meeting report
Writing event
On the 3rd of December 2009 in London's South Bank, IGDA London, the Game Writers' SIG, and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, teamed up to present an audience with a panel of experienced game writers.
The panel, from left to right: Tom Jubert, James Swallow, Rhianna Pratchett, and Andrew Walsh.
Tax Breaks, Game Ratings, and the UK Game Dev
Members of IGDA London gathered on Thursday 24th September 2009 at the London School of Economics to hear from a panel of game policy pundits.
the panel from left to right: Vincent Scheurer, Michael Rawlinson, Fred Hasson, and Ren Reynolds
Our speakers were:
Post GDC talks and social (take 2)
This is an imported event from the old site.
Post GDC Social
IGDA London members gathered at the Slug and Lettuce in Soho to socialise. Demetri Detsaridis (Massively Mobile) gave an informal debrief on GDC'08 "the best and worst of the show". Unfortunately there was a mix up with the booking and the downstairs area was not available. Fortunately, the turn out was fairly low so we all got a seat!
Rules of the game: legal issues in game development
Over the last few years, many game developers have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. From careless use of copyrighted imagery to unintended violations of a game's intended age rating, game development is full of hidden legal pitfalls. This evening gave us a better insight into how to protect ourselves and our companies.
More look than feel?
The event started at 7.00 p.m. with Autodesk giving an exclusive presentation of their new software. This was followed by a talk from Richard Hince of Artem Digital on their head scanning and facial capture systems.
With the rapid advancement of game console and graphics technologies, game developers are now able to create highly detailed and realistic looking game characters. But how believable are these characters when it comes to emotional interplay? Are we even approaching effective simulation of basic human emotion? And do mainstream developers and publishers even care?
Is There A Future For Mobile Gaming?
The event was held at the Kings-Cross O'Neil's and as has been typical of our meetings, all went smoothly in hosting another interesting I.G.D.A gathering. We introduced a £2 entrance fee for the first time for non-members, and the turn-out was decent considering the added fee (around 25-30 people, with 15 being non-members). Most people who came didn't mind the entrance fee, though we believe it turned more people away.
Developing for the PlayStation3
Speaker: George Bain, Developer Support Manager, SCEE Technology Group
Sponsor: mary-margaret.com
This event which turned out to be the chapter's largest, second only to the party held last September, had an attendance of been eighty to ninety, including the sponsors for the event (mary-margaret.com, developers and some media), was an eye opener in terms of what was revealed for the development options and potential for the forthcoming PlayStation3 (PS3).
Christmas quiz
What does 'IDDQD' do for you?
How well do you think you know your games? Could you name the hospital in Silent Hill? Do you know how many dots are on a Pac-Man board? Or could you name the famous producer of Boktai? These were just a small sample of the 50 questions posed to a large audience of gameaholics at O'Neills, Kings Cross under the guise of the Xmas IGDA quiz. There were five rounds each with ten questions, and each round finished with a bonus 'Woo Hoo' question.