Game Dev School Video game design & development articles

I realize my current habit of cross-posting might be getting annoying for you folks, but hey... lots of work to do and all that blah.  Anyway, here's a copy of my post about the Indie MMO Game Dev Conference coming up in April:

I'm sorry I missed this before, since I could have helped you folks save some cash if you were wanting to go, but here it is anyway. With everything in much of the game development world focusing on San Francisco in March (I'm not linking to that "other" conference here, since it seems rude,) I'm stoked to keep finding out about other conferences catering to the small shops... of which there are a TON. In fact, I'm a "small game dev shop" so I have a bias for this type of thing, I don't mind admitting...

In Minneapolis, MN on April 14th-15th, the Indie MMO Game Dev Conference (IMGDC) will provide a forum for the vast reaches of independent MMOG developers out in the world to gather and learn/teach each other. There are a lot of these folks, mind you, in case you're not one of them, or if you're not paying attention to the number of games blogged about everywhere.

If you're interested in making (or are currently making) an Indie MassMOG, go check out this conference and consider attending. There are some great speakers planned and it looks to be a great start to what might end up being an excellent yearly event. Make sure to spread the word, since things like this need exposure, IMO. (Even late exposure... *ahem*)

Well, my interest in Virtools has just been ratcheted up, oh... 500%! Check this out...

Virtools will present in exclusivity its new Wii™ Solution for faster and easier developments on Nintendo’s console at the Game Developer Conference, March 5–9 2007, San Francisco, California, USA. Specific components of Virtools 4 solution, the Wii Remote™ building block and Wii Remote client, allow the use of the Wii controllers directly on PCs, and authorized Wii game developers are now able to see results in hours and precisely tune their game. Come and discover it on our booth 454 West Hall.

Hah! That's pretty sweet, methinks. (They're a French company, so don't fault them much for the wonky English in spots, eh?) Get the full press release here if you want.

I'll definitely be checking out their booth at GDC and I'll report back. I came very close to turning myself into a Virtools developer for a while, but the costs are pretty steep. Especially if you develop for a console, so I'll be VERY interested to learn about licensing costs for a Nintendo part versus what Xbox numbers were (nearly astronomical, IMO.) I'll definitely be talking about this more later.

[I'm going to be lazy and just post a copy of this article from my other site.  You're lucky you're getting a post at all!...]

The Austin Game Developers Conference has been officially announced to take place September 5-7, 2007.  Many of you may notice the addition of the "Developers" word in that title as compared to previous years... well it's now the Austin version of the bigger Game Developers Conference -- coming up March 5-9 incidentally -- owned by the former's new aquirer, CMP.  Sound confusing?  It did to me too as I was typing it... I'm not going to try to rewrite it.  Sorry. My point is, CMP bought up the Game Initiative, who previously ran the Austin Game Conference.  Now the Austin conference may really be more of a "little GDC" like many of us referred to it from the start.

Bah.. I'm not helping anything by trying to be more clear.  More coffee please, Miss!

So, the Austin GDC (as they're acronymifying it) will focus on three tracks:  online games, audio for games and writing for games.  That particular combination makes sense when you realize the old Game Initiative conference palette included a conference for game writers as well as the online game-centric AGC of old.

Seriously... I'm thinking my writing is sucking just about now.  I'll put a nail in this story and let you go browser over there yourself for more info. 

I'm just dropping a post to say "hello" and thank you folks for stopping by.  I know it's been really slow around here.  I'm sorry to leave you hanging, but I've been incredibly busy with other work for a while.  I just wrapped up a couple big projects, but now I'm taking a break for the holidays.

 So... Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Yippity Skippity Doo... whatever you're doing this time of year, just have a great time and I'll see you soon.  Happy New Year!!

Oh yeah... the "snow" thing eludes to the fact that there are 4-foot snow drifts outside my front door!!  Wheeee!  It snowed around 2 feet last night & yesterday here in Denver, Colorado (USA) and I freakin' love it.  I grew up in the mountains West of here and when I was a kid, there were a lot more of these big storms than we've been having recently.  

