Indie Con DC (with DC Geeks, IGDA, and Gaming in Public)

By Samantha Tynes

Indie Con DC is this Saturday, August 3rd, from 4:00PM to 10:00PM at Public Tenley (the first three hours are open to all ages, and after 7:00 the event changes over to 21+ only).

Earlier this year, an idea for an event began to form, and Indie Con DC has come a long way since its inception earlier. We here at DC Geeks are co-sponsoring the one-day free convention with the DC chapter of IGDA. Similar to events like Gaming in Public, the event will be focused on local indie game developers and connecting them with local players (like many of you).

Indie Con DC: booze, games, community, giveaways, and more.
(image from Gaming in Public's FB)

I'm hoping that you'll help make the inaugural con a success and come out to join us at Public Bar in Tenley. As you may have noticed from the "This Week in Geek" events listings, Public Tenley is very geek and e-sport friendly - you may know it from One Nation of Gamers' events like BarCraft. On August 11th the weekend after Indie Con, they're hosting the DC Pubstomp, a screening the DOTA2 International Finals. 

While planning for Indie Con, I met with Jacob Clark (half of Gaming in Public and the mastermind behind Indies Need Booze), and the first thing I noticed was how obvious his enthusiasm was for his events and groups, made apparent by a type of abundant energy. Jacob has been involved in video game events for some time. He started Gaming In Public about two years ago to foster the local community of indie developers. Meanwhile, Indies Need Booze had such a successful party at PAX East that they're already making plans for next year's PAX and MAGFest.

About every month, he and his co-organizer John meet at Public Tenley with other local gamers to play some good indie games. What makes this different from the average "beer and game" events is that Jacob and John get the developers to do interviews over Skype and hand out game keys. It’s a great way for indie developers to get exposure, and for gamers to socialize. Why game at home when you can do it with friends (and potentially get free new games)? 

Public Tenley hosting BarCraft DC's MLG Anaheim tournament
(image by Yida Li)

Larger game companies and their development teams often seem disconnected from their players. Indie developers don't have that problem as often. Of course, that's not true of every indie developer, but overall the sense of community is still there. Many of the developers make games because it’s what they love. As local developer for City State Entertainment, Andrew Meggs mentioned in our podcast with him, game creation is such a passion for him that he's less of a gamer than you might expect. Developers do make some money from indie games, but often not enough to make a living off of, unless the team is capable of putting out a constant stream of new games, which can be difficult for an individual developer or small teams.

Recently, Gaming in Public held events for Retro/Grade and Cloudberry Kingdom. Jacob explained that he plans events by both casting a wide net for developers and spending time playing the potential games, then picking the best. His criteria is simple; games that are fun, quick to learn, and easy to pick up and put down. There are several indie games with a good, involved story and interesting mechanics, but the events' focus is still social. So now you have it on peer-reviewed authority that it's worth your while to pick up Retro/Grade and pre-order Cloudberry Kingdom (which at least on Steam nets you a free soundtrack).

Editor's Note: Seriously, get Retro/Grade. It's amazingly fun.
(image from Retro/Grade's site)

One of the great things about Indie Con DC is that even though everyone involved is hoping for a large turnout, the event has never lost our focus. We're all about local indie game developers and players coming together to game and maybe share a pint. Here's the latest list of our developers:

• Callen Shaw: leader of The Unallied (Flip Cup, Drinkards Beer Pong, Snowball Showdown, 3D-struction, and Flippin' Shadows)
• Taro Omiya: founder of Omiya Games (The Sentient Cube and Touch Yoga) and programmer for e4software (Swarm! and Solitaire Double-Deck HD)
• Matthew Mauriello: Project Manager from Tumbleweed Express
• Josh Nan: creator of Spell Broken from Sage Dragon
• Andrew Eiche: co-founder of Birdcage Games and Awesome Sound Guy (official title) for Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby from Dejobaan Games
• Chris Klimas and Joel Haddock: creators of Camp Keepalive from Twofold Secret
• Daniel Silber: creator of Threads of Reality from Interstellar Tortoise LLC
• Martin Smith: Lead Programmer at JumpCore Productions for Undead Overlord, and developer on Pandora's Blocks (a project from IGDA DC's Global Game Jam).
• Melanie Stegman: the director of the Learning Technologies Program at the Federation of American Scientists, and organizer for IGDA DC, and designer for Immune Attack and its sequel Immune Defense

