=============================== IGDA Newsletter - December 2004 =============================== =========================== Table of Contents =========================== 0: A Word From Jesse Schell 1: IGDA News - IGDA Evolves Relationship with CMP/GDC - RSS Feeds for IGDA News and Chapter Updates - GDC Scholarship Program Now Accepting Applications - AI-SIG Launches "Game AI Newsletter" - Columns Update 2: Chapter Meetings/Reports 3: From the Wires - Independent Games Festival 2005 Finalists - Child's Play Charity - Experimental Gameplay Workshop 2005 - Call for Participation - Digifest: Call for content/competition - GTA: The after-school special - Illinois Governor Aims to Ban Sale of Mature Games to Minors - UK Government calls for stronger ratings enforcement - First Blood Drawn in Violent Games Controversy - Sharing the Responsibility of Spreading Ratings Awareness - Marketing and its malcontents - A Visit to the Museum of Underappreciated Games - Emulation and the Video Game Industry - Toward a theory of place in digital worlds - Virtual gamers reveal themselves - Getting Serious About New Opportunities - Video game better than tranquilizer at calming children before surgery - DOOM3 Closed Captioned Mod released - The State of Game Development in Eastern Europe - Made by hand - Sammy Studios Donates To UCSD's Experimental Game Lab 4: Logistical Bits =========================== ============================= Ad: G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit ============================= January 26-28, 2005 Orlando, Florida The use of game technology in government and educational training applications has enormous potential for developers. The Synergy Summit brings together the diverse communities of Government, Academia, Military, Entertainment, and Simulation to forge relationships, bridge gaps and shape the future. Workshops, cross disciplinary programs and numerous networking and social opportunities make this a must attend event. http://www.synergysummit.com/ ============================= =========================== 0: A Word From Jesse Schell =========================== Dear Members and friends, The holidays are a special time for game developers - crunch time is (usually) over, and we finally get a (small) break. It is also a time to be proud - so many people will spend their holidays playing our games. It is wonderful to sit back and watch someone truly enjoying what you have worked so hard to create. And, hey! Take some time for yourself, too - go play those games you haven't had time for - after all, you deserve it! One more thing: I know it's hard to tell from the outside, but this has been a very busy year for IGDA management. One of the big changes is our new independent management structure (see first news item below). What does this mean for the org? It means a leaner, more agile IGDA that can best serve the needs of the community. In the coming year, there will be several announcements about new IGDA initiatives and changes that will benefit everyone. And, this wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of all our gracious volunteers, the IGDA staff and management -- and the folks at the CMP Game Group. Since we are already shaking things up, this is a great time to speak out with your comments about how to make the org even better - just email info@igda.org - we'd love to hear from you! - Jesse Schell Chairperson, IGDA Professor of Entertainment Technology, Carnegie Mellon University CEO, Schell Games ============ 1: IGDA News ============ IGDA Evolves Relationship with CMP/GDC -------------------------------------- The IGDA has ended its management agreement with CMP and will be directly running its own day-to-day operations as of January 1st, 2005 - as always, under the wise governance of its elected board of directors. The IGDA asked for CMP's help in revitalizing the association five years ago, and CMP have provided terrific support since. Now that the IGDA has built up definite momentum and has strong community support, it has updated its relationship with CMP to best meet current needs. Continue reading about IGDA changes... http://www.igda.org/newsroom/announce_121404.php RSS Feeds for IGDA News and Chapter Updates ------------------------------------------- The IGDA web site has been updated to include RSS feeds for IGDA news (eg, org announcements, committee work) 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 GDC Scholarship Program Now Accepting Applications -------------------------------------------------- The IGDA has just launched the 5th annual Student Scholarship Program. Twenty-five college students will be awarded complimentary full access passes to the Game Developers Conference. Students can now apply online. The deadline to enter is Tuesday, January 18, 2004. Recipients will be announced in early February. Applicants are required to be full-time college students (or equivalent) and IGDA student members for consideration. The IGDA's