=========================== IGDA Newsletter - June 2007 =========================== ================= Table of Contents ================= 0: A Word From Mitzi McGilvray 1: IGDA Leadership Forum Program Posted, Open for Registration 2: LinkedIn Private Group for IGDA Members 3: Board Results: Bates, Charla, MacLean and Seifert new; McGilvray chair 4: Event Action: Intel, Develop, Sandbox, AustinGDC, Leadership, FuturePlay 5: Columns Update 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports x: Logistical Bits & Unsubscribe Info ================= ************************************* ** Ad: Casual Connect Seattle 2007 ** ************************************* Casual Games. 1 Billion Dollars. 200 Million Consumers. Opportunity Knocks. Peter Moore, Microsoft - Steve Youngwood, MTVN - Nolan Bushnell, uWink - Bernie Stolar, Google - John Vechey, PopCap Games - Ed Zorbist, Sierra Online/Vivendi - Daniel Bernstein, Sandlot Games - Arthur Humphrey, Last Day of Work - Whon Namkoong, NHN Inc - Nick Fortugno, Rebel Monkey - etc. Informative Sessions, Inspiring Attendees, and Killer Parties. http://seattle.casualconnect.org/ ************************************* ============================== 0: A Word From Mitzi McGilvray ============================== Dear Members and friends, After four years on the Board, I've been given the privilege to serve as the IGDA's next chairperson. These are big boots to fill and I cannot express enough gratitude for the wonderful work done by our previous Chair, Brian Reynolds. As the IGDA continues to grow, we are constantly challenged by the need to stay agile, to respond to the needs of our members ­ and the industry ­ in a continuously diligent manner. On some fronts, I believe we are doing great (see the info below about our private LinkedIn group and the Leadership Forum). One area we've not kept pace with is in defending against threats to developers' creative freedoms and the continued negative treatment of games by the media and cultural critics. On the legislative front, we have made our voice heard through grassroots efforts and we will continue to rely on the ESA to lead the charge in Washington DC. On the media front, we are working to be more proactive to ensure the IGDA's message is there when it needs to be, rather than being reactive after an event has occurred. However we still find situations where a prompt reactive response to a new event would be valuable. An example of this was the Texas-state modder who was arrested for re-creating his school as a level in Counter-Strike (recap: http://tinyurl.com/2rjemm ). In that case, a completely valid form of artistic expression (and customary path into the game industry) was practically criminalized ­ and the IGDA sat silent. We need to be better prepared, rather than waiting for a situation to occur before formulating whether and how to respond. As the new Chair, one of the things I'm working towards is increasing the IGDA's ability to respond faster and with a clearer message. In doing so, we will look at ways to leverage the passion of our members to distribute this very important advocacy role. Our network of chapters and other projects such as the Speakers Bureau ( http://www.igda.org/speakers ) will help in this regard. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts on how we can serve you better. We've got a handy "IGDA Feedback" forum for this very reason: http://www.igda.org/Forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=166 Thanks for caring! - Mitzi McGilvray Chairperson, IGDA VP Casual Games, TikGames ============================================================== 1: IGDA Leadership Forum Program Posted, Open for Registration ============================================================== The IGDA, in coordination with the Production SIG, is hosting the first ever IGDA Leadership Forum (November 8-9, San Francisco). This event is focused on advancing the state of the art in game production and management, and will feature two complimentary tracks: The Production Track will focus on the nuts & bolts of game production, while the Leadership Track will address advanced team management and motivation techniques. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk (BioWare), and Don Daglow (Stormfront) will keynote the conference. Other production/leadership gurus speaking include Mike Capps (Epic Games), Jamie Fristrom (Torpex Games), Tim Longo (Crystal Dynamics), Mike Swanson (Gas Powered Games), Tony Van (Ubisoft), etc. Full program and speaker details are at: http://www.igda.org/leadership/?page_id=3 For registration details: http://www.igda.org/leadership/?page_id=4 There are under 300 seats to fill, and we expect them to go fast... ************************************************* ** Ad: WIGI-Austin Conference - "She Got Game" ** ************************************************* Women in Games International is teaming up with the Austin Game Developers Conference to present the WIGI-Austin conference, entitled "She Got Game," scheduled for Saturday, September 8, 11am to 5pm at Austin Convention Center. WIGI-Austin will explore both the past and present experiences of the women working in our industry, as well as a bigger discussion about the current state of the industry, and where it appears to be headed. Keynote speaker is Dona Bailey, creator of the Centipede video game, one of the first video games to incorporate artificial intelligence. Register online today: http://www.womeningamesintenational.org/ ************************************************* ========================================== 2: LinkedIn Private Group for IGDA Members ========================================== The IGDA has set up a private group for members at the popular social networking site, LinkedIn. Joining the group will allow you to find and contact other IGDA members on LinkedIn. The goal of this group is to help members: - Reach other members of IGDA without the need for a network reference - Accelerate careers/business through referrals from IGDA group members - Know more than a name ­ view