Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Let's Play at the LA Film Festival



Did you ever want to watch Twitch in a big theater, now's your chance, kind of.
This year's Los Angeles Film Festival is getting into gaming. E3, the largest video game show in the world is going on this June and in no way might be causing "Let's Play", a showing of an international selection of indie game playthroughs with creator commentary. For the first time games will be given their own viewing at the LA Film Festival Wed, Jun 18th 9:20pm at Regal Cinemas 14. Price $13 without festival pass.

Now I've heard of a few, even reviewed some of these games including Stick it to the Man, which was enjoyed for its old school point-n-click adventure feel taking place in people's heads. The games are a wide variety of genres and stories, some insane like McPixel where you're given seconds to figure out to stop bombs from going off in strange ways to The Stanley Parable where you are questioned if you ever really start playing the first person adventure with superb writing.

Some game developers will be in attendance for Q & As. One must assume the rest will be in attendance, just not at the event. They'll be next door at E3.

This is a fine step forward for the LA Film Fest to include video games in their line-up as film and games continue to merge. However, there are so many LA based game developers they could have just stayed with local developers and they didn't in anyway need to be just indie. We wouldn't have Mount Your Friends: Inside Gaming as one of the selection though. A game with all too real, boy hammock swinging physics.

This is the full selection with commentators          

140: Techno Buffalo – GAME DEVELOPER Jeppe Carlsen  LET’S PLAY CREATOR Jon Rettinger
Happy Wheels: Captain Sparklez – GAME DEVELOPER Jim Bonacci LET’S PLAY CREATOR Jordan Maron
Illusion-Ghost Killer: Nilesy – GAME DEVELOPER Incrible Games LET’S PLAY CREATOR Liam J. Mackay
McPixel: Cupquake– GAME DEVELOPER Mikolaj "Sos" Kaminski  LET’S PLAY CREATOR Tiffany Herrera
Mount Your Friends: Inside Gaming – GAME DEVELOPER Daniel Steger LET’S PLAY CREATORS James Willems, Bruce Greene, Adam Kovic
Proteus: Nerd Cubed – GAME DEVELOPERS Ed Key & David Kanaga LET’S PLAY CREATOR Daniel Hardcastle
Slender the Arrival: Game Society Pimps – GAME DEVELOPER Blue Isles Studios Inc.  LET’S PLAY CREATOR Aaron Yonda
Stick it to the Man: Gadget Girl Kylie – GAME DEVELOPERS Zoink! Studios & Ripstone Games  LET’S PLAY CREATOR Gadget Girl Kylie
The Stanley Parable: Toby Games – GAME DEVELOPER Davey Wreden LET’S PLAY CREATOR Toby Turner

Wed, Jun 18th 9:20pm at Regal Cinemas 14. Price $13 without festival pass.