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1

Just In Bailey: Say “Fuzzy Pickles”

By
Joey Alesia
– April 30, 2012Posted in: ACEN 2012, Blogs, Columns, Editorials, Joey's Blog, Just In Bailey, Staff Blogs, Vagary.TV

Once a year, the Chicagoland area is overrun with a totally different breed of people.  Grown men dressed as Sailor Moon are hanging around with girls dressed as Cloud from Final Fantasy VII.  It is truly a sight to behold.  What makes the sight even better are the looks on the faces of people who just don’t get it.  So, what is this magical event?  Why, it’s Anime Central, or ACEN for short.  ACEN is a three day event that pops up between April and June every year at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, a town just outside of Chicago.  What makes ACEN so special?  Follow me on a short journey if you will.

ACEN is a convention that showcases not only anime and manga, but video games as well.  The convention has several components.  There’s the exhibition hall, which is the area where merchants hawk their wares.  You’ll find tons of cool stuff to spend your hard-earned cash on.  There is a wide variety of graphic t-shirts to buy.  Forget Hot Topic.  If you want something cool or witty or just plain geeky to wear, this is the place to get it.  You will also find all sorts of replica weaponry to buy.  The only issue with that is you need a place to store it once you buy it.  ACEN is extremely strict on their weapon policy.  The hall also has toys, books, movies, and even import video games.  It’s a very dangerous place for your wallet to be as you could easily spend a grand and not realize it.

Another cool area to visit is the artist alley.  Independent and starving artists inhabit this area of the convention.  The talent here is pretty amazing.  What’s even cooler is that for a small fee, you can commission an artist to draw something of your choosing.  Ever want to see Link and Cloud locked in combat?  All you need to do is just ask.  Not only will you find some pretty sweet drawings, there are also handmade plush dolls, articles of clothing and more pins than you can count.

A lot of the pictures you can buy are prints.  Most of the original art can be found in the auction area where you can place bids or purchase pieces outright.  Just like the exhibition hall, the artist alley is another place where you can drop a great deal of money in a short period of time.

When you aren’t spending time and money, you can visit one of dozens of panels during the ACEN weekend. These panels are open to anyone and each has a specific topic.  Sometimes they are run by professionals in the anime or gaming worlds.  Other times, the panels can be run by just passionate fans.  We went to a panel this time that was Professor Layton themed.  The folks running it put together a puzzle competition.  There were 4 rounds of 10 minutes each.  The participants split into groups and each group received a packet of puzzles.  Every puzzle was worth a certain number of picarts (the points in the Professor Layton games).  The group with the most picarts competed in a final round.  The winning group received a small Layton doll and the grand prize was a larger doll.  These panels allow for great times with people and some even allow for quality discussion.

 

What makes ACEN such a great convention isn’t the art or the merch or the discussions.  What makes ACEN an experience is the cosplay.  It isn’t just Wookies and Storm Troopers here.  That isn’t to say you won’t find one.  The ACEN cosplay covers all areas of pop culture.  We saw people dressed as the White Power Ranger, Cloud, Mario, and even Doctor Who.  The article would go on and on with the different cosplayers we saw.  They even have photo shoots for like-dressed individuals.  The first year I went to ACEN, I dressed as Solid Snake and was part of a shoot with all kinds of Metal Gear-themed cosplayers.

People who don’t understand the anime or video game cultures may think ACEN is just a bunch of dorks dressing up like fools.  I think they can learn a thing or two from the convention.  What I love more than anything, what makes ACEN such a cool event, is the excitement and acceptance.  You can be anyone — or anything — you want and people will treat you no different.  Actually, the more unique you are, the more people will stop and ask to take your picture.  ACEN is a shining example of how tolerant people can be if they choose to.

So, if you live in or around the Chicago, or even if you’re from Alaska, I urge you to check out ACEN if you can.  It’s not just a typical convention.  Bring your craziest costume and get into character.  Bring your cash and your credit card.  Bring your camera.  And if someone stops you to take a picture don’t forget to say “Fuzzy Pickles.”

Just In Bailey –an homage to the secret code from Metroid, which allowed you to play as Samus Aran without her suit– is an editorial column at Vagary.TV brought to you by Joey Alesia. What started as an alternate perspective on different parts of video games has since become a more wide-ranged look at the gaming industry from a gamer’s perspective with over 25 years of gaming knowledge and a twisted sense of humor.  Follow Joey on Twitter (@wrkngclsswrtr) or email him at Joey.Alesia@Vagary.tv.

