============================= IGDA Newsletter - August 2007 ============================= ================= Table of Contents ================= 0: A Word From Mitzi McGilvray 1: Podcast Project: Call for Volunteers 2: Casual Games SIG Appoints New Members To Steering Committee 3: Game Accessibility at E For All Expo 4: Event Action: AustinGDC, Virtual Worlds, Leadership, FuturePlay 5: Columns Update 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports x: Logistical Bits & Unsubscribe Info ================= ============================== 0: A Word From Mitzi McGilvray ============================== Dear Members and friends, As another summer comes to an end, it's likely many of you have just endured another cycle of crunch time in order to make holiday deadlines. So what's wrong with crunch if you absolutely love what you do? Well, it effects your health (you know what you eat during crunch time, and hey, how many times did you make it to the gym this week?); it effects your family and friends (spouses, kids, buddies, etc, lose out on your delightful presence when you're living at work!); and it effects the quality of your work. As a producer type, I always try to do my best to lessen the impact of crunch via good scheduling. Also, I work with my teams to ensure each member makes smart estimates and that we implement a "red flag" system to warn against schedules getting out of control. Also, everyone is encouraged to pace themselves and to get away when needed - getting some fresh air and a new perspective! Of course, the IGDA has been advocating for better quality of life and saner working conditions for a while now. On a very practical level, we are super excited about the upcoming Leadership Forum ( http://www.igda.org/leadership ) that was put together with the IGDA's Production SIG. Not only will the Leadership Forum cover nuts and bolts project management (gotta love Jamie Fristrom's bravery for doing a session titled "How Not To Schedule a Project"), but more importantly it will cover the soft skills of leadership (like team morale, good communication, fostering creativity, etc). All stuff that we rarely get to work on, but can have a profound impact on how we work. Hope to see you there! - Mitzi McGilvray Chairperson, IGDA VP Casual Games, TikGames ************************************************************** ** Ad: Virtual Worlds Fall Conference ­ October 10-11, 2007 ** ************************************************************** Virtual Worlds Fall Conference takes place at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California. The conference program includes five tracks featuring over 70 industry leaders presenting the latest techniques and best practices. Anthony Zuiker, Creator and Executive Producer of the award winning CSI: Crime Scene Investigation franchise will deliver the opening keynote of the two-day conference. Come find out about the future of media and entertainment, explore business opportunities with top companies and network with colleagues. IGDA members receive a 15% registration discount. Registration information and conference details are available at: http://www.VirtualWorldsFall.com/ ************************************************************** ======================================= 1: Podcast Project: Call for Volunteers ======================================= The IGDA is seeking to produce a member-drive podcast covering topics relevant to the community and highlighting the work done by IGDA members, SIGs, Committees and Chapters. In addition to this, the podcast may contain interviews with key people in the industry and conversations between IGDA members on topical issues. The IGDA is seeking interested participants to join a working group leading towards the launch of the podcast. This group will contain members with skills in planning, audio-production, voice-talent/contributors and people interested in producing periodic and occasional content. Interested members can jump to the project's wiki page for more details and directions: http://www.igda.org/wiki/Podcast ============================================================== 2: Casual Games SIG Appoints New Members To Steering Committee ============================================================== The Casual Games SIG welcomes Cherie Lutz (Microsoft Casual Games), Jared Nieuwenhuis (Sandlot Games), Dave Rohrl and Rex Sikora (PopCap Games) as its newest Executive Steering Committee members. The Casual Games SIG aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and ideas among developers to better create and market casual games. The SIG also works to promote initiatives on behalf of developers that encourage the growth of the entire casual games space. In addition to its continuing commitment to its quarterly newsletters, comprehensive white paper, and royalty reporting standards initiatives, the SIG plans to launch new initiatives in several key areas, including: - Quarterly webinars featuring expert panels discussing topics critical to the casual game industry - Drafting suggested standards that will improve the effectiveness of digital right management software for casual games - Kick starting an industry-wide dialog around advertising standards and their implications for casual game developers, publishers, and distributors For the complete announcement and further details on the Casual Games SIG, check out: http://www.igda.org/newsroom/press_081707.php http://www.igda.org/casual ======================================= 3: Game Accessibility at E For All Expo ======================================= The Game Accessibility SIG will be amongst the exhibitors at October's E for All Expo at the Los Convention Center (booth #1056). This is the first time that the GA-SIG (and game accessibility in general!) will have a presence at a game industry consumer/trade show. The GA-SIG will have the honor of presenting games and game hardware that are accessible to gamers with disabilities. The best part? The extremely generous E for All organizing committee donated booth space to the GA-SIG - truly putting the "all" in E for All. This is a great win for the GA-SIG as they will be able to show that gamers with disabilities are playing mainstream games to an audience that might not realize exactly how hardcore these gamers are. For more general info: http://www.eforallexpo.com/ http://www.igda.org/accessibility/ ================================================================== 4: Event Action: AustinGDC, Virtual Worlds, Leadership, FuturePlay ================================================================== Member discounts at upcoming events and related event action include: - $25 member discount for Austin GDC (September 5-7) - 15% member discount for Virtual Worlds Fall Conference in San Jose (October 10-11) - 15% member discount for Virtual Worlds Forum in London (October 24-25) - $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/ Also, check out the trip "report" from the executive director's visit to Develop in Brighton: http://www.realitypanic.com/archives/322 ================= 5: Columns Update ================= Monthly columns have been updated: Famous Last Words ----------------- "Lines of Communication in a Deal" - On talking to the right people at the right time http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Aug07.php Culture Clash ------------- "World of Fearcraft - The future of horror gaming" - Exploring fear and horror games http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/clash_Aug07.php The Games Game -------------- "Working On Patience" - Success doesn't happen overnight... http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Aug07.php =========================== 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports =========================== Complete list of chapter reports and upcoming meetings: http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php Japan Friday, September 26 > CEDEC 2007: biggest developers conference n Japan http://cedec.cesa.or.jp/ London Tuesday, September 18 > Rules of the Game http://igda.org/london/meetingreports/200709/ Japan Saturday, September 1 > Game development trend from a view of SIGGRAPH 2007 http://www.igda.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1208 Silicon Valley Wednesday, August 29 > Pizza Social http://siliconvalleyigda.org/ Michigan South Report, August 23 > July 2007 InterFaces Conference and Chapter meeting http://www.igda.org/smichigan/archives/2007/08/july_meeting_re.html Finland Report, August 7 > 2006-2007 Season Report, part 1: Biggest Achievements of the Season http://igda.fi/?p=92 ================== 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: - AMD - Austin Community College - Columbia College Chicago - Flashpoint Academy - San Diego Continuing Education - Savannah College of Art and Design - SimGame Exchange 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). 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