1. February 2010 by admin.

Some great games at Global Game Jam @ Miami University. 25 People worked all weekend to make a game.   Participants range from 14-30, and included student artists, experienced programmers, high school students and lots of game-loving creative minds. See more at http://aims.muohio.edu.gamejam.

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18. December 2009 by admin.

Creating and Evaluating Experiences of Role-Playing Games

The Electronic Edition of the Book for Solmukohta 2008. Edited by Markus Montola & Jaakko Stenros.

ISBN 978-952-92-3579-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-92-3580-3 (pdf)

Download the Electronic Edition of Playground Worlds as a pdf

Playground Worlds is a collection of articles on role-playing games by leading researchers, artists and other experts. The book documents the theory and practice of the Nordic role-playing scene – one of the most vibrant in the world -– and presents numerous methods and techniques that are directly applicable to larp design and production. It also offers a peek into some Anglo-American role-playing cultures.

The book is divided into three sections. Community and Journalism includes articles on role-player communities written particularly with an eye for approachability. Art and Design covers role-play as the product of a creative process, exposing philosophies and intentions behind specific role-playing works while providing advice and guidance for prospective designers. The Research and Theory section focuses on recent advances in analytic and academic thought on role-play.

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25. November 2009 by admin.

Signup for the 2nd Global Game Jam has begun.

The Global Game Jam is an international computer game making festival, where people all over the world race to make an original game in a single weekend. In 2009, the first Global Game Jam involved 1600 people, from 23 countries. From Caracas to Tokyo they made 370 games in one weekend. As the organizers put it, “lives were changed, jobs found, ideas sold, collaborations and opportunities abound.”

Miami University is a site location for the second Global Game Jam ever. We will be hosting participants for the 2010 Global Game, on January 29-31, 2010. For independent game makers, students, and game enthusiasts this is a one-of-kind experience. The event, organized by the International Game Developer’s Association, is the only event of its type in the world.

The Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media studies will be partnering with the Computer Science and Software Engineering department at Miami University to make our school one of the best locations in the Global Game Jam community. Participation is not limited to those areas nor is it limited to members of the Miami community. We strongly encourage everyone with a passion for game making and interactive media to participate. Teams include artists, sound designers, interaction designers, programmers, and anyone with passion for game making. Everyone from high school students to industry professionals may participate. Participants may even receive international press for their game designs. Registration is now available.

I was a guest designer at the Chicago location for the Global Game in 2009 and the energy was fantastic. People fall into a rhythm and really have fun at the event. Spending one intense weekend developing a game is a nice way to add to your portfolio, finally get started on that game you’ve been meaning to make, experience game design, or simply bond with other people who share your passion.

From the 2010 Global Game Jam press release:
“Game Jams foster innovation and experimentation. If you have ever wanted to make a game, be a part of a team, or go outside of your usual working method, then a game jam is for you. It’s all about making games and in the GGJ you’re part of a global experiment in creativity. A game jam is not for the faint of heart though. It’s two days of hard work, experimentation, little sleep, collaboration, new friends, great ideas, laughs, technical issues and the time of your life.

Everyone is given similar constraints and rules to make their games, it is amazing how different and culturally diverse the games will be. The Nordic Game Jam has honored GGJ with being the flagship Game Jam. The goal is to provide a vehicle for professional developers, students and hobbyist to come together and have an incredible experience in collaboration and inventiveness. The GGJ works perfectly into the mission of the International Game Developers Association, ‘Connecting members with their peers & promoting professional development.’ A Game Jam is not a competition, it is unique ‘idea space’ where sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. “

If you are interested in creating a team, you should being to organize yourselves now. The strongest teams balance designers, artists, and developers. The Global Game Jam will be accepting participants soon, so get ready for this exceptional opportunity! You can learn more about the Miami University Global Game jam at http://aims.muohio.edu/gamejam.

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19. September 2009 by admin.

Independent Game Making: For years the industry has focused on the increasing size of development teams

. It is both a blessing and a hassle. Teams grow; the quality of games increase. Teams grow; the complexity and investment

in each game increases too. But the industry didn’t start this way. . .

