Students and educators: please join us for a presentation on the IGDA Scholarships program, including details about the program itself and how students can put their best foot forward when applying! Former IGDA scholars will be giving you their advice and hard earned knowledge.
Join us on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at Flashpoint.
Dave has been a friend and consultant to IGDA Chicago since basically the beginning, so I’m really excited to announce that he’ll be moderating our “Chicago’s Summer of Arcade” event on the 26th (if you haven’t yet purchased tickets, get them here).
David Wolinsky is an internationally published writer, critic, and the co-author of a book from The Onion’s A.V. Club, the straight journalism side of one of the nation’s biggest and most respected satire publications. He’s also part of the management editorial teams at NBC Chicago and adultswim.com and has nabbed all these positions without taking a single journalism class. His degree is in music business from Middle Tennessee State, which is why he also thinks anyone who wants to write for a living can, if they’re determined enough. He’s also working on another book, writing a handful of scripts (including an hour-long pilot about 9/11), and co-hosting the iTunes-featured “new and noteworthy” podcast Snackerdoodle! about made-up junk foods. In between all that, he freelances for publications as far-flung as Wired and Maxim to Funny or Die and Topless Robot.
Dave Lang, CEO of Iron Galaxy.
Josh Tsui, President and co-founder of Robomodo.
Downloadable products are the future of the games industry; from the rise of platforms like Steam to console download services like XBOX Live Arcade (XBLA) and Playstation Network (PSN), the method by which we distribute games has changed dramatically in only a handful of years. Between July 18th and August 15th this summer, five lucky downloadable titles were included in an XBLA promotion called the XBOX Live Summer of Arcade. Those games were Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Wreckateer, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Deadlight, and Hybrid. Out of those five games, two (Iron Galaxy’s Wreckateer and Robomodo’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater’s HD) were made in Chicago.
The IGDA Chicago is bringing together the heads of those two Chicago studios for a night of thought and discussion. What did they learn from selling their games on XBLA? What was the XBOX Live Summer of Arcade experience like? What’s the future of digital download games? These questions and more will be addressed.
This will be a paid event.
IGDA members receive an admission discount.
I’m happy to announce that Epic Games is now sponsoring “Chicago’s Summer of Arcade.” Free food and drinks will be provided. Big thanks to Josh Tsui and Jared Steffes for making this possible.
Dave Lang, CEO of Iron Galaxy.
Josh Tsui, President and co-founder of Robomodo.
Downloadable products are the future of the games industry; from the rise of platforms like Steam to console download services like XBOX Live Arcade (XBLA) and Playstation Network (PSN), the method by which we distribute games has changed dramatically in only a handful of years. Between July 18th and August 15th this summer, five lucky downloadable titles were included in an XBLA promotion called the XBOX Live Summer of Arcade. Those games were Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Wreckateer, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Deadlight, and Hybrid. Out of those five games, two (Iron Galaxy’s Wreckateer and Robomodo’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater’s HD) were made in Chicago.
The IGDA Chicago is bringing together the heads of those two Chicago studios for a night of thought and discussion. What did they learn from selling their games on XBLA? What was the XBOX Live Summer of Arcade experience like? What’s the future of digital download games? These questions and more will be addressed.
This will be a paid event.
Buy tickets before 9/17 at $10; all tickets afterward at $15. IGDA members receive an admission discount.
I’d like to set some space aside on this website to thank this year’s Chicago Game Jam sponsors.
Game jam sponsors play an important part in ensuring the fun and competitive nature of the event. If this year’s lineup of sponsors for the Chicago Game Jam have anything to say for its quality, then we’re going to have one heck of a weekend! In no particular order, here’s a list of sponsors and what they’re contributing:
Hosting: Our gracious hosts this year; thanks, guys!
Prizes: Copies of Wreckateer
Prizes: Copies of Shroud
Prizes: Skateboard decks
Prizes: Organ Trail copies
Prizes: Copies of the newest You Don’t Know Jack game on PS3
Slots are still open, but going fast for the Chicago Game Jam! If you’d like to join us for a weekend of hardcore game development, sign up below!
