=============================== IGDA Newsletter - December 2002 =============================== ============================= 0.0 A Word From Graeme Devine 1 IGDA News 1.1 Game Developers Choice Awards Nominations Starting Soon 1.2 Revamped IGDA Web Site 1.3 Student Scholarship Program Taking Applications 1.4 Charne on Net Profits 1.5 Chapter Updates & News 2 From the Wire - Honduran Retailers Forced to Clear Violent Games - IGF Competition Finalists Announced - Aging Gamers Playing Nice for Santa - Game Censorship, Wal-Mart Style - The Effect of Video Games: Brain Rot or IQ Booster? - Royalties, Music and More - Dirty Games Cleaning Up 3 Events, Benefits & Services Update 3.1 Updated Member Benefits 3.2 Upcoming Events 4 Logistical Bits 4.1 Thanks to our Partners! 4.2 IGDA Registration 4.3 Contact Information ======================================== ============================= 0.0 A Word From Graeme Devine ============================= Dear IGDA Members and friends, Yes, I know you're all at the theater watching "The Two Towers". Your games have long since shipped or been pushed back to 2003. But here's one final IGDA newsletter for 2002 before we let 2003 in the door. I hope you all come and visit the IGDA web site now it's had a makeover. There's a lot of good information up there that is now even easier to locate. Think of all those children Christmas morning eagerly playing our games on their shiny new PCs and consoles! I remember when I got an Atari 2600 for Christmas. My cousin and I played "Combat" and "Air Sea Battle" throughout the Holidays, and those blisters on my hands were testimonial trophies that I was hooked on this industry. Most of all, from all of us here at the IGDA, have a festive holiday and a happy and safe New Year. As Chairperson of the IGDA I command you all to be responsible citizens if you indulge in the holiday spirit. Graeme Devine Chairperson, IGDA =========== 1 IGDA News =========== 1.1 Game Developers Choice Awards Nominations Starting Soon -------------------------------------------------------------- The nominations period for the Game Developers Choice Awards starts on January 3rd. This is just a friendly reminder that you should be thinking about who and what you'll nominate as you play all those games during the Holidays. Started in 2000 with the idea that there is no greater honor than to be recognized by one's peers, the Game Developers Choice Awards are game development's most prized honors. All professional game developers are eligible to nominate, vote and pay tribute to the developers who transcended the state of the art in 2002, making these true industry accolades. http://www.igda.org/awards/ 1.2 Revamped IGDA Web Site -------------------------- The IGDA web site has been completely revamped. The team is quite pleased that we hit our pre-Holidays ship date... We hope you enjoy the new site, and our efforts to make it more useful, informative, intuitive and hip. A word of warning, the new design makes heavy use of CSS and other current web standards which may not play nice with older browsers. For those interested, check out the "colophon." http://www.igda.org/ http://www.igda.org/about/colophon.php 1.3 Student Scholarship Program Taking Applications --------------------------------------------------- The 3rd annual Student Scholarship Program was announced recently. 25 college students will be awarded complimentary full access passes to the Game Developers Conference, opening the doors to coveted conference seminars and panel discussions, show floor exhibits and potential job opportunities. The deadline to enter is Friday, January 10, 2003. http://www.igda.org/scholarships http://www.igda.org/newsroom/press_120902.php 1.4 Charne on Net Profits ------------------------- Jim Charne has updated his "Famous Last Words" column, with advice on deals based on net profits, warning of the need for clear definition. http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Dec02.php 1.5 Chapter Updates & News -------------------------- Many IGDA chapters held meetings over the past few weeks, and while things go a bit quiet during the Holiday break, things will be back underway in the new year. Due to the recent web site revamp, we'll just point you to the chapter sections for you to poke around and read the updates. Chapters Index: http://www.igda.org/chapters/ Chapter Upcoming Meetings Schedule: http://www.igda.org/events/chapter_meetings.php Chapters Recent Updates: http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php =============== 2 From the Wire =============== Honduran Retailers Forced to Clear Violent Games http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=482 IGF Competition Finalists Announced http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=481 Aging Gamers Playing Nice for Santa http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=478 Game Censorship, Wal-Mart Style http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=477 The Effect of Video Games: Brain Rot or IQ Booster? http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=476 Royalties, Music and More http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=474 Dirty Games Cleaning Up http://www.igda.org/newsroom/news_item.php?nid=472 ==================================== 3 Events, Benefits & Services Update ==================================== 3.1 Member Discount ------------------- GDC Registration Discount: All IGDA members enjoy a $50 discount on GDC registration. The Gama Network recently announced the opening of registration for the Game Developers Conference, which will be held in San Jose, CA from March 4-8, 2003. The preliminary conference schedule is available, and conference classes will continue to be added over the coming months. Early registration prices are currently in effect. Discounted prices end on February 5th. http://www.gdconf.com/ 3.2 Upcoming Events ------------------- Conference on Application and Development of Computer Games http://www.adcog.org/ 6-7 January, Hong Kong Digital Frontier Conference http://www.digitalfrontier.org/ 17-18 January, Chicago, IL Taipei Game Show http://www.tca.org.tw/2003cem 21-24 February Taipei, Taiwan D.I.C.E. Summit 27-28 February, Las Vegas, NV http://64.49.205.17/dice/ Game Developers Conference http://www.gdconf.com/ 4-8 March, San Jose, CA Russian Game Developers Conference http://www.kriconf.ru/ 21-22 March, Moscow, Russia International Conference on Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment http://www.zgdv.de/TIDSE03/ 24-26 March, Darmstadt, Germany Milia http://www.milia.com/ 26-28 February, Cannes, France digifest http://www.dxnet.net/digifest/ 26-29 March, Toronto, Canada ================= 4 Logistical Bits ================= 4.1 Thanks to our Partners! --------------------------- The IGDA extends its sincerest thanks to all our partners! Without their support, and the continued backing from the developer community, the IGDA simply would not survive - let alone thrive. Academy of Art College Alias|Wavefront Criterion Software Havok Get more info online: http://www.igda.org/partners 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/join 4.3 Contact Information ----------------------- Contact our membership coordinator if you have questions, comments or input. http://www.igda.org/contact.php Phone: +1.415.947.6235 Email: http://www.igda.org/contact.php