Get old-schooled with the Pinball 101 instructional video

Part of rediscovering pinball often includes experiencing the epiphany that pinball is a deep game involving a lot of skill.  This was certainly my own situation; the limited amount of pinball I played back in the day was mostly just me trying to keep the ball from draining in the hopes that cool light shows and multiballs would materialize at some point.

OK, I'm still doing that a little bit; I make much better shots now, and I'm much more aware of modes, but I'm still a newbie when it comes to the strategies of stacking modes and timing multiball for optimal jackpots and so forth.  My scores reflect this, but I want to get better.

Pinball 101 is a good step in that direction.  It's an instructional video that goes over different moves.  It does a great job explaining and illustrating how to do various passes. These moves are essential for controlling the ball, and they have the added bonus of looking pretty badass when executed in front of any pinball newb friends you might have hanging around.

The most common criticism of this film is the weird music video breaks in between instruction sets.  They have a tiny remote control car with a camera attached that they drive around various playfields.  I'ts actually kind of a neat idea, but it does feel like filler; I'm here to learn about pinball skills, dag nabbit!

The hardest part about applying these shots to your game is taking the time to practice them.  Even with home games on free play, it's very hard, for me at least, to not just go back to playing and actually practice.  Even when the reward is great.  And it is.  I taught myself the post pass move on Frankenstein without realizing that was what it was called, and it was extremely satisfying to make that shot.  The frustrating (or maybe just infinitely interesting) thing about pinball is, just because I can do a good post pass on one game, doesn't mean I can on a different game.

Overall, Pinball 101 is a valuable instructional video for a new player looking to improve and you just have to ignore the interspersed hokiness.  You can buy Pinball 101 on their website, and it is also available on iTunes.  These guys have a second DVD, The Pinball Collector, which seems like it focuses on older machines (part 1 will focus on pre-1960 machines, with a part 2 planned for machines created after that).  What perked my ears a bit more, though, was seeing that they are working on a Pinball 102 film.  I'll keep you posted on that one, but I better get to work graduating from Pinball 101 first.

Watch the Pinball 101 trailer on YouTube

Geekumentary Review: The Pinball Passion

"Video games are kind of like checkers; pinball is chess."

- John Kosmal, competitive pinball player

After TILT and Special When Lit whet my appetite for pinball documentaries, I went looking for more and found The Pinball Passion.  This one came out in 2008, when pinball was being kept alive by the home enthusiasts, expos, big public collections like the pinball museum in Las Vegas, and of course Stern (who became the last manufacturer standing in 1999 when Williams shut down).

The Pinball Passion is a 2-disc set with some great bonus material including a behind the scenes tour at Stern Pinball. It's a comprehensive film that covers several interesting aspects of pinball. It provides some nice highlights on the evolution of pinball as told by reknowned members of the industry such as Alvin Gottlieb, Roger Sharpe, Gary Stern, Pat Lawlor, and Steve Ritchie.


They talk about the depth and modes of pinball machines, something that would probably be very illuminating to many people (myself included, prior to falling in love with the hobby).  The often told legend of Roger Sharpe vs. the New York City Council is related; this story pops up in almost every pinball documentary, but I do enjoy hearing it, it's pinball canon and a dramatic pivotal moment in pinball history.

There is also some good discussion about the challenges of public play pinball.  Arcade machines simply don't have the same magnitude of maintenance requirements that pinball does.  A well-maintained machine is a joy to experience, but, as the documentary points out, if a player walks up to a machine with a broken flipper, it creates a distasteful experience that will probably turn them off to pinball in general.  It's hard to get the mainstream public excited about pinball when so many on-location machines are not kept in good working order.

One of my favorite parts is the discussion on Stern, and how they have adapted to survive.  Some people hate Stern; they hate that machines have gotten cheaper (production-wise) and more standardized, that Stern is said to "literally buy toys from Wal-Mart and put them in the machines" as opposed to some of the amazing and unique machines that came out of the golden age of pinball.  It's a legitimate point of contention, but bottom line, in my opinion, they have done what they had to do to keep making pinball, and I salute them for that, I really do.

One of the only things I didn't like about this documentary concerns the DVD menu.  The options are to play the movie, or "Mode Select" and "Wizard Mode".  That may be a clever way to label these sections in line with the subject matter, but I have NO IDEA what is in them.  They probably should have stuck with "Settings" and "Bonus Material".  It's a minor objection, though.  The film has been dedicated to the two new pinball machines they could have bought, but instead made this documentary.  Truth.  Thanks, guys, your efforts are greatly appreciated.


Pinball Passion
A Pinball Story Told by Pinball People
Bracken J. Batson and Beau B. Bellgraph, 2008
http://www.pinballpassion.com

A Pinball Documentaries Rundown

My greatest obsession right now is with pinball, and it can be traced back to pinball documentaries (geekumentaries being my OTHER greatest obsession).  There are actually several pinball documentaries available, so I thought I'd outline the ones I know about here.

TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball

TILT takes place at the tail-end of the golden age of pinball. It tells the story of an effort by Williams to turn slipping sales trends around in the late 90s with a new type of pinball machine, Pinball 2000, that integrated video on the playfield in an inventive way.  It is one of my favorite geekumentaries, pinball or otherwise.


Trailer for "TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball" from Greg Maletic on Vimeo.

TILT can be had digitally on iTunes, Amazon Instant, and so forth, but I recommend the 2-DVD set for the awesome bonus materials.



Pinball Passion

The Pinball Passion is sort of just a general overview of pinball, but it covers some really great topics and includes a good sampling of the big names in pinball.  It was completed in 2008, so it's a lot more recent look at the hobby than TILT and specifically discusses how Stern is the only remaining pinball manufacturer left from the golden age of pinball, and how they are pulling that off.


Pinball Passion DVD Documentary Teaser Trailer from Bracken James Batson on Vimeo.

This one is another 2-DVD set (also available digitally), though the bonus material isn't as robust as TILT's.

Special When Lit

Whereas TILT told a story focused on pinball designers and manufacturers, Special When Lit dives more into the collector/player side of pinball. Some feel this film went out of its way to show pinball enthusiasts as non-socialized nerds, but I've heard others say that the people in the film were portrayed accurately, if not as representatives of the average pinball fan, at least as a fair overall representation of those individuals' personalities.  I have noticed that so far, pinball documentaries seem to focus mainly on collectors who collect mostly the older machines, EM era vs. SS.

Special When Lit was completed in 2010 and covers pinball after the pinball apocalypse of the late 90s. It portrays a rediscovering of sorts, though it has an overall somber tone and dubious forecast for pinball as a hobby.


Pinball 101

Pinball 101 isn't really a documentary per se, but I include it here because it is another DVD  you can buy about pinball, and it teaches you something that the previously mentioned films don't really delve into; pinball gameplay and how to become more skilled at the game.

And, by the same people, there is apparently also The Pinball Collector, which appears to be about collecting older machines (they say Pinball Collector part 2 will cover newer machines).  Aaaand, they are working on a Pinball 102.




More

There are definitely more pinball-related documentaries out there, including some really great little featurettes that are available online for free.  Two of my favorites are The Robert Gagno episode of Ingenious Minds, and A Lifelong Love, about collector/competitor John Reuter.  I've posted these before, but they are both just great, so here's an encore:





A Lifelong Love from David Lovejoy on Vimeo.

And lastly, looks like the Japanese were hip to the pinball resurgence way back in 2010 in this featurette about pinball in New York City, New York City Pinball Documentary, featuring - guess who - Reciprocal.  Man, those guys gets around! :)

Geekumentary: Second Skin Trailer

Second Skin Trailer from Pure West on Vimeo.

Just ordered this one, full review to come! :)

Geekumentary - Special When Lit A Pinball Documentary

Just came across an update on a geekumentary I started following some time ago. Special When Lit: A Pinball Documentary just got a writeup in the Australian site Filmink.com.

Special When Lit is the definitive story of the rise and fall of pinball as told by the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe. Shot all over the world, though predominantly in America, by London-based Australian filmmakers Brett O'Sullivan, Clayton Jacobsen and Emily Rickard, and edited in the UK with the final sound mix completed in Australia, the film truly is an international production with worldwide appeal.

TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball set the bar pretty high, but I'm happy to see another contender, and look forward to watching this movie. That's the nice thing about documentaries; there can be 2, 3, 4 of them on the exact same topic, and all covering sufficiently different angles and with different approaches such that they don't exclude one another. That's why I don't mind when I hear rumblings that other people are working on designer board game documentaries, and in fact, welcome it.

TILT is available on Netflix and iTunes!

I've waited for this day for a long time. TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball is one of my all-time favorite documentaries, but it hasn't been widely available. Until now! TILT can now be found on


AND



It doesn't matter if you are a pinball fan or not; I wasn't a big pinball person when I first saw the film. The story told by TILT has got everything a documentary is supposed to have; interesting facts and beautifully illustrated background history, interviews with key contributors (like the guy who invented putting flippers at the bottom of the play field), and a story with an endearing human element to tie everything together.

Trailer for "TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball" from Greg Maletic on Vimeo.

Also check out Greg's Vimeo channel, there are some very cool additional clips there.

If you use Netflix or iTunes, go check it out IMMEDIATELY, and don't forget to add the bonus DVD to your Netflix queue. It's got some really great extras. Just do it, have I ever steered you wrong before? Swing by here and let me know what you think afterwards, and if you'd like to buy a copy to own after that, you can get it on the official website.

Geekumentary: 10 MPH

Seems like it's been ages since I reviewed a geekumentary here! I've been so focused working on my own, that in the meantime, some brand new ones have popped up.

I've got the Documentary Channel's sling website bookmarked, and have watched a lot of wonderful items since doing that. There was the documentary by Johnny Knoxville about an old moonshiner, and Johnny Berlin, a character-centric film about a porter on a luxury train. Both were FANTASTIC.

The most recent find, though, was even better. Their most recent blog featured a documentary called 10 MPH.

