=========================== IGDA Newsletter - June 2002 =========================== =============================== 0.0 A Word From the Chairperson 1 Community News 1.1 Euro Academic Day & Student Sponsorships 1.2 SIGGRAPH 2002 - The IGDA Presence 1.3 Scott Miller of 3D Realms Shares Industry Wisdom 1.4 Philosophical Approach to Understanding the Morality of Games 1.5 NXN and Zona Offer Discounts to IGDA Studio Affiliates 1.6 Chapter Updates & News 1.7 New site content: Event Reports, Legal Column, Member Profile 2 General News - The Need for First Amendment Protection - Counter-Cuddle: The Fighting Stops - Independent Games Festival Announces 2003 Call For Entries - MIT Games-to-Teach Prototypes Revealed - E3 and Industry Stats - Army Using Games to Recruit - Game Dev Studios Make Red Herring 100 List - Youth Says Video Games Caused Him To Shoot Friend 3 Endeavors, Benefits & Services Update 3.1 Updated Member and Studio Benefits 3.2 Upcoming Events 4 Logistical Bits 4.1 Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners! 4.2 IGDA Registration 4.3 Contact Information ======================================== =============================== 0.0 A Word From the Chairperson =============================== Dear IGDA Members and friends, It's hard to believe another month has flown by. E3 was a great opportunity for me to meet some of you, and catch up with many old friends. So what's in the IGDA goody bag for this month? Well, as always, it's packed full of news! SIGGRAPH will be upon us next month, and the IGDA will be there in force! Also, if you're planning on attending the European GDC, we have an Academic Day there that is looking to further strengthen the ties between academia and the game industry. There are also 25 student sponsorships up for grabs, scroll down for more details! Our own web site continues to add content with new articles and columns. If you don't already make www.igda.org a daily stop on your morning web cruise (hey, we all do that) then add it in right now! Check out the full contents above, there's enough there to bake a cake! (oh, and enjoy the summer... remember to go outside on occasion) Graeme Devine Chairperson, IGDA ================ 1 Community News ================ 1.1 Euro Academic Day & Student Sponsorships -------------------------------------------- The IGDA will be hosting an "Academic Day" during the Game Developers Conference Europe (August 27th). Topics will include research relations and initiatives, the use of games in traditional learning, and game design and development curricula. To further support the academic community, the IGDA will be awarding 25 student sponsorships, allowing European students to attend GDCe for free. http://www.gdc-europe.com/conference/academicday.htm http://www.igda.org/sponsorships.htm 1.2 SIGGRAPH 2002 - The IGDA Presence ------------------------------------- The IGDA will be hosting two sessions during the upcoming SIGGRAPH conference: "The Fate of Play: Game Industry Revolutionaries Speak Out" and "Game Development, Design, and Analysis Curriculum". The IGDA will also have a small stand in the lobby area of the convention center for membership and chapter info. SIGGRAPH has set up a handy link for game developers with all the content they deem "must see": http://www.igda.org/Endeavors/Events/events.htm#siggraph http://www.siggraph.org/s2002/gamescontent/ 1.3 Scott Miller of 3D Realms Shares Industry Wisdom ---------------------------------------------------- A new monthly column titled "Miller Time - The Business of Designing Games" is now live. Each month, Scott will answer a question in a Dear Abby format and then continue discussion in the online forums. Submit your own question for Scott: http://www.igda.org/Columns/millertime.htm 1.4 Philosophical Approach to Understanding the Morality of Games ----------------------------------------------------------------- A new article on understanding the morality of games has been posted. The article, titled "Playing a 'Good' Game", goes into the philosophy of ethics, using Grand Theft Auto III as a case study to understand why so many arguments on good game vs. bad game never end. http://www.igda.org/Endeavors/Articles/rreynolds_intro.htm 1.5 NXN and Zona Offer Discounts to IGDA Studio Affiliates ---------------------------------------------------------- Two great new discounts for our Studio Affiliates: NXN Software is offering a $490 discount on their newly announced alienbrain Starter Pack; Zona is offering a 10% discount on their networking middleware solution, Terazona. See the Studio Affiliates benefits page for more details. http://www.igda.org/Membership/Studios/studios_sap.htm#nxn 1.6 Chapter Updates & News -------------------------- Many IGDA chapters have had meetings in the past month or so, with several providing great summary reports: - Seattle heard from Chris Taylor on Dungeon Siege: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/seattle/seattle_summary_May02.htm - Colorado had an E3 wrap-up session: http://www.coloradogamedev.org/20020603.html - DC & vicinity had their first meeting a while back: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/dc.htm - Montreal hosted a delegation from Australia: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/montreal/montreal_summary_May02.htm - San Diego played game demos and ate