Today I’m happy to announce the second annual Chicago Game Jam, scheduled from September 28-30 at The Nerdery. Last year’s event saw groups competing throughout the weekend to produce innovative games based around the theme of “Chaos Theory.” One of those teams has since gone on to make the critically acclaimed mobile game Organ Trail. Another, Team Sweet, continues to work together on designing games.
I cannot stress enough the comradery and promise for opportunity that you will experience at this event. Game jams are the embodiment of what IGDA Chicago stands for: bringing people together to improve the craft of game development and foster a community of inspiration.
Whether you’ve participated in 20 game jams or none, you are welcome to sign up and join us for what will be another exciting weekend of fun, inspiration, and game development.
Thank you,
Jay Margalus
Chair, IGDA Chicago
Edit (9/14): We are proud to announce that Epic Games will be sponsoring this event! Food and drinks will be provided free of charge.
I’m happy to announce our first paid event, “Chicago Summer of Arcade,” featuring Dave Lang of Iron Galaxy and Josh Tsui of Robomodo.
Information
Dave Lang, CEO of Iron Galaxy.
Josh Tsui, President and co-founder of Robomodo.
Downloadable products are the future of the games industry; from the rise of platforms like Steam to console download services like XBOX Live Arcade (XBLA) and Playstation Network (PSN), the method by which we distribute games has changed dramatically in only a handful of years. Between July 18th and August 15th this summer, five lucky downloadable titles were included in an XBLA promotion called the XBOX Live Summer of Arcade. Those games were Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Wreckateer, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Deadlight, and Hybrid. Out of those five games, two (Iron Galaxy’s Wreckateer and Robomodo’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater’s HD) were made in Chicago.
The IGDA Chicago is bringing together the heads of those two Chicago studios for a night of thought and discussion. What did they learn from selling their games on XBLA? What was the XBOX Live Summer of Arcade experience like? What’s the future of digital download games? These questions and more will be addressed.
This will be a paid event.
Buy tickets here before 9/17 at $10; all tickets afterward at $15. IGDA members receive an admission discount.
We recently posted two new videos from our events on the IGDA Chicago YouTube Channel. Go watch “You’ve Graduated, Now What” and our recent “Meet the Press” videos (and many more) right now!
On April 12 I sent out a message on the IGDA Chicago Facebook group: “Wouldn’t it be neat if we held the 2nd annual IGDA/ICG ‘Chicago Games Showcase’ at Chicago Tech Week? Can anyone help get us in the door?” Three weeks later we were in, and thus began two months of non-stop Techweek work during most of my free waking hours.
This writeup isn’t just a post-mortem of the IGDA Chicago’s Techweek Gaming Lounge, but of everything leading up to it. That includes analysis of our communication with our studios, organization of the event, press we did for the event, execution of the Gaming Lounge, and much more. But before I continue, I want to emphasize two things:
Overall, I consider the IGDA Chicago Gaming Lounge at Techweek a great achievement of the new IGDA Chicago Board. Bringing together 15 studios at a major Chicago tech convention at a minimal cost, and all in two months, is the result of some very hard work executed by incredibly talented people. The press we got, and connections made, have already been showing results for our organization. I expect we’ll see even more positive results in the coming months.
The IGDA Chicago could not have done this event alone. Special thanks need to be given to: Dan Margalus, Brian Kung, Andy Saia, Lindsey from the Merchandise Mart, Meredith Lawson, Chicago Micro (for the internet hookup), Arabella Santiago, Sean Lyons, Josh Tsui, Tap.Me, Toy Studio (BIG THANKS), and all of the studios that participated. The local games press who came out and visited us were much welcome (I’m looking at you Erik Hanson and Scott Nichols), as were the Tastytrade folks, ABC 7, and NBC Chicago who interviewed us or some of our studios. On the IGDA Chicago Board’s side, everyone did an excellent job (as is to be expected). In particular, Jared Steffes was absolutely key in getting the event running, and Heather Decker-Davis should be thanked for donating a lot of her time during the event. I should also thank our panel speakers, including Sheri Rubin (also one of our board members), and the Young Horses guys (Phil Tibitoski, Devon Scott-Tunkin, and Kevin Geisler). And finally, everyone else I’ve forgotten: thank you.