In this documentary, two guys give up their corporate jobs to trek from Seattle to Boston on the two-wheeled gyroscope contraption (a Segway), crossing some of the same paths as the Oregon Trail and the Lewis and Clark expedition all while traveling about the same speed as the Pony Express did way back when.

There is nothing geekier than a Segway, so welcome to the geekumentary club, guys! I really enjoyed this film, to the point that after watching it, I went straight to their website to purchase it. And there found that they are all about indie distribution. In fact, they even let you name your price for the film.

My copy arrived in the mail yesterday, and my husband and I watched it that night. At first, he was lukewarm about the whole thing, but I could see him get drawn in. He's a big fan of Into the Wild, and 10 MPH shares some strong elements with that story, including a soundtrack with a very similar sound. Its biggest strengths are in the people met on the journey, and their stories. It also didn't hurt that the end goal was Boston and Bedford, NH, about 20 minutes north of us.



As a documentary, they had all the right elements going for them. A storyline with a specific goal that the audience could easily grasp from the beginning but the achievement of which is not known straight away. Adversity, challenge, and a high degree of "I can relate" factor (who wouldn't want to quit their day job and pursue their dreams?). There were some technical facts I wondered about that weren't covered in the film, like how long a Segway battery lasts, how many they brought, and other trivia that would have been fun to know (may find that on the commentary). The chasing your dreams part was laid on a bit thick, but was nonetheless inspiring and heartwarming, and the medly of quotes at the end was a nice touch.

They've got a second film, Ten Yards, which is about fantasy football. I don't partake, but it's obviously a topic in my genre and I can see the potential for it to be entertaining (check out the trailer on that site). Josh and Hunter's real dream is clearly to make documentaries, and they're certainly doing it, with the third film they're working on, "Ride the Divide - a documentary about the world's toughest mountain bike race. The race spans 2711 miles from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, and is fully self-supported."

I don't own a lot of geekumentaries, and many I do own I bought only because that was the ONLY way to see them. In this case, I saw the whole thing, and still wanted 10 MPH for my collection. I'm really looking forward to the director commentary, and to reading their take on indie distribution, because I know it can be quite an undertaking, even in the current self-publishing web 2.0 environment where one would assume such things are now easy. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to get a copy of BBS: The Documentary to review - that's another one you can watch online, but when you're talking about a 5 hour film...it's just better to own.

George Lucas Geekumentary

Geeks of Doom just rocked my geekumentary world with the heads-up regarding The People vs. George Lucas.



I certainly fall on the "I hate you for Jar-jar" side of things, but not only that, if the new Star Wars hadn't mucked it up for Pinball 2000's launch, that project might have been a success.

Anyway, this looks like an EXCELLENT documentary, and I can't wait to watch it!

PS - I'm also working my way through "His Name Was Jason," the new Friday the 13th documentary. It's quite good too.

That board game doc

Remember back in November when I said, "Hey, if somebody else won't make a documentary about board gaming, I guess maybe I'LL do it..."

One day I'm either going to look back at that entry and say, "Yup, right there, that's where it all began." or...actually, there is no "or." This is happening.

The board is set, and the pieces are in motion on the board game documentary project. I've created a second blog dedicated to it, and a Facebook group to help coordinate information and discussion. Feel free to join up.

The first big filming opportunity is Unity Games XV, a board game gathering in Woburn, MA, and it's THIS SATURDAY, February 7. Yeah, that would be tomorrow. Game on!

Geekumentary: Classic Game Room

This is the story of one of those "I wish I'D done that" ideas that you wish you'd done because it's basically something you DID do - if you've sat around with your friends talking and joking about video games, the only part you forgot was taping it and making it a weekly show.

Classic Game Room is a bit of a mix of actual Classic Game Room episodes with a story about the "rise and fall" of the show intertwined. If you want to revel in the memories of your Atari, Genesis, or NES, it's definitely worth a turn in your Netflix queue.



The hosts are likeable, and the reviews are funny, but not hysterical. The forumula's since been perfected by X-Play's Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, though they were almost certainly influenced by this 1999 predecessor (which has also returned in 2008 with new reviews).

What kind of bugs me is that, while I respect the effort that went into making this documentary, and recognize its value as a bit of history of the game review industry, you can get Classic Game Room (or, for that matter, Gamers) on Netflix, while you cannot get my favorite geekumentaries like TILT or Uber Goober (or Pizza! the Movie; I'd like to see that one). Come ON, Netflix! Give the geekumentary genre a chance to shine! I'm discovering an awful lot of good material out there that's rather difficult to come by. I really hope Get Lamp and Second Skin will be available.

Geekumentary Database

What the internet really needs is a master list of geekumentaries! The only criteria for inclusion here is that it's a documentary about something geeky. Please add comments if you know of any I've missed.

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GEEKUMENTARIES

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10 MPH (2007)

Two friends embark on a cross-country journey from Seattle to Boston on a Segway.Full review.