I ’m so excited about Indie Con DC. As you can see, our venue is great and the line-up is great. We have cool games to be played - from quick party games to educational ones. The excitement of everyone involved is palpable and contagious. It’s free, it’s open all ages, it’s supporting local developers, and there will be giveaways  Did I mention it’s free?

You can join Gaming in Public through Meetup, grab Retro/Grade and Cloudberry Kingdom on Steam and PSN, and RSVP for Indie Con DC either through this link or on the Facebook page. Please note that from 4:00PM to 7:00PM the event is open to all ages and from 7:00PM to 10:00PM the event changes to 21+ only.

DC Geeks Happy Hour Tonight!

by Samantha Tynes

DC Geeks is now hosting happy hours the second Wednesday of every month. That means tonight! This time, we're hosting movie night! And if you can't make it, don't worry. Just set aside August 14 on your calendar for video game trivia.

You know, the one where we show you where best to drink,
while absolutely PWNING at Scrabble (image by Geoff Parsons)

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re familiar with our "This Week in Geek" articles. Every Monday we here at DC Geeks provide you with the latest list of fun, nerdy, niche, and off-the-beaten-path events in the Washington metro area. And we show some love for Southern Maryland, Northern Virginia, and sometimes even Baltimore. 

We like doing things. We like having fun and meeting people and being a part of the community that we've adopted. But one day, an idea began to form:

• What if we had our own events?
• Why not a happy hour?
• What about a totally geeky venue?
• How about Atlas Arcade?

Insert whatever intimidating or awe-inspiring music you prefer here.
(image adapted from AZAdam's photo)

Great idea, right?  We’ve talked about Atlas Arcade quite a few times before. I don’t need to tell you again how awesome it is. But I will anyways in case you're new. Atlas is a great little bar on H Street filled with classic arcade machines, 80's movie posters covering the walls, and G.I. Joe figures hanging from the ceiling.

It’s also the only bar I know where I can order PopTarts with my beer. This 80's and 90's kid dream bar has also been gracious enough to provide space for our Geek Happy Hour. Our inaugural event, A Night with Mega Man, was the second week of June, and we had a blast. We rocked out to Mega Man music from Protomen, The Megas, and more (Get it? Rocked? If you do, you'll enjoy this AMV Hell throwback - the clip only runs from 16:53 to 17:02). Meanwhile, we tried our best to beat levels on the big screen.

One last pun: Megaman knows how to rock.
(image by - EMR -) 

We arrived for set-up to a mostly empty bar, only a handful of people milling about on a Wednesday night. For a moment, I was nervous no one would show. But we went ahead and put up posters and set up games, the Mega Man melodies filling the air and people started to trickle in. Some people were pleasantly surprised to find a themed happy hour going on, joining in in watching as people breezed through levels, or cheering them on as they did their best to stumble through.

As the night progressed, we got an impressive crowd for a Wednesday night, especially since it was our first event. We met new people, saw old friends, and when 10 o’clock rolled around and our original time slot came to an end, people stuck around. I am very much looking forward to tonight (as I mentioned before, it's movie night)! We're eager to see everyone who made it out last time as well as some new faces.

Neil Gaiman and Politics & Prose, Thank you.

by Aine C.

Quick editorial conundrum: I went back and forth on the use of names. "Neil" is far less formal than the more journalism ish "Gaiman." However, I opted to use Neil. I mean, I am a rather unabashed fan: I follow his Twitter; I got excited about his wedding; I cried when his dog died. The conundrum reminds me of this Wondermark comic. 

