IGDA Newsletter - December 2002

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IGDA Newsletter - December 2002
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0.0 A Word From Graeme Devine


1 IGDA News
1.1 Game Developers Choice Awards Nominations Starting Soon
1.2 Revamped IGDA Web Site
1.3 Student Scholarship Program Taking Applications
1.4 Charne on Net Profits
1.5 Chapter Updates & News


2 From the Wire
- Honduran Retailers Forced to Clear Violent Games
- IGF Competition Finalists Announced
- Aging Gamers Playing Nice for Santa
- Game Censorship, Wal-Mart Style
- The Effect of Video Games: Brain Rot or IQ Booster?
- Royalties, Music and More
- Dirty Games Cleaning Up


3 Events, Benefits & Services Update
3.1 Updated Member Benefits
3.2 Upcoming Events


4 Logistical Bits
4.1 Thanks to our Partners!
4.2 IGDA Registration
4.3 Contact Information
========================================



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0.0 A Word From Graeme Devine
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Dear IGDA Members and friends,


Yes, I know you're all at the theater watching "The Two Towers". Your games
have long since shipped or been pushed back to 2003. But here's one final
IGDA newsletter for 2002 before we let 2003 in the door.


I hope you all come and visit the IGDA web site now it's had a makeover.
There's a lot of good information up there that is now even easier to locate.


Think of all those children Christmas morning eagerly playing our games on
their shiny new PCs and consoles! I remember when I got an Atari 2600 for
Christmas. My cousin and I played "Combat" and "Air Sea Battle" throughout
the Holidays, and those blisters on my hands were testimonial trophies that
I was hooked on this industry.


Most of all, from all of us here at the IGDA, have a festive holiday and a
happy and safe New Year. As Chairperson of the IGDA I command you all to be
responsible citizens if you indulge in the holiday spirit.



Graeme Devine
Chairperson, IGDA





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1 IGDA News
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1.1 Game Developers Choice Awards Nominations Starting Soon
--------------------------------------------------------------
The nominations period for the Game Developers Choice Awards starts on
January 3rd. This is just a friendly reminder that you should be thinking
about who and what you'll nominate as you play all those games during the Holidays.


Started in 2000 with the idea that there is no greater honor than to be
recognized by one's peers, the Game Developers Choice Awards are game
development's most prized honors. All professional game developers are
eligible to nominate, vote and pay tribute to the developers who
transcended the state of the art in 2002, making these true industry accolades.


http://www.igda.org/awards/




1.2 Revamped IGDA Web Site
--------------------------
The IGDA web site has been completely revamped. The team is quite pleased
that we hit our pre-Holidays ship date... We hope you enjoy the new site,
and our efforts to make it more useful, informative, intuitive and hip. A
word of warning, the new design makes heavy use of CSS and other current
web standards which may not play nice with older browsers. For those
interested, check out the "colophon."


http://www.igda.org/
http://www.igda.org/about/colophon.php




1.3 Student Scholarship Program Taking Applications
---------------------------------------------------
The 3rd annual Student Scholarship Program was announced recently. 25 college
students will be awarded complimentary full access passes to the Game
Developers Conference, opening the doors to coveted conference seminars and
panel discussions, show floor exhibits and potential job opportunities. The
deadline to enter is Friday, January 10, 2003.


http://www.igda.org/scholarships
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/press_120902.php




1.4 Charne on Net Profits
-------------------------
Jim Charne has updated his "Famous Last Words" column, with advice on
deals based on net profits, warning of the need for clear definition.


http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Dec02.php




1.5 Chapter Updates & News
--------------------------
Many IGDA chapters held meetings over the past few weeks, and while things
go a bit quiet during the Holiday break, things will be back underway in
the new year. Due to the recent web site revamp, we'll just point you to
the chapter sections for you to poke around and read the updates.


Chapters Index:
http://www.igda.org/chapters/


Chapter Upcoming Meetings Schedule:
http://www.igda.org/events/chapter_meetings.php


Chapters Recent Updates:
http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php




===============
2 From the Wire
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Honduran Retailers Forced to Clear Violent Games
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=482



IGF Competition Finalists Announced
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=481



Aging Gamers Playing Nice for Santa
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=478



Game Censorship, Wal-Mart Style
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=477



The Effect of Video Games: Brain Rot or IQ Booster?
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=476



Royalties, Music and More
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=474



Dirty Games Cleaning Up
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=472




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3 Events, Benefits & Services Update
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3.1 Member Discount
-------------------


GDC Registration Discount:
All IGDA members enjoy a $50 discount on GDC registration. The Gama Network
recently announced the opening of registration for the Game Developers
Conference, which will be held in San Jose, CA from March 4-8, 2003. The
preliminary conference schedule is available, and conference classes will
continue to be added over the coming months. Early registration prices are
currently in effect. Discounted prices end on February 5th.


http://www.gdconf.com/




3.2 Upcoming Events
-------------------


Conference on Application and Development of Computer Games
http://www.adcog.org/
6-7 January, Hong Kong



Digital Frontier Conference
http://www.digitalfrontier.org/
17-18 January, Chicago, IL



Taipei Game Show
http://www.tca.org.tw/2003cem
21-24 February Taipei, Taiwan



D.I.C.E. Summit
27-28 February, Las Vegas, NV
http://64.49.205.17/dice/



Game Developers Conference
http://www.gdconf.com/
4-8 March, San Jose, CA



Russian Game Developers Conference
http://www.kriconf.ru/
21-22 March, Moscow, Russia



International Conference on Technologies for Interactive Digital
Storytelling and Entertainment
http://www.zgdv.de/TIDSE03/
24-26 March, Darmstadt, Germany



Milia
http://www.milia.com/
26-28 February, Cannes, France



digifest
http://www.dxnet.net/digifest/
26-29 March, Toronto, Canada




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


4.1 Thanks to our Partners!
---------------------------
The IGDA extends its sincerest thanks to all our partners!


Without their support, and the continued backing from the developer
community, the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive.


Academy of Art College
Alias|Wavefront
Criterion Software
Havok


Get more info online:
http://www.igda.org/partners




4.2 IGDA Registration
---------------------
Your support is critical to the success of the IGDA, and our industry. Our
membership is made up of programmers, designers, artists, producers and
many other development professionals who see the importance of working
together to advance games and game development as a craft. There are dozens
of reasons to join the IGDA, ranging from personal career advancement to
more lofty industry-wide goals.


What are you waiting for? Join today!
http://www.igda.org/join




4.3 Contact Information
-----------------------
Contact our membership coordinator if you have questions, comments or input.


http://www.igda.org/contact.php


Phone: +1.415.947.6235
Email: http://www.igda.org/contact.php