IGDA Newsletter - April 2003

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IGDA Newsletter - April 2003
============================


============================
0: A Word From Graeme Devine


1: IGDA News
- IGDA "Gear" Now for Sale
- Student Scholars Report on GDC Experience
- Columns/Articles Update
- Online Games White Paper / IGDA Annual Report


2: Chapter Updates...


3: Industry News
- Journal of Game Development - Call for Papers
- The Growth of Game Studies
- Senators Target Violence; Push for More Research
- Military Learning from Games and Driving Consumer Demand
- The Legacy of Game Design Pioneer Dani Bunten Berry
- Potential of Video Games to Treat Pain and Disorders
- Games Makers Miss Feminine Touch


4: Upcoming Industry Events


5: Logistical Bits
===========================


===========================
0:A Word From Graeme Devine
===========================


Dear Members and friends,


Well, this is it. The final words of wisdom scratched out from deep within
my lunch box. My term ends as Chairperson of the IGDA on May 1st. It has
truly been my greatest honor to be the IGDA Chairperson this last year, and
to see the IGDA grow, mature, and find its footing in the game development
community. I'd like to thank all the members, chapter organizers, committee
members, Partners, Studio heads, board past present and future for the hard
work. It has been an incredible inspiration working with you all. I would
especially like to thank Jason Della Rocca, Liz Wakefield, Jennifer Pahlka,
and now Rudy Geronimo, for without them and their daily care, we would not
have this wonderful organization.


So, this being my last little intro and all, what should I say? Well,
anything I want to I suppose, it's not like I'll be kicked off! So let me
tell you what I think.


I love games. I love this industry. But if we're to survive and grow we
need to innovate more than just technology. Technology is vital, extremely
important, and absolutely cool to work on, but in order to make better
games we need more than just better technology. When I started making
games, the graphics and sound were so awful you had to really be quite
imaginative to see the space invaders, or the giant asteroids, or the
ghosts chasing you. But those game designs were varied, appealed to a wider
audience, and are now history in more sense than one.


I love deeply complicated games. Was right there pouring my heart into
Final Fantasy X with everyone else; I'm there playing C&C Generals or MOA3.
But we've whittled even the deepest, most engaging games down to a very few
key game design ideas. This repetitive nature of our industry brings in
dependable dollars, but it's also the barrier to newer, possibly more
interesting, ideas.


There's a lot to do. Jennifer Olsen of Game Developer Magazine would tell
me to lead on to the conclusions for what I say above and hammer home the
underlying points, but I think you can all draw your own. The road is clear.


This all said, I have to also say that people I personally know, and those
I meet are all interested in these things too. We are the best and the
brightest. We are the future.


Back to signing off. I feel as if my work in the IGDA and this community is
really just beginning. Here's to you all! Thank you.


Humbly,


Graeme Devine
Chairperson, IGDA





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1:IGDA News
===========


IGDA "Gear" Now for Sale
------------------------
The IGDA has set up a shop at CafePress to accommodate the demand for
IGDA gear (t-shirts, caps, mugs, etc). Every purchase supports the
Association community, as a portion of every sale is donated back to the
IGDA. The shop has only just been established and we hope to add cool stuff on
an ongoing basis...


http://www.igda.org/gear




Student Scholars Report on GDC Experience
-----------------------------------------
Every year, the IGDA's Education Committee awards 25 scholarships to
students from around the world to attend the Game Developers Conference.
This year, the students were asked to maintain a journal of their trip to
GDC and report back on their overall experience, their favorite sessions
and advice to GDC first-timers. These are a great resource for
students/newbies thinking about attending GDC for the first time, and it
gives GDC vets a sense of how things have changed over the years.


http://www.igda.org/students/scholarship_reports_gdc2003.php




Columns Updated
---------------
Our monthly columns have all been updated for April:


- The Ivory Tower:
Just what is it that makes computer games so different, so appealing?
http://www.igda.org/columns/ivorytower/



- Famous Last Words:
The All-Consuming Pitch Prep
http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/



- Culture Clash:
The Tragic Reality - It's better in there
http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/



