By: N. Evan Van Zelfden

What if you could go back, start from scratch, and remake E3 in your own image? With EIEIO in Austin, Texas, that's what developer-centric games publisher Gamecock Media is trying to do: Developer demos for the press, live bands and demos for the public, and drinks for all. The event was loosely associated with South by Southwest this year, and both festivals hope to have stronger ties with each other next year.

It started on a Wednesday evening, at the Alamo Drafthouse--a movie theater that serves dinner and a selection of fine beers. 140 developers, partners, press, and Gamecock staff watched a screening of documentary film The King of Kong--which met with great enthusiasm from the audience.

Gamecock's chief executive, Mike Wilson, took the stage beforehand to give a one-and-a-half minute speech, in which he thanked everyone for being there. "It's really awesome to have everyone in Texas for once," he said in reference to the developers who had traveled from Germany, England, California, Chicago, Houston, and other points on the compass. "God knows we've come to all of your homes enough."

"I need all of you in top form for tomorrow," Wilson continued. "There are bulls to be ridden, there are Rollergirls to be boxed, and somewhere in there, we're going to fit in some videogames."

When tomorrow did come, the weather had changed: rain threatened, and the temperature became considerably colder. On the edge of downtown, several dozen members of the game press eat a warm breakfast at Jamie's Spanish Village, a place that Gamecock president Harry Miller remembers frequenting when he was attending college in Austin.

Once everyone was lined up, a media handler explained that, because of the number of European outlets participating, the actual games coverage is embargoed until next Wednesday.

In a rare and interesting look into the Gamecock PR machine, the handler instructed the press: "Just talk to the developers, let those guys tell you what they're up to, and they'll really give you the flavour of their games and what they're doing...it's really all about them today."

With that, the group crossed the street, entering Stubbs, a barbecue restaurant and live music venue, to start the demo circuit. A room in the dark limestone basement was being used by FireFly studios, the British developers known for the Stronghold franchise.

In a room flickering with candles, and a massive glowing red demo PC on a billiards table, designer Simon Bradbury talked through some of the gameplay features in their upcoming Dungeon Hero game, commenting that you weren't so much a hero, "as a psychopath."

The studio is also completing Stronghold Crusader Extreme. This is something Bradbury points to proudly as a company: knowledge of the European market. For example, Firefly's Stronghold outsold Grand Theft Auto when both were released in Germany.

Past the coincidental dungeon, there's a small stage which has Mushroom Men from Red Fly Studios. They've developed it so the DS version gives players back-story on the Wii version, which has been getting attention for it's "first-party attention to detail."

Out on the porch, Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball and Insecticide are being shown. The charming Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball will be on of the most played games that day. And Insecticide's pedigree of former LucasArts vets, plus the episodic PC content, just could make it the next Sam and Max.

Upstairs is Hail to the Chimp from Wideload games. It's a cross between Super Smash Brothers, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. And when the Rollergirls arrive later in the day, the game is an instant hit as they watch, cheer, and applaud when each round ends; they share similar gameplay and tactics.

When asked if Gamecock would publish a Rollergirls game for the Wii that uses the Wii Balance Board and the nunchuck controls, Wilson replied, "Anything that involves Rollergirls is A-OK." Wilson adds that he isn't on the green-lighting committee, but adds, "Personally, I'm all for it: as a gamer and a Rollergirl fan."

Across the gravel lot in a side shed is Section 8, from developer TimeGate. The futuristic shooter has another year-and-a-half of scheduled development, so some details are understandably sparse. One publishing executive told Kotaku that there are also some features being safe-guarded because of their simplistic brilliance. This is to say, other games still in development could copy the clever features from Studio 8, were they made public.

Robert Siwiak, a producer at TimeGate, says that one of the things they've enjoyed working with Gamecock is, "they embrace originality." He talks about how the studio worked on expansions for F.E.A.R., and some things they wanted to do weren't possible, because they contradicted the publisher's style guide. But doing something original means there aren't the same restrictions when it comes to cannon. "They've afforded us the ability to go to whatever extremes we want," Siwiak says of Gamecock, who they knew from the beginning would be "the perfect publisher to work with on a title like Section 8."

Further along is Legendry from developer Spark Unlimited. It's a shooter that can aptly be described as Halo meets Gears of War, with mythological creatures. And hidden in the last building of Stubbs compound is Velvet Assassin, from developer Replay. The stealth-action game recently changed it's name from Sabotage, and now more prominently features a more interesting true-life female protagonist.

Before the doors open to the public, Wilson explains the lineup of bands, which include: Carolyn Wonderland, Johnny Hootrock, Del Castillo, and The Yard Dogs Roadshow. "It's a lot my favourite bands," he says. "It's really my show, for my own entertainment. [But] I hope a lot of crazy musicheads come out."

In the scheme of game industry events, he explains: "I think this is a micro-show, if you will, but I think all the new shows need a public element to it," Wilson predicts. "We've got four games we're going to let people play tonight. I think it's a really good element, to [include] Joe Gamer."

Alex Seropian, the founder of Bungie, and now Wideload, recalls an E3 many years ago, when Halo was first being shown. "Back then, E3 was a known quantity." With EIEIO, he says, there are hopes of something worthwhile building. So what does he think of a combining the showcase for game journalists, and the orgy for music fans? He grins. "Two great tastes that taste great together."

At 4:00 PM the beer is being unloaded by the case. At 5:30 PM, the Coronas are still being unloaded. Which sets the stage. The gates will open to the public at 6:00 PM. Besides game demos, and drinks, and bands, and performers, there will be a mechanical cock to ride (a mechanical bull, refitted with a rooster head), and over-sized boxing gloves for sparing with Rollergirls.

The evening beings with a burlesque performance: two girls representing chickens, one representing a pig, and a man dressed as a farmer, run round in circles on a bed of hay to the musical sounds of the he-haw version of Closer by Nine Inch Nail.

So the evening has started. It will go until ten, or midnight, or two. Wilson jokes that Velvet Assassin features a Burlesque level, and that it's market research, which could lead to Burlesque: The Game. Another title is suggested: Burlesque Hero. Wilson considers. "Burlesque Tycoon. That usually works--tycoon."

But the friendship between game developers and burlesque performers isn't one-way. One of the evening's performers with the stage name of Miss Maulie, told Kotaku that her best friend is a game developer, and that he's currently working for Blizzard in California.

In the end, there are many ways to measure success. "We've got people who can take or leave the whole Gamecock silliness," says Wilson. "Apparently, a lot of people want to be serious about this business, and it doesn't always go that well with my take [on it]."

So what's his hope for the outcome of this first EIEIO in Austin, Texas? "Regardless of how you feel about [silliness], that everyone here will be going: they've actually got some pretty fucking good games." Wilson says that it takes two years to make these games, something that people may forget, and something that makes a start-up publisher look sparse through the first cycle.

As the journalists begin to leave, they're given demo units for DS games, CDs with trailers and screenshots and other assets. They also get a Gamecock sock. Inside is a Gamecock shot glass, bottle opener, guitar pick, and magic lantern that projects the Gamecock logo.

What's the most common question asked? "What do you do with just one sock?"

Tags: eieio | galleries