NYC Chapter

The membership database has finally been uploaded! Click the link below to download it and if you have any corrections/additions please email them to mitch.gross -at- thq.com

Download file

Want to be the first on your block to hear about all IGDA NYC events and activities? Join our mailing list!

http://nycgames.org/mailman/listinfo/igda-nyc-announce

The NYC Chapter of the International Game Developers Association, Parsons the New School for Design, and Columbia University's LearnPlay present a
roundtable discussion:

What Can (and Can't) Games Do?: The Potentials and Limits of Using Games for Learning

Speakers:
Louisa Campbell, writer, media producer, and adjunct professor, Parsons, The New School for Design
Nick Fortugno, Co-founder and President of Rebel Monkey
Ken Perlin, Professor, Media Research Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, N.Y.U.
Ann Thai, Assistant Manager, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Frank Lantz, Co-founder and Creative Director, area/code

Date: Thursday, October 11
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Address (note that this is a brand new venue!):
Parsons/The New School
Room A404
66 West 12th St
New York, New York
http://www.google.com/maps?q=66+W+12th+St,+New+York,+NY+10011,+USA&sa=X&oi=m
ap&ct=title

Please be sure to RSVP for this event, as there is a strict fire
code, and this event is almost full. If you don't RSVP, we can't promise you will get in.

RSVP Page: http://www.largeanimal.com/ igda/games-for-learning/

We look forward to seeing you there!

P.S. If you end up on the wait list, consider volunteering for the event. Volunteers will be guaranteed admittance. Please email kschrier@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering.

Last month's Demo Night was not only well attended, but has subsequently been well covered by a number of game industry publications.

Matt Hawkins on Gamasutra.com

Drew Sikora on GameDev.net (featuring links to the YouTube video posted by Heavy Melody.

Please drop me a line if you've seen additional Demo Night coverage elsewhere.

Cheers!

Dave Gilbert and the rest of the IGDA NYC Social Committee have organized another bar gathering. It's TONIGHT, Tuesday, September 11th. Hope to see you all there!

Date: Tuesday, Sept 11
Time: 7pm
Where: No Idea Bar, 20th street between B'way and Park

For those not in-the-know, these social meetups are informal get-togethers where you can meet fellow game developers in New York.

Demo Night VI is coming up on August 21st. The event RSVP form will go up shortly. To stay current on this and all other IGDA NYC events, please make sure you're on our mailing list. Here is the sign-up page: http://nycgames.org/mailman/listinfo/igda-nyc-announce

Also, for the Facebookers among you, I've created an IGDA NYC Facebook group. Here is the info page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2680745869

Cheers!

Wade

Chris Peterson from Heavy Melody Music just emailed me to let me know that they've just posted the videos from our last panel. Check them out on YouTube

I’ve got two announcements to make: one event (tomorrow) and one call to democratic action (today). I’ll start with democracy.

The deadline for the 2007 IGDA Board of Directors Election is TODAY (Monday, April 30th). To reach a quorum we still need over 800 votes, so it is critical that you vote.

This link will take you to the login for the secure voting ballot:
https://www.igda.org/login.php?pid=election

Make your voice heard by selecting leaders to govern the IGDA for the next three years. IGDA voting is done on an "approval" basis. Vote for as MANY, as FEW, ALL or NONE of the candidates as you like. The four candidates with the most overall votes will be elected to the board.

The following nine candidates are running for the Board. Please take a moment to review their statements of candidacy, via the below link, before voting:

- Bob Bates, Independent Game Developer
- Chris Charla, Director of Business Development, Foundation 9 Entertainment
- Dustin Clingman, President, Zeitgeist Games, Inc.
- Jen MacLean - VP and GM, Games, Comcast Interactive Media
- Jay Moore - Head of Special Ops, The Strategery Group
- Eric Nofsinger - Chief Creative Officer / Studio Director, High Voltage Software
- Brian Robbins - Executive Producer / Gaming Evangelist, Fuel Industries,
Inc.
- Coray Seifert - Associate Producer, THQ Inc. | Kaos Studios
- Gustaf Stechmann - Creative Director, Bigpoint.com

http://www.igda.org/board/elections.php

Note that IGDA NYC chapter member Brian Robbins is up for election, as is fellow tri-stater Coray Seifert, from IGDA New Jersey. You can vote to support multiple candidates, so at the very least, show these two gents some love. Just think, this may be a unique opportunity for New York to act as a swing state!

Next up, a gaming related event that’s happening TOMORROW, Tuesday, May 1st:

Join us for the The CUNY Institute for Software Design and Development (CISDD) forum on Gaming in New York City! The event will be at the City University Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, in the Science Center (room 4102) on Tuesday, May 1 from 3pm-6pm. You will need ID to get into the building, so please arrive accordingly.

Using an NSF grant, CISDD is looking to open new avenues of communication with the growing gaming industry, including identifying research opportunities for our faculty and venues for our Computer Science graduates. This is a great opportunity to see what various types of gaming companies do and what's new.

According to the Entertainment Software Association, computer and video game software sales in the U.S. grew 6 percent in 2006. At $7.4 billion, that’s almost triple what they were in 1996. Given the size of the industry, it’s obvious that games are becoming increasingly pervasive across all segments of society, cutting across the lines of age and gender. And this pervasiveness is only likely to spread given continued advances in technology and the increasing sophistication of the home computer, the significance of which cannot be underestimated.

