I’d first like to start this off by wishing our old Business Development Board Member, Christian Arca, all of the best in NYC.  Christian was key in getting the IGDA Chicago newsletter off the ground and starting off the “Power Lunch” meetings that we’ve been holding downtown on a monthly basis.  We’re going to miss him.

And now I’d like to welcome Jared Steffes to the board!  You can read more about Jared here.

Jared has been helping out at the IGDA Chicago since our reboot, from sitting as a panelist at our events, to the advice he’s offered us throughout our startup process.  We look forward to the ideas, experience, and relationships that Jared will bring to the table.  I’m sure you’ll be hearing from him soon!

After the movie, attendees gathered at Guthrie’s Tavern, with an opportunity to converse more with Lisanne and James, who were pleased with all of the wonderful feedback everyone had. Similar to the screening, the afterparty boasted an impressive turnout. Literally all areas of the venue were packed with developers! We’re very appreciative of Guthrie’s for all of the hospitality shown to our very sizable group.

We hope you enjoyed these events in April and we’re looking forward to bringing you more in the coming months. Stay tuned for details on our student-centric event in May and updates on the IGDA Chicago presence at Techweek in June.

2 May, 2012

Meeting called to order at 2:16pm CST and adjourned at 2:57pm CST.

Board Members in Attendance

Attended by Jay, Sheri, Neal, and Heather via Skype

Agenda

• Christian’s Resignation
• Vacant Board Seat
• Chapter Direction Progress
• Techweek
• May Panel
• Next Physical Meeting
• Upcoming Tasks

Motion Summary

Motion to declare Christian’s board seat as vacant — Unanimously Approved.

Motion to approach a new board member for Biz Dev — Unanimously Approved.

Next Monthly Meeting

Wednesday, June 6th, 2o12 at 2pm via Skype.

IGDA Chicago is looking forward to co-hosting a showing of Indie Game: The Movie (with directors in attendance) at 7pm on April 17th at the Music Box Theatre. Use the promotional code IGDACHICAGO for a $3 discount off admission.

Following the movie, be sure to drop by our Indie Game: The Movie Afterparty, starting at 9pm  at Guthrie’s Tavern and enjoy the company of both your fellow Chicago game developers and the creators of the film.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing you there!

As always, be sure to check the Chicago Events calendar for more exciting game development events happening this month!

4 April, 2012

Meeting called to order at 6:05PM CST and adjourned at 6:36PM CST.

Board Members in Attendance

Attended by Neal, Jay, Sheri, and Heather via Skype

Agenda

• Indie Game: The Movie event details
• C2E2
• Chartering Status
• Future Events
• Newsletter
• Meeting Time

Motion Summary

Motion to revise the weekly call time — Unanimously Approved.

Next Monthly Meeting

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2o12 at 2pm via Skype.

Recently, many of us gathered downtown for IGDA Chicago’s Post-GDC Meetup at Day 1 Studios, for a roundtable on March conferences. As suspected, GDC was the most frequented of events last month, and everyone had a great deal to exchange!

Retaining Wisdom

One of the top areas of discussion was retaining knowledge from GDC. Some attendees pointed out that the GDC Vault was highly useful. Instead of taking notes during the sessions, they would focus on the content, then revisit the video at a later date to further absorb the talk. An attending student mentioned Columbia’s Twitter hashtag, which was intended to act as a sort of communal journal for the group. Live-tweeting from sessions has certainly become a more active tradition in recent years, a gesture appreciated by both conference-goers and those following from home.

Meeting New People

As GDC is an enormous opportunity for networking, our discussions inevitably shifted to the fact that it can be difficult to remember specifics on new contacts after meeting so many people throughout a given day. Jotting notes directly onto cards was mentioned as a tried and true method, and a related strategy involved reviewing collected business cards each night at the hotel room and making more detailed notes. It was also pointed out that there are now apps for smartphones that can collect and convert data from business cards, bring contacts into LinkedIn, and facilitate digital note-taking.

Nurturing Chicago

Lastly, the group had some great responses in regard to the information or lessons they brought back that could help make the Chicago game development community even better. There was a great deal of support for sharing information and knowledge between studios big and small, in the larger interest of helping each other. Some mentioned that GDC was wonderful for recharging developers’ passion, which they could in turn bring back home and infuse into their teams. Additionally, a great deal of inspiration was taken from developers from all over the world. GDC offers the unique experience of getting everyone together so they can exchange ideas, show their latest work, give and receive feedback, and overall grow together.

In short, we gathered in the spirit of sharing our collective conference knowledge, and in the process, we reaffirmed the positive benefits of sharing in the development community.

Thanks again to everyone who attended, and of course, huge thanks to Day 1 Studios for hosting the event and providing plentiful food and refreshments for all!

Coming up in April, don’t miss Indie Game: The Movie on April 17th at the Music Box Theatre!

IGDA Chicago will be co-hosting a showing of Indie Game: The Movie with its producers/directors James and Lisanne.  For those of you who still haven’t signed up, now’s a good time! We’ve also been provided with a discount code for all IGDA Chicago members (IGDACHICAGO) that’ll get you $3.00 off the entrance fee.

Stay tuned for more details, as we’ll be helping organize an after show get-together where you’ll get to meet and speak with James and Lisanne.

Indie Game: The Movie Official Trailer from IndieGame: The Movie on Vimeo.

If you’re going to GDC, be sure to stop by IGDA Chicago’s Community Hour!

On Wednesday, March 7th from 11am-12pm, I’ll be at the IGDA booth at GDC, rallying up excitement for Chicago, spreading the word about how awesome our chapter is, and basking in the warmth of everyone who joins me there. I’m hoping to see a whole lot of Chicago love, so mark this on your calendar as the official IGDA Chicago meetup at GDC. What better way to express how magnificent Chicago is than by amassing our glorious community for all to see?

Also worth noting, the big IGDA Party 2012 will be on Tuesday, March 6th from 6-10pm. The venue is 21+, so I’d recommend bringing your ID. Members and non-members alike can attend simply by registering!

Safe travels to all! I’ll be looking forward to seeing you in San Francisco

Kinect Workshop Hackathon Extravaganza
Thursday, February 23nd, 2012
7pm – 11pm
Join Indie City Games at Toy Studio, with Ross Gerbasi of 15letters, as they explore a native extension for Adobe AIR that allows easy interfacing with the Kinect hardware.

Industry Night: West Loop
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
6:30pm – 11:30pm
This month’s Industry Night is happening downtown, at Holiday Grill & Bar. Since it’s the last Industry Night before GDC, join everyone in discussing all things related to GDC!
General Industry Night guidelines: open to all Chicago Game Developers, no recruiting.

Looking ahead, IGDA Chicago will be holding a Post-GDC Meetup on March 21st at 7pm. We’re hoping to see you there!

In the mean time, enjoy the above events, put on by some of our great friends in Chicago!

1 February, 2012

Meeting called to order at 6PM CST and adjourned at 6:44PM CST.

Board Members in Attendance

Sheri, Neal, Christian, Jay, and Heather in attendance via Skype.

Agenda

• Approval of Minutes
• Global Game Jam Play Party
• Newsletter
• Sponsorships
• Chartering Status
• March Meeting
• IGDA Lunches

Motion Summary

1/22 Meeting Minutes approved

Motion to approve revised IGDA Chicago Bylaws— Unanimously approved

Next Meeting

To be rescheduled, to accommodate for GDC.