J.S. Joust in Death Valley!

In October 2011, on my way to IndieCade, I grabbed some friends and drove down to Death Valley National Park to play Johann Sebastian Joust on the Mesquite Dunes.

As you might be able to tell from the video above, we had a lot of fun!

You can read more about the adventure here.

I wish the video was able to convey how wondrously beautiful it was to play the game under the quiet desert starlight.  Once the sun set, I switched out the Bach soundtrack with Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint. It was utterly magical (“And there were lots of stars… at night…”). I remember looking up at the stars, listening to Reich at 70% speed, and taking it all in. One of my all-time favorite gaming experiences. I’ll never forget it!

Huge thanks to my good friend Matt Broach for shooting and editing the video. Best birthday present ever!

And thanks as well to Mathew Kumar, Ed Key, and David Kanaga, and Rolf for joining me on the adventure. All four of them make excellent cameos!