A few weeks ago, Brannen and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Neil Gaiman's reading in DC to promote his first adult novel in eight years, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. If you are very quick, and very lucky, a few signed copies may still be at Politics & Prose, the bookstore, coffeehouse, and wonderful event organizers that collaborated with the George Washington University staff at Lisner auditorium for this reading and signing event.

This Coraline promo video is my favorite way to introduce
friends to Neil Gaiman, and test how squeamish they are.
(screen capture by guiltx)

The last time I saw Neil in DC was at the National Press Club. I was absolutely stunned to hear he was doing another signing tour - and I understand why this is his last. At the Press Club, Brannen and I were at the end of the line, simply because we were polite, sitting at the wrong place in the auditorium, and weren't willing to hockey check the elderly to jostle into an earlier slot. Unlike that impromptu signing, the organization this time was nothing shy of clockwork.

Neil began his speech by describing the accidental writing of the short story, novelette, novella, really long novella, "I seem to have written a novel" as a product of missing his wife, Amanda Palmer, while she was on tour (more from Michael Cavna at WP). Neil read us the fourth chapter of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. His reason being that he'd read the first chapter "quite enough times, thank you" at his previous tour stops, and he wanted to move on a bit. So this was his first performance of the chapter since his recording of the audio book. 

As Neil read, I couldn't help thinking, "If only the protagonist had read Instructions!" Fantasy Life Pro Tips: once you cross that line into the other world, obey everything your (hopefully) benevolent guide says - immediately and without question. Be careful what you say, ask for nothing, don't eat anything, don't drink anything, don't touch anyth- HIDE! NOW!

The cover art still gives me chills.
(image by pcutler)

Without spoiling too much, I have a soft spot for nothing exciting ever happens here or any trope that rips the main character away to a world just millimeters under the skin of our own. Maybe I've played too much Changeling. Maybe I read the Chronicles of Narnia at a formative age. Maybe there's still a childish part of me that hasn't learned enough from real fairytales to understand exactly how relieving it is that we have the freedom to escape these worlds safely and instantaneously by merely setting down a book. For whatever reason, it's one of my favorite ways for a storyteller to begin.

The chapter was riveting, and afterwards we were rewarded with a second segment - check out the video below. I am so grateful that the bookstore's YouTube channel captured my favorite moment of the night. This brief segment gives you a good feel for the new book's tone (don't listen past 1:14 if you're avoiding all spoilers).

Neil's stories never talk down to his readers. Yet somehow they don't seem to alienate anyone who couldn't spend their childhood tearing through every scrap of mythology and folklore in their local library. In American Gods, many readers instantly knew Mr. Wednesday's identity. If you didn't then the ending was all the better for the surprise. 

Politics & Prose also caught his Q&A after the reading. Then the signing began: hours, and hours, and hours of signing. I believe that any author as popular as Neil who does a signing is truly appreciative of his fans, but also slightly mad. With two books per person and about one thousand attendees, he covered two thousand books in one go. You know how if you write, type, or say a word too many times it loses all meaning and looks like it's spelled wrong? I'm amazed Neil still knows his own name after one session, let alone dozens.

But to do multiple tours? It leaves me truly in awe.
(image from the 2005 Anasi Boys tour by Jutta)

Neil whipped through the signatures at a pace of about 100 an hour with customizations (I have the command to "Dream!" emblazoned in silver ink inside my copy of Absolute Death, which I find amusing and touching on many levels). I have never been so glad to be number 340 in a queue; my friend was somewhere around 850. For those unwilling or unable to wait, Politics & Prose had signed copies available for direct sale in the lobby. It shortened the line, but not by much.

Most profound thanks to everyone involved: from Neil to every member of the staff and security.

TableTop Day at Labyrinth Games

You guys may remember Labyrinth from DC Geeks' podcast chat with them a few weeks ago.

By Samantha Tynes

So many games, so little time.
(image via Labyrinth's site)

I almost walked past Labyrinth the first time I went there. Hardly a five-minute walk from the Eastern Market metro station, it’s an unassuming front with colorful letters painted over the door and a large front window displaying stacks of family-friendly puzzles. I thought I had missed all the fun when I got inside, there were only a few people milling about the front half of the store checking out some of their many very cool, and very challenging wooden puzzles. But the buzzing hum of far-off conversation and that special kind of oppressive heat that comes from shoving too many people in a small area let me know otherwise.

