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E3 '07: Gamecock holds 'funeral' for E3

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Jul 15, 2007 2:31 pm PT

Indie publisher commiserates over the death of the massive spectacle that was the game industry's old trade show.

Gamecock's Harry Miller delivers his rousing eulogy.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--It's an interesting sight: a top-hat-coiffed, shirtless man on stilts, draped in black, rocking a cigarette in one hand and a red, frat-party Dixie cup full of booze in the other. More so at a funeral. But alas, such was the scene at Gamecock's send-off of the old Electronic Entertainment Expo on Friday night.

Kicking off not-so-promptly at 4:20 p.m., the The Nightmare Before Christmas–esque procession--full of misfits and degenerates, game programmers and game journalists--ambled forth from Gamecock's swanky setup at the Hotel California on Ocean Avenue, unceremoniously halting traffic without the typical police escort, much to the dismay of bewildered motorists stuck on one-way streets.

Once on the beach, a contingent of Santa Monica's finest did arrive, though seemingly only to chat up the scantily clad dancers in the procession. As the spectacle meandered on, a palpable wave of discomfort was left in its wake as the otherwise pristine day on Venice Beach was marred by a marching jazz band's upbeat death fugue and Gamecockers ran up and down the line, herding the throng along. By far the highlight of the brief jaunt was an unfortunate, and ongoing, string of wardrobe malfunctions experienced by none other than Gamecock cofounder Mike Wilson, as the hospital gown he was wearing flapped in the wind.

Is this the end?

At long last, the parade reached its destination, a phallic concrete outcropping outside "on the waterfront cafe" on Venice Beach. Here, Gamecock's other cofounder, Harry Miller, delivered a brief yet succinct eulogy for the metaphorical bloated corpse the group had come to bury and called for a new era in game development that is dominated not by sequels and annuals, but by creativity and the reemergence of quality.

For Gamecock, that means publishing upcoming releases such as Hail to the Chimp, Dementium: The Ward, and Insecticide. As Miller wrapped up his speech, the wake closed with another ditty by the marching band, accompanied by a rousing performance by the conspicuously limber dancers. And, with that, the sun set once more on the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

200 Comments

  • rachkovsky

    Posted Sep 14, 2008 2:02 pm PT

    WQeird

  • RockaWuzHur

    Posted Jun 30, 2008 8:03 am PT

    Gamecock hasn't even published any decent games! Come back when you've got at least one triple A title.

  • MadGamer132

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 1:51 pm PT

    will Gamecock some good titles is a indie company, but if they contuine to bash e3 like they are goping to do, we might shut them up. please shut up, e3 is NOT Dead, it is just different.

  • leon41235

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 7:20 pm PT

    I'm quite interested in some of there upcoming titles. They might be pretty nice.

  • Ratpads

    Posted Jul 31, 2007 3:03 am PT

    too bad about E3 lol

  • magicmo

    Posted Jul 29, 2007 3:30 pm PT

    Gamecock's founder sounded like he lived up to the company's namesake.

  • PHeMoX

    Posted Jul 24, 2007 1:24 pm PT

    The thing about creativity ís true in all cases. By the time big companies have swallowed indie game developers it's down the drain with creativity, only clones will be supported by the big publishers, since those 'sort of' proven they can make them some money.

    Anyone who disagrees with this doesn't know how publishers handle 'creative ideas', and I'm speaking out of experience right here. Most big publishers are terrified about new and creative ideas! You know why? Because there's no way they can estimate whether or not such a game would sell. The big publishers are only out to make money not to sell a creative product, come on don't be ignorant.

  • mega324386

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 11:40 am PT

    E for all it exists proof is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_for_all It is the rebirth of the old E3, sorta no one mentions it come on

  • galduke

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 6:10 pm PT

    *sigh* Indie game developers always go on about the lack of creativity in this and the lack of quality that, and claim they have the cure. Their games are enjoyed by a few, ignored by many, and then they get picked up by some major publisher. The new games has a wider release, more people hate it, and the developers blame it on "lack of creative control", which may be true in some cases, but not all. If, however, said game is a success, a sequel is made and becomes a known and established franchise. Newer games take lessons from said game and adjust game designs to keep up with the competition. New indie game developers complain about the lack of whatever, and the process starts over again. To bad some of those companies "sold out", otherwise the gaming world would be free of corporations poisoning us with over hyped crap, and we would be free to swim about in a sea of underfunded titles with untested game play mechanics, it would be like being a beta tester, but WE pay THEM (welcome to Soviet Russia)! But who cares about the process, they're attention whores.

  • Digitised

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 7:25 am PT

    game what??...

  • dryden555

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 6:18 am PT

    I went to gamecock's website and their games might be fun in an XBOX Live sorta way -- who knows until they come out.

  • kenerhai

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 4:49 pm PT

    I really dont see how you people can call them "attention whores." So every game company that stages an event to have fun and make a point is an attention whore. wtf ever. some people are just clueless and the point is lost. Its this kind of disregard of small developers and their teams that lead to tragic loss of creativity and original ideas. Like what happened to Clover Studios.

  • LuffyUzumaki

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 2:13 pm PT

    Of course we knew it was dead before it even started this year.

  • ftjx

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 11:22 am PT

    I agree that the old E3 is dead and THATS sad....but the thing about publishers not taking risk with new and innovative gameplay THATS just something that will allways be there..........

  • Bloodhawk_DX

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 10:21 am PT

    Agreed. Gamecock is just attention whoring.

  • goddessakasha

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 9:23 am PT

    Gamecock are the new attention whores of the industry.

  • keyhunter

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 6:36 am PT

    I'm pretty sure they made Stubbs the zombie, which was awesome though short.

  • kenerhai

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 4:23 am PT

    im not brown nosing anyone, but i firmly believe its small companys like gamecock that bring innovation to the industry, and it just aggrivates me when people post uneducated comments like "who are they, who cares, or I don't know who they are so their games must suck". Obviously these guys are known enough to warrent an event such as this.

    Take a little time out of your busy lives to get to know a small developer or two. And no, I certainly do not play EA games, except Burnout or Need for speed games. And yea, maybe my comment on being a gamer was a little bit much, but so many gamers take for granted how many smaller development teams have made a major hit and went on to make the hits we love.

  • Cobhamar

    Posted Jul 17, 2007 3:38 am PT

    I agree that the game industry has to be putting out more creative and innovative games. But in my oppinion, theres nothing wrong with a game series such as the Metal Gear Solid games or Final Fantasy. As long as they grow the game from the previous one to make it a different expierience.

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