GDC08: The man behind The Dishwasher
by Dustin Burg 
{ Feb 22nd 2008 at 11:45AM }
From what we can tell post XNA demo release, the buzz surrounding James Silva's The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai has been overwhelmingly positive. And rightfully so.
After our Fancast chat with James a few months back, we knew he was onto something and were confident that trusty Silva wouldn't let us down. During that same Fancast we learned a little bit about The Dishwasher's history, where the idea came from and how he got involved with XNA development. Though, sadly, we felt that we never got a chance to know the real James Silva. But now we feel we have a better understanding of the man behind The Dishwasher thanks to a "James Silva - A Life" documentary video that was shown during Microsoft's GDC keynote. And after giving it a watch, we're much more spiritually connected to James and The Dishwasher, so much that we're thinking about leaving our cushy blogging job just to become dishwashers ourselves. Go ahead, give Silva's story a watch but be warned that it's a very touching tale. So touching that it may make you (or at least Major Nelson) shed a tear.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tony @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:48AM
He's been doing a good job with it. I was kind of impressed by how similar it felt to NG or DMC4 on a 2D level... I do wish the enemies had less hit points, though.
Digital Limit @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:54AM
Heh, Major Nelson crying was so random. Good stuff.
quesadia @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:00PM
I loved this game. There's not many game i guarantee to buy right away and I have had my hopes high for this one, and it has prevailed. I will buy this as soon as it comes out, my taste is picky and only worms, castlecrashers, and vigilante 8 are probably my favorite buy right away games no matter what.
ZEBRA NINER @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:06PM
This game really rocks. I can't wait for the retail version, and some sweet, sweet, cheevos (yes, I said it).
dishwasher @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:07PM
I hate there is a game called "the dishwasher" i have been 'dishwasher' for over 5 years now!
Adam @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:10PM
I think gamer kids or whatever was a better game.Jelly Car is very good as well.I think this dishwasher game is a little over hyped tho.Xna is good but at the end of the day i was playing a 2d game on a console which is capable of realistic visuals and blazing fast speeds.Im not saying the games arent good but there a little to old school for me.
Magic Whiskey @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:28PM
Adam, I think you're pigeonholing yourself in terms of gaming. If a game is good, it's good. I have a Wii and I play the VC stuff a lot, as well as XBLA games and hell, I still have an old Atari 2600 plugged in.
Of course I also get floored by tech demos like we've seen from Alone In The Dark, Star Wars: Force Unleashed and Gears of War 2, but I consider any tech as another artists' tool to use in the way they want to.
If graphics and horsepower are your thing, that's cool..just please try the lower-powered, 2D gems your pals are talking about (Castlevania Symphony of The Night, Bomberman Live to name a few) before you dedicate your whole 360 to one 'tube' of gaming.
Tony @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:26PM
I don't know what anyone really sees in that Little Gamers game. It's neat, but after like two levels I felt like what I was doing required no skill and offered nothing of note... I finally just stopped in the ninja level lol.
Jelly Car is awesome, though. I liked all of them on some level, honestly.
Adam @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:59PM
I dont hate 2d games.I love bomberman live etc.But its what the game brings to the table personally.Hyping something like dishwasher compared to a better 2d game like bomberman live is just crazy.
Stephen @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:59PM
I love the art style of this game!
I was at a friends house who didn't even know about XNA , walked him through downloading the launcher and games. I told him about Dishwasher. Keep in mind I hadn't even done this myself at home yet, I hadn't even seen the game. We both stood there in shock as he racked up a 28 hit combo on a game made by ONE DUDE in his FREAKIN' LIVINGROOM! I hope that sinks in for the haters. Not a development studio by a team...ONE DUDE in his FREAKIN' LIVINGROOM!
Went home and played for about two hours.