 

1

Uproar over on-disc DLC causes Capcom downgrade by Better Business Bureau

By
Khristopher Reardon
– April 12, 2012Posted in: News

Vocal gamers who complained to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) have gotten Capcom’s rating of “A+” downgraded to a “B”.

Since Street Fight X Tekken came out in early March, Capcom has logged 33 complaints, 28 classified as “advertising/sales issues” and five as “problems with product/service” with the BBB.

Before Street Fight X Tekken, Capcom had only logged nine complaints in the last three years.

This is because of the 12 non-playable characters locked on-disc which Capcom says will be available at some later date with pay-as-you unlock through DLC.

Capcom has come out in defense of the practice stating that they have delivered an enormous amount of content for the asking price of the game and they’ve continued to defend themselves in the face of this downgrade with the same token.

The backlash for the on-disc DLC debacle as already pushed the company to remove the 12 pay-to-play characters from the PC version of the game.

Capcom has also stated that storing the characters on-disc also allows people to access those characters later without having heavy downloads taking up storage space on their hard drive. But it also saves Capcom fees associated in dealing with Microsoft and Sony when they have to upload to their digital storage spaces for users of their respective services.

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Sony refocuses on games with “One Sony” plan

By
Khristopher Reardon
– April 12, 2012Posted in: Guides

It all started with Sony’s announcement that they would layoff 10,000 workers globally which accounts for six per cent of their global workforce.

The “One Sony” initiative, is Sony’s attempt to reorganize the company and bring it back into good standings with its investors.

Part of that plan lead them to basically lop off the gangrenous arm of the ailing company by cutting back on chemical and small to mid sized LCD production.

Sony was essentially bracing for the end of a terrible fiscal year in which the company expected a $6.4 billion dollar loss, the biggest in the company’s history.

“We consider the current situation to be very serious,” said Masaru Kato, chief financial officer for Sony Corp. “We will take resolute measures to transform our business without protecting any sacred cows.”

A surprise announcement of the cancelling of Qore, a digital Playstation magazine with a four year run had people scratching their heads on what might be on the chopping block.

This was followed by Kaz Hirai who had recently ascended to CEO and Executive Deputy President came out and said that the company was refocusing on it’s mobile, digital imaging and video game businesses.

Sony is hoping that the profitability of it’s video game businesses will help to dig it out of the rut the company is currently in.

This also means Sony is putting more money in technology development so it can offer more downloadable titles for PSN, as well as more Playstation Suite compatible devices.

1

Just In Bailey: In-Flight Movie

By
Joey Alesia
– March 26, 2012Posted in: Columns, Editorials, Joey's Blog, Just In Bailey, Staff Blogs, Vagary.TV

After 25 years, Nintendo finally released a new Kid Icarus game.  I was able to procure a copy of the 3D Classic of the original when I picked up my copy of the 3DS game this past Friday.  I started to play the classic copy and had an epiphany: I hate flying enemies.  They have a predictable pattern that you can watch for hours and memorize, and yet they still manage to connect.  Kid Icarus isn’t the only game guilty of throwing these types of enemies at you.  Let’s take a look at some of the more notorious flying foes.

From Kid Icarus, we have Monoeye.  It’s a squid-like creature that travels in a line four deep.  The pattern usually starts out with the line moving from side to side across the screen. After a pass or two, the line will swoop down to attack the player.  To make things difficult, the line of monoeyes will stay just out of shooting range when the player goes to pursue them.  These baddies have their attack pattern down to a science.  They move fluidly and don’t break rank even if one or two or even three fall.
Next, we have the Rippers from the Metroid series.  These hard-shelled aliens have a very simple flight pattern.  They just move back and forth in a straight line.  The problem with them is that they are so simplistic, they are often over-looked as a potential threat.  Not to mention, the Ripper is indestructible.  No weapon can kill them.  Unlike most flying foes though, rippers can be frozen using the ice beam and make great staircases.
Another airborne foe worth mentioning is one of the first that gamers meet — at least the gamers of my generation — and that is the Koopa ParaTroopa from the Super Mario Bros. series.  There are two types of the paratroopa: the green and the red.  The green ones can’t really fly.  They just kind of flutter and hop about.  But the red paratoopers are a bit more organized.  They have a set flight pattern: either up and down or side to side in a straight line.  Their placement can be pretty strategic.  Usually, they like to fly in front of you while you’re trying to time jumps from floating platform to floating platform.  Also, the paratroopa, when jumped on, recedes into its shell and can still be dangerous; a real  double-threat guy!