Organizing 15 game companies into a four day show isn’t as easy as it seems, but maybe it’s as hard as it seems. Aside from obvious challenges like time constraints, budget, and logistics, the IGDA Chicago’s biggest challenge with running a smooth Gaming Lounge at Techweek had to do with the nature of our business: digital games. This ranges from obvious things like internet, power, and equipment to other, non-obvious things like physical space issues — especially with Kinect games, furniture, and noise concerns.
I came into this event without thinking about any of these challenges.
Here are some of the problems we ran into as a result:
Communicating with studios/event logistics
Logistics – Logistics for Techweek were run completely by email, which was a huge mistake. Email is meant for conversations, not as a repository for critical information. I found myself repeating information that I’d already sent out multiple times. This could’ve been solved simply by putting up a website for exhibitors where they could check for information, rather than have to look through a long list of emails to get the answer to.
Inexperience – I’ve never had to deal with coordinating move-ins in a place like the Merchandise Mart, which has many regulations and rules for how to handle these sorts of things. A few of our studios also required things like an internet connection, or had extra power requirements that we tried to work with the Techweek folks to accommodate, but could’ve solved a lot better if we’d handled them ourselves (for instance, we should’ve run our own personal WiFi hotspot, thus short-circuiting the inevitable convention internet slowness issues).
Procuring equipment/furniture – We didn’t ask for money from studios, and so were running the event on a shoestring budget. As such, wrangling equipment and furniture was a huge time investment instead of being a monetary one (I recall several car trips downtown with Jared Steffes where we had bean bags strapped on top of a car). For an event we weren’t getting paid to run, this was simply too much, and could’ve been solved if we’d had a little cash to pay to have furniture shipped in, or asked studios to bring their own furniture.
Press/Promotion – For the sheer amount of talent we brought into Techweek, we didn’t have as much publicity as I would’ve liked to see. The problem is that I was viewing our event as more of a continuation of last year’s “Games Showcase” — which appealed to a captive audience that we were familiar with — than a showcase at a huge convention that appealed to an audience we were altogether unfamiliar with. Press should’ve been distributed more widely, and we could have utilized our network of studios to help distribute it.
A Different Audience – The audience at Techweek wasn’t one that we were familiar with, and our objective at Techweek was more focused on building local community awareness and partnerships; I should’ve explained this better to studios. As an organization, IGDA Chicago met its objectives (which I’ll go over in “What Went Right”) at Techweek, but these objectives could’ve been better articulated to our membership.
We achieved our main objectives as an organization
Objective 1 – Tech companies, investors, and media in Chicago had no idea there was such a growing industry surrounding games. We’ve now put ourselves on track to generate that awareness. We’ve also extended the reach of our mailing list and contacts to include people in the Chicago tech industry who would’ve never known about us before. Unknown future benefits, as well.
Objective 2 – This is an obvious achievement, but it’s worth noting: we provided studios with another opportunity to showcase their work to the public. We were looking to bring people to our booths, and we did. Judging by the comments of others who’d been wandering around Techweek, we had one of the biggest draws there. People came out to see us!
Provided Experience to Studios – Techweek gave some of our smaller studios excellent convention experience in a comfortable setting that they’ll hopefully be able to carry over to other conventions.
Bolstered Chicago’s Game Developer Community – The most interesting thing that I saw happen actually had little to do with the convention setting. I noticed that during lulls at the Lounge, people from the various studios exhibiting would wander around to the other booths and play games by companies that they were only passingly familiar with from online interactions. It was basically the difference between speaking to someone online and then meeting them in the real world for the first time; even our member studios were shocked by the amount of talent and games that were being made in Chicago.
The IGDA Chicago + Techweek Gaming Lounge was an excellent learning experience for our chapter and our membership. We were able to execute on a very large event that I believe provided a lot of value to everyone involved, while keeping the risk of running an event with an unknown outcome to a minimum. Most importantly, we were able to fulfill our duties as an organization that helps connect the game developer community not only with each other, but with the world outside our bubble.
