Fancy Videogame Party at
the AGO was one of the best events I’ve attended in quite awhile. And I’m by no
means a video game fanatic. My only regret is ignoring the word “Fancy.” I have
a decent suit jacket from Zara I could have worn on Friday. Instead I wandered
around like a schmuck in a sweater and jeans. I promise to stop skim-reading
event descriptions from now on.
I would have been happy to “play” Panoramical all evening. It’s less game and
more interactive art exhibit. I now dream of installing a permanent version of
it in my living room.
I didn’t play The YAWHG but it was beautiful to watch and
read.
Johann
Sebastian Joust deserves a nod for the name alone. As a bonus, it’s a great
idea, well executed.
Nidhogg
offered a very smart twist on the typical “two guys try to kill each other”
duel (dual) player game.
Tenya
Wanya Teens was whimsical stupidity. This usually annoys me. Instead it was
delightful.
My final favourite thing was not a game, but
the highly effective and intelligent use of space. That might sound like a
nerdish thing to say, but it was pretty crucial to the success of the evening. The
Family Learning Centre spans two floors and a bunch of rooms. Instead of
cramming too much into the lower floor main space, the organizers gave each
game plenty of room. The arcade cabinets had their own zone upstairs.
Panoramical had its own room, as did JS Joust. Nidhogg was projected on a
massive screen that was visible from both upper and lower floors. The layout
and thought put into display was more typical of video or interactive art
exhibition.
This space planning was not a coincidence. I
ran into my friend Paola Poletto at the party, who works at the AGO. She
mentioned that in the original configuration, they were going to sell alcohol
on the lower floor. That would have been a disaster, as the lower floor has an
occupancy limit. By putting the alcohol upstairs, along with a good number of
games, it ensured that people circulated throughout the evening.
Compare that with The Great Hall at Queen and
Dovercourt, which also has multiple rooms. But because they’re only licensed to
sell alcohol in the main room, people are forced to wait in huge lines to try
and get in. (As a bonus, if you need to use the bathroom, you must exit the
main room and then go back in line.) I nearly didn’t get into the main
room for the Spacing launch, and ended up on the balcony during Shezeer’s set
at the recent Long Winter event.
In summary: Indie video games are fun. Space
planning is the final frontier.