Each of these enemies can be a danger to the player.  But, they all pale in comparison to the ultimate flying enemy: Medusa’s Head from the Castlevania series.  From the first game to today, the flying medusa head has tormented gamers for two decades and shows no sign of stopping.  When analyzed, the player notices the medusa head flies in a wave-like pattern.  The pattern takes up a small portion of the screen and has tracking tendencies depending on where the player is when the head enters the screen.

For example, if the player is mid-jump, the head will float a little higher than if the player is on ground.  Then there’s the medusa heads that are able to turn the player into stone on contact. This can be extremely dangerous if it happens when the player is in the air as they will fall to the ground and break into pieces.  Medusa heads are the epitome of frustration.  They are completely unrelenting and the cause of many broken controllers.

It takes a special kind of enemy to really get under the player’s skin.  For me, the enemy usually has airborne tendencies.  Those mentioned above are by no means the only ones.  They are just some of my most memorable.

Just In Bailey –an homage to the secret code from Metriod, which allowed you to play as Samus Aran without her suit– is an editorial column at Vagary.TV brought to you by Joey Alesia. Each week Joey will challenge you to look at a different perspective of the characters, gameplay, and/or plot in your favorite games. Chat up your thoughts below, or send Joey an e-mail at Joey.Alesia@vagary.tv and remember to follow him on Twitter @wrkngclsswrtr.

 

3

Cigarette-style caution labels for video games ‘billed’… again

By
Khristopher Reardon
– March 22, 2012Posted in: News

Congressmen Joe Baca of California and Frank Wolf of Virginia want to put warning labels on games to caution families about potentially damaging material within.

The bill introduced Monday called the ‘Violence in Video Games Act’ will label video games, “WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior.’’

According to the bill, games rated from “E” for everyone through “A” for adults would have to carry the label. This means the only games that would avoid the label would be EC or early childhood games.

The bill war introduced is apparently a product of recent increasing scientific evidence linking violent video games to aggressive behavior according to Wolf.

The bill is unlikely to see much traction however, since games have been declared under protection of the first amendment since last June. This means games are a protected form of free speech like music or movies, two forms of entertainment that have also undergone their time in the spotlight of congress.

This isn’t Baca’s first attempt to apply warning labels to video games, he helped introduce a very similar bill in 2009 and again last January.

2

Just In Bailey: Nemesis

By
Joey Alesia
– March 19, 2012Posted in: Columns, Editorials, Joey's Blog, Just In Bailey, Staff Blogs, Vagary.TV

When I was a kid I saved the world countless times.  I saved kingdoms and princesses no matter what castle they were in.  I defeated evil doctors, mythological creatures, and even giant turtles.  Countless foes fell before my gaming might.  But there was one foe that refused to yield; one that could stop me before I even started.  This foe could strike at any time.  Which foe do I speak of that was mightier than Ganon, Bowser, Dr. Wily, and even Dracula?

That foe was none other than…The NES Cartridge!

While it was a well made piece of plastic, the cartridge had a sadistic side.  When I would go to power up a game, I would insert the cartridge in the NES horizontally, push the cartridge down until it clicked, and hit the power button.  Most times the game would start up without issue.  But, sometimes it would look a wee bit scrambled.  The words might not have lined up right or strange lines would appear across the screen.  Occasionally, the screen would look fine one second and then with a flash, it would scramble itself like a pay-per-view channel [or Skinimax. ; ) ~J].  It was a nightmare!

Unfortunately, the nightmare didn’t end there.  When the cartridge was feeling truly evil, which it had a tendency to do, it would just give you a screen of flashing color.  Sometimes, the screen would flash just one color.  Other times, it would flash several different colors.  The cartridge must have loved torturing those with epilepsy.  I also believe that the NES cartridges may have established a network, similar to the geth in Mass Effect, because there would be times when several of them refused to work.So, how did I combat this devious, diabolical, devilish foe?  There were several weapons to choose from.  GameStop, or FuncoLand at the time, sold a cartridge cleaner that was just rubbing alcohol and a fancy Q-Tip.  That didn’t work.  The reset button on the NES was about as useful as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.  Sometimes, if I timed it just so, the reset button would catch and set things right.  But, the chances of this happening were very slim.