With some tweaks, and the added experience that our entire organization has received from this year’s IGDA Chicago + Techweek Gaming Lounge, I believe we will be able to run better, more efficient (and effective) events in the future.
Following up their recent release of F.3.A.R., Day 1 is going back to its MechAssault roots with its newest game Reign of Thunder, a free-to-play mech shooter. We haven’t seen a mech title around in a while so the promise in bringing the game style back, plus running it as an F2P venture, are an exciting mixture that I can’t wait to see.
Day 1 has also been a constant contributor to the Chicago games community, from co-hosting Chicago Industry Nights to offering their advice and resources to the IGDA Chicago.
Come see Day 1 and Reign of Thunder at the IGDA Chicago & Techweek Gaming Lounge from June 22-25. More information here.
Press Release:
Day 1 Studios is a leading independent developer dedicated to the craft of creating revolutionary, interactive entertainment.
Day 1 Studios was founded in 2001. Led by FASA Interactive alumni Denny Thorley and former Microsoft Game Studio pioneer, TJ Wagner. Day 1 quickly staked their claim as the company that would set the bar for Microsoft’s new Xbox Live™ technology. The result, MechAssault™, helped launch the vaunted on-line service in November of 2002 and instantly demonstrated to the world that Xbox Live™ and console online interactivity was the wave of the future.
MechAssault™ and soon after MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf™ based their success on Day 1′s core philosophy: Make it Accessible, Make it Empowering and Make it Immersive. These three simple truths are the mainstay of Day 1′s “process-oriented” culture that celebrates long-term thinking and engineered solutions to problems. Great engineering or beautiful art do not make a game on their own. The core of success revolves around not only believing in great ideas, but bringing them to life. Day 1 Studios’ technology and artistry working in tandem turns great ideas into great gameplay.
Bolstered by the success of the MechAssault series and the rock solid combination of staff and methodology, Day 1 was more than ready to make the leap into Next-Gen. Focusing all efforts on the newest next-generation entertainment platforms offers opportunities of challenge; to test new creative, technical, and management paradigms like no other. With each challenge tackled, there are new opportunities to rethink, reevaluate, and annihilate the status quo.
Day 1 Studios has two offices located in Chicago and Hunt Valley MD. Cross-studio development continues Day 1 Studios tradition of excellence and the passion to build high-quality games. In addition to industry knowledge and business experience, Day 1 Studios’ craft and collaboration makes it a top tier studio.
We are independent, innovative, and second to none. The challenges never end and we hope they never do
Games Listing:
Reign of Thunder
F.3.A.R.
Fracture
F.E.A.R Files
F.E.A.R (360/PS3 Port)
MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf
MechAssault
Iron Galaxy, a Chicago studio with a lot of hefty title development work under its belt (Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition, co-developed Kinect Space Pop, co-developed YDJK for Xbox360, PS3, Wii, and more), are releasing their first original IP this summer named Wreckateer.
I’ve played Wreckateer, and I really enjoyed the game (the again, who doesn’t enjoy destroying castles?). I’ve seen people compare it to Angry Birds, and while the comparison may be apt in the way of core mechanics (that have existed well before Angry Birds was a game), I actually had much more fun playing Wreckateer.
Wreckateer is also in Microsoft’s “Summer of Arcade” with another Chicago game showing at Techweek, Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD.
Come see Iron Galaxy and Wreckateer at the IGDA Chicago & Techweek Gaming Lounge from June 22-25. More information here.
For more information on Iron Galaxy, Wreckateer, and other works of theirs, check out this Press Release.
Toy Studio and their new game “Word Off!” do some pretty inspiring things with new HTML5 standards. From a technical standpoint, I’ve been incredibly impressed with what they’ve done. From a game’s standpoint, “Word Off!” is an extremely fun new take on word game mechanics.
You may also know Toy Studio from their hosting of the first annual “Chicago Game Jam.” Overall, these guys run a really exciting new company doing a lot of cool things in Chicago.