Education Committee and board members will judge scholarship applications. http://www.igda.org/scholarships/ AI-SIG Launches "Game AI Newsletter" ------------------------------------ The IGDA's Artificial Intelligence SIG is proud to announce that the inaugural issue of the Game AI Newsletter: http://five.pairlist.net/pipermail/gameai_news/2004/000000.html Those wishing to subscribe can do so online: http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gameai_news Columns Update -------------- Monthly columns updated for this month: - The Ivory Tower: Will Master Chief Ever Frag Moby Dick? http://www.igda.org/columns/ivorytower/ivory_Dec04.php - Famous Last Words: When Confidentiality Becomes Control http://www.igda.org/columns/lastwords/lastwords_Dec04.php - Culture Clash: Put Up or Shut Up - Quality of life issues have reached a boiling point http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/clash_Dec04.php - The Games Game: Follow Your Passions... To Hell? http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Dec04.php =========================== 2: Chapter Meetings/Reports =========================== Complete list of chapter reports and upcoming meetings: http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php Houston Meeting, January > SharkByte Software presents: TGX Exporter http://www.igda.org/houston Michigan South Meeting, January > GBA Postmortem and Quality of Life Roundtable http://www.igda.org/smichigan/ Colorado Report, December > Special Holiday Meeting at GameScape PC Gaming Center http://www.coloradogamedev.org/20041206.html Montreal Report, December > David Perry shares his passion for games http://www.igda.org/montreal/reports/summary_Dec04.htm Seattle Report, December > IGF Student Showcase Review 2004 http://www.igda.org/seattle/reports/11_2004r.htm New Jersey North Report, December > RVCC Crash Course in Game Development http://blender.rutgers.edu/~njigda/meetings/200411.php ================= 3: From the Wires ================= News stories and articles from around the Web... Independent Games Festival 2005 Finalists http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/11/1826236&from=rss Child's Play Charity http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ Experimental Gameplay Workshop 2005 - Call for Participation http://www.experimental-gameplay.org/2005/cfp.html Digifest: Call for content/competition http://www.dx.org/digifest/ GTA: The after-school special http://tinyurl.com/62ogh Illinois Governor Aims to Ban Sale of Mature Games to Minors http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=8562§ion=feature UK Government calls for stronger ratings enforcement http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=5803 First Blood Drawn in Violent Games Controversy http://www.indiemagazine.co.uk/cgi-bin/news.cgi?id=3060§ion=1 Sharing the Responsibility of Spreading Ratings Awareness http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=8540§ion=myturn Marketing and its malcontents http://tinyurl.com/4fs99 A Visit to the Museum of Underappreciated Games http://tinyurl.com/5qkjr Emulation and the Video Game Industry http://games.slashdot.org/games/04/12/15/1721235.shtml?tid=203&tid=10 Toward a theory of place in digital worlds http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/12/news_6113119.html Virtual gamers reveal themselves http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3683260.stm Getting Serious About New Opportunities http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20041015/sawyer_01.shtml Video game better than tranquilizer at calming children before surgery http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2672092 DOOM3 Closed Captioned Mod released http://game.rbkdesign.com/doom3cc/ The State of Game Development in Eastern Europe http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20041124/mezihorak_01.shtml Made by hand http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1369059,00.html Sammy Studios Donates To UCSD's Experimental Game Lab http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=4552 ================== 4: Logistical Bits ================== 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: - Art Institute of California - San Francisco - Institut National de l'Image et du Son - Microsoft Research - VxO Networks 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 Newsletter Subscription ----------------------- You can update your subscription details via your MyProfile page: http://www.igda.org/membership/myprofile.php If you need help, contact us. IGDA Membership --------------- Your support is critical to the success of the IGDA and our industry. There are dozens of reasons to join the IGDA, ranging from personal career Advancement to more lofty industry-wide goals. Join today: http://www.igda.org/join Contact Information ------------------- Please contact us if you have questions, comments or input. http://www.igda.org/contact.php ------- - end - -------