The most popular method, which was as trusty as a knight’s blade, was blowing in the cartridge.  It was believed that the element of wind was super effective, and the success rate with this method was high.  My favorite plan of attack was a two-pronged maneuver which started with using my wind powers to remove dust particles.  Then, carefully, I would place the cartridge into the NES and push down and in at the same time.  This would cause the top end of the cartridge to scrape ever so gently against the inside of the NES.  This was the only way I knew with a great degree of certainty that I could overcome my greatest foe and go on to save the world (and princesses) again.

Now, looking back on my battles, I realize that it was only an alignment issue.  Lucky for me, the cartridge is a thing of the past.  It has become a part of video game lore.  My children will never experience the struggles I went through, the trials and tribulations.  And really, all I’m bound to get when I tell them this story is a roll of the eyes as they go back to their digitally downloaded game.  What a shame.

 

 

 

Just In Bailey –an homage to the secret code from Metriod, which allowed you to play as Samus Aran without her suit– is an editorial column at Vagary.TV brought to you by Joey Alesia. Each week Joey will challenge you to look at a different perspective of the characters, gameplay, and/or plot in your favorite games. Chat up your thoughts below, or send Joey an e-mail at Joey.Alesia@vagary.tv and remember to follow him on Twitter @wrkngclsswrtr.

 

5

Journey co-op: Best friends for life with a stranger

By
Kyle Baron
– March 14, 2012Posted in: Editorials, News

From the moment we first met, my buddy and I were friends for our entire three hour lives

Spoiler Warning:  This article and the accompanying audio interview both reveal major plot points and story elements. If you haven’t played Journey, I strongly recommend you hold off on giving this feature a look until you’ve completed the game. Feel free to read the spoiler free interview with Journey’s creative director, Jenova Chen.

 

We begin life not knowing anything. We may or may or may not meet important people throughout our struggles and triumphs, and then we die. Those are the paraphrased words of developer Thatgamecompany’s creative director, Jenova Chen, when he was describing his game, Journey.

I played through the entire adventure of Journey in one sitting, alongside a complete stranger that I met early on in the game. I was only given the name of the person I was playing with at the end of our game together, so I thought it would be interesting to track that person down and talk about our oddly sentimental time together. There are many major reveals of plot and gameplay moments so, if you haven’t already played and finished the game, I insist that you do so before listening to this interview. For everyone else, please enjoy.

 


0

Vagary Plays: Dustforce (Character Guide and Intro)

By
Christopher Coke
– March 14, 2012Posted in: Guides, Vagary.TV

Welcome to the first edition of a new feature we’re trying, Vagary Plays. These videos highlight the gameplay of new and interesting titles. In today’s video, we take a look at the characters of Dustforce, an indie platformer from Hitbox Team, released in January.

Playing the game conjures thoughts of Super Meat Boy, League of Evil, and other diabolically difficult, retro-inspired jumping games. What makes this one stand out, though, is the fluidity with which you control your character. You’ll run along ceilings upside down, wall jump, double-jump, and generally flow through each level. Also you get to bear up small animals and angry rocks. Did I mention you play a janitor? That too.

Have you played Dustforce? What did you think?

Download the high resolution version here

1

Just In Bailey: Arcade Mode

By
Joey Alesia
– March 12, 2012Posted in: Columns, Editorials, Joey's Blog, Just In Bailey, Staff Blogs, Vagary.TV

 

Let’s get this out right off the bat: I’m not touching the controversy surrounding Mass Effect 3.  From the day-one DLC to the ending, I want no part of that.  I’m going to finish the game, enjoy it for what it is, and move on.

Good, since that’s out of the way now I can move on.  I thought maybe I’d wax poetic about the glory days of being a kid when arcades were still a regular sight.  Movies gave the arcades a bad image.  Most adults saw them as one of the more wretched hives of juvenile scum and villainy.  The arcades I frequented were not like that.  Honestly, how could you look like a total badass in a place called Aladdin’s Castle?  I loved the arcade and dropped tons of quarters there.  It was a place where the screens were bigger, the games were better looking, and the music was deafening.  This was before 42-inch LED TVs with 3D capability.  This was before the days of high definition graphics and systems nearly powerful enough to run military-grade weaponry.  Arcades were the hip place to be.

