It was a crazy week, and here are some scraps that I can remember…

* Chris was part of the “indie game maker rant” at the Independent Games Summit. He talked about the auteur theory in film and applied it to games. It went over really well and he ended up talking to some dude from the New York Times for a few hours after.

* We got to share our booth with fellow Winnipeg game developers Complex Games and Tom Korp. Good times.

* We handed out a ton of printed material, and had numerous artists approach us looking for work.

* Good buddy Tommy Refenes and I rocked the last IGS talk: “How to finish a game project you … HATE”. I thought it was going to suck, but it ended up being a lot of peoples’ favorite. It ended with friends Kyle and Tommy reciting a dramatic speech from “Independence Day” to cheers from the crowd.

* I realized that “Triple-A” sounds a lot like “Chipotle”.

* We had some very positive meetings with representatives from the major consoles.

* Chrissy and Raymond, while not officially part of the team, helped run our booth. They did a really great job, and it turned out to be invaluable – Chris and I could leave for meetings while they held down the fort. Raymond got really good at explaining the difficult UI of “Heroes and Villains”. (I’m -so- gonna fix that)

* We managed to get three people from TIGSource free expo passes.

* Met Charlie Cleveland! Mega64! Will Wright!

* But the best parts were hanging out with the whole indie crew. There is no group of people as talented, funny, creative and easy-going as this bunch – and the group is growing every year. Derek Yu, Phil Fish, Erin Robinson, Edmund McMillen, Kyle Pulver, Adam Saltsman, Ben Ruiz, Brandon McCartin, Cactus, Petri, David W, Alex May, the 2D Boys and so many others – thanks for a totally awesome time. At one particularly awesome partly, I drunkenly decided to spontaneously form a “human Katamari ball”. In any other group of people, this would have been an embarrassing failure – but with these fine gentlefolk, we had 15+ people hugging, running in a circle while singing “Na Na Na-Na Na Na Na-Na Na” while gathering more. Awesome.

* Baiyon.

So what’s next for IA? Its an open-ended question right now. Stay tuned for more updates! (and the eventual posting of our GDC footage)

This one is a collection of moments that include traveling, eating, eye-patch-wearing and teasing.

We managed to forward our plans for world domination…

…forged great family memories…

…and started working on the IA centerfold series.

P.S. GDC video blog 1 is uploading…

“Jeb” from Oxeye Studios posted his first GDC video blog. (I’m still editing ours) We appear in this one briefly, so check it out!

There’s many more in our GDC 2009 set, and we’ll be adding more every day! It’ll be just like you’re here!

Look out for some piping hot video blogs coming your way also. Sleep time!

…and there’s a bit more to come!

If you’re heading to GDC you can visit us at GDC booth 5137 NH.

The game runs really well on the iPhone hardware. Here’s a shot of the current build running on my iPod Touch:

Clemens is tackling characters and animation, Adam is doing up the 3D backgrounds, Ian is developing levels, Chris is creating UI visuals and I’m programming whatever’s needed to support all of that. Chris, Ian and I are also starting to work on some sweet beats.

In other news, we bought plane tickets for GDC! We’re going to be part of a booth called “Game On Manitoba”. If you’re heading down to GDC, be sure to stop by. We’ll be demoing Paper Moon and Heroes and Villains – and we’ll be handing out some cool swag. We always love meeting and chatting with folks about what we do.

Life has been pretty hectic lately. Chris and I signed the Infinite Ammo incorporation papers amid some drama. Fortunately, I’m scheduled to do a talk at the Independent Game Summit about game development frustrations and hurdles. (with my good friend Tommy Refenes, no less) I have some good data to share that will help out other aspiring indie developers.

My game development past before creating Aquaria was not a smooth ride. I worked hard for a lot of projects that didn’t end up going anywhere. For some reason I kept trying, and managed to release something that was ours and that some people love. Based on those combined experiences, and as a build up to the epic IGS talk with Tommy, I’m starting a new blog series called “Bittter Game Developer Hints”. I love game development, but sometimes it can be a total bitch – and these hints should serve as helpful warnings to idealists striving to get into the field. Imagine me: scraggly facial hair, eyepatch, cursing, with Canadian whisky in hand – while you enjoy these tasty nuggets of hard-earned wisdom.

Bitter Game Developer Hint #1:
Vet potential collaborators extensively before you grant them big responsibility:
Intent doesn’t herald results.

Let’s follow that up with…

Bitter Game Developer Hint #2:
Failure is about growing. Take the lessons you can and move on to greener pastures.

While we’re on a roll…

Bitter Game Developer Hint #3:
Painful change is a catalyst for beautiful art.

Heroes and Villains’ deadline is GDC, so we’re going to be crunching on that for the next while. Our Alpha Milestone deadline is Monday, and its going to be awesome.

Wish us luck!

Clemens Scott’ Site
Adam Saltsman’s Site