MIGS Conference Overview
What the conference was about, who would benefit most from attending, ways to maximize the experience, etc.
Jonathan Blow (A2M): Design Reboot
Subtle assumptions underlie the modern game development process, and many of these assumptions are damaging. How do we get around them when they are woven into the fabric of our tradition, and have been consistently reinforced by the hundreds of games we've played throughout our lives? With a fresh mindset, we ask: What is a game? Why would we create one? How can a game be designed? Our goal is to gain a new perspective, leading to enhanced creativity and deeper, more-meaningful games.
James Gwertzman (Popcap): Not so casual anymore? An update on the latest trends and developments in casual gaming.
The casual game industry is changing faster than any other sector of the gaming space, as new players rush headlong into this exciting market and as existing companies innovate in an attempt to avoid being left behind. Attend this session to get an update on what's going on in the casual game market and to gain insights on how these innovations might spill over to other areas of gaming.
Randy Smith (EA): How to Help Your Players Stop Saving All the Time?
No game can be transcendently immersive when players compulsively think about saving and reloading: Is the upcoming risk too great? Did I make a mistake without realizing it? Should I accept the loss I just suffered? By contrast, in games without save/load players are bound to the experience and committed to the consequences of their actions... assuming the desire for save/load doesn't frustrate them into giving up entirely. This presentation explores the phenomenon of save/load compulsion by considering a broad range of examples, by leveraging the speaker's experience on the Thief series which suffered from the compulsion, and by referring to current projects that more deliberately manage the save/load experience. Save/load is examined in terms of player psychology: their desires for immersion and completeness, how they place value on game resources vs. their real-life resources such as time and emotional investment, and how they perform the loss/risk analysis which determines whether they will save/load. Design techniques are provided which use this understanding to minimize save/load compulsions.
Jim Sink (Microsoft): Getting your game on Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox LIVE Arcade continues to be the premiere platform for distributing and playing high quality, easy-to-pick-up-and-play games. This session covers what's new in creating and deploying on Xbox LIVE Arcade and developments heading into 2008. Get insight into changes in requirements, the process by which concept submissions are reviewed and titles selected, and what to expect out of the production process.
Dave Perry: How NOT to take a year off in the game business! or Taking John Riccitiello's Advice
David Perry is a 25-year video game industry veteran, Perry launched his professional career at just 15 years of age by writing video game programming books in his native Northern Ireland. Since then, Perry and/or Shiny has developed numerous games (including The Terminator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mc Donald's Global Gladiators, 7-Up's Cool Spot, Disney's Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, MDK, Sacrifice, etc.). His last console titles based on the Matrix franchise sold over $300M at retail. After selling Shiny to Atari, Perry is developing a new company called GameInvestors.com (to help developers find funding for their games), and GameConsultants.com (to help corporations get the video game support they need.) Perry sits on the Advisory Boards of the Game Developers Conference, the Hollywood and Games Conference, the Gamers Expo & Westwood College. He's a regular speaker at key industry events and is probably the tallest person in the industry?
Danny Ledonne: Playing Columbine: A Retrospective Discussion
Made on a shoestring budget with entry-level middleware, "Super Columbine Massacre RPG!" has easily provoked more debate and discussion than one could imagine a 16-bit role-playing game ever would. Having been downloaded over half a million times and appearing in every major form of press nationally as well as major publications internationally, there's no doubt that SCMRPG has drawn attention to the medium of videogames. But what kind of attention has it been? While some have hailed the game as a step toward videogames with social critique, others have mistaken the game for a product of the mainstream game industry or even blamed the game for the shooting at Dawson College in September of 2006. Clearly the game has polarized audiences worldwide - giving way to ardent defenders as well as staunch critics.
Creator Danny Ledonne will reflect upon his goals for the project, game design choices, and the waves of aftermath once the game became a cultural talking point over a year after it's initial release. He will also talk about his work on the forthcoming documentary "Playing Columbine" and the subject matter it covers. As a part of this discussion, Danny will outline why he believes videogames are a misunderstood medium in our culture at large - using SCMRPG as a case in point.
Don Daglow (Stormfront): Console Wars: Issues for Years 2 and 3 of of Next Gen
The complex factors involved in the "war" between three Next Gen consoles raises many tough issues. Which to support? What kinds of games to develop, and which to avoid? How do I prevent disaster if I take a wrong turn? Stormfront Studios founder Don Daglow has been through six of these console cycles, going back to his tenure as Director of Game Design at Intellivision 25 years ago. Don will validate and debunk console myths, and will identify trends history tells us emerge with new consoles as well as key factors that are different this cycle.
Eidos Montreal Studio Tour
A look at one of the most recently opened studios in the industry and their high-tech, team-focused office setup, as well as some Deus Ex 3 development information.
Parties: IGDA and Gama 256
At the IGDA party Danny Ledonne's unfinished film "Playing Columbine" was screened for the first time, and the Gama 256 event showcased several innovative games designed at 256x256 resolution with pick-up-and-play ability.
Coverage Previews
If you're reading this and don't want to wait until I'm done writing up the entire article to feature it on the main page before you can see it, fear not faithful reader! I'll be posting daily updates with new summaries as the week goes on.
Hey look it's me...
Yea that's the back of my head alright :P Click the picture to jump to the full event gallery from the MIGS conference photographers. I'm glad I checked it out so I could realize how much my photography skills still utterly suck.
MIGS 2008
Next year's conference is already scheduled to the events calendar, so mark your schedules if you think you may want to attend. And be sure to check out the rest of the events forthcoming in 2008. (and send me ones you don't see!)
