IGDA-ing around the US

Hi guys,

I went to the IGDA Silicon Valley Game Demo Night last Sept. 30.

Spoke w/ their chapter coordinator, and she said that they started the chapter around three years ago, with a membership of... seven. That actually sounds like how the new IGDA Manila sounded, right? She said not to give up, and just keep meeting regularly even if it's just for pizza and beer or something. The core group of IGDA Silicon Valley is still around, even three years later.

Now they're doing quite well - it was their second Game Demo Night (they do it annually) and people presented games and products onstage. They held it at Cogswell Polytechnical College so it was a proper auditorium with a screen for presentations. They also set up tables on the sides of the room for the speakers and sponsors, with nametags and posters. So if you had a question for a speaker, you could go up to them directly and ask.

Instead of Q&A after each presentation, they got all the presentations done first (they'd warn each speaker if they were taking too much time) and then just let everyone mingle and network afterwards. I thought this setup was really good and efficient. They also provided some finger food and juice at a back table.

Registration for the event was simple, too - just your name and e-mail address. It was an open event so they didn't care if you were IGDA or not.

I'd like this to be where we are in three years - a good turnout, interesting content, and lots of networking.

I'm going to the IGDA Orange County meeting next.

Astig siguro kung meron.

Yeah, I totally think we should have one. We'd need months in advance to announce it so people could prepare. Esp. students, though company presentations would be cool, too.

IGDA Silicon Valley only does it once a year and they have sponsors, so it's a big thing.

Another thing I learned last night:

I went to an event called Beer Wednesday - every week, game developers in Orange County meet in the same bar at the same time and go and drink together. It's not IGDA-sponsored, though the IGDA people go; it's really the invention of this guy named Jim (from Obsidian) who wanted people from different companies to hang out every week and drink.

I thought it would be like 20 of Jim's Obsidian friends, but it turns out any Wednesday can be between 60 to 170 people! And from different companies and universities, too.

It's open to everyone, and there's only one rule -you don't talk shop. It's not a business event, or even an official networking event - it's just friends hanging out. It just kept getting bigger and bigger, but it's all about informal friendships instead of business card swapping.

It was great to see so many game developers hang out like buddies and not talk about work (unless it was someone complaining to his buddy about his long day). The bar also hosts Beer Wednesday for free because they get so much repeat business - imagine a hundred people in your bar every week drinking a lot!

I thought it was a good idea, and even if it's just a couple of us IGDA people drinking regularly at the same place, informally, we might actually make a great environment for people to arrive and hang out with us.

Food for thought

Andrei,

I'm just glad someone is reading. Hahaha. Really. Because I still have some more things here to do - attending an IGDA Orange County chapter meeting, and then going to the IGDA Leadership Forum (where I'm supposed to talk chapter stuff w/ the Boston head). It is DEFINITELY POSSIBLE for us to get where they are. As long as we persevere and don't ever give up. So far that's the same advice I've gotten from everyone, everywhere.

I'm down with a regular meetup, and a game demo night (which can be an IGDA Kucha night again as well, if people can't necessarily talk about current games but can talk about other parts of what they do instead). Or we can have a game demo night only for indies and student projects.