An Adventurer is You! (200-something)

The origins of Kingdom of Loathing: From the frozen wastes of Canadia rode filmmaker Chris Ciosk, on a trusty steed made of video cameras and boom microphones. He interviewed us, explored our offices, and cut together a 27-minute documentary that you can show to your non-KoL-playing friends by way of explanation or apology. Heck, your mother would probably like it. Lord knows she's easy enough to please. It's got loads of special features -- lengthy audio interviews with all of the staff (all of the staff as of early 2007, at least,) a behind-the-scenes look at our development process, and a really cool title animation. A must-have for anybody who must have it.

Avatars Offline (2002)

All about people who meet online, and then in real life.

Ball Saved



BBS: The Documentary (2005)

A five and a half-hour epic that chronicles the history of BBS (bulletin board systems), and, by nature, much of the rise of home computing. Full review.

Candyman: The David Klein Story (2010)

The bittersweet tale of David Klein, the man who invented Jelly Belly jellybeans. Featuring Weird Al, so you know it's a geekumentary. This is one I recommend.

Chasing Ghosts (2008)

A look at the classic arcade gaming scene that focuses on Twin Galaxies and the people involved in the LIFE magazine shoot in Ottumna, Iowa.

Classic Game Room (2007)

The rise and fall of a 1999 video game review show. Classic Game Room is also back on the internet as of 2008. Full review.

Darkon (2006)

Darkon documents a group of weekend warriors in Maryland...literally, weekend warriors, as these guys are taking part in an honored geek tradition (oft considered geeky even among geeks), the LARP (Live-Action Roleplay).

Dungeon Masters

about pen-and-paper gaming.

The Dungeons & Dragons Experience (2004)



Frag

About the world of pro video gaming.

Get Lamp (2010)

A documentary about early 80's text adventures (the Infocom-style games like Zork).

Gold Farmers


High Score


His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2009)



The History of Pinball


The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

Two classic arcade gamers battle for the world record Donkey Kong score. Full review.

LARP: The Movie (2008)


Life with a Dice Bag (2005)


Monster Camp (2007)

Monster Camp is about a group of LARPers who belong to the Seattle chapter of NERO (New England Roleplaying Organization). Full review.

Nerdcore for Life (2010)


Nerdcore Rising (2008)

Nerdcore Rising tells the tale of nerd rapper MC Frontalot and his first big tour, leading up to an appearance at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. Full review.

The People vs. George Lucas


Pinball Passion


Pizza! The Movie


The Planet of the Doctor

A free online multi-part documentary on Dr. Who.

Six Days in Roswell

A feature film docu-comedy about UFOs, Aliens, Sightings, Abductions, Other Worldly Visitors, Extra Terrestrials, UFO Researchers, Government Cover-ups, Close Encounters, Flying Saucers, Alien Spacecraft, an Impact Site, Alien Bodies, an Alien Autopsy, the 509th Bomb Group...

Special When Lit: A Pinball Documentary

This is the definitive story of the rise and fall of pinball as told by the fans, collectors, designers and champion players from across the globe.

Ten Yards: Fantasy Football

A film by 10 MPH's Josh Caldwell and Hunter Weeks, about fantasy football.

TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball (2007)

TILT tells the story of a last-ditch effort to reinvent pinball when one of the biggest manufacturers, Williams, had their pinball division on the chopping block in favor of the slot machine business. Full review.

Trekkies/Trekkies 2 (1997)

Trekkies documents the Star Trek phenomenon, and its devotees.

Second Skin (in development)

A film covering MMOs and the people who play them, including a look into the life of a gold farmer.

Spellbound (2002)

Spellbound is "the story of eight American children who set out to win the National Spelling Bee."

Uber Goober 2004

Uber Goober is about gamers, primarily miniatures gaming and role-playing (pen n' paper, LARP). Full review.

Wordplay (2006)

Wordplay explores the secret world of crossword puzzles. Several celebrities talk about their love of crossword puzzles, including Ken Burns.

Word Wars (2004)

Word Wars is all about Scrabble. Competitive Scrabble.

BBS: The Documentary

(Part 1)

Started watching BBS: The Documentary today. I say started because the full documentary is five and a half hours long. Now, I really wasn't involved in the whole BBS scene. The closest I got was playing a MUCK called Delusions back in 1994 or so, using dial-up, and owning a baud-speed modem. So while BBS certainly qualifies for geekumentary territory, I didn't think I was going to be quite as into this one as some of the others I've seen.

One of the things that has made this a good viewing experience so far is that history repeats itself. There's enough content I can relate to in this documentary to keep it interesting, and an engaging level of "yeah, it's just like that now, only instead of BBS boards, it's happening on MMO boards." Instead of "twelveyearoldswhogotamodemforChristmas" you've got "twelveyearoldswhogotWoWforChristmas." Flame wars? power-happy moderators? It's all been done before, and I'm enjoying seeing a prior incarnation.

"My first computer came in a kit, cost me $3000 and took 6 months to put together."

- C.E. "Satan" Rawles

Can you imagine the inflation-adjusted price there? As they say in the film, it was often literally a choice between owning a car and owning a computer. Some of these modems were clocking in at 9600 baud, but well over $600. It really does give one pause, to think that nowadays you expect to get the top of the line wireless router for about $100, or a tricked-out gaming machine for under $3000 (LOADS less if you build it yourself).

