Stealer of Seouls

I just got back from South Korea. Fortunately, Kim Jong-il didn’t nuke the city while I was there. (Though it would have made for a badass epitaph… “Here lies the game designer formerly known as Witchboy. He was disintegrated in a nuclear attack.”)

The conference was great and I think my speech went well, despite having to talk through an interpreter.

Following our super-fun trip to London, my girlfriend and I pushed our luck and had a blast in Seoul too. Just walking around on Asian streets is fairly amazing all on its own, but specifically Leah and I visited cool crowded markets, an old palace, a traditional Korean restaurant, and Seoul Tower. She had to overcome her fear of heights and ride in a cable car to get up to Seoul Tower. (Initially, she thought I meant a San Francisco-style trolley car and was confused when I was looking up in the sky, trying to find the cable car as a clue to lead us to the cable car station. When she saw it, hanging from wires, way up over the street, her expression was priceless. “Oh, you meant a cable car!?”)

One of the highlights of the trip was hanging out with Peter Krell from Game Face. Peter is a man of many talents…thinker, writer, editor and aspiring game designer.

The Seoul Hilton was really posh. I highly recommend the breakfast buffet.

Seoul Hilton

Photo of me watching Korean girls go by, taken by my awesome g/f Leah Stinson.

Lineage II poster

Me with a Lineage II poster. I asked Leah to take this one for my friend Starr Long.

Leah at KINEX

Leah, at KINEX, the convention center (which is WAY too far from downtown Seoul).

Peter Krell

Peter Krell, editor of Game Face, posing in some place other than Seoul.

Guy Town

Went out and saw Guy Town last night at Cafe Mundi. The ladies did a bunch of cool country songs, including a translation of Nothing Compares 2 U by Prince.

Guy Town is named after Austin’s historic red light district, in case you didn’t know.

Guy Town

Pittsburgh

I got back at midnight from Pittsburgh, where I spent three days visiting Carnegie Mellon University’s excellent Entertainment Technology Center. (CMU ETC)

I talked to the cool faculty there at the ETC and hung out with students. I also gave a speech on player-to-avatar relationships in games.

I had never been to Pittsburgh. Prior to the trip, I visualized it as a huge steel factory or something similarly industrial. Instead, I found the city picturesque. The trees were all bright yellow and red (which my Ethiopian cabbie said would only last 2 weeks), there were lots of interesting bridges, and the city was much hillier than I expected. The houses were quaint (and commonly less than a hundred grand, I’m told). To my eyes, Pittsburgh, PA looked like an idealized vision of the Northeast from countless movies.

I spent some time in Southside, which reminded me of Austin. We went to a good coffee shop called Beehive, and a restaurant that used to be a sidewalk cart called Cambodican. That part of town had a good vibe.

Another highlight included a super fun dinner at Monteray Bay, with faculty members Juleigh, Rebecca and Drew. I learned from the delightful ladies that Italian families up north have an extra oven in the basement (which I can only assume is not some sort of naughty metaphor…). I also attended an advanced screening of Flushed Away, which was pretty funny.

I happened to pass the CMU football team scrimmaging at night, which was really amusing. I cannot believe CMU has a football team. The guys on the field seemed like there were my size. Very different than UT football. (Not that I follow it anyway, but I never would have guessed that CMU would have a football team, in any case.)

I have to say that the ETC program seems excellent. It’s a masters degree aimed at leadership and technology as applied to entertainment media. Very cool, and the facility itself was amazing. The staff were fun and stimulating.

Some pics from the trip:

Football scrimmaging

CMU Football, scrimmaging on a chilly night.

Cab ride!

Me, in yet another cab.

Bargin’ in

A barge moving down one of the rivers, from a CMU conference room window.

Wild Horses

Standing outside in my stairwell tonight, I can hear Mick Jagger’s voice coming from the park. My girlfriend and I carved jack-o’-lanterns tonight and now the seeds are baking in my oven.

Jack o’ Lanterns