rich professional profiles from fellow IGDA group members If you are a member, you can use this URL to join the private LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/3268/698CF17E5C35 If you are not a member, you must first become an official member of the IGDA, the request to join the group. *************************************** ** Ad: The Develop Conference & Expo ** *************************************** The Develop Conference & Expo in Brighton/UK, 24-26 July 2007, is where the European developer community will come together to learn from each other and share experiences, be inspired by world renowned experts, get up-to-date with the latest development tools and techniques, plus make new contacts and catch-up with old ones. And, IGDA members get a 10% registration discount! Find out more or register now at: http://www.developconference.com/ *************************************** ========================================================================= 3: Board Results: Bates, Charla, MacLean and Seifert new; McGilvray chair ========================================================================= The IGDA welcomes Chris Charla (Foundation 9), Jen MacLean (Comcast Interactive Media) and Coray Seifert (THQ|Kaos) as its newest Board members. The trio was appointed, along with Bob Bates, who returns for another term on the Board. The IGDA has also appointed new officers for the 2007-08 term: Industry veteran Mitzi McGilvray (TikGames), was appointed as the new Chairperson; Bob Bates was appointed Secretary; and Tobi Saulnier (1st Playable) was appointed Treasurer. http://www.igda.org/newsroom/press_061807.php http://www.igda.org/board/ ******************************************** ** Ad: The Ultimate Game Writing Resource ** ******************************************** The gold standard for game writing and journalism is finally here! All IGDA members are entitled to a FREE eBook copy of new book THE VIDEOGAME STYLE GUIDE AND REFERENCE MANUAL, or 10% discount on paperback/hardback editions. To claim yours, just email freebook @ gamestyleguide.com with your IGDA membership number. More info: http://www.gamestyleguide.com/ ******************************************** =========================================================================== 4: Event Action: Intel, Develop, Sandbox, AustinGDC, Leadership, FuturePlay =========================================================================== Member discounts at upcoming events and related event action include: - 2007 Intel Game Demo Contest running until August 15 - 10% member discount at Develop in Brighton (July 24-26) - $100 member discount at Sandbox Symposium in San Diego (August 4-5) - $25 member discount for Austin GDC (September 5-7) - $45 member discount for IGDA Leadership Forum in San Francisco (November 8-9) - $50 member discount for FuturePlay in Toronto (November 15-17) Full discount details and links available online: http://www.igda.org/events/ ================= 5: Columns Update ================= Monthly columns have been updated: Famous Last Words ----------------- "Negotiating the Audit Clause - Part 2" - Why reviewing the publisher's books is a good thing http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Jun07.php Culture Clash ------------- "The Stages of Griefing - How not to deal with negative press" - Exploring the drive to effect review scores http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/clash_Jun07.php The Games Game -------------- "Run away! Run away!" - On doing free favors... http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Jun07.php =========================== 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports =========================== Complete list of chapter reports and upcoming meetings: http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php Manila Thursday, June 28 > IGDA Manila Chapter Q2 Meeting http://www.igda.org/manila Chicago Wednesday, June 27 > The Role of Programmers and Artists in Game Design http://www.igda.org/chicago London Wednesday, June 27 > Meet the Commitee http://www.igda.org/london/next/ Silicon Valley Wednesday, June 27 > Pizza Social http://www.siliconvalleyigda.org/ Austin Saturday, June 23 > Picnic at Richard's Castle!!! http://www.igda.org/austin/archives/2007/06/picnic_at_richa_1.html Montreal Report, June 12 > The Birth of "Boogie" http://www.igda.org/montreal/archives/2007/06/the_birth_of_bo.html Finland Report, June 4 > PS3 "Super Stardust HD" pre-release action! http://igda.fi/?p=85 Japan Report, June 1 > Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2007 TOKYO Article http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070601/gtmf.htm ================== x: Logistical Bits ================== Unsubscribe/Subscribe to Newsletter ----------------------------------- You can unsubscribe or update your newsletter subscription details via your MyProfile page: http://www.igda.org/membership/myprofile.php If you need help, contact us. Thanks to our Partners ---------------------- The IGDA extends its sincerest thanks to all our Partners! Especially those who just joined us, or recently renewed their commitment to support the game development community: - A K Peters - Flashpoint Academy - Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency - Reachin Technologies - SimGame Exchange - University of Lincoln Without their support the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive. Further details and a complete list of Partners are available online: http://www.igda.org/partners Contact Information ------------------- Please contact us if you have questions, comments or input: http://www.igda.org/contact.php RSS Feeds for IGDA News and Chapter Updates ------------------------------------------- The IGDA web site has RSS feeds for IGDA news (eg, org announcements, committee work, etc) and chapter updates (eg, upcoming meetings, event reports). Those using RSS readers can point to: IGDA News: http://www.igda.org/igda_news_rss.php IGDA Chapter Updates: http://www.igda.org/igda_chapters_rss.php ------- - end - ------m