Look at me! I’m making things!
PortsCenter returns from its brief hiatus to bring you a look at one of the biggest arcade games of the 90s, running on a computer that really isn’t up to the challenge.
If you dig PortsCenter please consider subscribing to the YouTube channel. I love you! (Disclaimer: I may not actually love you. Terms and conditions apply.)
Just a reminder that I’ll be attending the Geek Media Expo in Nashville, TN in about a month and a half - October 26th-28th - as a special guest. Have they lost their minds? Quite possibly, but I hope to earn my place on their roster.
I’ll be giving a one-hour talk-y presentation-y thing on videogame ports, which may or may not require volunteers from the audience (I’m still up in the air on that one - do I use edited video footage of games, or have volunteers play the games on-stage?). I’ll also be participating in a Doctor Who panel, and another panel on webcomics - because, y’know, I write two webcomics.
It promises to be a great weekend. If you’re not interested in going to see me, perhaps you’ll go to see Doug Walker, Veronica Belmont, Rob Paulsen, Ellen McLain, Billy West, Amber Nash, or the Two Guys From Andromeda. They’ll all be there. With me. We’re on the same guest list and everything.
Crikey.
(Image via the portscenter Tumblr)
LESS THAN 24 HOURS TO GO IN THE PORTSCENTER KICKSTARTER!
Help us fund the complete series! It all depends on you!
Heading to the Geek Media Expo this October? So is PortsCenter!
This year the fourth GMX takes place in Nashville, Tennessee. There are a number of cool guests with a ton of geek cred, including voice actors like Rob Paulsen and Billy West, actors such as Star Trek: Voyager’s Garrett Wang and Marilyn Ghigliotti of Clerks fame, and internet personalities such as “That Guy With the Glasses” Doug Walker.
Oh, and me. No, really.
Not only will I be at GMX this year, but I’ll also be hosting a one-hour presentation on videogame ports, looking at a few specific titles as well as going into a bit of the history of how, and why, some ports are so radically different from others. It’ll be a sort-of kitbash of PortsCenter, a stand-up comedy show, and a PowerPoint presentation.
I’ll also, in theory, be participating in a couple of Doctor Who panels as well.
GMX haven’t announced their schedule yet, but keep an eye on their programming page for updates. I’ll also be updating this post with details once they’re available.
See you in Nashville!
![portscenter:
The PortsCenter Kickstarter is now live
We’re trying to raise $4,200 to produce a 13-episode season. Haven’t seen the pilot yet? Go ahead and watch it now - [Clean version] [Sweary version]
We have some awesome rewards in place, including signed headshots from voice actor Dino Andrade (Batman: Arkham Asylum, World of Warcraft, Hellsing Ultimate) and an exclusive yet-to-be-revealed cart from the wonderful team over at 72Pins.com.
We also have stretch goals in mind, but more on those as we approach our base target.
If you’re able to help us reach our goal, please consider pledging. You can also help us by reblogging this post and sharing the link on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and so on.
Thanks!
A little shameless self-promotion, here. If you can help fund this project, you’ll win my adoration and respect. Well, my adoration, at least. Well… maybe.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7qq87jC111qiefqso1_500.png)
The PortsCenter Kickstarter is now live
We’re trying to raise $4,200 to produce a 13-episode season. Haven’t seen the pilot yet? Go ahead and watch it now - [Clean version] [Sweary version]
We have some awesome rewards in place, including signed headshots from voice actor Dino Andrade (Batman: Arkham Asylum, World of Warcraft, Hellsing Ultimate) and an exclusive yet-to-be-revealed cart from the wonderful team over at 72Pins.com.
We also have stretch goals in mind, but more on those as we approach our base target.
If you’re able to help us reach our goal, please consider pledging. You can also help us by reblogging this post and sharing the link on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and so on.
Thanks!
A little shameless self-promotion, here. If you can help fund this project, you’ll win my adoration and respect. Well, my adoration, at least. Well… maybe.
Please take a moment to upvote this when you get the chance. Thanks.
Once again plugging PortsCenter, a webseries about change. And videogames. Mostly videogames.
