IGDA Newsletter - September 2003

================================
IGDA Newsletter - September 2003
================================


=============================
0: A Word From Kathy Schoback


1: IGDA News
- 2nd Release of Contract Walk-Through now Available
-"Key Points" in Game Censorship/Regulation Debate
- GDC Europe/ECTS Summary Report and Pictorial
- Ongoing Volunteer/Contribution Opportunities
- Columns Update


2: Chapter Updates...


3: From the Wires
- Trivial Pursuit: We Can Be Heroes
- Games Close In on Citizen Kane
- Off to college to major in ... video games?
- Games suffer from 'geek stereotype'
- The shifting culture of video games
- Computer games: Facts and fiction
- Can Grand Theft Auto Inspire Professors?
- Games cited in recent deaths
- FTC Workshop on Self-Regulation
- From 'Army of one' to Army of fun
- Not Just Rappers and Athletes: Minorities in Videogames
- God in the console
- The Grey Market
- Codes of dishonor?



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



=============================
0: A Word From Kathy Schoback
=============================


Dear Members and friends,


Thanks to all the forum visitors who responded to our last poll! According
to you, the following attributes are currently most closely associated with
the IGDA:


1) Community
2) (tie) Advocacy, Information
3) Craft


Over the next few months, the board will begin focusing activities against
these areas. Stay tuned for updates...


On an unrelated note - Happy Holidays! Yes, it's Christmastime in game
development crunch land. I wish you much sleep in your own beds, plentiful
Red Bull, kind producers, and good mojo with Sony.


With great appreciation -


Kathy Schoback
Chairperson, IGDA
Director of Product Operations, Eidos




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


2nd Release of Contract Walk-Through now Available
--------------------------------------------------
The Contract Walk-Through is meant to educate all developers on game
contract issues, so they will be better able to understand and discuss such
matters with their lawyers and publishers. Game industry lawyers have
compiled essays on important contract issues and each essay includes
annotations from industry experts. Sample topics in this second release
include breach, brands, termination clauses, moral rights, warranties, etc.


All IGDA members and registered can down load the Contract Walk-Through at
no charge:


http://www.igda.org/biz/contract_walkthrough.php




"Key Points" in Game Censorship/Regulation Debate
-------------------------------------------------
To accompany the Soapbox article on regulation and censorship in the
October issue of Game Developer magazine, ten "key points" have been
devised to remind game developers of the importance and impact of their
creative endeavors. Some of the points may seem overly obvious to most
developers, but chances are that those not part of the industry are much
less informed on the facts...


http://www.igda.org/violence/points.php




GDC Europe/ECTS Summary Report and Pictorial
--------------------------------------------
The IGDA crew was in London to participate in GDC Europe, ECTS and various
other "London Games Week" activity. Check out Jason's summary report and
pics from the trip. Those interested in the academic side of things can
also download all of the materials from the Academic Day held during GDC
Europe.


http://www.igda.org/blogs/realitypanic/archives/000041.html


http://www.igda.org/academia/events.php




Ongoing Volunteer/Contribution Opportunities
--------------------------------------------
Various committees are still looking for volunteers and contributors. Check
out the volunteers page for details on the following opps:


- Online Games White Paper
- Funding and Assistance Resource Listings
- Quality of Life White Paper
- AI Interface Standards Committee contributions


http://www.igda.org/community/volunteers.php




Columns Update
--------------
Our monthly columns have been updated for September:


- The Ivory Tower:
The Arrival of Computer Game Studies
http://www.igda.org/columns/ivorytower/



- Famous Last Words:
Breach of Contract 101 - or - When is a breach more than a breach?
http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/



- Culture Clash:
First Comes Love, then Comes Marriage
http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/



- The Games Game:
To Start a Side Project
http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/




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


Tokyo
Meeting, September > Tokyo Game Show Gathering
http://www.igda.jp/e/



Houston
Meeting, September > The Best of SIGGRAPH Electronic Theatre
http://www.igda.org/houston



Orange County
Meeting, September > Chapter Meeting - See the latest 3DSMax from Discreet
http://www.igda.org/oc



Bratislava
Meeting, September > Date & place of first meeting known!
http://igda.org/bratislava/



Montreal
Meeting, September > Ernest Adams Talks Twinkies
http://www.igda.org/montreal/index_e.htm#next



Denmark
Meeting, September > Bar meeting
http://www.igda.org/denmark



Phoenix
Report, September > Meeting Report for 2003 September
http://igda-phx.org/resources.php?id=7



Toronto
Report, September > Ernest Adams: Of Game Design and Twinkies
http://www.igda.org/toronto/toronto_summary_sept18.htm



Colorado
Report, September > September Meeting Report: Pitch Your Game Idea!
http://www.coloradogamedev.org/20030908.html



Mexico City
Report, September > Minuta 3ra Reunión
http://www.igda.org/mexico/minuta3.php



Portland
Report, August > August PAGDIG Report - Bravetree & Garage Games
http://www.pagdig.com/meeting03.htm



Southern Michigan
Report, August > Why The Game Industry Kicked Me Out: Recent & Future
Trends in Game Development
http://www.igda.org/smichigan/Aug03/report.htm



Seattle
Report, August > Universal Game Design Theory: A Single Theory to Describe
all Games
http://www.igda.org/seattle/reports/08_2003r.htm



North Carolina Triangle
Report, August > Focus on Behavioral Programming
http://www.igda.org/nctriangle/meeting_aug03.html



Toronto
Report, August > Open Discussion - Art and Level Design Content Creation
http://www.igda.org/toronto/toronto_summary_aug7.htm




=================
3: From the Wires
=================


Trivial Pursuit: We Can Be Heroes
http://www.popmatters.com/columns/harvey/030724.shtml



Games Close In on Citizen Kane
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59964,00.html



Off to college to major in... video games?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0829/p01s04-ussc.html



Games suffer from 'geek stereotype'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3197911.stm



The shifting culture of video games
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/08/17/videogame.culture.ap/index.html



Computer games: Facts and fiction
http://news.com.com/2010-1071-5065675.html



Can Grand Theft Auto Inspire Professors?
http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i49/49a03101.htm



Games cited in recent deaths
http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6074253.html



FTC Workshop on Self-Regulation
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/violence/index.html



From 'Army of one' to Army of fun
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/106291458914820.xml



Not Just Rappers and Athletes: Minorities in Videogames
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20030827/adams_01.shtml



God in the console
http://www.msnbc.com/news/954674.asp



The Grey Market
http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/business/article.jsp?content=20030818_63980_63980



Codes of dishonor?
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20030825-9999_mz1b25codes.html




==================
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
Art Institute of California - San Diego
Art Institute of California - San Francisco
Butterfly.net
Charles River Media
Criterion Software
Digital Media Center at Seneca College
Digital Media Collaboratory at UofT at Austin
Discreet
Havok
Institute for Information Industry, Taiwan
Kaydara
Mary-Margaret.com
Massive Incorporated
Metrowerks
Microsoft Research
NDL
NXN Software
Quazal
Real Networks
SN Systems
Sun Microsystems
University of Abertay Dundee
Universirty of Derby
Virtools
VxO Networks
Xbox Advanced Technology Group


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




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