Media Consumption: The Behemoth's Tom Fulp

Today’s Media Consumption, a weekly column that digs deep to find out what our favorite game developers have been devouring in the four basic media food groups of audio, video, printed word and games, speaks to Newgrounds founder, The Behemoth co-founder and Alien Hominid programmer Tom Fulp. Tom Fulp is the creator and maintainer of Newgrounds, the Flash movies and games portal that celebrated its tenth anniversary earlier this year. In 2002 Fulp, along with artist Dan Paladin and producer John Baez, founded independent console developer The Behemoth, and coded 2004's cross-platform action game Alien Hominid. Fulp and crew are currently working on The Behemoth's follow-up, an as-of-yet unnamed four player beat-em-up. Sounds: Fulp's last three CD purchases were, in no particular order, Ladytron's "Witching Hour," Franz Ferdinand's "You Could Have It So Much Better," and a disc by Sri Lanka-rased singer, M.I.A. "I like the bleak futuristic sound of Ladytron, although the new CD hasn't grown on me as quickly as 'Light and Magic,'" said Fulp. "You might recognize one of the M.I.A. songs from a car commercial, where a car is bouncing around off buildings in the city skyline. She's got some FAT BEATS and KILLER RHYMES. But mostly I like the beats and bumps." Moving Pictures: "I watch Lost religiously, as well as Family Guy," said Fulp. He also regularly watches two shows on games-centric cable network G4, Cinematech ("to zone out") and Attack of the Show ("because I want to be a regular guest on there!"). "The next movie I plan to see will probably be Serenity on DVD, just because it looks like fun and I haven't been in a thinking mood lately." On the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Fulp describes it as "a fantastical joyride for the first half, but then it started to drag a little. Still spellbinding and stuff, though." Words: "I've been trying to bone up on business, so I recently read Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff," said Fulp, referring to Half.com CEO Mark Hughes' book about the art of word-of-mouth marketing. "It kept me entertained all the way through, with lots of different real-world examples of marketing gimmicks," he said. "I also read a book about toy development, although it got a bit repetitive. You ever notice how most business books are really motivational books that repeat the same core concepts over and over? I went through this big reading phase where I was reading a new book every other week. Lately I've just been going to sleep. It's cyclical." Games: "I avoid online games such as Halo 2 and World of Warcraft, because I know I will get sucked in and be less productive," said Fulp. "The latest console game I bought was Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. It's actually similar in a lot of ways to the new game we are working on, only ours is in 2D and features medieval knights. Still, some of the similarities threw me for a loop." For a long trip to France, Fulp recently stocked up on a handful of Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games. "I got Gunstar Super Heroes and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, two franchises I get lots of inspiration from," he said. "I also got the new Mario Kart but I haven't played it yet." As for web games, specifically those featured on Newgrounds, Fulp recommends Bottle Blaster 4, "the most comprehensive bottle shooting game ever made."