Fun post. Rockstar immediately came to mind for me as well -- but not necessarily for the GTA/Bully stuff. For me their boldness in doing a nice, tight freaking _table tennis_ game had some of that Sex Pistol rebelliousness. Especially in light of everyone's expectations.

(Kinda how I -- an avowed Mac lifer -- felt every time I whipped out my Turner-owned, ugly-ass Dell laptop at the Apple Developers conference last week. Yeah, that's it. I'm a _rebel_. THINKing DIFFERENTly.)

Yeah, I'd agree with running with scissors. Rockstar are far too frightened of absolutely everything to be actual rock stars. If they were a rock group they'd be a hair metal band - created in a studio, with a badboy image that's managed to hell. But with plenty of drug abuse and offensiveness regardless.

Then again none of these dev groups have anything to do with politics, which, frankly, was what Sex Pistols and punk in general was all about...

Who's the Crass of videogames would be more interesting.

Actually, Gnome, Introversion's Defcon is a fair bit more politically/socially minded than many games - Chris Delay wrote about it:

"Quite a few gamers have commented on the way DEFCON is almost brutal in its bare, understated reporting of the facts behind global warfare. You launch a nuke, it decimates your opponent’s city and all you see is a small pop-up indicating the number of dead in one full sweep. You are entirely removed from the horrific reality of the situation and this is probably not far off from the real-life detachment of nuclear warfare."

I think they are trying to make a point here, most likely.

there is no game equivalent and there might never be.

the sex pistols were a bunch of dirty drugged up idiots who could barely play their instruments.

like the entire punk movement, they were a desease. filth.

this what made punk great. any drug-addled anarchist could just pick up a guitar and manage to make enough ugly noise to be noticed, and be heard.

you cant do that with games.
i cant just...pick up a computer and start screaming at the world.
oh, how i wish i could be the entry bar to games is still way too high.

thats why there's no gamepunk.

i think that's changing, but a little too slowly. the bar of entry for game design is still too high, and i think videogames won't come of age as a medium until people who aren't coders can create games. inform 7 is a step in the right direction, and hopefully more will follow.

yeah well, cant wait.

because believe you me, i am angry and stupid and i want to scream.

Game development isn't very punk. With all the programming and art. Pretty mucn nerd town.

If I had to choose someone I'd choose Itagaki. He was as close to a rock star game programmer that I've ever seen. Might never see the guy again after the sexual harassment charge though.

Well, simoc, I did give Defcon a google and it seems you're right... Still, it's very subtle making its point. A bit like Cannon Fodder actually...

Oh, and fish, you obviously haven't heard anything by the Clash, have you?

Perhaps the guys at gamecock, if they can bring up their profile. I've heard tales of them blowing entire marketing budgets on strippers and booze back when they were G.o.D.: just the kind of fiscal irresponsibility that smack of punk. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) they don't have nearly the notoriety that's necessary to fulfill that particular role.

Also, they call themselves gamecock... they have all the subtlety of the Sex Pistols.

"thats why there's no gamepunk."

Killer 7, maybe?

Introversion seems more like if you had 8 Malcolm McLarens managing a Lydon one-man-band.. zing!

Gamecock is a much more apt comparison given that the Sex Pistols were nothing but a manufactured proto-boy-band who did more posturing than anything else ;p

Rockstar: definitely not Sex Pistols -- I think they're a perfect Marilyn Manson though: their product is calculated to appeal both by shocking/outraging parents as well as being decent on its own, and both groups cynically exploit the press to boost sales, while exuding an aura of aloof indifference. Plus they're super-rich and major-label.

Running With Scissors.. maybe GWAR? But GWAR seem to have at least some sense of irony and satire.. Insane Clown Posse? Korn? Basically: Marilyn Manson, sans talent and intellect.

Personally I'd much rather be the Dead Kennedys/Minor Threat/Black Flag of video games.. or at least Screeching Weasel.

Band analogies are fun!

wait, wait -- I've got it: Introversion == The Prodigy, because both groups are really just one gifted creator surrounded by a few people who dance/create a spectacle/project an image.

oh boy, dont get me started on suda51 and his gamepunk aesthetics.

at his GDC talk, "punk is not dead", an indie dev asked him how he thinks his gamepunk ideals could be applied to indiependents.
his answer: you cant, you have to be a "real" developer, secure a lot of money and befriend powerful producers.

i am not even kidding.

i had a bit of respect for the man up until that point. but it completely evaporated with his "punk = big money and big studios"

if there is a gaming equivalent to punk, it IS the indies.

to go on with the punk analogies, suda51 would be good charlotte.

Yeah but.. i don't know -- I'm not that familiar with Japanese culture, but it doesn't seem to be the most DIY-friendly/anti-corporate sort of place in the world.

but, but...that's where guitar wolf came from!

Whats the difference between a troll and a punk? How about Ryan Lambourne? He talks pretty punk, and his work doesn't even have a fucking business model!

But seriously, I am the punk revolution of game design.

raigan - hi, I met you in toronto two weeks ago! or maybe less. anyway, japan isn't, no, but some indie stuff certianly gets out there. and mostly it's either free, or barely break-even. In fact, most indie game developers work in other (related) industries, and neither plan to enter the game industry, nor have ever been in it. weird!

when suda51 said that to the indie guy i about shit myself. so hilarious.

but you totally miss his point: and you don't probably understand anything about the japanese game industry. basically his point was to cozy up to a powerful producer who can greenlight your project against the better interests of the publisher. that's a very subversive suggestion. problem is, it's not tenable in the US because producers don't have anything like that sort of power. which i think would be worth explaining to suda51 and then seeing what he has to say for himself.

PS: itagaki is about as punk as whitesnake.

Suda51 made me laugh. Bitterly, though. Because as a young man I passionately embraced the punk ideals. And for him punk was just about adding more explicit violence to his games.

But almost all games are violent. And punk, if anything, is about being contrary. If we really want to find the Sex Pistols of gaming, we have to look for pretty flowers and soap bubbles and rainbows and fluffy ponies! It is easy to splatter blood all over the screen in a game. That's basically the corporate ideal. Where the money is. It takes real guts to make something that is simply nice!

I vote for the developers of Animal Crossing as the Sex Pistols of gaming!

But indeed, the more interesting question remains: who is the Crass of gaming?

She didn't cripple whether the were spirits from the mushroom in her devil or if they were from Melissa ing newly woh to her. Small, and escapable you are.