Every year the Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest throws one insane party, full of celebrities and films and boxing matches (yup), but video games get in on the fun too. The festival is also host to the Fantastic Arcade, which not only brings a free arcade to the festivities but a wonderful series of panels, tournaments and demos from a number of prominent and upcoming indie developers.
This weekend's Fantastic Arcade is their biggest ever. There's a massive number of events taking place but that statement would be true if only for a single guest that's coming - Tim Schafer.
Yes, the legendary designer of beloved games like Full Throttle and Psychonauts is coming to Austin to talk for an hour about the origins of Grim Fandango. He will be joined by George Royer of White Whale to talk about remastering the classic adventure game for PS4, PS Vita and PC in what's easily the most exciting release in years. (Grim Fandango is one of the greatest games ever made and if you don’t believe that I will fight you in the Fantastic Debates.) He will then help provide live commentary for a Gang Beasts tournament.
But even with the big star power of Schafer, there’s a ton to look forward to. We’ve got the developers of upcoming games such as Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon, Donut County, and Mountain coming to show off and discuss their work, as well as tournaments for addictive multiplayer games like N++, Towerfall Ascension and Nuclear Throne. There’s even going to be a QED dance battle!
The arcade part of the name isn't a misnomer, either. As usual they are actually crafting an working arcade full of custom cabinets that will let you play all of these titles in a format you will never again see. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, folks, and best of all? It’s all absolutely free.
Here’s the full schedule of panels and events, current as of right now. There doesn't seem to be a bad panel in the lineup, and the hardest thing for most folks is going to be managing their time between everything going on at Fantastic Arcade with all of the incredible events taking place concurrently at Fantastic Fest and MondoCon!
Thursday, September 18
Gameloading: Rise of the Indies
12:00 p.m.
"GAMELOADING: RISE OF THE INDIES is a feature documentary exploring the world of indie game developers and how they have forever changed the landscape of games culture. The film is a discovery of the craft, culture and people behind these innovative and personal games. Come see a sneak peek featurette of this documentary, still in post-production."
Gorogoa: Developer Commentary
1:00 p.m.
Developer Jason Roberts will talk about the creation of his hand-drawn puzzle game Gorgora, which is set to release sometime later this year on PC and Mac.
Mountain Developer Commentary
2:00 p.m.
"Join developer Damien Di Fede at The Highball as he talks about creating Mountain with animator David OReilly (The External World, Her, Adventure Time: "A Glitch is a Glitch")"
QED Dance Battle
4:00 p.m.
QED was one of the highlights at last year's Fantastic Arcade, a ridiculous game that has you controlling a breakdancing hot dog, or trying to, at least. This time it's going to be a contest, judged by the audience.
Astro Duel Tournament
5:30 p.m.
Ever wish Asteroids was a competitive multiplayer game? Your wish just came true.
Super Game Jam: Episodes 4 and 5
6:30
Two episodes from Devolver Digital's game-making series. Developers will be in attendance to show off some of the games created from this series as well.
WELCOME TO CLEVELAND
8:00
Thu Tran and Ivan Safrin will be on hand to show off their collection of motion-controlled games made for Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Friday, September 19
Lost in the Woods Developer Commentary
11:00 a.m.
“Join developer Charles Elwonger as he shows us Lost in the Woods, a game about the eroding force of time, the clustered masses of life and matter overgrowing our impressions on the world, and the things we choose to pass on.”
Glitchhiker: Developer Commentary
12:00 p.m.
"Join guest developer ceMelusine on a late night drive through Glitchhikers."
The Floor Is Jelly: Developer Commentary
1:00 p.m.
"Join Developer Ian Snyder for a look at his game The Floor is Jelly, with music by Disasterpeace."
Fotonica: Developer Commentary
2:00 p.m.
“Welcome back Santa Ragione- creators of last year's Fantastic Arcade titles VideoHeroeS and MirrorMoon: EP, in Austin again to showcase their 3d runner Fotonica.”
Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime: Developer Commentary
3:00 p.m.
“Guest developer Matt Hammil will take us through space on a bunny-rescuing adventure in Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.”
Double Fine: The Origins of Grim Fandango
5:00 p.m.
This is it. The big event. Double Fine's Tim Schafer will be attending with White Whale's George Royer to talk about Grim Fandango and all of its inspirations. Don't forget that this isn't ticketed, so you might want to show up early.
