International Game Developers Association Releases Videos from Quality of Life Summit

Association Continues to Tackle Work-Related Issues Within the Video Games Industry

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - June 2, 2005 - To share the valuable knowledge that was generated during its Quality of Life Summit, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has made available recorded videos from the entire event. Additional Summit materials, including conference proceedings, slides, papers and reports, are also available free of charge.

The Summit, held at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), was the first of its kind to address the work environment and related issues for game development professionals. Experts discussed factors effecting poor working conditions, labor relations theories, legal issues surrounding overtime and case studies on how to overcome the hurdles preventing a better work atmosphere.

"The Summit was an important milestone in dealing with the often poor working conditions developers must endure," said Jason Della Rocca, executive director, IGDA. "Rather than pointing fingers, it served as a productive forum to address these challenges in a pragmatic manner. We are happy to share the insights with the entire community of developers."

Following is the full list of sessions and speakers:

• Welcome/Introduction
  - Jason Della Rocca - Executive Director, IGDA
• 7 Reasons Why You Should Care About This Stuff
  - Francois Dominic Laramée - freelance developer, IGDA QoL Committee Chair
• Globalization, Labor Shortages and their effects on the Game Industry's Quality of Life
  - Clarinda Merripen - Director of Operations, Cyberlore Studios
• The US Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Legal Considerations Regarding Overtime and the Work Force
  - Tom Buscaglia - Attorney, T.H. Buscaglia & Associates
• Quality of Life at BreakAway Games
  - Deborah Tillett , President, BreakAway Games
• Quality-of-Life Lessons from Elsewhere in High-Tech
  - Kim Pallister , Engineering Manager, Intel
• Quality of Life through applying Software Quality Management
  - Tobi Saulnier , VP Operations, Vicarious Visions
• The Business Case for Improved Production Practices
  - Steve McConnell - CEO and Chief Software Engineer, Construx Software
• Labor Relations 101
  - Gina Neff - Assistant Prof., Department of Communication, U. of California, San Diego
• Towards a Sustainable Future: Panel & Discussion
  - Michel Allard - Vice President of Continuous Improvement, Ubisoft Montreal
  - Julian Eggebretch - President/Lead Producer, Factor 5
  - Joe Minton - President & CEO, Cyberlore Studios
  - David Perry - President, Shiny Entertainment
  - Rich Vogel - Executive Producer, Sony Online Entertainment

To view the videos, please go to:
http://www.igda.org/qol/vids.php

The DigiPen Institute of Technology has donated server bandwidth to assist in the hosting and distribution of the Summit video files.

To view the Summit materials, including proceedings, slides, papers and reports, visit:
http://www.igda.org/qol/events.php

Adverse working conditions were first addressed by the IGDA in last year's Quality of Life white paper. The paper not only documented the long hours and pressures exerted on developers, but also provided best practices to help employees enjoy a sensible work/life balance. The white paper is available for free download via the IGDA site:
http://www.igda.org/qol/whitepaper.php

About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA)

The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit membership organization that advocates globally on issues related to digital game creation. The IGDA's mission is to strengthen the international game development community and effect change to benefit that community. For more information on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org or e-mail info@igda.org.