6. March 2010 by admin.

Meaningful Play 2010
October 7 - 9, 2009
East Lansing, MI, USA
http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu

Call for Submissions

After the great success of Meaningful Play 2008, we are happy to send out of the call for submissions for the upcoming International Academic Conference on Meaningful Play 2010, taking place October 7-9, 2010 in East Lansing, Michigan, USA.

Whether designed to entertain or to achieve more “serious” purposes, games have the potential to impact players‘ beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, emotions, cognitive abilities, physical and mental health, and behavior.

Meaningful Play 2010 is a conference about theory, research, and game design innovations, principles and practices.   Meaningful Play brings scholars and industry professionals together to understand and improve upon games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways. The conference will include thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, peer-reviewed paper presentations, panel sessions (including academic and industry discussions), innovative workshops, roundtable discussions, and exhibitions of games and prototypes.

Paper, Panel, Poster, Roundtable, Workshop, and Game Submissions are sought from both researchers and practitioners in academia and industry. Graduate and advanced undergraduate students are also encouraged to submit either jointly with an academic/member of industry or alone.

Details on the conference, including the call for submissions, is available at:
http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu

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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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9. January 2010 by admin.

A good digital prototype convinces us of its reality and compels us to make it real. It is an imaginative piece of visual fiction that excites our interest and sates our needs.  It does not exist, but we want to it to exist. It has not been made, but we are eager for its production.  If you have succeeded at proposing an engaging idea, we want to check our accounts to find a way to afford it, our maps to figure out a way to visit it, or an encyclopedia for its nearest substitute. 

A good digital prototype is a proof of concept so convincing that we want t it to be real. As project stakeholders, we are willing to invest money and resources into it. We are so excited by its potential reality that we are willing to takes risks to make it work.  It is not merely an illustration; it is a perfect fiction to which we excitedly subscribe.  Much like the digital prototype in engineering, it is plausible, not merely possible. It is proof of a possibility, illustrative of the probable wonder in a previously unpresented solution. 

More information . . . .

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8. January 2010 by admin.

The IGDA will be awarding 25 scholarships for this years Game Developers Conference. GDC is where game development professionals gather to share ideas and build the skills that the industry needs. Located in  San Francisco ,  California , this years GDC will be held March 9-13 2010.

Qualifications & Scholarship Details

• Scholarship applications must be submitted on or before Thursday, January 15th, 2010.
• Only full-time university (or similar) students are eligible, and must be 18 years of age or older as of March 9, 2010
• Applicant must be an IGDA Student Member in good standing. If you are not currently a Student Member, you must join the IGDA before applying for the scholarship. All applications will be verified.
• Past scholarship recipients are not eligible.
• Recipients will be awarded one Main Conference Pass, with access to all sessions, round-tables, and keynotes. Breakfast and lunch included.
• Students are responsible for all travel arrangements and related costs.
• Scholarship applications will be judged by a panel of professional game developers.
• Each scholarship recipient will be paired with an industry mentor.
• Scholarship recipients will participate in a local studio visit and orientation session.
• Recipients will be announced before February 4th, 2010 (the early rate pricing deadline).

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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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2. October 2009 by admin.

Are you…awkward?

As humans we are faced with awkward moments everyday and until now
they have been a common point of shame.
- causing inconvenience; “they arrived at an awkward time”
- lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance; “an
awkward dancer”;

- difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape; “an
awkward bundle to carry”; “a load of bunglesome paraphernalia”;
“clumsy wooden shoes”; “the cello, a rather ungainly instrument for a
girl”
- not elegant or graceful in expression; “an awkward prose style”; “a
clumsy apology”; “his cumbersome writing style“; “if the rumor is
true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?”
- hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment;
“awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion”; “an
awkward pause followed his remark”; “a sticky question”; “in the
unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for
the climax of the campaign”
- socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner; “awkward
and reserved at parties”; “ill at ease among eddies of people he
didn’t know”; “was always uneasy with strangers”

This is a call to submit screen-based media (interactive, video,
photo, etc) exploring the definition of “awkward”. This could include
failed works.

The show will take place in the AVA’s Media Center. The show will
later be featured as an online exhibition.

We will accept works in the following format:

Screen-based work that runs on Apple OS X 10.5 as:
- a standalone Flash executable
- a standalone Max/MSP executable
- Safari 4.* or Firefox 3.5.*, with Flash/Shockwave, Quicktime or
Javascript or Java
(including browser-based Processing)
- Still images will also be considered if they are presented on your
site with a clear and
consistent interface.
Microcontroller-based work that does not require connection to a
computer will also be
considered. Please send a proposal and pictures/diagrams.

To SUBMIT WORK, please send:

Name, Title, 150 word or less description, 150 word or less bio and/or
CV, all as text within the email.

All work, with information listed above, should be submitted as a link
to your web site
where we can view the work or download a file, by email to:

awkward@atrowbri.com

Please do not attach files.

Works too large to put on your website should be sent as a rapidshare
or other file hosting service link. Email the address above if you
would like to send a work via Pando. No other service requiring the
download of a client will be considered.

Curators:
Neely Hyde, Director of Exhibits & Digital Media, Association for
Visual Arts (AVA), Chattanooga, Tennessee, www.avarts.org

Adam Trowbridge, artist and Adjunct Professor, History of Time-Based
Media, The University of Tennessee Chattanooga, www.atrowbri.com

This show was conceived by and will be co-curated by the students of
History of ART 420 History of Time-Based Media at The University of
Tennessee Chattanooga: Sarah Kyle, Austin Reed, Beth Joseph, Erin
Hora, Laura H. Winn, Robert Warren Parker, and others

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16. June 2009 by admin.

Tuesday, June 30^th for our first ever IGDA Chicago Demo night!  Demo night provides local game developers with an opportunity to present work-in-progress or recently completed projects to an audience of their peers.

We have already lined up some great things to show you, like Robomodo’s Tony Hawk: The Ride and Vogster’s Robocalypse: Beaver Defense…. and are looking for more entries!

Demo nights have been hugely successful at other IGDA chapters and if feedback is positive we can potentially have this as an ongoing event.  If you think you might have something to show, please contact us as soon as possible since space is limited.

Thank you to Flashpoint Academy (www.flashpointacademy.com) for graciously offering to host this event.

MEETING DETAILS:

 When:  Tuesday, June 30th, Doors open at 6:30 PM, Presentation starts at 7 PM.

Where: Flashpoint Academy, 28 N. Clark, Chicago, IL  60602.  Flashpoint Academy is near the intersection of Clark & Washington and is very close to all major el lines in Chicago.  The closest parking facility is near the intersection of Washington & Wells.

Cost: $5 non-members, $0 IGDA members and Flashpoint Academy Students. Light snacks and refreshments provided

RSVP: Space is limited to the first 150 guests. Please RSVP to igdachicago@gmail.com.

Here’s how it works – each presenter will have 5-10 minutes (depending on the number of entries) to show whatever it is they are working on.  This can be a finished project, or any game project past alpha.  It would be great to see games across all types of genres, i.e. casual, iphone/mobile, console – all are welcome. 

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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.

There is a book extract available on one of the CMP sites on design docs and related content:

” The design document describes the development team’s shared vision for all aspects of the game and the development process. It is considered a working document because it is continually revised, based on feedback and experience. The team begins writing the design document before the game, but the document is not finished until the game itself is finished . . .”

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