pizza: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/sandiego/sandiego_summary_May02.htm - Guildford's February report is finally up: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/guildford/guildford_summary_Feb02.htm - Lithuania had their first chapter meeting: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/lithuania.htm Many chapters (such as Tokyo, Colorado, Montreal, Boston, Amsterdam, San Jose, and others) will hold meetings in the coming weeks. Check the Chapter Calendar for dates and details: http://www.igda.org/Chapters/chapters_calendar.htm 1.7 New site content: Event Reports, Legal Column, Member Profile -------------------------------------------------------------------- - E3 was a great event for the IGDA. Check out the summary report and pictures: http://www.igda.org/Endeavors/Events/events_e32002.htm - New "Famous Last Words" legal column: this month, Jim talks about making a deal. http://www.igda.org/Services/Legal/lastwords/lastwords.htm - A new member has been profiled: John E. Laird of the University of Michigan: http://www.igda.org/Community/Profiles/profile_jlaird.htm - "Wireless Games: A Brave New World" -- read the summary report from QUALCOMM's BREW Developers' Conference: http://www.igda.org/Endeavors/Events/events_brew2002.htm ============== 2 General News ============== The Need for First Amendment Protection http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=383 Counter-Cuddle: The Fighting Stops http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=382 Independent Games Festival Announces 2003 Call For Entries http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=380 MIT Games-to-Teach Prototypes Revealed http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=379 E3 and Industry Stats http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=375 Army Using Games to Recruit http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=374 Game Dev Studios Make Red Herring 100 List http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=373 Youth Says Video Games Caused Him To Shoot Friend http://www.igda.org/About/Press/news_item.php?nid=372 ======================================== A word from our sponsor: Alias|Wavefront ======================================== As the world's leading innovator of 2D and 3D graphics technology, Alias|Wavefront develops software for the film and video, games, interactive media, industrial design, and visualization markets. Games customers include Core Design, Electronic Arts, Factor 5, LucasArts Entertainment, Nihilistic Software and Westwood Studios, among others. Find out more at http://www.aliaswavefront.com/maya/. ======================================== ======================================= 3 Endeavors, Benefits & Services Update ======================================= 3.1 Updated Member and Studio Benefits -------------------------------------- - $490 discount on NXN alienbrain Studio Affiliates can now purchase the NXN alienbrain Starter Pack for $9500. The Starter Pack is designed to offer the maximum utility for a small number of users. Visit www.nxn-software.com for more details. This promotion is available to North American Studio Affiliates only. (Must provide valid Studio Code to get discount.) - 10% discount on Zona networking middleware Zona is providing a 10% discount on their Terazone networking middleware solution. Visit www.zona.net for more details (valid Studio Code required for discount). http://www.igda.org/Membership/Studios/studios_sap.htm 3.2 Upcoming Events ------------------- Contagious Creativity http://www.nestafuturelab.org/events/events.htm 12-13 June, London, UK SIGGRAPH http://www.siggraph.org/s2002/ 21 -26 July, San Antonio, TX Computers and Games http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/%7Ecg2002/ 25 - 27 July, Edmonton, Canada National Conference on Artificial Intelligence http://www.aaai.org/Conferences/National/2002/aaai02.html 28 July - 1 August, Edmonton, Canada Assembly http://www.assembly.org/ 1-4 August, Helsinki, Finland ELT Labs/IC2 - Game Development Workshops http://www.eltlabs.org/workshop/index.htm 1-3 August, The University of Texas at Austin Game Developers Conference Europe (10% member discount) http://www.gdc-europe.com/ 27-29 August, London, UK ECTS http://www.ects.com/ 29-31 August, London, UK ================= 4 Logistical Bits ================= 4.1 Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners! ---------------------------------------- The IGDA extends its sincerest thanks to all our sponsors and partners! Without their support, and the continued backing from the developer community, the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive. Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP Alias|Wavefront Analog Devices Gamasutra.com Gama Network GameDev.Net Game Developer magazine Game Developers Conference GIGnews.com Intrinsic Graphics Jostick101.org NIME:02 NXN Software Get more info online: http://www.igda.org/About/Sponsors/sponsors.htm http://www.igda.org/About/Alliances/alliances.htm 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/Membership/membership.htm Or refer a friend to win prizes: http://www.igda.org/Membership/Referrals/referrals.htm 4.3 Contact Information ----------------------- Contact our membership coordinator if you have questions, comments or input. Liz Wakefield IGDA membership coordinator liz@igda.org