I remember going to the mall with my mom.  She would need to do something boring like shop for shoes or clothes, so she’d hand me some cash and I’d go on my merry way to the arcade.  The change machines were finicky so you’d have to run your cash back and forth along the corner of the machine to flatten it out.  Once you were able to coax the machine into swallowing your paper money, it would spew out either tokens or quarters.  The jingling sound they made was music to my ears, but then the hard part came.  It was time to make a decision on what game I would spend my mom’s hard-earned cash on.  Some might say it was my first test in money management and economics.  Which game would give the greatest return?

Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat were the big games around this time.  NBA Jam was pretty popular too.  So I’d usually try my hand at these games and get totally rocked by either the computer or some smelly punk teenager (I hadn’t hit my teen years yet).  Then I’d move on, defeated, to something else.  The X-Men Arcade Game was another one of my favorites.  I usually picked Nightcrawler for his ability to teleport around the screen and knock out everyone in his path.  Not only was it fun to play, but if you had friends with you they could join in without having to wait.  The Simpsons Arcade game was also a lot of fun and had the same perk of being able to play with multiple friends.  And, if I remember correctly, these games were usually cheaper than Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat.

One of my fondest memories of the arcade was when Mortal Kombat 2 was released.  After playing MK1 on home consoles – which costed me less in quarters – my friends and I actually got pretty good.  When MK2 was released I actually went to the trouble of creating move-lists for my friends and myself for every fighter, complete with fatalities, babalities, friendships, and every special move.  So, after careful study of the lists, I went to the arcade.  Of course, there was only one MK2 cabinet since it was just a mall arcade and there was a huge crowd of people around it.  To keep some semblance of order, players waiting for their turn would place a quarter on the bottom edge of the part of the cabinet that bordered the screen.  The rule was “winner stays, loser pays.”

Finally, after a long wait, it was my turn.  I put my quarters in the machine and hit the Player 2 button.  I picked Liu Kang.  Round one began.  My opponent was another one of those cocky punk teens that picked on little kids like me all the time.  He wiped the floor with me the first round with a flawless victory.  While waiting for round two to begin I hit the joystick back and forth, which was the style at the time.  Round two started.  I had my bicycle kick charged up and unleashed it quick, followed by a flying kick and a low fireball.  This round was much closer and ended with me coming out on top by the slimmest of margins.  I had my cheat sheet on hand and found the button combo to Liu Kang’s dragon fatality, which I practiced in the short downtime between the rounds.

The next match started the same way: bicycle kick to flying kick to low fireball.  It was fun to see my opponent get frustrated.  And I spammed the crap out of that combination.  I was a kid and didn’t care about being cheap.  Needless to say, I beat him, successfully turned Liu Kang into a dragon, and took a huge bite out of his ego and his character.  It was glorious.  The glory lasted all of a few minutes because the next guy wiped the floor with me using Sub-Zero.

It’s a shame that the arcade scene doesn’t really exist today.  Of course, I understand why.  The advances in gaming tech: improved graphics, better gameplay and especially online gaming, have made the arcades obsolete.  I’m not a huge fan of not seeing who I am playing with or against.  The arcade allowed for a social interaction that online gaming can’t.  It was the place to be.  From Street Fighter to Mortal Kombat to the Simpsons Arcade Game, there was something magical about the arcade.  Maybe it was the smell of sweaty socks and lack of deodorant.  Or maybe it was the nachos with liquefied orange goo for cheese and jalapenos.  Whatever it was, it’s a shame that my kids won’t be able to appreciate it.  Hopefully, when I do have kids they’ll be able to at least experience an arcade before all of the arcades are gone.

Just In Bailey –an homage to the secret code from Metriod, which allowed you to play as Samus Aran without her suit– is an editorial column at Vagary.TV brought to you by Joey Alesia. Each week Joey will challenge you to look at a different perspective of the characters, gameplay, and/or plot in your favorite games. Chat up your thoughts below, or send Joey an e-mail at Joey.Alesia@vagary.tv and remember to follow him on Twitter @wrkngclsswrtr.


