Albany IGDA Chapter: June 2006 Archives

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June 22, 2006

Event Announcement: Katherine Isbister Book Release Party - Thursday July 6th

Host: Katherine Isbister, RPI Professor & Game Research Lab Director

Event: Book Release Party for Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach

Location: Market Block Books, 290 River Street, Troy, NY

Date: Thursday, July 6th 2006, 4:30-6 PM

Katherine Isbister sent out this invitation to the book release party for her newly published book on character design. Katherine presented her research at the August 2005 meeting of the Albany IGDA. Here's an article about the release of her book on RPI's website.

Here's the official invite from Katherine:

Book Party July 6 for Better Game Characters by Design

Hello,

I'm writing to invite you to join in my celebration of the release of Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach. At long last, the book is here! (apologies if you receive a couple of these emails--hard to know who is on which list)

Come join me on Thursday July 6 for a book signing and reading--it's a chance to hear a little more about the ideas in the book, preview the game clips on the dvd, and get the author to sign a copy for you, if you like. And we'll even do a drawing for a free copy!

It's also a chance to visit a wonderful independent bookstore right in the heart of downtown Troy (www.marketblockbooks.com)

When:
Thursday July 6
4:30-6 p.m. for the signing and reading, interested parties can adjourn to Brown's Pub afterward

Where:
Market Block Books
290 River Street
Troy, NY

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think may be interested--I hope to see you and your friends and colleagues on July 6!

Do let me know if you think you'll come, so we have some idea of how many to expect.

Katherine Isbister

Directions & Parking

* Google Maps link to 290 River Street.
* Link to directions on the Market Block Books Website

From Route 7 East

Take the "Troy/Bennington" exit (Route 7 East). You will see a sign for "Downtown Troy," a two-lane exit to the right. Take this exit but stay in the left lane of the two. Follow the "Downtown" sign which will put you on 6th Avenue heading south. Follow 6th Avenue to
Federal Street. Make a right onto Federal, and go one block to
4th Street. Make a left turn which will lead you onto 3rd Street.
Market Block Books is located at the Point where 3rd Street and
River Street meet.

From Albany

Take I-787 North. Exit at the "Green Island" exit (8E). Take Exit 8E
to Green Island Bridge. Turn right at the traffic light at the
foot of the Bridge. Stay to the right onto 3rd Street. Market
Block Books is located at the Point where 3rd Street and River
Street meet.

OR you may take I-87 (Northway) north out of Albany to Exit 7. Then continue as above on Route 7 East.

From Schenectady

Take Route 7 East (Route 7 intersects with I-87 for ¼ mile). Follow the signs to Route 7 East. Continue as described above.

Posted by IanStead at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2006

Mod Project Update - HolyStrike on hiatus for the summer!

Bret Dunham has announced that Holy Strike is going on hiatus for the summer. The project will be restarting in the fall. Here's the official word from Bret via the forum:

Holy strike on hold till end of summer

I apologize for not posting sooner. It looks like the project is on hold for several reasons (one being that I'm focusing on finishing another project). The other is that several lead position people have also been called away for their own projects.

None of the previous work had been lost so we can pick up at any time. I know some of you want to do your part and participate and once again I apologize for not being there when you have needed me. Once you see what i have been working on it will be very apparent why I have had to be absent. I can talk about it in person but for now I prefer not to post any specifics.

Hope to see every one at the next idga meeting!
~B

Posted by IanStead at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)

Meeting Report: Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

Developers Discuss Quality of Life with Erin Hoffman (aka "ea_spouse")

We had an excellent meeting tonight featuring a lively discussion about Quality of Life lead by Erin Hoffman! She related some of her experiences, findings and research on some of the causes of bad quality of life at different studios in the industry and solutions to these problems. Local developers pitched in with their own 'war stories' and methods for reducing crunch time. Bret Dunham also gave an update on HolyStrike development which is on hold till the end of the summer. Studios and schools represented by the forty people in attendance were Vicarious Visions, 1st Playable, Spiral Design, Mildred Elley, Russel-Sage, RIT and RPI. A big thanks goes out to Erin for leading the discussion and for the chapter coordinators and volunteers that helped set up the meeting.

