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Michael Lubker 2010 Board Statement

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Candidate Position Statement:

I am currently a Coordinator of the Indie SIG and have led the SIG since 2004. I also contribute to the Austin chapter, and Design, Womens, and Edu SIGs. I currently work as a technology marketing manager in a hardware startup creating motion-based controllers for PC's, Axelo.

My interests in the IGDA include furthering and protecting the cause of independent game development, supporting new developers and getting them up to speed, improving links between indies and game development support businesses, and assisting developers in studios which crunch.

To help these causes, some of the efforts I plan to champion are:

  •  Reorganized chapter leadership structure - a board structure containing a caucus of Pros, Students, and Indies from the local area.  Encourage participation from indie and student members.
  •  More focus and support for Educational and Indie efforts. IGDA support for GameCamps and incubators (including volunteer QA labs) worldwide, and helping organizations such as the ESA, WIGI, XO/Laptop.org, Kickstarter, etc. A committee to organize legal, accounting, and business support for indies (SCORE for gamers).  Old-style "example game" magazines; other indie/education-centric materials. Abandonware guidelines - opening older games for academic and/or OSS use.
  •  New Support Systems: A truly independent and worldwide indie-game awards system; a fully implemented IGDA Web 2.0 site with webcasts and social networking (with bonuses for IGDA involvement), supporting increased dialog between studios. Also, support the homebrew and OSS gamedev communities, and easier ways to submit articles, job opportunities, and resources.
  •  Revise SIG guidelines regarding interviews and recruitment policies (make sure volunteering at events is allowed, and allow for an jobs board (if not on the SIG site, at least link to major job boards.))
  •  Open a Newbie SIG within the IGDA to provide information and support to new IGDA members, non-commercial hobbyists, and those who are Indies who are just getting into the industry or are coming in from another industry.
  •  Work to create a commercially able sponsor (like the Mozilla Corporation is to the Mozilla Foundation) to help incubate small games (indie, homebrew, student, etc) and help to provide distribution and legal services. Also, provide initiatives to engine and middleware developers that provide Indie versions or licenses, and/or mass licenses to indie incubators.
  • Help to support the growing change away from retail in the industry.
  • Improve public relations of the IGDA.

Contributions:

Indie SIG leadership - 2004-present
Austin chapter assistance (studio list, indies) - 2004-present Design SIG formation/constitutional committees, involvement - 2008-present Leadership Forum 2008 blogger WIGSIG mentor - 2009 Global Game Jam coordination - 2009 and 2010 in Austin, TX

As far as links, I can provide some that show my work in the industry:

http://www.axeloinc.com
http://www.zeolitestudios.com
http://groups.google.com/group/austin-ggj
http://groups.google.com/group/indiereboot
http://sites.google.com/site/austingamecompanies
http://sites.google.com/site/ggjacc
http://www.linkedin.com/in/zratchet
http://independentgameconference.com (no longer heavily involved, but helped get the first one going)

Candidate Bio:

I started being really interested in game development around 1998, when I was 13. 3 things sparked my interest: 1) Age of Empires, and the Maxis games which I have always been a fan of. 2) Games Factory (at that time Klik and Play, published by Maxis). 3) The announcement of The Realm ... and a desire to compete in that space (totally unrealistic I realize now, but like most younglings it seems MMOs are kind of a holy grail Wink )

I worked with several open source projects (some of my own) and chatroom-based RPGs (NOT MUDs - just straight chat-based roleplay) over the next few years, then moved to Austin and discovered the IGDA chapter... and got involved with the Indie SIG.

Since then, I've reformed some of my old open source game ideas into indie titles (still in development), had lots of new ideas, earned some game design certificates, worked in many aspects of the game industry (cybercafe, conference, QA at a publisher, manager at a startup gamepad company) and still going at it!

Board Interview Q and A:

1. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing game developers today?  What should the IGDA's role be in addressing that challenge?

Crunch, and money, because the 2 are related in my book. Crunching means that developers and publishers are (hopefully) paying more money on overtime, and then losing/burning out people so they have to spend more money training new people. The IGDA should get the lawyers it needs to combat the situation and implement the wall of fame suggested by some members.

2.  How do you expect to contribute to the IGDA Board?  What qualifications or skills do you possess that will enhance your contributions?

I hope to represent the small developer and the individual developer.
I have spent time on the bottom rung in the industry (testing) and in hobby development for many years, and work at a startup so I feel I am in a position to help others in similar circumstances.

3. How much time do you expect to volunteer to the IGDA?  How will you manage this commitment?

I already spend time with the Global Game Jam, and Design and Indie SIGs. This is variable based on crunch time and I'd like to be able to change that for the better through helping the IGDA on messaging about crunch. As a part-time telecommuter I do have more time than some might.

4. As an IGDA board member, you're often asked to get things done on a short timeframe and tight budget.  What do you think a reasonable expectation of a board member's contribution is?  How will you accomplish your goals as a board member?

Responding within 2 days to 2 weeks seems reasonable to me depending on the severity of a request or industry situation. "Scandals" like crunch situations or anti-game crusades need to be handled more quickly. I keep a pulse of the industry through social networks and game news so I feel I will be able to accomplish goals quickly and efficiently.