If you like the pilot please consider pledging some money to the Kickstarter fundraiser. We have 31 days left and we can’t make this show without your help. I know $7,000 may seem like a lot, but remember that the bulk of that is filming equipment - a camera, sound equipment, lighting, video-capturing hardware, editing software, and other bits and bobs. Unfortunately making a webseries is no cheap thing.
The rest of the budget is to buy the games and the hardware they were released for. Some of these ports are for obscure or hard-to-find systems, and they ain’t cheap. Ever tried to buy an Amiga 1200 in the US? Eep.
This blog has 1,220 followers on Tumblr. If every one of you pledged $5 today, we’d be able to start production on the series tomorrow. If you like the show but aren’t in a position to pledge some money, spread the word. Post the video on Tumblr, share the Kickstarter link on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, you name it.
Thanks for your time.
Apologies for the radio silence over the last week
I spent most of last week lifting heavy boxes and not being anywhere near a computer, so I haven’t had the opportunity to actually blog (although I have been tweeting a fair bit). In fact my sole post last week was this reblog of a We Hate Games post.
This week is going to be equally busy. I’ve been doing a lot of writing work elsewhere and it’s eating into the time I can commit to this blog. I recently had an article I wrote for The DamnLag on the subject of game journalism reach the frontpage of /r/gaming, which is a bit of an achievement, and apparently it received well over 40,000 pageviews. So there’s that.
I’m also working on shooting a second episode of PortsCenter. For those of you who don’t know, it’s my planned webseries focusing on interesting and unique ports of videogames. The pilot focused on the PSone version of Doom, and the second episode looks at a handheld port of a popular RTS from the 6-bit 16-bit era.
Of course as with the first episode pulling everybody together to actually make it is difficult, which is one of the reasons I’m trying to get a full season funded so I can buy my own equipment and produce episodes more quickly. Watch the pilot, and if you like it please consider pledging a few bucks. I’d really like to get this show made. It’s a subject I’m particularly interested in, and judging by the responses I’ve had it looks like a lot of you are interested too.
We’re going to shoot another episode of PortsCenter out of pocket
Should be fun. Challenging, but fun. Once again I’ll be asking friends to help out with production and equipment, as I did with the first pilot, but I’ve already bought the game in question and it should arrive in the next few days. Exciting!
If you haven’t done so already, watch the pilot, and if you like it please consider pledging a few bucks to help make the full season a reality. World of Warcraft and Batman: Arkham Asylum voice actor Dino Andrade has thrown his weight behind the project, agreeing to send signed pictures of his various characters to anyone who pledges $50 or higher. Thank you.
I don’t often ask this, but if you could please reblog this post (or otherwise help spread the word) that’d be just super-duper. Thanks to everyone who has supported this project so far.
One of the common arguments people make when discussing the subject of the state of game journalism with me is that gamers are themselves responsible for the poor level of journalism they receive, that their sense of entitlement is solely to blame for the sort of shit posted by IGN, Kotaku, et al.
I respond to this argument in this week’s op-ed piece for The DamnLag. Which is nice. Isn’t it nice?
While I’m taking the time to break in my shiny new “shameless self-promotion” tag, I’d like to remind you that we’re still trying to get the first season of PortsCenter funded. It’s worth noting that the bulk of the budget is for filming and production equipment; a pledge towards the first season is a pledge towards PortsCenter in its entirety. Getting a second season going would be a lot cheaper to fund than this first one, but we obviously can’t get to the second season without making this one first.
If you’re not in a position to pledge but still want to help, please consider upvoting the show on Reddit or spreading the Kickstarter link on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and so on. The more eyeballs we get on this thing, the more likely we are to get it funded.
Cheers.
This is the safe-for-work version of the PortsCenter pilot, with all of the gratuitous swearing censored out. It’s about 30 seconds longer as it includes an introduction with character artwork provided by Least I Could Do and Looking For Group artist, Lar de Souza. Huge thanks to Lar for helping to bring Gary the Censorship Penguin to life.
If you want to help fund a full season of PortsCenter you can pledge a dollar or two over at the Kickstarter fundraiser. Cheers, and enjoy the clean version of the pilot!