Going down the stairs, the back half of the store was packed from wall to wall with people chatting, laughing, playing their old favorites, and testing out new ones on whatever flat surface they could find. People were huddled around tables, sitting on the floor, and one group even repurposed a shelf display for their own makeshift gaming space. I could tell when I walked in halfway through the event that the place had been bursting with people since it started earlier that day. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and still very upbeat and chipper despite (or because of) the mass of board game enthusiasts that had taken over to celebrate TableTop Day.

Even the US Antarctic Program's Amundsen-Scott South
Pole Station joined in (via TableTop Day's FB page)

International TableTop Day is the brainchild of Geek and Sundry’s popular YouTube series, TableTop. Watching Wil Wheaton and friends sit around and play a game didn’t sound like how I wanted to spend my internet time, but the series does grow on you. Some episodes are better than others, yes, but it does not pander to “mainstream” geek and games. They cover gateway games, like Munchkin and Settlers of Catan, to a little more serious, but still casual, games. It’s an entertaining and popular introduction to board games for people that may be looking to break out of Monopoly territory.

In addition to the wide variety of games to demo, there were prizes and swag to be had. The fine fellows at ThinkGeek provided items for a raffle every hour (I won an Alien chestburster; now it hangs from a lighting fixture, its sole purpose to startle visitors), and the demo team from Steve Jackson games had all kinds of Munchkin goodies to hand out. North Star games and game designer Dave Chalker were also there wandering about and promoting their respective games, giving everyone a chance to play and chat with them. Chalker’s game, Get Bit!, is definitely worth a check out and was featured in an episode of TableTop. It’s a fun and quick pick-up game to play when you have some time to kill. A few of us even got a sneak peak at the new Ascension expansion; only a few days before it’s release but hey, it was still a preview.

Labyrinth wasn’t the only place around the metro area that was celebrating. Victory Comics in Falls Church and Looney Labs up in Bethesda also hosted some festivities. TableTop Day’s first celebration was met with enthusiasm and widespread support throughout the area. It was a great opportunity for people to get out to their local gaming shops if they hadn't before, meet others, try new games, and support their community. I sincerely hope the trend continues and if you didn't get a chance to get out this year, definitely mark it down for next.

Sakura Matsuri

By Pres James

Everypony was there. (Image: Flickr)

On April 13th I had the pleasure of attending Sakura Matsuri once again, the yearly Japanese street festival hosted in downtown DC set to coincide with the blossoming of the city’s cherry trees. As soon as I stepped inside the fenced off area, I knew I was among fellow geeks.  On my right, a group of cosplayers posing for pictures in long, flowing clothing that must have been QUITE hot on the inside. On my left, a herd of bronies with a boombox, blasting j-pop and dancing. One stage had a kendo demonstration and on another Taiko drummers performing a cover of Gangnam Style.  The rumbling of barely contained excitement, flashes of colors both neon and muted, bright sun to show off the beautiful clothing and decorations, and a cool breeze to keep everyone refreshed.

It would be a good day.  A good day indeed.

Along with several of the other editors I made my way around the festival, perusing what was on offer for sale and seeing some of the demonstrations.  Some of the more notable ones were a booth selling handmade stuffed sushi and another with bonsai trees.  Anime memorabilia and Japanese-American outreach groups were well represented also.  Games of Go were being played, arts were being crafted, and friendships were being forged.  Three different stages highlighted singers, dancers, and performers, perfectly coordinated swirls of movement and sound.

Oh, did I mention the food?  I haven’t yet, have I?

Well.

You could smell the wonderful scents of street festival food from blocks away.  It was a mixture of traditional American fare (hot dogs, funnel cakes, meat on a stick) and things with more of an asian flare to them, though not always Japanese.  Yaki soba, red bean buns, and my personal favorite... squid on a stick.  There’s really no better place to get squid on a stick than at this festival.  Imported Kirin beer was also available at roped off tents throughout the festival.  It seems that they’ve learned from previous years, since it nearly always sold out.  This year, even trying to eat fairly late in the day, there was plenty to be had.