- The Games Game:
The Importance of Demos, Skills and Location
http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/




Online Games White Paper / IGDA Annual Report
---------------------------------------------
In case you missed the news from last month's newsletter, the Online Games
Committee has released the 2nd edition of their Online Games White Paper,
which outlines games market statistics, business model descriptions,
technology summaries and publisher listings, among other resources. And, we
have released our 2002 Annual Report. Download both reports (at no charge)
if you have not already done so.


http://www.igda.org/online/online_whitepaper.php


http://www.igda.org/about/IGDA_2002_Annual_Report.pdf




=================
2:Chapter Updates
=================


San Francisco
Meeting, April > FilmGame: Adapting Lord of the Rings
http://www.igda.org/sanfran/



Orange County
Meeting, April > Everything you wanted to know about Game Audio
http://www.igda.org/oc/meetings.htm



Mexico City
Meeting, April > 1ra Reunión Capítulo México
http://www.igda.org/mexico/reuniones.htm



Amsterdam
Meeting, April > Amsterdam Chapter meeting
http://www.igda.org/amsterdam/



Manila
Report, April > Results of First Meeting
http://www.igda.org/manila/index.htm



Oslo
Report, April > First meeting report
http://www.igda.org/oslo/1st_meeting.htm



Lyon
Report, April > Successful Arx Fatalis Post Mortem!
http://www.igda.org/lyon/index.htm#reports



Montreal
Report, April > The French Connection: Splinter Cell and Lyon Developers
Invade Montreal
http://www.igda.org/montreal/index_e.htm#next



North Carolina Triangle
Report, March > GDC Reports
http://www.igda.org/nctriangle/meeting_mar03.html



Vancouver
Report, March > Who Saw What at GDC
http://www.igda.org/vancouver/reports.htm



New Jersey North
Report, March > Summary of the March 2003 Meeting
http://www.igda.org/njnorth/nj_summary_mar03.htm



San Francisco
Report, March > SF IGDA, February Meeting Report
http://www.igda.org/sanfran/bayarea_summary_Feb03.htm




===============
3:Industry News
===============


Journal of Game Development - Call for Papers
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=541



The Growth of Game Studies
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=540



Senators Target Violence; Push for More Research
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=539



Military Learning from Games and Driving Consumer Demand
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=538



The Legacy of Game Design Pioneer Dani Bunten Berry
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=536



Potential of Video Games to Treat Pain and Disorders
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=535



Games Makers Miss Feminine Touch
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=534




==========================
4:Upcoming Industry Events
==========================


Video Games: The Next Level
http://www.cencom.org/INDEX.HTM/CALENDAR/SEMINARS/Seminars.htm#video
21 April, New York, NY



Playing Away - Mobile Games
http://www.nmk.co.uk/playingaway.cfm
23 April, London, UK



GAMES & MOBILE FORUM
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events/Games&MobileForum_04282003.htm
28 April, New York, NY



Computer Animation & Social Agents Conference
http://www.cbim.rutgers.edu/conferences/casa2003/
7-9 May, Rutgers University, New Jersey



International Conference on Entertainment Computing
http://www.etc.cmu.edu/icec2003/
8-9 May, Pittsburgh, PA



E3
http://www.e3expo.com/
13-16 May, Los Angeles, CA



Digital Arts and Culture
http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/dac/
19-23 May, Melbourne, Australia



NetGames
http://confman.eecs.umich.edu/netgames2003/
22-23 May, Redwood City, CA




=================
4 Logistical Bits
=================


Thanks to our Partners!
-----------------------
The IGDA extends its sincerest thanks to all our Partners! Without their
support the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive.


Academy of Art College
Alias|Wavefront
Art Institute of California - San Diego
Charles River Media
Criterion Software
Digital Media Center at Seneca College
Digital Media Collaboratory at UofT at Austin
Discreet
Havok
Kaydara
Mary-Margaret.com
Microsoft Research
NDL
Quazal
SN Systems
Universirty of Derby
Virtools


Further details and a complete list of Partners are available online:
http://www.igda.org/partners




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