OC Chapter Meeting Report - January 2010

Attendance was good for the January meeting of the IGDA's Orange County chapter, with lots of folks coming out in the rain to spend time with like-minded souls. The meeting started off with announcements and the welcoming of the chapter's new Board of Directors:

• Chris Hood - Chair
• Jim Rivers - Co-Chair
• Sean Flinn - Communications Officer
• Sheri Rubin - Treasurer
• Linda Sellheim - Secretary

There was a brief Q&A then the meeting launched into the evening event, which was the interactive discussion “Game Design and Studio Operations.” 

The objective for the evening was to form teams and simulate the game development process. The crowd divided into nine teams and named their “studios.” Each team then received a list of jobs found in game studios, and team members assigned themselves specific roles to play in the development process. Each team was also given small pieces of paper with three items that had to be included in their game. They had 45 minutes to complete their concept and pitch it to the publishers (the Board).

Everyone went to work – some a bit awkwardly at first – but after a few minutes there was plenty of laughter and everyone was having fun and learning a few things. To add a little real world tension to the exercise, the “Publisher” (played by Chris Hood) visited each team and removed one of the items they had planned on using mid-stream.

The project was good learning experience and great for networking, and the winning team was “Studio Apartment” with its game “Shameless Jameson” for the DS and the DSi. The team’s items were a magic marker and a smiley face. In the game you play the character Shameless Jameson, a party prankster who, in a “Race to Deface,” must deface passed out party goers without getting caught or waking up his victims. The game would feature recognizable celebrity characters and sleep muttering humor, and of course the collector’s edition would come with a branded shot glass.

A big round of applause went out for all the ideas; it was a good project and learning experience which made for a lot of laughs and creative release.