Next month, Pittsburgh will host Via 2010, a new festival that aims to showcase musicians, DJs, and producers "blurring genres of electronic music alongside artists working at the forefront of video, game design, and live music visualization."

The Iron City Brewery and satellite locations will present more than 12 hours of performances/installations from both local and international artists across three days. Via 2010 will also have an online presence with demos, forums, and a livestream of the event at its site.

Along with indie darling/rapper Freddie Gibbs and huge electronica names like Matthew Dear and Dãm-Funk, the festival will feature Canadian experimental game group Kokoromi Collective, which organizes events like the recent Gamma IV one-button challenge at GDC 2010.

Kokoromi Collective is slated to bring two games to show off at Via 2010, 3D puzzler Super HyperCube (pictured, co-developed with Fez developer Polytron/Phil Fish) and ][ Games' tro-player music title I Have Big Balls.

You can buy tickets and find more information for Via 2010, which will run October 1-3, at the festival's official site.

[Thanks, Mitch!]

Unless you've watched experienced Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 movie The Room, this likely won't mean much to you, but Newgrounds creator and The Behemoth co-founder Tom Fulp (with help from Newgrounds artist Jeff Bandelin) has adapted the cult favorite film into an adventure game.

Former GSW guest editor Jenn Frank points out that the point-and-click tribute re-creates the movie's flower shop, the rooftop of Johnny’s apartment, and other settings with 8-bit-style environments, and it even presents environments that weren't in the movie (Denny’s apartment).

Keep in mind that like the movie, the game does include adult themes (e.g. cartoon nudity, sex). You can play The Room Tribute for free online over at Newgrounds, though seriously, you should make sure you watch the movie first to understand it all.

[“The Blue Key” is a new biweekly GameSetWatch-exclusive column by Connor Cleary that explores the wide arena of gamer culture -- where it's been, where it is now, and where it might be going. This is the second of a two-part series exploring the violence in modern gaming -- the potential benefits as well as the potential problems. This week, opposition to the recent California legislation and support for the ESRB.]

In part one I defended violence in gaming as a healthy outlet for our natural but socially unacceptable tendencies toward aggression. However, there is another side to this issue, and it would be unfair to ignore the often valid concerns of parents and educators and the like who worry about kids being exposed to violence and graphic imagery.

The famous California court case regarding video game ratings and minors has recently brought this issue to center stage under the public spotlight. To address the issue, I have chosen arguably the most extreme example of gratuitous, unwarranted violence that has ever been portrayed in a game.

Now, I never picked up Modern Warfare 2, and somehow I missed the initial fervor around the notorious airport massacre scene, but a friend of mine recently showed it to me.

As my friend strolled through the bloody mess of an airport (the character is forced to calmly walk, making it that much more disturbing) I wracked my brain trying to figure out why Infinity Ward would put this in their game. As more and more shrieking, pleading, unarmed civilians were gunned down, the only conclusion I could come to was this: At best, it is supposed to disturb you and make you disgusted with what you’re seeing and doing, while at worst, they did it for shock value in a shameless attempt at publicity.

In the above linked article, author Tom Chick describes a scene at his local GameStop on MW2’s launch day: “A lot of children were there with their parents. One kid with his copy ran back to the car ahead of his grandparents. He was literally leaping into the air, clutching the box, kicking his legs out eagerly, like a gymnast or a spazz.” To be completely honest, the thought of those kids playing the infamous level is more than a little unsettling.

That’s not to say that I haven’t played and enjoyed my share of ultra-violent games like State of Emergency and Grand Theft Auto—these examples are particularly notable because in both cases civilian casualties are not only possible but also highly likely. Despite my experience with violent games, and my previously stated belief that such games can be highly therapeutic, I was still horrified. There is something about the MW2 scene that epitomizes everything negative that has ever been said or written about violence in video games.

The wisdom—or lack thereof—behind the inclusion of this scene could be discussed ad nausem, but as a private game studio it was and is Infinity Ward’s right to do so. Censorship is clearly not an option, as it can only stunt creativity; if that kind of censorship had been placed on movies, it would have prevented the realization of some of the most compelling cinematic experiences to date. Saving Private Ryan’s famous Omaha Beach scene comes to mind. But just as Saving Private Ryan earned itself an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, so too did Modern Warfare 2 earn itself an M-rating from the Electronic Software Rating Board.

Those who bash violent games, and characterize them as some abominable evil that turns children into violent lunatics seem to either be uninformed about the video game rating system or misunderstand one of the primary purposes of that system. It allows parents to make the call whether or not their child can mentally and emotionally handle the more graphic games. Most people can handle violent imagery without suffering any mental or emotional consequences, and some of those people are under the age of 17.

In part one of this series, I cited a set of psychological studies, one of which showed that the young people who are negatively affected by violence in games and movies are most often people with certain pre-existing traits. As Christopher Ferguson, PhD, states in the above linked article: “Violent video games are like peanut butter. They are harmless for the vast majority of kids but are harmful to a small minority with pre-existing personality or mental health problems.”

So, while playing Grand Theft Auto might be good for me—as a healthy outlet—it could also be really bad for certain subgroups of people. For example: How many people played the Grand Theft Auto games? And how many of those people tried to set a house on fire with Molotov cocktails afterward? Two, apparently. Considering this ratio, it would be patently absurd to place the blame entirely on the game.

