/////////////////////////////////////////////// LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF LIFE IN COMPUTER SPACE ?

In this post S:S&S EP world it is easy to forget that Superbrothers was, until very recently, entirely unknown to the world. Founded in 2003 in Toronto, this ambiguously pluralized art & design organization existed in anonymity, occasionally creating C-64 inspired pixel illustrations for magazines & newspapers, struggling with the construction of DIY videogame-like prototypes in private & brute-forcing the creation of brief musical pixel films like 2005’s The Children of the Clone, our first collaboration with noted composer Jim Guthrie, at a time before internet video hit it big.

Thankfully, some people were paying careful attention and in 2008, one of these people put in the considerable time & effort required to put Superbrothers on the map, alerting a broad audience to the existence of a new, unusual & appealing approach to art+music+videogames. This individual’s name will likely be familiar to you, gentle Teletex reader, as we are speaking of Mr. Brandon Boyer.

Perhaps Mr. Boyer’s name is known to you in connection with the Independent Games Festival, where he serves in the capacity of chairman, diligently championing the miraculous & diverse multitude of videogame projects submitted each fall by a growing population of empowered DIY creators.

Alternately, it’s quite possible Mr. Boyer’s name is known to you in connection with Offworld .com, a beloved web log in the Boing Boing family founded by Mr. Boyer in 2008, where the distinctive work of DIY videogame creators, musicians & artists was presented impactfully to an audience of hundreds of thousands, often for the first time. Due in large part to Mr. Boyer’s unflagging efforts, clear writing & consistently positive outlook, in a matter of months Offworld.com became a highly visible primary news source, reliably broadcasting profoundly fascinating stories from the outer reaches of computer space.

The staff here at Superbrothers owe Mr. Boyer a debt of gratitude for his efforts as a broadcaster: this post about our film Design Reboot HD and others like it were profoundly helpful for this organization, and this extensive post describing the first ever hands-on experience with S:S&S EP introduced the project to millions, most of them outside the realm of the ‘videogame enthusiast’. Mr. Boyer has had a similarly powerful catalytic effect on scores of other struggling creators the world over, providing a context and articulating a purpose for their efforts... and in the process, subtly constructing a support system around these creators, helping them to persevere.

Shockingly, despite the rapid ascendance fo Offworld and its growth of its readership back in 2009, it seems that the erstwhile owners of the url effectively put it out to pasture, muffling an essential voice & effectively knocking this particular expression of videogame culture off-course.

While the last two years have seen tremendous activity in the DIY videogame space, S:S&S EP being just one relevant example, we think it’s about time for this kind, clear, obsessively knowledgeable, super encouraging and quietly authoritative voice to re-appear & help us all chart a new, optimistic, progressive course into the future.

Thankfully, Mr. Boyer has been thinking the same thing & he has just announced a project he aims to establish, something you will most likely come to know & love, something called VENUS PATROL.

In order to effectively establish VENUS PATROL as a primary source for awesome things & to rapidly grow a broad audience, Mr. Boyer is prepared to plough 110% of his available time & energy into his role as broadcaster, writer, researcher & editor-in-chief. This commitment, commendable as it surely is, creates a conundrum - how can a regular dude gather the capital needed to offset a year’s modest living expenses? In appropriately DIY fashion, Mr. Boyer is looking to family, friends & a broad assortment of other like-minded folks to assist him with this mission via a call for funding in exchange for awesome things.

Superbrothers Inc. will be strongly supporting the inception of VENUS PATROL with whatever we’ve got & we ask that you consider supporting it too, particularly if you value reliable, researched & readable reconnaissance from the sacred spot where art+music+videogames intersect.

To further incentivize your support of this bold new initiative of Mr. Boyer’s, the staff here at Superbrothers are diligently preparing a few rare items, suggested below, that will be made available in the course of time in exchange for a reasonable donation to this cause.

GO HERE NOW: VENUS PATROL KICKSTARTER

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/////////////////////////////////////////////// SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN'S MOON GROTTO 7"

The story of The Moon Grotto is inextricably linked to Mr. Brandon Boyer aka @brandonnn, who exposed the staff at Superbrothers Inc. to the otherworldly song & sound recording abilities of a mysterious artist known as Scientific American aka @scntfc back in early 2010. Consequently a small, dark, wet cave was carved beneath the forests of Mingi Taw in S:S&S EP, a strange, cosmic space that would eventually be filled with the most ethereal sounds.

If you enjoyed the lunatic songscapes of S:S&S EP’s mysterious Moon Grotto, sounds that have neither been released nor publicly discussed up to this point, then you may wish to secure a rare copy of this new record. As is appropriate, this musical object will contain secrets inside of secrets. For more details about Scientific American's Moon Grotto 7", you'll want to read the words of Mr. Brandon Boyer over at VENUS PATROL.

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/////////////////////////////////////////////// MATHEW KUMAR'S ROCKSHOWCASE .EXP

On Thursday, June 30th 2011 in a cinema at TIFF Bell Lightbox, a sold-out audience attended something called a MIDSUMMER ROCKSHOWCASE, a one-of-a-kind live audiovisual event that was both a SHOWCASE of Toronto’s intertwined music, film & videogame communities as well as a ROCKSHOW featuring a first-ever live set of Jim Guthrie’s Sword & Sworcery material... to get a sense of the proceedings and see/hear some of what was shown, you may wish to look upon the event programme here.

Upon arrival, each attendee was presented with a curious object: an event-specific edition of a zine known as .exp by none other than local hero, film & videogame journalist Mathew Kumar. The zine features writing by Mr. Kumar that comments upon E3 2011 and S:S&S EP, it also features cover artwork & a few words provided by Superbrothers - a collaborative first for the .exp series.

Following the ROCKSHOWCASE, the remaining stock was rapidly snapped up... thankfully, a new printing will now be re-issued by Mathew Kumar, with permission from Superbrothers Inc., at the request of Mr. Brandon Boyer... exclusively available via VENUS PATROL.

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Who knows what else might be happening at the intersection of art+music+videogames later this fall & winter, or beyond?

Be sure to read VENUS PATROLwhen it launches in the next few weeks to hear the very latest from the outer reaches of computer space, in the meantime feel free to follow @venuspatrol & @brandonnn.

As always, for anything related to Superbrothers Inc and S:S&S EP, this here Teletex is a safe & effective news source, plus you might also like to follow the instantaneous micro-bulletins occasionally broadcast from @the1console.

We are so thankful for your attention as you struggle through our unnecessarily verbose elocution (which has occasionally been described as irritatingly cryptic). We know there have been awkward situations wherein some lovely folks who are generously & optimistically anticipating the release of S:S&S EP fe

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