So even if you didn't have direct experience with the BBS era, if you're interested in the history of it all, or that the first modem was created by Bell in 1963...you should check this thing out! It's a modern-day history lesson.



PS - Jeff Keegan, you GO, I have that Rush t-shirt too! I hate you for apparently owning Theater of Magic, though, almost as much as I hate PLAYING White Water (the two pinball machines in the background during Jeff's interviews).

A Fistful of Geekumentaries

OK, I haven't had time to watch the following documentaries yet - I just started digging into the BBS one - but they are all available to watch online, so I figured I should at least let you know about them!

BBS: The Documentary
Jason Scott's the director currently at work on the Get Lamp text adventures documentary. Before that, however, he created a documentary about the history of BBS.

BBS: The Documentary is an 8 episode series about all aspects of the history of the dial-up Bulletin Board System, or BBS. 3 years in the making and the result of over 200 interviews, this collection puts in one convenient package a sense of the variety and wide-reaching effects of the BBS phenomenon. All in all, over seven and a half hours of material is included across the three region-free DVDs.

You can watch it on Google Video, or get the physical version here.


JK Rowling: A Year in the Life
In conjunction with the release of the new Tales of Beedle the Bard book, a multi-part online documentary following JK Rowling around for a year has been released.

Journalist James Runcie was granted an incredible documentary opportunity in 2006 -- to film Harry Potter author JK Rowling for the entire year as she worked on the final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Parts 1 and 2
Parts 3 - 5
(UPDATE: 12/24 - oh BOO, these are now the subject of a rights debate. Maybe take a peek here.)


Classic Game Room
Classic Game Room: The Rise and Fall of the Internet's Greatest Video Game Review Show.

In 1999, the first online video game show was inaugurated with a single camera, a $50 per episode budget and a pair of hosts who weren't above swilling beer and slinging joysticks to inject some fun. This film documents the short-lived show's rise and fall, and includes Mark Bussler's and David Crosson's reviews of classic games such as Frogger, Duck Hunt, SeaMan, Yars' Revenge, Alien, Joust and more.

Heard about this one from a recent issue of GameRoom magazine. It's on Netflix, and you can watch it online for free if you're a subscriber.


I'll do individual reviews of these once I've seen them, but in the meantime, feel free to check them out and share your thoughts! I've also got the Showtime version of Chasing Ghosts to check out. When it rains, it pours!

Conflicted

I loved The King of Kong. When I first saw it, I practically cheered at the ending. That was back in February. Since then, as a result of seeing that film, I have

• started blogging
• found out that the largest classic arcade in the world is in my own backyard
• gotten to know a lot of genuinely cool people from both the classic arcade gaming and documentary crowds
• gotten back into classic arcade gaming myself
• finally realized my dream of having a home arcade machine of my own!
• discovered the world of geekumentaries (I knew about a few, like Spellbound and Word Wars, but that's the tip of the iceberg)
• actually considered doing my own documentary

That's no small set of accomplishments for a mere film.

It's obvious from the start that The King of Kong tells a biased story. The more I looked into it, though, the more I realized that the facts had not just been skewed, they were omitted and twisted where it made for a stronger story. If you want to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes, take Jason Scott's red pill, but the movie won't be the same for you afterwards. At first, I brushed it off by saying, "I just approach it as a semi-fictional story and enjoy the ride." I'm finding it harder and harder to do that now, the more I learn.

I did in fact tie it for #1 in my Top 10 Geekumentaries list (next to TILT, which is beginning to look like the clear winner). Two things are now troubling me about this.

1. Some people featured in the film feel slandered and inaccurately portrayed. A couple weekends back, I met many of them and got to spend some time getting to know them, and they all seemed like really nice people. People I'd be honored to consider friends. The inaccuracies bother them to varying degrees, but how can I endorse a movie that brings any degree of undeserved grief to people I've grown to respect? Even if it is through the very fact that I SAW this movie that we are friends?



2. My geekumentary obsession has got me to thinking about making my own documentary. I was reading a book Friday night about making documentaries, and the author was adamant that one honor two simple "kindergarten-style" rules: Tell the truth, and don't hurt people. It seems that The King of Kong broke both those rules.

Only if it hadn't, if it hadn't grabbed my attention and won my heart with it's great yet inaccurate story, I wouldn't be reading that book, or writing this entry, and life wouldn't be nearly as interesting as it is right now.

News on Get Lamp!

Got an update today from Jason Scott regarding the Get Lamp text adventure documentary he's working on. The projected date of completion has been pushed into 2009, which is not a surprise. The good news is that he's still jazzed about the film and the recent lack of updates is just due to a busy schedule.

He's started a blog dedicated to Get Lamp, which you can check out here.

You GO, Jason! Thanks for the update, and for the continued effort to provide us with another great geekumentary. I'm really looking forward to this one. :)

If I can't find a reindeer...