Anyway, it's a white Christmas for me.  :) 

Yeah, I'm freakin' swamped with work that pays. I'm happy you stopped by and I want to keep you coming back. Soon, I'll be done with these few good-paying jobs and I look forward to taking some time to do my own stuff. It's these jobs (doing "serious games", in case you're curious) that are helping me have the resources to do my own ("foolish games") projects later.

Unfortunately, as is the nature of many serious game projects, I can't talk about what I'm doing right now. Later, the veil ought to lift and I should be able to discuss the stuff. For now, I get to pretend I'm all important and stuff by saying "sorry, I can't talk about my work." Sounds stuffy, I know. It's not that amazing, it's just all legal-y and stuff.

Thanks for dropping in. I look forward to journalling my next projects to start filling out this site. Also, there are the same features I've been talking about in the past.

I should have pointed this out before, but here's an extension of the info about the TiEcon 2006 coming up Friday.  Thanks Gary , for reminding me.:

TiEcon 2006 Technology Conference

Jump-starting the Video Gaming and Business Simulations Industry in Colorado

1/2 day Session Starting at 1:30 p.m.
Special Pricing --only $75.00!

By popular request, TiE-Rockies has set-up a special 1/2 day admission price
Only $75 gets you in from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
and includes the following:

• Keynote Speech: The Critical Ingredients—How Other Communities Learned to Play in the Gaming Industry Space
• Break-out Session : Is a Gaming Degree a Ticket to a Bright Future or An Excuse to Play Games?
• Break-out Session:  Business Simulations—Colorado's Niche?
• Additional Break-out sessions: in  wireless  and  homeland security
• Mentor-fest: 5:30-7:00 pm. Up-close and personal Q&A session with gaming and other business leaders.
• Demo-extravaganza: Presentations by local businesses and schools in the gaming industry.
• Networking: Meet local and national gaming experts and employers
• Break: With refreshments served
• Reception: 5:30 p.m. reception with appetizers and cash bar

For More Information Please Visit www.tie-rockies.org/tiecon
and click on the "Register" button. To get the special $75 1/2 day rate,
when asked, enter promo code: game

This friday, I'll be attending the TiEcon 2006 conference in Denver, CO. Now, I live in Denver, so this isn't much of a stretch to travel downtown. If you're in the area, you really ought to consider going.

"Learn how Colorado innovators are targeting the worldwide Video Gaming and Business Simulations, Homeland Security and Wireless technology markets. See the Future - Be Prepared!"

This is how the conference site starts out and I'm very interested to see what it's like. There are several of my friends speaking at the conference, which adds a little bit of cool for me.

The game development community in Denver area (& Colorado) is growing yearly and I look forward to reporting on what goes on at this event.  If you're a local student or aspiring game company employee (or someone wanting to work in Denver), many of the local studios will reportedly be accepting resumes at the event.  There is also a special student "half day" pass at a large discounted rate.  Good Stuff.  

I've been in a long-running quest to get more organized in my development process. I'm not the greatest at juggling everything I have to do for my projects, but since I've historically done so much of the work by myself, the problem has been solely my own issue. Lately (the past few years), I've taken on others who like me, need direction and prodding to figure out what to do next for project completion.

I've never really fancied myself a "Producer" for games, but I really need to work on those mad skilz since I've basically filled that role on projects for many years. (I'll have to remember not to point anyone to this post if I am applying to a Producer gig in the future... this could kill the deal real quick-like, eh?) Well, I just wanted to quickly point you folks towards some online project manager tools I've been checking out. There's some great stuff out there that I thought you might want to know about.

[hit the "read more" link to get the rest of the story...]

Since I bothered you fine folks earlier about WOXY going offline, I am happily bugging you again to say they're coming back!!  Wheee!

WOXY.com is resuming their fantastic radio stream tomorrow morning... 10:10am(EDT) on 10/10/2006.

I'm really freakin' stoked.  Yeah, I said "freakin'" and "stoked" in the same sentence.  I'm just that happy.