nilamon ng gameboys

word dump of a gameboys fan

[surethingpating]

Ordained by Destiny

In a time when we were bound to know ourselves deeper, your story became OURS.

Had to redraw the trio because my NYE post was quite rushed. Here are Gavreel, Pearl, and Cairo beaming at their constellations. Desktop and mobile wallpapers included.

I would admit that these were inspired by “The Boy Foretold by the Stars”, but the trio’s zodiac signs are a recurring theme in the show itself so I didn’t think it would hurt to draw them this way!

[surethingpating]

i got the book

Warning: This post contains spoilers to the book, “Gameboys: A Love Story”

After a few days of always being on the lookout for any sign of a courier, my copy of Gameboys: A Love Story has finally arrived.

Of course, like many of the fans who received their books earlier (versus me who got it on December 21st), I was extremely giddy (only deep inside, as I have to contain my excitement from my family, lol) when my long agonizing wait (just because GB fans can’t keep their own giddiness and had to post SPOILERS on Twitter!) was put to an end. So here we have it, the Gameboys production book with two of the most brilliant actors of their generation smiling at me:

I got the light blue tint cover variant because apart from it having both boys facing and looking straight at the viewer (IDK what the term or photography jargon is), it is also cleaner (minimalist reveal!). The yellow one is more colorful and striking but can be scrapbookish/yearbookish for my liking.

I have managed my expectations on the layout prior to ordering. To be objective, I like the overall layout design of the book. My most favorite part is how clean and easy on the eyes the typography looks. In the book’s colophon, the publishers mention the beautiful typefaces used: Roboto Slab, Avenir Ltd (an IdeaFirst staple/favorite), and Built Titling, the official Gameboys typeface. Sir Elmer Gatchalian, the author and editor, handpicked the layout designer who is Mr. Jason Buan, winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Best Book Design.

The layout is reminiscent of a modernized high school yearbook aesthetic without being too tacky. The graphics are sharp; the colors are solid and faithful to the Gameboys color palette. The paradigm is flat and simplistic with just the right amount of vibrant and fun. I would have preferred duotones over single tinted photos that were used in avoiding monotony for the accents. These and the photo choices that were directly sourced from the episodes are also of high resolution, but the outdoor shots of the casts (yes, there are more photos from the shoot that Kokoy featured in his vlog) and the studio photos from Rank Magazine are immaculate in crispness!

I have not finished reading the book yet but have skimmed through all the pages. To elevate the experience, I was playing my own playlist of the series’ original score (which I am hoping gets released soon) in the background as I read through the foreword of Elmer Gatchalian, the introduction by Louie Sanchez (humanities professor in the Ateneo and a Gameboys fan as well, whose one-word description of Gavreel’s character made me pause from reading and take a deep breath to pull myself together), and the interview with Direk Jun Lana (a lot of production backstory in his interview, and a narration of his motivations in creating Pearl Next Door). As for the screenplay, I’m still having second thoughts in reading them all (I am living for Ash Malanum’s anecdotes BTW) because I would love to watch the Netflix version of the show with an unrefreshed memory of the story, although I am confident that reading the screenplay prior to rewatching it will add another dimension and insight to the Level Up Edition.

I am especially looking forward to reading the interviews with the production team (Direk Perci Intalan for producing Gameboys, Nestor Abrogena for the production and set design [omg], Ash Malanum for the writing, Emerzon Texon for music composition and production, and Kristian Palma [hi po] for the taxing feat of editing and post). I am also super glad that there are spaces dedicated to Direk Ivan Payawal and Miss Jen Mauricio to share their very own part of the journey, as these are two personalities we rarely hear from in social media. Many fans will surely be glued to the interviews with the big four (Kokoy, Elijah, Adrianna, and Kyle). Normally, this kind of articles are published in internet lifestyle blogs or in magazine interviews, but I get why they are included in this book and I appreciate that—to be an account of one of the great achievements of the show, that is, being a time capsule of the coronavirus pandemic and what it meant for everyone especially the entertainment industry and the LGBTQ+ youth and young at heart.

