============================ 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 =========== 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 Newsletter Subscription ----------------------- You can update your subscription details via your MyProfile page: http://www.igda.org/membership/myprofile.php If you get need help, simply contact us at http://www.igda.org/contact.php. 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 Contact Information ------------------- Do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions, comments or input. http://www.igda.org/contact.php