Join us and be part of the conversation of how to help the local gaming industry expand and how New York City can capture an overall greater portion of the economic pie the gaming industry offers.

Questions, email vdawson@gc.cuny.edu or call (212) 652-2865! Space is limited!

Guest Companies include:
www.gamelab.com" \o "blocked::www.gamelab.com
gameLab (www.gamelab.com) is a game development company that specializes in singleplayer and multiplayer online games, designing for a variety platforms on and off the computer. Their specialty is inventing new ways for people to play, integrating hip graphics, sound and content into approachable and addictive gameplay.

Kaos Studios (www.kaosstudios.com) combines epic, story-driven campaigns with innovative multiplayer gameplay to create the most compelling next-gen games on the market. Its roots stem from independent modders to the pinnacle of AAA game development, with a strong commitment to gameplay community feedback and the highest possible levels of quality in order to create great games.

Kuma Games (www.kumagames.com) is the industry leader in the new market for Episodic Video Games -- rich, 3D, immersive game experiences delivered to PCs and consoles in weekly episodes. Typically distributed as free, advertising-sponsored video game “shows”, Kuma has created the game industry’s answer to broadcast TV-style entertainment. These episodic games are a thoroughly unique user experience and present distinct marketing advantages for content owners, distributors and advertisers.

Large Animal (www.largeanimal.com) develops web-based promotional games, mobile games, and downloadable (PC and Mac) games. Large Animal’s AlphaQUEUE was a finalist in the 2004 Independent Games Festival (IGF), and RocketBowl was a 2005 IGF winner. Recent titles include Jackpot Match-Up, LEGO Bricktopia, and Snapshot Adventures: Secret of Bird Island.

Long Tail Studios (www.longtailstudios.com) is an innovative developer of games and entertainment for mobile phones. Long Tail is committed to developing character driven games and content. Through publishing partnerships with Gameloft and Advanced Mobile Applications, Longtail's products are available on leading wireless carriers worldwide.

Powerhead Games (www.powerheadgames.com) is an independent video game developer with lifetime sales of over one million games worldwide. Powerhead games is a licensed developer for Nintendo Gamecube, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS and XBOX 360.

IGDA NYC chapter member Mitch Gross has graciously volunteered to help create a database of game companies in the NYC area. Initially, Mitch and I had all sorts of ideas about letting people update their own listings directly on the website, but in order to get this going quickly and easily, we are taking a more manual approach.

So, in order to have your company listed in our directory, please download the following spreadsheet template, fill in your info, and send it to Mitch. He is mitchgross -at- gmail.com

Download file

Cheers!

Here's the copy of an announcements email that just went out to our mailing list.

*Save the Date: Next IGDA NYC Chapter Meeting
The next IGDA NYC chapter meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 25th, from 6:30 - 9:30. Watch this list for details.

*Upcoming IGDA NYC Social/Networking Event
There is an IGDA NYC social/networking event at the "No Idea" bar on Tuesday, March 27th at 7:00PM. No Idea is located at 30 East 20th St. between Park and Broadway.

*Demo Night V Coverage
For those who missed it, and those who just want to relive the glory, there is a thorough write-up of the last Demo Night written by Drew Sikora at http://www.gamedev.net/columns/events/demonight5/ The coverage features
embedded video from the Heavy Melody crew, who have also been updating this
completely awesome IGDA NYC YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/IGDANY

Oh, and for those who may have been wondering, IGDA NYC is currently the ONLY IGDA chapter in the world with its own YouTube channel. Booyaa.

*New IGDA NYC Discussion List
In addition to this low-volume announcement list, we now also have a mailing list for more general discussion (about game development in NYC, of course).

Join here: http://nycgames.org/mailman/listinfo/igda-nyc-discuss

*Women in Games International: Mixer
Thursday, April 5th 6:30 -10:00. For complete details about this event, and to RSVP, please visit: http://www.largeanimal.com/wigi/

*Putting NYC Game Developers on the Map
One of my goals as the coordinator for the New York City IGDA chapter is to raise NYC's prominence on the game development landscape. On that note, here are some places where NYC game developers can, quite literally, put themselves on the map.

http://www.gameindustrymap.com/
http://www.gamedevmap.com

Do you have other ideas for strengthening the game industry in the NYC area? Drop me a line.

*Intel PC Game Demo Contest
Intel is sponsoring a six-month contest to find great PC game demos that show off the power of multi-core processors and the convenience of laptop form factors. Significant cash, hardware, and software prizes are up for grabs, and all entrants receive limited duration licenses for Intel Software Development Tools. Also, the top five winners in each category receive one-year IGDA memberships.

The contest is open to individuals and companies worldwide. It was announced at GDC and will run until August 15. Full details are online:
http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/gamecontest/default.aspx?cid=sw:newseid715

*IGDA NYC Needs Volunteers!
Would you be willing to contribute a few hours a month to helping build the game development community in New York City? We need folks to help us;
-build a directory of all game companies in the city
-add new content to the chapter website
-plan and organize events
-make the press aware of our activities
-come up with other good ideas for building the NYC game industry

If you're interested in helping out, drop me a line!

That's all for now. Let me know if I missed anything.

Cheers!

Wade

Wade Tinney
Chapter Coordinator, IGDA NYC - http://www.nycgames.org
Founding Partner, Large Animal Games - http://www.largeanimal.com