I would have wanted a more innovative approach on the book (Hello, @elikoyuniverse!) and more canon in terms of the content but thus far, I am satisfied with the articles that I have read and the artistic direction that I have marveled on. In my honest and humble opinion, the book serves its fundamental purpose, and anyone who has purchased or is yet to purchase or receive the book will definitely have more things than one to mark as their favorite parts.

Finally, I’d like to talk about how surreal it feels to have two of my fan artworks included in the book. There is a ton of recognition and acknowledgement embedded in the book to the fandom’s suite of content creators, reactors, and artists and a plethora of artworks that fans can appreciate in their physical, printed out beauty. The book is not short of featuring these memorable illustrations inspired by Gameboys, some of which are displayed in full spreads and full pages.

Unexpectedly, one of my works is at the frontispiece of the book, printed in one full page. I was carefully flipping through the pages and was surprised to see it in the second leaf. Now I know why Miss Shane David (the project manager in creating book) requested a higher resolution of the initial copy that I provided. So I had to, in a way, recreate the original piece. It was quite difficult to capture the vibe of the first one, but I tried my best. So if you bought the book, you will be able to see the second version of this artwork, all in its full glory.

Indulge me in recounting this: this silhouetted photo of Kokoy and Elijah was churned out of the emotions I had during the seventh episode of Gameboys, where practically every viewer felt for both Cairo and Gavreel, as the former blames himself for the death of his father and the latter finds himself helpless and dying to be there for his friend, with so much love to give but only to be held back by so much distance. For me, this episode is the emotional peak of their love story and I wanted to highlight that by portraying and positioning them side by side but facing in opposite directions, lost in their own battles, finding their own feet as they navigate through the pandemic and their coming-of-age story. I wanted it to be an homage to their split-screen romance, the barriers that lie between them and separate them, and the rather complex struggle of the LGBTQ+ youth that many of us experienced and might still be presently experiencing.

The original version and the re-created version for the book

Sometimes, like Cairo and Gavreel in this fan art, I find myself silhouetted in the melancholy of a setting sun as I think of my own coming of age in retrospect: particularly the moments when I was questioning who I really am, brushing off my sexuality as a sickness or as something that would put the family or myself to shame. But slowly, through Gameboys and the rest of the well-written boys’ love stories that followed, we are coming to understand that our sexuality does not completely define us. Beyond that, we are artists, storytellers, dreamers, casual fans basking in the glory of a story with no trace of malice and nothing but the universal language of love, and ultimately, humans sharing common challenges, difficulties, defeats, and triumphs.

That being said, my sincerest thanks go out to Elmer Gatchalian and Shane David for considering my artworks and those of the great artists that got featured in the book. Congratulations!

To sum it all up, the Gameboys production book is one that any Gameboys superfan should not miss. It’s a work done with love accounting and featuring more work that was done out of and with love. You may find yourself noting down a wishlist of what could have also been great content for the book, but know that only creates room for another installment which we can look forward to in the future. 🦈 Gameboys: A Love Story can be purchased online here: https://theideafirststore.com/products/gameboys-forever

[surethingpating]

round 2

Warning: contains Gameboys: A Love Story book spoilers

So the anticipated second season of Gameboys is in production while Pearl Next Door is yet to premiere its remaining episodes dubbed as a “three-part finale”. I am assuming that the team wants to maximize either the time or the availability of the GB casts (primarily Elijah Chameleon Canlas and Kokoy Busy de Santos), now that PND filming has wrapped.

Based on this teaser photo and as confirmed by the IG stories and tweets of the cast and crew, we will be seeing on-set shots (and perhaps filming via lenses). It appears that Carlo Mendoza is the director of photography for Season 2 (It must be pointed out that Mendoza is also the cinematographer of the award-winning film Bwakaw). I have also just received the book (sa bundok kasi ako nakatira kaya na-spoil na rin ako ng mga maagang nakatanggap nung book), and Jun Lana indicatively pointed out that the second season is different from the first in a sense that the characters will not be too bound by screens or video conferences anymore. I have said this during the finale of Gameboys Season 1 and I will say it again: I am looking forward to the evolution not just of the story but of the storytelling as well. 🦈

Photo credits: The IdeaFirst Company