Fun despite the crowds (Image: Pres James)

That surprised me because the most notable aspect of this year’s festival was crowds.  There were so many people that the central avenue became an impromptu picnic at one point.  There were no places to sit and little open space, so people simply took it into their own hands.  A roadblock for sure, but also a great way to talk to some of the other attendees!  While there are usually lots of people wandering around, attendance increased this year but the space did not.  Expect that trend to continue!

After the festival started to wind down, I found my way over to the tidal basin where the cherry blossom trees actually reside.  While there wasn’t much in the way of signage to direct you between the two, it was easy enough to just follow the roving packs of tourists in the general direction of the mall and eventually you’d reach the trees.

Unfortunately, getting there involves being in the middle of a thousand other people with the same idea.  If you’re looking for a classy shot of a cherry tree with the blossoms blowing in the breeze you might want to come a little earlier than the festival.  Between the thousands of tourists pressed into the tiny walkways and the vendors on every corner selling unofficial t-shirts and water bottles, I was shoulder-to-shoulder almost the entire time I was in the area. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful sight.  Just be careful about your timing.

And yet, despite the crowding, despite dealing the Metro track work or parking paralysis, I wouldn’t miss the Festival.  I’ve gone for many years and plan to go for as long as I live here.  Relax and be a part of the crowd for a day.  You won’t regret it.

Cherry Blossom Mythology

By Lauren Jacobs

When I was a child I used to spend hours looking up at the sky through the blooming branches of the cherry blossom tree that grew in my front yard. I was in awe of its beauty. I thought that was what people meant when they said that heaven was too beautiful for humans to comprehend. My neighborhood had so many cherry blossom trees their petals would be floating on the air every spring. Cherry blossoms are delicate, ephemeral, and stunning even after falling from the tree. Called the snow of spring, or compared to misty sunset clouds, the cherry blossom has inspired poetry, art and mythology for centuries.

 

 (Image: Lauren Jacobs)

The following is a selection of myths and legends that highlight the importance of cherry blossom trees in Japanese culture.

Cherry blossoms are especially sacred to Shinto goddess Konohana Sakuya Hime “maiden who causes trees to bloom”. Daughter of the mountain god Oyama Tsumi, and mother of the progenitors of humankind, she lives in the sky, and creates the blossoms with her breath.

Cherry blossoms are part of the brocade of the Lady of Mount Sano, who embodies spring.

The blossoms, beautiful even in death, represent a short, but well-lived life. One of the lessons of the cherry blossom is that happiness is a sudden gift, and should be cherished in the moment.

Cherry blossoms as a symbol were especially important to samurai warriors, who were often asked to sacrifice their lives at a young age (and like the blossoms, lived in a burst of brilliance, but died too soon). This metaphor carried through to the kamikaze pilots of World War II.

DC's own blossoms. (Image: Flickr)

There is a legend about a soldier who mourned the death of the cherry blossom he had played under as a boy. In the dead of winter, the soldier committed hari-kari under the tree, in hopes that his sacrifice would convince the tree to bloom one more time. The soldier’s life force passed to the tree, which instantly bloomed, and continued to bloom every year on the anniversary of the soldier’s death, even with snow on the ground.

“…it is as though…clouds faintly tinged by sunset have floated down from the highest sky to fold themselves

about the branches…there is only one glorious burst of blossoms, beneath each tree is covered…as by a drift of pink snow.” 

— Lafcadio Hearn, ‘In a Japanese Garden’

Bibliography

Sacred trees by Nathanial Altman, Copyright 2000

The Cherry Blossom Festival, by Ann McClellan, Copyright 2005

Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits and Plants, by Charles M. Skinner, Copyright 1911

The Meaning of Trees, by Fred Hageneder, Copyright 2005

Recurring Round Up - Think. It's the New Sexy

There is a secret calendar that exists in bright orange, lurking beneath our rare blue events on our calendar page. They are the recurring events that so rarely get love in our This Week in Geek posts. Many venues cater to the geek crowd that it is high time I'm throwing some acknowledgement their way!

