=========================== IGDA Newsletter - July 2008 =========================== ================= Table of Contents ================= 0: A Word From Jen MacLean 1: IGDA Leadership Forum Program Posted, Open for Registration 2: Studio Affiliate Benefit: NPD Industry Tracker for Smaller Businesses 3: Sample Chapter: Game Design Workshop 4: Event Action: Brighton, Go3, Sandbox, Intel, Austin, Virtuals 5: Columns Update 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports x: Logistical Bits & Unsubscribe Info ================= ========================== 0: A Word From Jen MacLean ========================== Dear Members and friends, We are in the middle of the bemoaned (but beloved) summer conference season, and the chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new people is the same energizing, exhausting marathon it has always been. While many attendees complain about the hectic schedules and breakneck pace, I for one wouldn't have things any other way. I love walking down a hall and running into a friend I haven't seen in 10 years, or getting a hands-on moment with a cool upcoming game. The events underscore the reality of our industry -- we get to make incredible entertainment with really cool people. It's particularly encouraging to see so many people begin to recognize how cool and how important our industry is, not only to gamers but to local economies. A number of states and localities have enacted or are considering tax breaks for game companies (see http://tinyurl.com/6zzpw7 for a recent example). So as we move into Election season (for our US members, anyway), I encourage you to learn about the positions of your candidates. Educate yourself on the local, state, and national issues you care about, and above all, please vote. Nothing we see or do at any conference could be more important. - Jen MacLean Chairperson, IGDA VP Business Development, 38 Studios ************************************************************** ** Ad: Virtual Worlds Expo Early-Bird Discount Ends July 25 ** ************************************************************** Register Now for the Virtual Worlds Expo and save over $400! The Virtual Worlds Expo hits the LA Convention Center this September 3-4. This two day gathering will feature keynotes from Academy Award winning Producer Jon Landau and other industry luminaries talking candidly about taking their content into virtual worlds and looking for developers to help make it happen. Come find out about the future of gaming and entertainment, explore business opportunities with top companies and network with colleagues. IGDA members save 15% by using promo code: IGDA-VIP Registration information and conference details at: http://www.virtualworldsexpo.com/ ************************************************************** ============================================================== 1: IGDA Leadership Forum Program Posted, Open for Registration ============================================================== The IGDA, in coordination with the Production SIG, is hosting the second annual IGDA Leadership Forum (November 13-14, San Francisco). This event will focus on advancing the state of the art in game production and management. The IGDA Leadership Forum is intended for all those who serve in a leadership role in the game development industry and are seeking to become better leaders, create successful games, and learn from other working professionals in the game industry. The first IGDA Leadership Forum was a smashing success with top rated sessions and 300+ delegates from over 15 countries. The 2008 IGDA Leadership Forum has EXPANDED its session offering to encompass a broad range of leadership topics, including personal leadership, project leadership and management leadership. The sessions will run in parallel tracks and will consist of a mix of lectures, panels, and interactive workshop sessions. Baseball all-star Curt Schilling (38 Studios) and Mark Cerny (Cerny Games) will open each day with a keynote. Other production/leadership gurus speaking include Mike Capps (Epic Games), David Edery (Xbox Live Arcade), Mat Hart (Ninja Theory), Richard Hilleman (EA), Clinton Keith, David Mann (Foundation 9), Trent Oster (BioWare Corp.), Michael Saladino (Pandemic Studios), Tim Train (Big Huge Games) - among many others. Full program and speaker details are at: http://www.igda.org/leadership/?page_id=3 For registration details (early bird pricing ends September 1st): http://www.igda.org/leadership/?page_id=4 (FYI, last year's conference sold out. There are only 500 seats or so to fill, and we expect them to go fast...) The Leadership Forum is graciously supported by: - Platinum Sponsor: Autodesk - Silver Sponsor: Hansoft **************************************************** ** Ad: New Game Development Books from A K Peters ** **************************************************** Save 30% when you purchase two or more books at http://www.akpeters.com/ Use discount code IGDA30. Valid through August 15, 2008. - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives - Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games - Multiplayer Gaming and Engine Coding for the Torque Game Engine These and all of our game development books are online via: http://www.akpeters.com/category.asp?CatId=1030&page=1&sort=Bestselling%2CDESC Also, IGDA members save 20% on a subscription to the Journal of Graphics Tools. Call 781-416-2888 x18 to subscribe and mention your IGDA membership. More info available at: http://jgt.akpeters.com/ **************************************************** ======================================================================== 2: Studio Affiliate Benefit: NPD Industry Tracker for Smaller Businesses ======================================================================== Now available at a discount to qualifying** IGDA Studio Affiliates, NPD's Entertainment Software Category Overview is a condensed version of their games industry tracker. This entry-level product leverages NPD's