear mixed with soy sauce (which, btw, I call a High Road to China. It's great!). Personal hobbies aside, I have remained in the game industry, firmly clutched to the sweaty bosom of Lady Interactivity. It's probably no surprise that I accepted an offer from Gas Powered Games and started as their Creative Director last March.

I'm really enjoying it. I'm back among some very familiar faces, including my old friend Chris Taylor. There is an interesting cross section of former Cavedog, Beep and Humongous folks here, plus loads of new acquaintances who I'm just starting to meet (there are over 100 employees at GPG). It's a strange, cool sort of time warp... A former cubicle mate from my very first job is down the hall (Kevin Pun). A couple programmers I worked with at Squaresoft are here as well. Most people look like their old selves, but with slightly more tattoos. The computers are much, much spiffier and way less beige.

I'll do some updates on my current projects if time and my NDA allow it. Meanwhile, I'll continue with the flashbacks already in progress.

CK

A Debt of Gratitude

Brad Kauzlaric in his studio some time during the 1980's.

My dad passed away a couple weeks ago. He was, among other things, an artist. This helped me understand at an early age that it was okay for grown ups to keep their imagination and sense of wonder. Dad never liked this Internet thing, but I figure a few words are in order. This is even vaguely game-related.

Dad loved science fiction. He usually devoured a novel in one sitting. There were always lots of books and magazines around the house, especially Analog during its glory years. I loved looking at those classic covers by Kelly Freas and John Schoenherr when I was a kid. Once I started reading them, I loved them even more. These publications fired my imagination and formed the foundation of my future as an artist and a designer of computer games. As a so-called grown up, I've had the pleasure of working with all sorts of artists, writers and engineers to create imaginary worlds, not unlike the ones depicted on those old covers.



I would be doing something completely different for a living if Dad hadn't left this wonderful stuff laying around the house. I'd probably be a mule skinner or something.

CK