EIEIO 2008 Overview

By: Eric M. Martin

Saturday March 15, 2008

An overhead look at Static Multimedia's trip to EIEIO 2008, hosted by Gamecock Media Group.
Gamecock Media Group invited Static Multimedia out to participate in the goings-on of EIEIO 2008 at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, Texas. EIEIO 2008 is a showcase of the various projects offered by independent designers, developers and studios. Some of them are geared for release in the near future, while others still have one to two more years in the oven before they’re done. Regardless, there was no shortage of great ideas, great people, or great partytime! It’s still hard to decide which was the best part: the showcase, or the after party. I mean, what happens when you force gamers to choose between sneak peeks at new product and open bars with independent music and burlesque dancers? Myself, Cortney Knox, Emily Kausalik, Derek Serafin and John Joubert were determined to find out.


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Not even the cold, windy weather or spats of rain could scare anyone away from the full docket of activities scheduled. All I can say is, whoever invented those gas-powered, fire-driven towertables is a genius. Throughout the storm, groups of dedicated game lovers were amassed under these pure pieces of engineered ingenuity, each of them attempting to figure out a way to wheel their tower to the next station in order to maintain the wonderful feeling of warmth.

I think one of the chief highlights, and the first indication that we were in the right place at the right time, was our very first demo slot. Static Multimedia was part of the first public group that saw playable footage from Mushroom Men, both the Wii and DS titles. That’s right; Static Multimedia was there first. Not IGN, not GameSpy, not Game Informer, Static Multimedia! If that doesn’t make me a proud member of this project, nothing else can come close. Sure, many people have had similar bragging rights and it’s nothing new under the sun, but it’s an irreplaceable sense of accomplishment.

Speaking of other respectable gaming sites, I got to meet some of their representatives face to face, and then I got to watch them totally blow it at Rock Band not once, not twice, but three times on Metallica’s "Enter Sandman." I think the ultimate irony is that one of the respective staffers was wearing a Guitar Hero themed shirt from Penny Arcade. Now that’s comedy! Aside from the Rock Band party, Gamecock Media group hosted four kickin’ independent music acts and two super sexy burlesque shows. All I can say is, a martini glass full of warm water and topped with sponge olives never looked so good.

Two nights at a hotel complete with food, plus an open bar during the demos and a ticket stack for drinks later on. All of that, PLUS the massive amount of swag from Gamecock and the various presenters. EIEIO 2008 has certainly set a standard in the minds of the staff here at Static Multimedia. Expect a large amount of content to come out of our mouths in regards to the buffet of brain-bashing excellence that was laid out before us.

Rock on, Gamecock! Rock on forever!