point-of-sale information for the combined PC and video games software categories, and provides an overview of key categories, with item-level information and four years of trend information. The following reports are available, individually or in combination: - PC Games Report - Console Software Report - Portable Software Report For more information, contact Charlie Camaroto at 866-444-1411 or email contactnpd@npd.com. Outside the U.S. call +1-516-625-2311. Also, more details online at: http://npd.com/corpServlet?nextpage=entertainment-categories_s.html ** To quality for discounts, a studio must have annual revenue under $15 million and be in good standing as part of the IGDA Studio Affiliate program: http://www.igda.org/studios/ ******************************************* ** Ad: Mobile Games Innovation Challenge ** ******************************************* This is your change to get your game concept published by Nokia! Top three entries will be offered a Nokia Publishing pre-production contract and cash prizes totalling US$100,000 to support further development of their concepts! Submitting your concept is very easy, no code is needed, just a concept description and visualization. For more information, visit: http://insider.n-gage.com/innovation Deadline for submissions is 20th of August, 2008! ******************************************* ======================================= 3: Sample Chapter: Game Design Workshop ======================================= Focal Press is offering IGDA members a free sample chapter from their best-selling book "Game Design Workshop" by Tracy Fullerton. Chapter 15 - Understanding the Game Industry: Http://www.focalpress.com/uploadedFiles/Books/Book_Media/Animation_and_3D/Game%20Design%20Workshop.pdf While you're there, you can view more chapter samples, video tutorials, and podcasts, or sign up for their latest tips and discounts newsletter. Further, Focal Press and Morgan Kaufmann are still offering IGDA members a 20% discount on their most recent game related books. For more details, visit: http://www.focalpress.com/igda.aspx =============================================================== 4: Event Action: Brighton, Go3, Sandbox, Intel, Austin, Virtual =============================================================== Member discounts at upcoming events and related event action include: - 10% member discount for Develop in Brighton, UK (29-31 July) - 5% member discount for GO3 Electronic & Entertainment Expo in Perth, Australia (1-3 August) - $50 member discount for Sandbox Game Symposium in Los Angeles, CA (9-10 August) - $700 member discount for Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, CA (19-21 August) - 15% member discount for Virtual Worlds Expo in Los Angeles, CA (3-4 September) - $50 member discount for Austin GDC in Austin, TX (15-17 September) - 15% member discount for Virtual Worlds Forum Europe in London, UK (6-8 October) Full discount details and links available online: http://www.igda.org/events/ ================= 5: Columns Update ================= Monthly columns have been updated: Famous Last Words ----------------- "Getting Started as a Games Lawyer" - Advice to would-be game lawyers http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Jul08.php Culture Clash ------------- "Endgame - Enjoying the apocalypse" - Exploring our fascination with games with apocalyptic settings http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/clash_Jul08.php The Games Game -------------- "The Millennial Dude" - On how breaking in advice is generally applicable to all http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Jul08.php =========================== 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports =========================== Complete list of chapter reports and upcoming meetings: http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php Japan Friday, October 10 > SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT 2008 (SOWN 2008) http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/sown/en/ Silicon Valley Wednesday, September 24 > SVIGDA Game Demo Night http://www.siliconvalleyigda.org/ Perth Saturday, August 2 > GO3 Social Event http://www.igda.org/perth/ Japan Friday, August 1 > How develop application for iPhone http://www.igda.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1440 Philadelphia Wednesday, July 30 > Game Demos and Telepathic Controllers at Drexel http://www.igda.org/philly/archives/2008/07/july_30th_2008.html Perth Tuesday, July 29 > Jayeson Lee-Steere, Technical Director - EA Florida http://www.igda.org/perth/ Japan Report, July 22 > Online Game symposium report "Why virtual singer succeed? Potentiality of UGC" http://www.4gamer.net/games/000/G000000/20080723050/ Malaysia Report, July 18 > IGDA Talk Session http://www.igda.org.my/?p=216 Shanghai Report, July 14 > 2008 IGDA ChinaJoy Party http://www.igda.cn/en/2008/idgachinajoyparty.html Austin Report, July 12 > Summer Picnic 2008 Wrapup http://www.igda.org/austin/archives/2008/07/summer_picnic_2.html Japan Report, July 4 > AI meeting, the case of Spore http://www.igda.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1423 Pittsburgh Report, June 27 > IGDA Goes Out to the Ballgame http://www.igda.org/pittsburgh/archives/2008/07/igda_goes_out_t.html ================== x: Logistical Bits ================== Unsubscribe/Subscribe to Newsletter ----------------------------------- To unsubscribe simply send an email with the subject "unsubscribe" to igda@igda.org. Or, you can update your newsletter subscription details via your MyProfile page: http://www.igda.org/membership/myprofile.php 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: - DePaul Game Dev - GameRecruiter - Intel Corporation - Interactive Studio Management - Reachin Technologies - Savannah College of Art and Design - Softimage - University Campus Suffolk 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 19 Mantua Road Mount Royal, New Jersey USA 08061 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