Come see Toy Studio and “Word Off!” at the IGDA Chicago & Techweek Gaming Lounge from June 22-25. More information here.
Press Release:
Word Off! is a competitive word game with strategy elements by Toy Studio. You’ll need to plan a strategy carefully within 15 turns. Spell incredible words to gain the most points and territory on the board or strategically expand your reach to capture your opponent’s home base for a quick and decisive win.
Features:
Original, competitive word game with strategy elements
Truly cross-platform gameplay
Play with friends in turn-based matches
In-game boosts
Profile stat tracking
Free-to-play
“Word Off! is a true cross-platform experience,” said Evan Gilbert, Lead Programmer of Word Off!. “No matter where you login from, you are playing the same game with your friends no matter what device they use.”
Word Off! is created using the latest HTML5 technologies available. HTML5 allows seamless transitioning between devices and opens the door for friends to play together without having to worry about having the same kind of phone, tablet or computer. Never before has a turn-based game been so easy to play with so few barriers to let the words fly between you and friends.
With the turn-based, cross-platform gameplay, finally some age-old feuds can be put to rest. Android versus iOS, Kindle versus NOOK, Chrome versus Internet Explorer and others can finally be decided with a good choice of words.
As players submit words and plot a strategy, they can use in-game boosts that can aid them in that cause.
Word Off! is a free-to-play and available on iOS, Android and HTML5 compatible web browsers.
Visit http://www.wordoff.com to start playing Word Off!
About Toy Studio
Toy Studio is founded on the idea of connecting people through games that encourage meaningful social interaction with friends. Toy Studio designs games on three core principles: quality, innovation and community. Just as impressive as the care put into design, is the tech behind the scenes. Toy Studio is pioneering HTML5 development with its open sourced Cake.js and proprietary Icing cross-platform system, destroying barriers between platforms and opening the door for player freedom in the process. All from a comfy studio in the heart of Chicago.
Toy Studio’s games have been well received by players and media alike. Their apps have been featured by Amazon as “Free Apps of the Day,” Barnes & Noble on the NOOK family of devices, the Google Chrome Web Store and Word Off! garnering the honor of “Gaming App of the Day” by Kotaku among other notable recognitions.
Toy Studio also works with fellow developers to help publish their mobile games. It takes a lot of work to create an app, but it also takes an equal amount of work to bring it to app stores without it getting lost in the tidal wave of apps that release each and every day. Toy Studio approaches each game as if it were created in-house and treats developers as equals while doing the heavy lifting with submitting and promoting apps. Chicago developers interested in creating apps with their Cake.js HTML5 platform should contact Toy Studio for sponsorship opportunities.
For more information about Toy Studio, visit http://www.toystudio.com
Social Media
Twitter: @ToyStudioGames
Facebook: Facebook.com/ToyStudioGames
YouTube: YouTube.com/ToyStudioGames
Get a .doc version of this press release
Over fifty video game companies are located in and around Chicago making hits like Mortal Kombat, Tony Hawk, and (believe it) Big Buck Hunter, as well as acclaimed indie games like Delve Deeper, Octodad, and Organ Trail. On top of that, the social/mobile games market is exploding in our city with hits like Word Off! and Polymer breaking into the top of the charts. This summer alone, Chicago will see the release of Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD, Wreckateer, Reign of Thunder, Organ Trail, Delve Deeper 2 , and many more games.
Yet few in Chicago know about its growing games industry — even those in the broader tech industry.
Last year, IGDA Chicago (with Indie City Games) hosted the first annual “Chicago Games Showcase,” attracting over 100 attendees and 15 studios for a day of gaming open to the public. This year, we’re introducing the rest of the Chicago tech community to the game companies that are making waves in the industry. We’re taking the show on the road to Chicago Techweek for five days.
Play games by the following studios at the IGDA Chicago / Techweek Gaming Lounge:
Cardboard Computer – Kentucky Route Zero
D20Studios, LLC – Hero Mages
Day 1 Studios – Reign of Thunder
Gimbal Lock Studios – Go Gimbal Go
Iron Galaxy – Wreckateer
Jellyvision Games – You Don’t Know Jack!
