Ken Levine Keynote at PAX
Author of this post: Nic Berry | About Blog Authors »
In 1977, kids were listening to Rush, smoking cigarettes and a few of the lucky ones had even gotten to second base with the girls, all of which left Bioshock creator Ken Levine wondering “where am I at this point?” Well last week thousands knew exactly where he was as we gathered for his opening keynote speech at PAX 08 offering us a peek at his inner-nerd and a few lessons on coming to terms with our own.
Growing up was an awkward time for Levine. Considering himself a late bloomer, he gloats that “when it came to zits, I was right on time.” And when his classmates were burning at the loins for babes like Bo Derrick and Sarah Fossett, he believed his tastes were a bit more sophisticated: “In short, I wanted to fuck Scarlet Witch” admitted Levine. After due applause, we learned a bit about entering the adult world.
“For other kids, rock n’ roll served as a rite of passage, a way to navigate the space between childhood and adulthood at a safe distance.”
For Levine, comics gave him that distance to assess the problems that lie ahead. They were his “geeky gateway drug,” noting Logan’s Run as his most beloved graphical adventure. Then it was on to D&D where Levine was proud to say “I found my tribe.” Together they would battle the pit-falls of adolescence through D10 dice and stat sheets.
But it wouldn’t last. Speaking to the decline of his nerd days after the arrival of female faces in his once reliable D&D group, Levine took up screenwriting and his inner-nerd went into hiding.
Believing he had found success after landing a job in Hollywood to write a romantic comedy, Levine had it made. Nice dinners with the producers, fancy parties with people in the know—he had finally become someone. “And then, in what should be a surprise to nobody, my romantic comedy turned out to completely suck.”
By turning on his true passions the former playwright had lost everything. It wasn’t until applying at Looking Glass Studios that things started to look up. Worries of a dingy office divided by cubicles were quickly diminished as Levine described finding “dozens of happy nerds at peace with themselves and eachother,” he continued, “I had once again found my tribe.”
As his keynote came to a close, an eager crowd awaited his final words.
“What brings us all together at PAX is we’re a giant bunch of fucking nerds,” ended Levine. The crowd erupted in applause having received all the instruction needed to enjoy the day’s end.
-NoGD’s Nic Berry