Upping your Game’s Usability:  A common gripe I hear from developers is that a game has a really great concept or aesthetic, but that the user interface (UI) is lousy. Games that are hard to control or that mystify users by not providing useful or sufficient feedback are pretty damn frustrating to play. This can translate into worse sales, so it’s worthwhile for game developers to really spend a lot of time thinking about a game’s UI.

All I really Needed To Know:  Robert Fulghum’s essay All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten has inspired people since the late ’80s. With compliments to him, here is, in expanded title –

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7. June 2009 by admin.

Here’s a read from Johnny Wilson, another faculty member at the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. His history with the game industry is wonderful, it’s great to be teaching “near” him.

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7. June 2009 by admin.

I posted some updates to my Illinois Institute of Art student website and added a few student portfolios in my former student collection. The quality of some of the work is increasing.  I was also very happy with the quarter’s student games from my programming for the artist class:

http://aii.lgrace.com/GADGAMES/

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6. June 2009 by admin.

 A link to the courses section of IGDA ed sig’s wiki.  I had almost forgotten about this, but it is handy for people evaluating their current courses, assessing program outcomes, or doing a general survey of game related courses.  Very cool:

http://www.igda.org/wiki/Category:Courses

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17. May 2009 by admin.

A list of some good games sites for weekly visits via the IGDA ed blog:

Teaching Game Design
http://teachingdesign.blogspot.com/

Applied Game Design
http://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/

On Games & Code
http://www.onlinewebpage.com/gamecodeblog/

Casual Game Design
http://www.casualgamedesign.com/

Raph Koster’s Blog
http://www.raphkoster.com/

Ian Bogost’s Blog
http://www.bogost.com/

Tracy Fullerton’s Blog
http://interactive.usc.edu/members/tfullerton/

Jane McGonigal’s Blog
http://blog.avantgame.com/

The Escapist
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/

Clint Hocking’s Blog
http://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing/

Kevin Kelly’s Blog
http://www.kk.org/

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7. April 2009 by admin.

Critical Gameplay is a collection of strategically designed video games. Each game asks the question, what do common game mechanics teach us? The four games in the collection are designed to help reevaluate our perspective on gameplay experiences. Like Critical Cartography changes the way we perceive the world, critical gameplay seeks to offer alternate perspectives on the way we play.

The Exhibition:

Four video games will be displayed for visitors to play on multiple stations. Each game takes a specific gameplay standard and actively works against it. The hope is the initiation of an intellectual dialogue about the opportunities in unexplored gameplay mechanics.

The exhibition will also include other video games and interactive works created by Lindsay Grace.

The exhibition is open to the public and will be held on April 17th.

* Location: 1100 West Cermac (enter at 2268 S. Carpenter)
* Time: 6:30pm - 10:00pm
* Cost: Free (Open to the public)
* Contact: info@criticalgameplay.com

Refreshments will be served (beer, wine et al)

http://www.CriticalGameplay.com

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20. March 2009 by admin.

Wait, a simple game where the player is encouraged to refrain from acting on the world. As the player moves the world disappears, but when the player waits, the world becomes more interesting. The majesty is found in the slow, controlled effort. Players are awarded points when the little things in life reveal themselves.

Treatment:
The intention in wait is to return the game experience to a central theme in some artistic practices: the reward of stopping to smell the flowers. The game begins with a fade from white and a fairly empty virtual field with blowing grass and the sounds of nature. If the player does not move, elements of the world are heard and faded into view. When these items are fully in view and physically close to the player the player is rewarded points. Points accrued are expressed by a single modulated tone every few seconds. As time progresses the world begins to fade away. The player must respond by moving to another space in the world. If they do not move by the time the world completely fades away, then the game will end. A score is displayed. The score will, in true game fashion, be compared to the past performance of other players. Play can continue indefinitely if the player moves and waits appropriately.

This game is part of the Critical Gameplay Project, an exhibition for partial completion of the MFA in Electronic Visualization at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

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