Lunar Giant – Delve Deeper 2, Mega Ran
Ragtag Studio – Puppy Panic, Unstoppable Fist
Raw Thrills – Big Buck Hunter, Terminator Salvation
Robomodo – Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD
Sinister Design – Telepath Tactics
The Men Who Wear Many Hats – Organ Trail
Toy Studio – WordOff!, BlastOff
Young Horses – Octodad
DePaul – Proppa
Time/Place
June 22-26
Merchandise Mart
For more information, visit http://www.igdachicago.com/games-lounge/ or http://techweek.com/
You’ve Graduated: Now What? is a how-to session on launching a career in the game development industry. A selection of three local industry experts will be sharing their own personal tips and advice, followed by an open audience Q&A.
Speakers include Clayton Kisko (Senior Level Designer at Robomodo,) Sheri Rubin (Founder and CEO of Design Direct Deliver,) and Craig Stern (founder of Sinister Design.) Their full bios are listed below.
Clayton is a Senior Level Designer at Robomodo working on Tony Hawk HD. After graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design, Clayton received his first gig in the game industry working with Robomodo as a Junior Level Designer on Tony Hawk: Ride. Since then Clay has worked as a Level Designer, Game Designer, and Game consultant on peripheral games, Kinect games, console games, mobile games, and XBLA/PSN games.
Sheri Rubin is the founder and CEO of Design Direct Deliver (DDD), a small business consultancy that focuses on project management and improving customer experiences. Prior to DDD, she was Producer and Corporate Communications Director for High Voltage Software, Inc. Sheri got her start in the game industry over 15 years ago and has more than 30 game credits under her belt. She is an avid philanthropist and fierce advocate for the betterment of the video game industry, dedicating much of her free time to volunteer organizations including Women in Games International (WIGI), the Red Cross, and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Sheri received her B.A. summa cum laude in Business Administration from DeVry University and serves on the boards for IGDA, IGDA Chicago, and Jenkat Media, Inc.
Craig Stern is an independent game developer and founder of Sinister Design, an game studio based out of Chicago. He just released Telepath RPG: Servants of God, a Middle-Eastern steampunk strategy RPG, in February.
In addition to developing games, Craig sits on the board of Indie City Games, an organization of indie game developers from around the city. Craig also founded and runs the website IndieRPGs.com, a site dedicated exclusively to RPGs created by the indie game development community.
Join us at 7pm at the International Academy of Design & Technology for what is sure to be a highly educational event for anyone who is currently seeking employment in the industry.
Full event details available on the Meetup page: You’ve Graduated: Now What?
To stay in the loop on this and future events, be sure to join the IGDA Chicago Meetup group.
Last month, Chicago enjoyed a special screening of Indie Game: The Movie at the Music Box Theatre. The film’s creators, Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky, were delighted at the fantastic turnout our community showed them, which happened to be the largest single screening of the movie to date! Thank you so much to everyone who attended! Additionally, a special thanks is in order for our friend Philip Tibitoski, a local developer who made this screening possible by reaching out to Lisanne and James.
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.
While we’ll normally hold an evening event every third Wednesday of the month, this month we’re getting together a day early for a special treat!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
Many great groups are putting on events this month in Chicago! Have you heard?
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!
On Wednesday, February 15th, 2012, we held our first annual Global Game Jam Play Party. Our intent was to get everyone together to play the products of the GGJ and socialize. Overall, it was a great success!
Five of the teams from the DePaul Jam site were present with their projects: Team Jam, Emotionally Unavailable, Godbros, Backyard Origami Club, and Sharks, Rockets, and Dinosaurs. They were all more than happy to share and discuss their work, which was an excellent experience. Not only did we get to play the games, but we were personally introduced to them by the very people who crafted them in that hectic 48-hour window of time!
There were so many great conversations going on throughout the event and so many awesome people. Chicago’s game development community is truly inspirational!
Thank you, DePaul University, for hosting the event, and thank you to everyone who joined us there!
It was great to see you all and we hope you’ll join us again March 21st for our Post-GDC event!