Gang Beasts: Commentary and Tournament
Commentary at 6:00 p.m., Tournament at 7:00 p.m.
“Step into the ring with GANG BEASTS, no qualification needed- this tournament is bound to be utter, squishy chaos. With running commentary by Vlambeer's JW Nijman, DoubleFine's Tim Schafer and Gang Beast developer James Brown, this will be an unforgettable clash of cuddly mayhem!”
Push Me Pull You: Developer Commentary and Tournament
Commentary at 8:00, Tournament at 9:00
Push Me Pull You looks like the Human Centipede turned into a sports game. It's utterly terrifying and hysterical in equal measures, and here you’ll be able to learn all about it before fighting two on two fleshy battles.
Saturday, September 20
Tournament Prelims: Nidhogg and Towerfall Ascension
9:00 a.m.
Come see if you qualify for two of our biggest tournaments of 2014- Nidhogg and Towerfall Ascension! We'll be holding these prelims from 9am to 12:30, so get a good night's sleep if you can! Prelims will be held on Sony PS4 Kiosks in Alamo South Lamar, which will be attended by a Fantastic Arcade volunteer.
Monstro Cards
11:00 a.m.
"Join the White Whale team as they present their latest project, MONSTROCARDS, the creative card drawing game. They'll host a fierce competition on stage as players create bizarre, hilarious MONSTROCARDS and advocate for their cards as the best and weirdest, all with the help of audience vote!"
Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon Developer Commentary
12:30 p.m.
The creators of one of the most highly acclaimed mobile games there is (Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor) returns with a sequel. This should be a great one.
Heat Signature: Developer Commentary
1:30 p.m.
"Join Developer Tom Francis as he introduces us to his Fantastic Arcade 2014 Showcase game Heat Signature, and his bonus game (with Liselore Goedhart), SimAntics."
Self Publishing on Playstation
3:30 p.m.
Need any more proof that Sony is all about indie developers? Just look at their sponsership of this fest, which features many tiny or one-man developers displaying their wares. It seems likely that many of these titles could make their way to the PS Vita, which is increasingly becoming one of the finest gaming platforms for the hardcore gamer.
"Sony has been putting the spotlight on indie developers all year, and making their platforms friendlier than ever to self-publish on - if you're an indie developer, Sony would love to work with you! The SCEA Developer Relations will be on-hand to talk about the process and answer any burning questions you may have. Sign up during the panel to compete in a fistfull of indie game tournaments that follow, including Nidhogg, N++, and Towerfall Ascension, all available on Playstation."
N++ Tournament
Nidhogg Tournament
Towerfall Ascension: Tournament
Nuclear Throne Tournament
Saturday night's alright for fighting, indeed. Expect there to be some furious battles with these four tournaments.
Sunday, September 21
Life on A Mountain: Developer Commentary
12:00 p.m.
"Welcome Nuclear Throne composer Jukio "Kozilek" Kallio as we celebrate the premier of his first game as a developer- Life on a Mountain."
Donut County: Developer Commentary
3:00 p.m.
This looks almost like the anti-Katamari. You play a hole in the ground that gets bigger and bigger the more things it sucks into it.
Banana Chalice: Developer Commentary
4:00 p.m.
"Join guest games scientist Kyle Reimergartin for an exploration of the mind behind Banana Chalice."
KO-OP Mode Panel
5:00 p.m.
"Montreal-based collective KO-OP talks about art and design across their games, and how the collective structure inspires, influences, and creates tension in the game making process."
Starcade: Barfcade
16:30 p.m.
"Watch as two contestants go head-to-head, answering game trivia and playing this year's best Gamemaking Frenzy games. With IFC's Food Party host Thu Tran overseeing the madness, expect a queasy nexus of videogames, food and overindulgence- all in a showdown we have christened: BARFCADE."
Fantastic Arcade Awards
8:00 p.m.
What other fest makes you chug a beer out of your award? This is sure to be a blast.
Fantastic Arcade Closing Party
9:00 p.m.
"DJ's Kozilek and Ben Esposito will play out the closing hours of Fantastic Arcade as Fernando Ramallo and Wiley Wiggins provide live visuals. Come toast another year of Arcade with us!"
Fantastic Arcade is completely free to the public and takes place from September 18 through 21. If you live in Austin you have no excuse not to attend.