Saluations, everyone! My name is Chad Fahlman and I was invited to QC Videogame Friends by Toom Nyusernae. He asked me to share a personal story with you. In 2001 the Family Channel hosted a contest encouraging entrants to describe their next on-site game. The prizes at the time, as I somewhat accurately recall, were a PS2 (first place), GameBoy Advance (second place), and a T-Shirt. Plus, the grand prize winner would have their game proposal green lit and developed. At the time I was what you may consider a Nintendo fanboy. PlayStation was okay, but Nintendo published all my favorite titles. How I coveted that Advance! Lord knew my broke-ass parents werent going to buy me one. So, eleven year-old me got busy fleshing out a vidya game. Family Channel had three mascots at the time: Serin, Geo, and Bravo (pictured). One of the characters, Bravo, I believe, skateboarded. My entry put forth that Family Channel should expand on Bravos hobby by creating a score-based flash game. For a kid I was thorough - detailing mechanics, the point system, and pace. I excitedly submitted my idea but figured that was the end of it. If anything, it was a fun mental exercise. One morning weeks later my mom woke me up earlier than usual. Chad, she asked, barely concealing a grin, Did you enter a contest? I thought about it for a moment. No. A lady from the Family Channel says youve won something. My eyes bulged out of their sockets. Now fully awake I bolted to the kitchen and picked up the handle of our old novelty case phone. Chad? This is (name forgotten) from the Family Channel. We liked your game idea and are happy to tell you that youve won our runner-up prize! You will receive a GameBoy Advance in the mail via (forgotten) post. Even though that representative likely had no involvement whatsoever in the elimination process I thanked her, without hyperbole, over a dozen times for choosing my game. A week later I came home from school to find an Arctic White GBA and copy of F-Zero Advance stuffed into my mailbox. That GameBoy is long gone but reflecting on this event Ive realized that having my game proposal - a work of my imagination - chosen over many others was the real treasure. It substantiated my prolific mind and gave me direction for what I enjoy doing most, which is writing.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 08:12:30 +0000
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