============================= IGDA Newsletter - August 2008 ============================= ================= Table of Contents ================= 0: A Word From Jen MacLean 1: IGDA Leadership Forum Program Posted, Open for Registration 2: Game Developer Memorials Project 3: Studio Affiliate Benefit: NPD Industry Tracker for Smaller Businesses 4: Event Action: Seattle lunch, Virtual Worlds, Austin, Montreal 5: Columns Update 6: Chapter Meetings/Reports x: Logistical Bits & Unsubscribe Info ================= ========================== 0: A Word From Jen MacLean ========================== Dear Members and friends, Mythic recently announced that only developers currently employed with the studio will be recognized in Warhammer Online's credits. FYI: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19931 This policy is disrespectful of the effort of the game developers who worked on the game, and misleads both consumers and game industry peers. Unfortunately, Mythic's stance is not unusual; according to a survey conducted by the IGDA Writers Special Interest Group, 35% of respondents "don't ever" or "only sometimes" receive official credit for their work, and almost every game developer I know can provide anecdotal evidence of credit policies that vary by studio, and in some cases by individual title. The lack of accurate, fair, and consistent credit standards in the industry poses a serious problem for every game developer; by refusing to acknowledge their contributions, studio management limits the professional recognition and opportunity for development that _every_ contributor deserves. Some people claim that providing complete credit information opens their staff up to contact by unsolicited recruiters, or encourages people to leave their job before a game is complete. These reasons are simple window dressing for policies that are arbitrary, unfair, and in some cases even vindictive, and they simply don't hold up. Recruiters have many ways of discovering talent, and, more importantly, a valued employee will not leave a good job simply because a recruiter initiates unsolicited contact. It's an unfortunate fact that people leave jobs frequently, especially in the games industry; why refuse to recognize a contributor because, through circumstances they may not be able to control, they've changed employers? And frankly, if being mentioned in credits is the only reason a person remains with a company, are they really someone you want to stay? Other people claim that credits aren't important because "nobody reads them anyway"; the number of people who read a game's credits is irrelevant. Even if only one person reads the credits of a game, integrity demands that all work be accurately and honestly represented. Because fair and accurate crediting is important to the careers of game developers, the IGDA has a Credit Standards Committee, with draft guidelines available at: http://www.igda.org/credit/ I strongly encourage you to read the beta proposal, which emphasizes inclusive credit standards. Provide comments, share the proposal with colleagues and management, and join me in calling for the industry-wide adoption of crediting policies that recognize the efforts and accomplishments of _all_ people who contributed to a game. PS: Related commentary by designers David Jaffe and Manveer Heir: http://designrampage.blogspot.com/2008/08/open-letter-to-mark-jacobs.html http://criminalcrackdown.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-name-in-lights.html - Jen MacLean Chairperson, IGDA VP Business Development, 38 Studios ********************************** ** Ad: Go Virtual for just $100 ** ********************************** The Virtual Worlds Expo hits the LA Convention Center this September 3-4. Featured speakers include Academy Award winning Producer Jon Landau, Tim Kring, creator of Heroes and Steve Parkis, Senior VP of Disney Online. Special Offer for IGDA members, get an EXHIBIT HALL PASS for just $100. Use the promo code: IGDA-VIP when you register and you get in for $100! You must register online, information and conference details are available 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 5th): 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...) ********************************************** ** Ad: FREE e-Book on Multicore Programming ** ********************************************** Cilk Arts has just published a free e-Book, "How to Survive the Multicore Revolution (or at Least Survive the Hype)". The 38-page e-Book covers: - Background on the emergence of mainstream multicore processors - The key challenges facing software developers - An introduction to multithreading concepts - Twenty questions to ask when going multicore - Overview of available programming methodologies Shipping soon, Cilk++ offers the easiest, quickest, and most reliable way to maximize game performance on multicore processors. Cilk++ provides a simple set of extensions for C++, coupled with a powerful runtime system for multicore-enabled games. Get the FREE e-Book at: http://www.cilk.com/Games/e-Book/ ********************************************** =================================== 2: Game Developer Memorials Project =================================== The IGDA's Game Preservation SIG is launching the IGDA Memorials Project to remember the lives and work of members of the game industry. The Memorials Project contains biographies of professionals from around the world, and is welcome to anyone who worked on a game or with the Industry in the past. Full details on the project and submission guidelines are available at: http://www.igda.org/wiki/Memorials/ ******************************************* ** Ad: The Game Production Handbook, 2/E ** ******************************************* INFINITY SCIENCE announces the publication of its first game development title, The Game Production Handbook, 2/E, by Heather Maxwell Chandler. Updates include information on project management, online gaming issues, voiceover, interviews with industry experts, and a CD with production-related forms. A fictitious game project is used to illustrate the production cycle. "We're delighted to have a successful author to kickoff our game list and hope you'll visit our table at the IGDA Leadership Forum in November," said Dave Pallai, president and founder of Infinity Science (formerly of Charles River Media). Details at: http://www.infinitysciencepress.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=184752 ******************************************* ======================================================================== 3: Studio Affiliate Benefit: NPD Industry Tracker for Smaller Businesses ======================================================================== Now available at a 10% 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 the 10% discount, 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/ ================================================================ 4: Event Action: Seattle lunch, Virtual Worlds, Austin, Montreal ================================================================ Member discounts at upcoming events and related event action include: - $10 member discount for the Power of Play lunch in Seattle (August 28) - 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) - $50 member discount for IGDA Leadership Forum in San Francisco (13-14 November) - $40 member discount for Montreal International Game Summit (17-18 November) Full discount details and links available online: http://www.igda.org/events/ Also, check out the trip "report"/photos from the executive director's recent trip to Paris and Brighton: - GDC Paris; IGDA-Paris meeting: http://www.realitypanic.com/archives/364 - Develop in Brighton: http://www.realitypanic.com/archives/369 - Sandbox Symposium and SIGGRAPH: http://www.realitypanic.com/archives/370 ================= 5: Columns Update ================= Monthly columns have been updated: Famous Last Words ----------------- "Knowing Who Your Friends Are" - How best to handle personal developer-publisher relationships http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Aug08.php Culture Clash ------------- "The Shame Game - Embarrassed by Play" - Exploring social acceptance of game play http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/clash_Aug08.php The Games Game -------------- "The School of Opportunity Knocks" - Hard start-up advice for those who don't want it http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Aug08.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) on Tokyo Game Show http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/sown/en/ Silicon Valley Wednesday, September 24 > SVIGDA Game Demo Night http://www.siliconvalleyigda.org/ Montreal Thursday, September 11 > Prince of Persia Prodigy - Team Leads Discussion http://www.igda.org/montreal/archives/2008/08/september_11_pr.html Pittsburgh Report, August 8 > July Lightning Talks Recap http://www.igda.org/pittsburgh/archives/2008/08/july_lightning.html San Francisco Report, August 6 > August 2008, "Content Generation in Spore" at Dolby Labs http://www.igda.org/sf/?p=25 Brisbane Report, August 6 > brisbane igda + gameOn events http://www.igda.org/Forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=196 ================== 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: - Algoma University - Alliance NumeriQC - Autodesk Media and Entertainment - GameRecruiter - Image Metrics - Interactive Studio Management - Savannah College of Art and Design - Texas Film Commission - University Campus Suffolk Without their support the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive. 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