0

Queer and Gender Equity Vital say Indie Devs

By
Khristopher Reardon
– March 10, 2012Posted in: Editorials, News, Staff Blogs, Vagary.TV

In a lot of ways video games have been a ‘boys club,’ embracing the traditional hetero fantasies. You’re a man on a quest, you defeat the bad guy and you get the girl. Games seem to rarely concern itself with a wider audience of people with differing sexuality or gender because it seems that that is not the audience being spoken to by the industry.

Jamie Woo, co-founder and co-organizer of Gamercamp an event showcasing North American game developer talent, decided he was going to do something about that.

“This idea came to me that I really wanted to do something that looked at queerness and gender equity in video games,” says Woo, curator for the event.

Visitors sit around to watch clips from queer friendly video games.

The brainchild, Forallgamerssake, is a showcase of games that deal with this subject matter. It was fittingly held in the heart of Toronto at the Center for Social Innovation building. Woo wanted to represent a broader community in video games by dealing with issues in games that fall beyond the traditional “man gets girl” fare.

“I’ve been a video game player almost all my life since I was four or five and I’ve always wanted games to reflect my reality, my experiences,” says Woo. “So I thought an art show would be a nice way to bring together all the different works that I was familiar with that dealt with queerness and gender equity and to continue that conversation.”

Inside the show, there are projection screens showing scenes from popular video games that deal with these issues directly or indirectly. Dragon Age’s scenes where you can have same gender relationships, Persona 4′s Kanji Tatsumi level where he’s coming to terms with his homosexuality, and even Princess Zelda’s scenes from Ocarina of Time when she dresses like the manly Shiek were shown as a nod to the community.

“They [the games] very rarely do that,” says Woo. “Games tend to be very hetero normative, I’m always rescuing the princess, I’m always watching men and women get together but very little romance for two men or two women,”

Woo says, “the very best games transport us to world that empower us and make us feel like there’s endless possibilities, but when you have a world that’s bounded by certain things like if you’re queer you don’t exist or maybe it’s that there’s very few minorities there or there’s very few women in there all of a sudden that kind of endless possibility breaks because you realize that it isn’t actually endless possibilities.”

As you get further into the show, there’s a setup with screens showing off indie games within the community, as well as a playing area to experience these indie games.

The video game setup invited people to try out indie queer friendly games.

You could take care of your Mini Gay Boyfriend on an iPhone, or shoot condoms to gay men through windows so they could all climax together.

The most grabbing of which is a title by Anna Anthropy, American game designer, critic, and male to female transgendered woman. The game, Dysphoria, deals with her transitioning from male to female through hormone treatment and the kinds of challenges she was faced with throughout that transition.

“When she sent it to me to show at the show my heart melted and broke at the same time,” says Woo. “To see what she’s going through with her hormone replacement therapy is so personal and the way that she does it is so smart through her game. I think to me that’s one of the standout queer experiences that she can now share that people can now learn about and it’s just so touching and moving.”

The game deals with discrimination and body issues by using game mechanics to string together a narrative that affords better understanding of the impacts of the transition. In one instance I’m a shield dodging insults from people who are telling me I’m not a woman. In another I’m a disjointed block that’s uncomfortable with my body and near the end there’s a part of the game that has me looking at myself in multiple mirrors along a path, seeing myself as more attractive in each one.

Other independent developers also participated in the event showcasing their games and supporting the cause.

“We need to start talking about these issues more and seeing each other as equals. This was a great way to inspire that discussion,” says Mare Sheppard, co-creator of N+ and co-founder of Metanet Software, in an email. “My opinion is that games typically cater to and are made by young white males, but I want to see more than that. I want to see different stories from all types of people. I want to play games that have a unique perspective and which are made by diverse people.”

The opportunity to talk about these kinds of experiences in a interactive medium is unique to the indie community.

“There are one or two examples in mainstream games but that side of the industry is traditionally very slow to change. It may get there eventually, but we’ll see the biggest and most rapid changes on the indie side, where people can afford to take risks that won’t necessarily sell or be popular,” says Sheppard.

Another developer showing his full support for the show was Michael Todd, a bisexual indie developer who runs Happy Little Smile Games. Also the creator of Silent Skies, Todd wanted to put his weight behind the cause. “This is very important because the community is built out of nerds in basements and unfortunately that means you have a lot of straight white males,” says Todd. “And you get a lot of mob mentality and you get a lot of unwelcomingness and anything that fights that in general is good.”

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