When the thought first came to him, Farmer Hoggett dismissed it as mere whimsey. But, like most of his hair-brained ideas, it wouldn't go away.

- Babe

I've been watching a lot of geek documentaries lately, and scouring the internet for more. I made a Top 10 list of the ones I've seen so far, and have been thinking about what subjects seem to be missing their own piece of the geekumentary pie.

Anime, for example, seems to be a very documentable geek sub-genre. From what I've learned, there have been at least two films completed on the subject, but it seems that neither of them got past the film festival stage (at least not yet). Another really great topic would, I'm convinced, be board games. There are two documentaries on Scrabble (Wordplay and Scrabylon), but that's not the sort of board game I'm talking about.

I mean the beautiful, often cerebral games coming out of Germany and other places that are not Wal-Mart. We're talking highly strategic games beyond RISK, though just as many are casual and don't take hours to play. There are conventions (many) and tournaments, and geeks gathering in groups at any house with lots of table space, staying up till 3 AM playing together (I'm not one of these). Even some snobbery towards the "lowest common denominator" style games cranked out here in the US. You know, ALL the hallmarks of a great geekumentary and I haven't even scratched the surface. OK, they probably dont dress up for the most part, though I did don a cloak one night when we were playing Mystery of the Abbey.



So I Google away for "board game documentary" and there are just no rumblings of any such thing in development. IndieGoGo lists a proposal for a doc based on Monopoly that would chronicle the big Monopoly tournament. That's interesting, I'd watch it, and I didn't know there WAS a "big Monopoly tournament." But that's not the sort of board game I'm talking about.

Then one night, the voice in the back of my head, idly musing, struck up a conversation. Some people out there make documentaries with no prior experience. What if I made a board gaming documentary?

The idea is ludicrous at this point in time. While I do know a few people (read: one) involved in the industry, have a brother who believes in me with film school and grip experience and a professional-grade camera, and have heard that one creator of such games is fairly local, I have two young kids, little free time on my hands, and nothing resembling venture capital. Such an endeavor would require a trip to the the Spiel convention in Germany, as well as treks to Origins, probably the Board Game Geeks con in Texas, and something on the West Coast. It would require hours of filming, no YEARS of filming. Learning how to film, how to edit (or finding someone who knows), and about a million OTHER things I'm not even aware of yet and have no skill in.

But this ludicrous idea... over a week later I'm still thinking about it. And despite all the logic I just laid down, a board game documentary needs to be made.

While it would be incredibly cool to pull it off, and as much as I admire people like Negin Farsad and Greg Maletic, I don't pretend to think that just because they could do it, so can I. As cliche as it sounds, all I really want to do is watch this movie. So is there such a doc in development already and I just don't know about it? If not, could somebody make one before I go tilting at this particular windmill?

But Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored. For in them lie the seeds of destiny.

Holy Movie News!

So...Ridley Scott's going to direct a movie based on Monopoly. The boardgame? Ridley Scott as in Aliens? Color me befuddled. Not only that, apparently Hasbro and Universal also have plans for movies based on Ouija and Battleship. OK, now THOSE you could have a LOT of fun with, but I'm still befuddled. And the He-Man movie was put on hold WHY, exactly? Cripes, Warner Brothers, these guys are planning a movie based on Monopoly. If they have the stones to do that, then by the power of Greyskull, YOU can do a He-Man movie!

I also just this week watched Casino Royale for the first time, in preparation for Quantum of Solace next week. I grew up with Bond movies, and still have memories of watching For Your Eyes Only on HBO as a kid, but for some reason I didn't think I was going to like Casino Royale. I was wrong, it was great, possibly my favorite Bond movie ever, and now I'm very much looking forward to Quantum of Solace! In no small part, because I just read that it's got a new Watchmen trailer attached to it. Oh, so does that mean The Watchmen is actually going to see the interior of a theater now? Awesome.

I'd like to take a moment to give a massive shout-out to Geeks of Doom. You guys are doing a phenomenal job, and I always look forward to the daily email. I know I've just betrayed one of my best sources for fun movie-related blog info, but oh well. You should check them out regularly.

YES YES YES! I just read on SpoutBlog that Chasing Ghosts is airing on Showtime in December! That just made my week. Here's the schedule:

Dec 3 8:45 AM
Dec 4 7:30 AM
Dec 5 3:00 AM
Dec 7 11:45 AM
Dec 9 11:45 AM

'Scuse me while I go sign up for Showtime...I mean, I was probably going to anyway, for Dexter, but now it's a must. Hopefully a DVD will also be available; I already know this is one I need to own.

More Geek Documentaries

Our cat got out last week and I don't think he's coming back, so bear with me, I'm going back and forth between "get some perspective, it's just a cat" and full-out tears. Plus I missed the MC Frontalot concert in Boston last night. But, Tuesday is posting day, so I figured I'd let you know about a couple more geekumentaries I will be investigating.

In addition to Ball Saved and The History of Pinball, Mr. Maletic also let me know about a FOURTH pinball documentary in development, Pinball Passion.