Speaking of M-rated games, let’s go back to that kid from Tom Chick’s article, and his grandparents. The ESRB website has plenty to say about Modern Warfare 2. The content descriptors are: “Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language” and the rating summary includes:

… Players use machine guns, sniper rifles, grenades, and missiles to kill enemy soldiers throughout the battlefields. Realistic gunfire, explosions, and cries of pain are heard during the frequent and fast-paced combat. The most intense depiction of violence occurs during a "No Russian" mission where players take on the role of an undercover Ranger: Several civilians* are gunned down at an airport as players are given a choice to participate in the killings (e.g., players can shoot a wounded civilian that is crawling on the ground), or walk by and observe without opening fire. In either case, civilians scream and emit pools of blood as they are shot to death. … [Emphasis added.]

*Author’s Note: This is a serious understatement; it should probably read something like “A ridiculous number of civilians.”

Clearly this game is not intended for children.

Although Chick never mentions an age when describing the boy, I will generously assume he is a pre-teen. For the sake of argument let’s say the kid is really mature for his age, has a good sense of the difference between real and fake, and in real life is very empathetic to the distress of others. Furthermore, let’s say his grandparents took this all into consideration before purchasing the game. In that case: So be it. A judgment call was made, and who am I to second-guess his guardians? I don’t have that right, and neither do the attorneys general who have thrown their weight behind the so-called “Schwarzenegger appeal” California legislation.

The folks trying to outlaw the sale of M-rated games to minors through legal action, would probably have a more useful impact on society if they spent that time informing parents about the ESRB instead. Arming parents with that knowledge would allow them to make informed decisions about what to buy for their kids, and would therefore probably go a long way in keeping games like MW2 and God of War III out of the hands of children. How many parents would read the ESRB’s God of War III summary—including this gem, “[A] god's eyes will be gauged out by thumbs.”—and think: “That’s the one. That’s the game I need to get for little Brad’s birthday this year!”

After a little over 40 weeks on the shelves, Modern Warfare 2 recently became the largest selling video game title of all time in the UK. Despite this, I have not seen an unusual flood of violent crime and horror stories flowing out of the UK. So I think we can safely assume that violence in gaming—even the gratuitous and unwarranted kind—does not, in and of itself, create disturbed criminals. I would expect Conan, and the guy who single-handedly defeated a Predator, to understand that.

GDC Vault has debuted both free and subscriber-only videos from August's GDC Europe event in Cologne. Free-to-watch talks feature ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 and notables from the ESA, Remedy and Crytek on building grassroots political support for games.

Following the successful Europe-wide developer event that ran alongside Gamescom last month, organizers of the Game Developers Conference series of events are making specially recorded versions of the talks available -- while also archiving all of the GDC Europe content in video form for future use and study.

These new free talks debut alongside an update making available over 65 lecture videos from GDC Europe for subscribers at the GDC Vault website. The site features video technology that allows users to simultaneously view a presenter's slides alongside video and audio of their presentation.

The two free GDC Europe-related videos currently debuting on the site are as follows:

- In 'Designing Guild Wars 2's Dynamic Events', ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 lead designer Eric Flannum and lead content designer Colin Johanson outline how the industry's attitude to content in games in the MMORPG genre has evolved over time.

The duo discuss the inspiration for -- and the implementation challenges of -- their Dynamic Events system in the much-awaited PC MMO, "with the goal of creating an exciting, living, breathing online world that encourages social interaction between players."

- The newly available talk 'Building Grassroots Video Game Activist Networks' features a panel led by the ESA's Richard Taylor, discussing how "governments in Europe and the United States continue their attempts to censor and regulate game content".

Taking examples from the U.S. Video Game Voters Network, the panel, which includes Remedy's Matias Myllyrinne (Alan Wake) and Crytek's Avni Yerli (Crysis 2) alongside Stephan Reichart of G.A.M.E., the German Games Developers Association, discuss censorship issues and the importance of establishing similar European grassroots networks.

In addition to these lectures, GDC Vault's free videos section includes GDC 2010 lectures from Zynga, Ernest Adams, and NCsoft, plus highly rated lectures featuring 2D Boy's Ron Carmel and Bungie's Brian Sharp, as well as a number of other top talks such as the Indie Game Rant.

The free recordings available are a fraction of the content currently being flowed into the GDC Vault, which has recently added several new features. It's now easier to navigate through the free section of the site, with video, audio and slides more clearly split with browsing and searching. In addition, site searches will bring up both free content and Vault Subscriber-only content in the same results page.

Full GDC Vault access, including synchronized video recordings for over 200 of GDC 2010's sessions, 65 talks from GDC Europe, and hundreds of historical video and audio recordings, is available to GDC 2010 All-Access Pass holders, as well as All-Access Pass holders for other GDC events during the year. Similar recording sessions are planned for GDC Online in Austin next month, as well as December's GDC China.

Notably, game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available by contacting Suzanne Cunningham or viewing an online demonstration. Individual Vault subscriptions not tied to All-Access passes are planned for trial in the near future.

Locomalito, the Spanish indie developer behind last June's excellent 16-bit-style shoot'em up Hydorah, has posted a video for his latest project, a "minor" ZX Spectrum-esque platformer directly inspired by microcomputer classics like Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy.

The developer describes L'Abbaye des Morts (The Abbey of the Dead) as "an obsolete videogame for a dark passage of history":

"In the 13th century, the Cathars, who preach about good Christian beliefs, were being expelled by the Catholic Church out of the Languedoc region in France. One of them, called Jean Raymond, found an old church in which to hide, not knowing that beneath its ruins lay buried an ancient evil. ...

This little game has been created at nights during our vacation in southern France. The whole style is spontaneous and sincere, straight out of our trips in the region during the day. Be sure to visit the Languedoc if you feel somehow attracted by the game."

Developed over two weeks, the platformer features around 40 minutes of gameplay (10 if you know your way around), 23 screens to explore, and "secrets and hints to collect items".

Locomalito expects to release L'Abbaye des Morts tonight on this page. You can see some awesome boxart for the game after the break:

[Via IndieGames.com]