Mittens
Mittens is the annual real-life meeting for adventure game creators mostly from the AGS community. The first Mittens was held in 2002, and it took place in Laleham, England, and was organised by m0ds. There has been a Mittens gathering every year since then, in various places in Europe, once in the United States, and once in Canada.
A smaller meeting, named Brittens is also hosted each year, intended to be for those unable to attend the further-afield Mittenses. Other local AGS community meet-ups have also been arranged or suggested, often with names related to Mittens, such as Lapaset.
The name "Mittens" comes from a suggestion by Captain Mostly. The idea formed during the production of "The Vestibule", the team (which included Abstauber, Yahtzee, Captain Mostly & m0ds) decided it could be fun to bundle around to Yahtzee's and have a BBQ. This never happened - but the idea was taken further and with it, m0ds launched "Mittens". Mittens are actually fingerless winter gloves. It is also a common name for a cat. It has no association or related meaning with the annual AGS meeting, but the name was made up because it was funny.
Timeline
- 2002: Laleham, England, organised by m0ds.
- 2003: Near Gothenburg, Sweden, organised by Andail.
- 2004: "Electric Boogaloo" in Upstate New York, United States, organised by MrColossal.
- 2005: Agia Anna, North Evia, Greece, organised by Helm.
- 2006: Benidorm, Spain, organised by Farlander and La Lore.
- 2007: Bayfield, Ontario, Canada, organised by Quintaros and BaRoN.
Attendees
| Attendee | 2002 (England) | 2003 (Sweden) | 2004 (USA) | 2005 (Greece) | 2006 (Spain) | 2007 (Canada) | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2ma2 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | 3 |
| Adamski (Dark Stalkey) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 5 |
| AGA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| Andail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | 4 |
| BaRoN | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1 |
| Becky | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | 1 |
| Chrille | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 4 |
| Dave Gilbert | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | 1 |
| Disco | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 |
| Dominika | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | 2 |
| Edmundo (netmonkey) | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | 1 |
| Farlander | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 3 |
| FruitTree | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | 1 |
| Goldmund | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 3 |
| Grundislav | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4 |
| Helm | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 3 |
| jet (JetXL) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 5 |
| KANDYMAN-IAC (das kandyman) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | 1 |
| Kevbot | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1 |
| La Lore | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | 2 |
| Layabout | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | 1 |
| MachineElf (Vargtass) | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | 1 |
| magintz | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | 3 |
| mattgoble | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 3 |
| MillsJROSS | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | 1 |
| m0ds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 5 |
| MrColossal | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | 2 |
| Petteri | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | 2 |
| Pesty | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1 |
| Privateer Puddin' (custard) | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | 2 |
| Pumaman (CJ) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| Quintaros | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 2 |
| Radiant | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 2 |
| Renegade Implementor | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1 |
| Scotch | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | 3 |
| Scummbuddy | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | 2 |
| Sinitrena | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | 1 |
| The Ivy | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 1 |
| Viporizer | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | 1 |
| zainastar (Jess) | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | 2 |
| Total | 13 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 16 |
Traditions
The most (in)famous Mittens tradition is the group singing of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. This tradition may or may not include being yelled at by angry people in the vicinity being disturbed by the group's singing.
Another Mittens tradition is the attempt to photograph Chris Jones eating onion rings and/or ice cream cones.
At each Mittens there is also a "super quiz" of questions relating to AGS and adventure games. Everyone participates and those lucky enough get to choose from an array of prizes! 1st prize 2006 went to AGA, who won a special boxed edition of Ben Jordan 1 and a signed Mittens poster by La Lore. Grundislav won the competition in 2007.
The Mittolympics are also a special part of the Mittens traditions. Normally run by Andail (when he attends), there are various games that Mitteneers contend against each other in, including; onion ring hoopla, dart, croquet, nail in wood, swimming, running, eating & most famously - arm wrestling.
There is also a popular tendency to; drink things, burn things, break things, smoke things, eat lots of different things, meet & engage with local people things, climb things, fall off things, sail in things, photograph things, tamper with things, argue about things & compare real life things to how they are perceived over the internet things.