I also discovered a second Nerdcore hip-hop documentary, Nerdcore for Life. This one's a more general look at nerds and the things that make them nerdy, and it looks GREAT. Here's the trailer:



(some profanity). Was that a shot of the Arkham Horror boardgame I saw? Oh yes it was!

PS - OMG @ what That Guy just brought to my attention. Just...watch it. The Hoff always knows when I need a little cheering up! <3

PPS - I just found out that Bruce Campbell's stopping by Boston on November 7 for a screening of his new movie, My Name is Bruce. There are quite a few stops on the tour, so if you're a Bruce Campbell fan, check it out!

Oh, and it's voting day. VOTE. Obviously.

Top 10 Geekumentaries

In the last decade, making documentaries about the many niches of geek culture has become all the rage. This is due to the fact that geek culture itself is all the rage (or teh rage). The subject matter is varied and detailed, and its practitioners are generally quite passionate about their off-beat hobbies. Fruitful territory for documenting.

I'm not sure how it all went down, but one day somebody flipped over the rock where all the geeks and nerds were congregating (LAN party), and now we're all exposed, our pale flesh wriggling in the sunlight. It turned out we were actually kind of fascinating in a squirmy sort of way and... BAM! The geekumentary was born.

There are a multitude of geekumentaries out there you may or may not have heard of, so I whipped up my own Top 10 list (Top 10 lists are all teh rage).


10. Avatars Offline (2002)

This one came out quite some time ago and was all about people who meet online, and then in real life. It came out before World of Warcraft, however, so the online landscape was quite different from what it is now. That in itself makes Avatars Offline interesting to watch, though it is fairly difficult to find now. See it if you are interested in MMO history and online relationships, and can locate a copy.

The good news is, a new treatment of this subject matter is in the works in the form of Second Skin, due in theaters any day now, and DVD early 2009 (more info on that below).


9. Darkon (2006)

Darkon documents a group of weekend warriors in Maryland...literally, weekend warriors, as these guys are taking part in an honored geek tradition (oft considered geeky even among geeks), the LARP (Live-Action Roleplay).

The style of LARP featured in Darkon is very focused on land ownership and battles between kingdoms. It's more realistic than the style of LARP featured in Monster Camp, and the mere fact that there are enough sub-genres of LARP to result in two very different geekumentaries on the same subject is in itself impressive. Available on Netflix.



8. Wordplay (2006)

Wordplay explores the secret world of crossword puzzles, through the crafty eyes and at the newsprint-stained hands of those devoted to them. ("His thumb and forefinger are blackened, just as Brother William foretold!") Several celebrities talk about their love of crossword puzzles, including Ken Burns (the czar of documentaries). Available on Netflix.





7. Nerdcore Rising (2008)

Nerdcore Rising tells the tale of nerd rapper MC Frontalot and his first big tour, leading up to an appearance at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. Full of geeks and geek topics, and sporting interviews with Weird Al Yankovic, it's a worthy addition to the geekumentary family and will make you feel proud to be nerdcore (unless you played Hassle: The Dorkening once). Full review.




6. Spellbound (2002)

Spellbound is "the story of eight American children who set out to win the National Spelling Bee." Whenever children are involved in something highly competitive, you can't help but think about the pressures involved, and wonder if the parents are the ones who want the win, and are just living vicariously through their kids. Spellbound doesn't give me that impression. The parents of these competitors seem loving and encouraging, and the children appear to be growing in a healthy manner through the experience, win or lose. You also get to hear from some adults who were child spelling bee competitors. Available on Netflix.



5. Word Wars (2004)

Word Wars is all about Scrabble. Competitive Scrabble. If you didn't know there was such a thing, that's what geekumentaries are here for! In Word Wars, you'll meet a stable of satisfyingly quirky Scrabble players, including those that religiously travel the tournament circuit, as well as the "parkies" who play in Washington Square Park, New York, but are just as serious as the tournament players. One question to ponder; do mood enhancers and brain boosters count as steroids in a competition of the mind? Word Wars, also, is available on Netflix (heads-up: though 4-letter words don't make for great Scrabble scores, this movie contains some profanity).




4. Monster Camp (2007)

Like Darkon, Monster Camp is about a group of LARPers, this time it's the Seattle chapter of NERO (New England Roleplaying Organization). NERO is more monster-focused than the kingdom politics and factional warring flavor featured in Darkon, but both are rich with in-fighting and great geeky utterances. As geeks go, the ones featured in Monster Camp prove rather endearing, especially when their chapter is in danger of being shut down. Available on Netflix. Full review.




3. Trekkies (1997)

Trekkies documents the Star Trek phenomenon, and its devotees. Meet fully decked-out Klingon fans who actually speak Klingon as this film boldly goes into the trek convention space, and other places. Like Trek, this documentary's been around for a while, but is well-done, and even though the Trek scene is no longer at the level it was in 1997, Trek is such a core segment of geekdom that it would be highly illogical not to include it here. Available on Netflix.




1. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

I know people who couldn't care less about arcade games, yet were literally glued to The King of Kong for the duration of this movie. It's entertaining and weaves a classically accessible tale. You'll notice a slant to the way things are presented, but that's exactly what makes it an entertaining story and is, ultimately, a director's perrogative.