Here are detailed meeting minutes by Casey O'Donnell:

IGDA Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
6:30 p.m. DeJohns Restaurant and Pub
Erin Hoffman Leading a Discussion on Quality of Life

The evening began with a very brief introduction for Erin Hoffman, which could be summed up with the question, "Has anyone here not read the original ea_spouse post?"

The discussion began with attendees voicing particular aspects of which they thought had significant impact on quality of life (QoL), and discussion led by Erin, who would often begin by commenting on the ways in which that aspect was being addressed in some companies or by the IGDA at large. In some cases the more problematic elements or legal issues associated with an aspect would also be brought up to provide the opportunity to more closely examine the complexity of the problem. Attendees would comment on positive and negative experiences associated with each aspect, and ways in which it might be approached in the future.

Erin is in the middle wearing the IGDA t-shirt.

Particular features of QoL discussed during the discussion were:

The question of whether QoL of life was a top-down or bottom-up issue was discussed, though no closure was given to the problem. Many seemed to agree that it could not be entirely one or the other, but that something must be done in both directions to make any sort of meaningful change in the industry.

The discussion of overwork ranged over numerous topics. Some addressed government sponsored research demonstrating the ineffectiveness of overworked employees. Others brought up the role of 'salary' versus 'hourly' pay rates in the industry. This led to a discussion of California court cases and ongoing court cases in Florida which are shaping the future of payment mechanisms of creative and technical workers. The difficulty in defining productivity for creative and technical workers was also brought up.

Effective and experienced leadership was seen as a key component to good or bad QoL. The differentiation between leads and managers was also made. Some brought up the role of managers in not just managing employees, but managing the expectations of those above them.

This issue too focused on the importance of bidirectional communication in game companies. Communication must effectively move both up and down for good QoL. This was also related to effective management, but was seen more broadly and an issue on its own. For companies that run on information, information flows can be very ineffective within companies.

This discussion focused primarily on the rapid growth and then rapid contraction that many companies undergo when ramping up production for a large project, then realizing that too many employees are on board during periods of non-production.

Many of the issues were also seen to be critically linked to the difficulty of planning within the industry. This is in part due to its age and history in "garage" style development. TSP was brought up as one example of how planning techniques from other industries were being brought in to help plan in the game industry.

Corporate values or vision was seen as something which could dramatically alter the QoL within an organization. Particular items like time off for volunteer work were addressed. Other issues like a companies interest in working with the surrounding community were raised.

The trouble of QoL dropping to the lowest common denominator was brought up. That in some cases because there is a tendency for game companies to be competitive, they must all drop down the level of those with the worst QoL. That the idea that companies that "work the hardest" produce the best games.

The relationship with retail chains and consequences of online distribution (Steam or MMO's for example) were briefly discussed as having impacts on QoL.

The question of if there were particular company profiles that crunch more than others was brought up and briefly discussed. The consequences of globalization and QoL issues in other countries was brought up.

The question was raised about the role that education can play in improving QoL. Katherine Isbister said that one way is by exposing students to industry issues while they are in school by having professional developers visit classes.

Ongoing QoL projects which interested individuals can take part in:

1. IGDA Employment Contract Certification
2. IGDA Bill of Rights
3. IGDA Code of Ethics
4. Gamewatch.org

Tobi, Jacob, Eun-Yeung and Joel from 1st Playable.

Upcoming Events

Katherine Isbister will be having a book release celebration party on July 6th at Market Block Books in downtown Troy, NY. Read more about it in the official announcement.

In mid to late august we will be having our next official Chapter meeting featuring Leo Zuniga, a designer from Vicarious Visions. Leo will be doing a design focussed talk based on his experiences working on handheld Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS Games.