I went to Flickr searching for "rockstar" to encapsulate the feeling of winning
trivia contests. I found this instead and decided I needed to pass it along to you.
(photo by JD Hancock, who just wins at life.)

Mondays

• Geeks Who Drink - Washington, DC - 8:00PM
• Geeks Who Drink is a nationwide trivia competition. We've covered it occasionally, but I have a bit of bad news: the Alexandria group seems to have closed. Long live drinking and trivia, however, because there's a great new group in DC at Jake's Boiler Room! Look around on the site, with events so frequently and in so many locations, there's probably one right near you.

Tuesdays

• Chantilly Gamers - Chantilly, VA - 5:30PM
• I love Game Parlor, I mean, who doesn't, right? And every Tuesday from 5:30PM to close, Chantilly Gamers uses the location to hold a game night. League members can play Games Workshop games. If you're not a Chantilly Gamers member, it's only $10 per year, so if you're into wargaming, it'd be well worth the chance to whip out that army that's been carefully ensconced in foam for the last year.

Wednesdays

• Beer & Board Games - Arlington, VA - 6:30PM
• Ah, the Silver Diner, once the last bastion of those too far from a Waffle House who needed hash browns, it has become a local-philic, pro-organic real restaurant. And the Beer and Board Games Meetup group has Wednesday night "Bring Your Own Game" events each week. If you can't find anyone to sit down and let you bet them at Set (or my newest bane Spot It), hustle some local gamers and win bragging rights.

Given that this is the absolute tamest answer set I've seen for
Cards Against Humanity, maybe best to leave it at home this time.
(image by the ever-so-polite Andrew Carman)

Thursdays

• Brains, Beer, and Battlestar - Washington, DC - 9:00PM
• As the woman says, "brainy's the new sexy." So I'm not surprised that trivia events are so popular or so frequent. The Facebook description promises "booze and clues" which is a pun for which I may never forgive the Science Club. No, wait, I've just read about the prizes (up to a $50 bar tab for winners, rounds of beers for  best team name, and random beer awards for funny answers), all is forgiven! Best reason to call in sick on a Friday ever!

Fridays

• Rock & Roll Spelling Buzz! - Washington, DC - 6:00PM
• Still hung over from Thursday trivia? Well, grab a hair of the dog and spell "boysenberry," son, because it's time for the drunken spelling bee. You must have a drink in hand to compete. The prizes are also awesome things like beer tabs. If you don't want to relive your high school quiz bowl glory days, this is a great way to relive the anxiety of that crippling admission of weakness from your early childhood, "Um, can you use that in a sentence please?"

Saturdays

• Transylvanian Concubines - Fairfax, VA - Midnight (of course!)
• Rocky Goddamn Horror Show!! Hells yes! I love me some RHPS, and I was delighted to find out that there is a troupe that performs not just monthly, but weekly down in Fairfax at University Mall Theater. You know the drills, or, oh gods, maybe you don't!? Honestly, if you're a Rocky Horror virgin, you shouldn't be here reading this. You have a day to prepare your… self and head over tomorrow night. (If you're at GMU and you haven't shown the concubines some patronage, then fix that).

Otherwise

• Anything at Black Cat - Washington, DC - Every night
• Black Cat needs special acknowledgment, but I give them shout outs all the time. So they only get one entry. I acknowledge that music geekdom is not a strength of mine, so I won't offer commentary on the bands. Here's a rundown of the rest: Story League (which I plugged on Monday) is now sold out. Fridays are Dr Who, Saturdays are Buffy, Super Art Fight sold out their show, and the next scheduled nerdgasm is Epic Win Burlesque. I'm in love with them, and so I'll stop my fangirling before I start just squeeing.

As always, let us know more awesome things that are going on each week in your area! We are always looking for ways to improve and update our events calendar. Email us or comment below, please.