Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - Slamdance Game Competition Ends in Dissolution

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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Slamdance Game Competition Ends in Dissolution

by Ian Bogost January 26, 2007

categories: General

In the wake of the controversy, many of us have been waiting to learn of the outcome of the Slamdance Guerilla Gamemakers Competition. There are not yet full reports from those in attendance (although Patrick Dugan promises one early next week), but I do have some snippets of news from speaking with a few folks in attendance.

The competition dissolved entirely, with no awards given out
The panel discussion began with reproaches of Baxter, but evolved into a discussion of SCMRPG and the differences between games and film
Peter Baxter took those in attendance to lunch and they discussed the future of the game competition
As I understand it, Baxter continued to justify pulling SCMRPG based on the possibility of future civil action, e.g. in the case that a shooting took place in Park City that could be tied to the showing of the game

Comments (4)

"The competition dissolved entirely, with no awards given out"

wow... why? How do the remaining finalists, who took the time and money to go the festival, feel about _that_?? Sad.

andrewstern on January 26, 2007 5:01 AM

The contestants actually agreed on the lack of an awards ceremony, since they felt the value of such awards were compromised. The reason the Slamdance Games Festival exists, ultimately, is for people like me to have the opportunity to explain "agency" to film people. I'm glad that opportunity existed, and hope to seize it again in the future.

Patrick Dugan on January 26, 2007 5:56 AM

?? That's an odd way to look at it... I didn't see the festival as a tool to educate or benefit the filmmakers -- I saw it as a sister festival, whose purpose was to showcase gamemakers, and to celebrate game innovation.

andrewstern on January 26, 2007 2:36 PM

I saw it the same way as Andrew. Even though most of the people at Slamdance were filmmakers (and drunk/dirty wannabe actresses that hung out in the game room to check their email when we weren't around), the press and focus seemed to be targeted at the gaming community.

It's unfortunate that the finalists didn't get the awards that were put up for them, but it was an honorable thing to do.

I'm looking forward to the more in-depth blogs on the festival.

Joe Bourrie on January 26, 2007 5:32 PM