Fireside Chat Part One: “I have some bad news.”

Ok, I’m going to be frank with you. If you haven’t seen The Room, there’s a good chance we won’t get along. It’s not that you’re a bad person; you’re probably a very good person, saving dogs from trees and walking little old men across the street or whatnot. I just struggle to comprehend how anyone out there hasn’t witnessed this 2003 masterwork of American culture.

What is The Room?

The Room is a shining pillar of exquisite film history. You are ashamed you never heard of it before, but now everything is ok. I’m ok. This is ok. We, together, can fix this situation. Here’s the plan:

• First, I’m going to SparkNotes you some I.N.F.O on The Room, real ‘The Room for Dummies’ type stuff.

• Secondly, I’m going to tell you how we can show our appreciation for The Room. How? By celebrating The Room through The Room [Unofficial] Fan Game Jam! Squeeze a day free between December 26 and Jan 1st, make a game for the jam.

What’s that? Not everyone makes v-i-d-e-o-g-a-m-e-s? Well, players are in for a treat too! They get to experience all of the wonderful The Room homages that we developers will create!

The Room Is…

From The Room Wikipedia page:

Ross Morin, an assistant professor of film studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, United States, described The Room to Entertainment Weekly as:

“the Citizen Kane of bad movies”.

A number of notable publications have labeled it as one of the worst films ever made. Originally shown only in a limited number of California theaters, The Room quickly became a cult film due to its bizarre and unconventional storytelling and various technical and narrative flaws.

Although Wiseau has retroactively characterized the film as a black comedy, audiences have generally viewed it as a poorly made drama, a viewpoint supported by some of the film’s cast.

But who cares about Wikipedia right? Probably all written and edited by that one person you don’t like. Because we all know that The Room is THE smash hit wonder film of 2003 and probably the best film of all time.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a few references to whet your whistle:

• BBC: Why so many love ‘The Worst Film Ever Made’

• Vulture: How The Room Became the Biggest Cult Film of the Past Decade

• The Room on Rotten Tomatoes

• The Room trailer:

• And (for good measure) the opening scene of The Room

Step Two: Join In The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam Running Dec 26 - Jan 1st

There. You know all about the room. It seems to me like you’re an expert (Mark). Now it is time to gear up to honor this film, our favorite film, The Room, by joining in and making a game for The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam. Here’s a few more bullet points for you.

• The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam takes place from December 26 through January 1st.

• The theme is: The Room

• The full rules for The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam can be read on the jam Rules page. It includes a few additional optional rules too.

• Need more inspiration? Check out the The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam Inspiration page.

• Need some example The Room homage games? Check out the The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam Examples page.

No, This is Not “Like a Cult Thing”

You’re tearing me apart. Cut it out. Sure there are in-jokes about the film, and rituals the audience performs during live screenings, and maybe we have our own drink ordained by the film as the ultimate adult beverage, but really: it’s just a masterful film. You should stop digging. You’re one of us now. You love The Room. We love The Room.

And as one of us… if you want to own your own copy of The Room, I might know a site…

Either way, you should jump on this F-U-N and make a The Room game for The Room Unofficial Fan Game Jam (between December 26 and January 1st). Who knows, it might be good to be on Tommy’s favorable side.