New Line's also got plans in the works to do a fictional comedy remake of the film. The King of Kong is a great gateway geekumentary, and one in which the saga continues beyond the film. Available on Netflix. Full review.




1. TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball (2007)

TILT tells the story of a last-ditch effort to reinvent pinball when one of the biggest manufacturers, Williams, had their pinball division on the chopping block in favor of the slot machine business.

TILT and The King of Kong get #1 here for different areas of strength. TILT does a great job of relating the early history of pinball, and telling the compelling story of the Pinball 2000 project in a visually beautiful manner. It's an insightful look at the external business factors that affect all creative projects. TILT also blows away any and all competition as far as extras; it's the only geekumentary I've seen with a bonus disc, and the quality of the nearly seven hours of bonus material is excellent. With any luck, you'll see it on Netflix soon, but it's one you should own anyway. Full review.




Honorable Mention

• The Planet of the Doctor. This one's a multi-part documentary you can view online for free. Doctor Who is certainly a solid geek genre, and this documentary is a great primer for anybody not well-versed with the series (like ME, OK? I admit it!).
• The Making of Army of Darkness. OK, this one's not strictly a standalone documentary, it's a bonus feature in the "Boomstick Edition" of Army of Darkness. But it deserves mention, because it was just so much FUN to watch them puppeting skeletons all over the place, doing crazy effects and stunts, and goofing off in typical Sam Raimi style. And...Bruce Campbell. Enough said.

Still on my "to see" list:
These are some films that my web crawling has unearthed, but are not redily available for rent.

• Dungeon Masters, about pen-and-paper gaming.
• Frag, about the world of pro gaming.

On the TILT director's commentary, Greg Maletic also mentions another pinball documentary (Ball Saved correction, The Histsory of Pinball) and a pizza documentary that I'm now on the hunt for.


Some Promising Geekumentaries In Development
The following films are still in the works, but have the potential to break into the Top 10 list without too much trouble when they're released.

• Chasing Ghosts, another serving of the classic arcade gaming scene.
• Second Skin, a film covering MMOs and the people who play them, including a look into the life of a gold farmer.
• Get Lamp, a documentary about early 80's text adventures (the Infocom-style games like Zork). Plus it features a theme song from MC Frontalot!

Know of a geekumentary I've missed? I'd love to hear about it!

Geekumentary: TILT

In 1998 pinball was dying, thanks to a saturated market and shrinking player base. Williams, the world's largest pinball manufacturer, prepared to abandon the game that had made it a legend in favor of the more lucrative video slot machine business.

From its nostalgic opening jaunt though pinball history to its heartbreaking ending, employing remarkable animation throughout, TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball is a fascinating case study for anyone interested not just in pinball, but in the march of technology and the intersection of art and commerce.

I've never played a lot of pinball. I like the concept, like the lights and sounds and flipping those flippers, but it's not as if I'm good at it or a frequent player, certainly not a pinball enthusiast. But I'm on this geekumentary kick, and the only way I was going to see TILT was to buy it, so I did.

I'm glad I did, this was a really good one. Not only is the history of pinball an interesting one (it was years before the pair of flippers we're all familiar with were added to the bottom), the story of Pinball 2000 is one of those classic underdog tales. The subjects interviewed, mostly pinball designers and industry people, are not as colorful as the guys from The King of Kong, but I liked them, and I was pulling for them. George Gomez, one of the primary team members for Pinball 2000, made me want to be a pinball designer.

The Pinball 2000 project that the film documents was an attempt to update pinball by integrating video onto the pinball field. It was an exciting concept, and it looked great, and I was genuinely sad that I'd never gotten to see or play one. Only two models were completed, Revenge from Mars and Star Wars Episode 1, and as it turned out, Episode 1 played a large part in killing the project. And I thought I hated Jar-Jar before...

Not only is the feature presentation good, it comes with a bonus DVD packed with almost seven hours of really excellent extras, including a pivotal key note speech from a pinball convention, and a walkthrough on the process of creating a pinball machine. Even the Pinball 2000 launch video shown by Williams to its buyers. They really gathered together everything you could hope for on the topic of pinball.

This film caused me to do two things:

1. I looked for Revenge from Mars on ebay. And it was THERE. Tempting, very tempting. I always said if I ever got a pinball machine, it would have to be Theater of Magic, but now I'd be sorely tempted to grab a Revenge from Mars if I had the chance.


2. I headed up to Funspot to play pinball till my wrists hurt! Which didn't take very long at all (Pinball Wizard has such a carpal wriiiiist). Favorites from the trip were Pinbot and the Nightmare on Elm Street machine. Star Trek: Next Gen is also one of my favorites, but it was turned off that day, and they don't have Theater of Magic, my VERY favorite. They do have KISS and Adam's Family machines, featured in TILT.

To conclude, if you're at all interested in pinball or documentaries in general, buy this one! You'll enjoy it, and it stands up to multiple viewings.

Read about other geekumentaries in my Top 10 Geekumentaries article.