Posted by IanStead at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2006

Meeting Announcement: Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

Speaker: Erin Hoffman (aka "ea_spouse")

Topic: Quality of Life Discussion

Location: DeJohns Restaurant & Pub, 288 Lark Street, Albany, NY 12210

Date: Tuesday, June 20th 2006, 6:30-8 PM

Join us at the June 2006 meeting for an informal chat lead by Erin Hoffman to discuss quality of life issues in the games industry, the process by which they became hot button topics in recent years, and steps that can be taken in the future by employees and employers alike to ensure a development environment most conducive to producing great games. We'll also discuss the IGDA's efforts to document and improve quality of life practices in the industry, and how Gamewatch will work in parallel to sustain quality of life as a focus issue for continuing development.

Erin's Bio:
Erin Hoffman is a game designer for 1st Playable Productions and was recently revealed as ea_spouse, the author of an online essay that garnered thousands of responses from within and without the games industry, as well as media coverage that put a spotlight on quality of life issues in game and software development. In March 2006 she and Leander Hasty launched Gamewatch.org, a site focusing on discussion of the various elements that come together to produce a positive or negative workplace environment, including production methods, scheduling practices, human resources management, overtime hours, and compensation. Erin is a member of the IGDA Quality of Life Committee and is currently involved in developing the IGDA's organizational Code of Ethics for independent developers.

Additional Resources:
* Gamewatch.org forums
* Exclusive: Nicole Wong Reveals Identity Of EA Spouse from mercurynews.com

* Directions & Parking

Posted by IanStead at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)

Chapter Advisory Board Meeting Notes: Thursday, May 25th, 2006

In the evening of Thursday, May 25th, the Albany IGDA Advisory Board, Coordinators and Volunteers gathered for a brainstorm and planning meeting. The main question we wanted to answer was, "How can the Albany IGDA better serve the local game development community?"

After much discussion and some Indian food, the major goals for the next year are:

* To meet more often. Possibly every month alternating informal gatherings and prepared presentations.

* To have shorter presentations and allow for more time to ask questions, network and socialize.

* To move towards incorporating with non-profit status so that the chapter can get a bank account and make it easier for oranizations to donate to the chapter.

* To bring more people in for presentations from oustide of the Albany area.

* To get more and better feedback from the members. We will be sending out surveys to help this process.

Posted by IanStead at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)

Meeting Report: Friday, April 28th, 2006

The Albany IGDA's presence at the RPI Game Fest was a success again this year. Many excellent student projects were shown off during the festival and companies were there recruiting. Cryptic Studios, Agora Games and 1st Playable Productions.

After the show we held an informal IGDA gathering at Java++, the coffeeshop near the campus. During this meeting Ken Bowen spoke about the RPI Student Game Club, Bret Dunham gave an update on the Albany Mod Project, Holy Strike, and we drew the winners for the raffle we held at the festival (free for IGDA members, $1 tickets for non-members).

Congratulations to the winners of the raffle. We gave away one copy of Guitater Hero, two books on game development from Charles River Media (courtesy of Greg Costikyan and the NYC IGDA Chapter), several free download coupons for GDC Radio and copies of the RPI Game Development Club's Annual collection of game projects.

Although this was the completion of the IGDA's involvement in the event, a symposium was held the following Saturday morning and afternoon. Included talks were by Michael Lewis, the CEO of Cryptic Studios, Ian Bogost, Ph.D. who is the author of Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism, a Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech and Partner at Persuasive Games, a panel of leaders at several Activision Studios including Karthik Bala, the CEO of Vicarious Visions, a panel of women in game development - Katherine Isbister and Tobi Saulnier (CEO of 1st Playable Productions) and a panel of young RPI alumns who work in the games industry including Ben Zeigler (you can read some notes from the event in several posts on his live journal), Erin Hoffman, Mike Delprete and, yours truly - Ian Stead.

Thanks to RPI for hosting this event and for all the hard work of the organizers and students and for the excellent presentations! Be sure not to miss it next year!

Posted by IanStead at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)