Always nice to not have to travel to a conference… This year, the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA) hosted its annual conference in Montreal, at Concordia University. There was a nice set of diverse sessions, though mostly geared towards the humanities.
I gave a talk on evolving business models, and how digital distribution and the “minimum viable product” (MVP) approach to development is shifting risk. Apparently, I must have fooled a few folks into thinking I was actually smart, as several commended me on presenting a good “paper”. Of course, I mostly wing my talks and never write anything down - I don’t even use PowerPoint, let alone write a paper ;)
Sadly, I only got to attend the first day. Sadder still, there were no game developers in attendance (unless they all showed up on day2)… Considering how vibrant/big the Montreal dev community is, it still demonstrates the massive gap between industry and academia…
Bart Simon (Concordia University) on how gamers are central to understanding games as cultural artifacts.
One of my more popular lectures is on the need to fail in order to reach success. So many concepts and stories play into this, and I keep collecting new material to incorporate… I’ve made two recent additions.
First up, a book on fighting. The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game by Sam Sheridan is a fascinating look into the mental game of boxing, martial arts, wrestling, etc. For one, I find it personally interesting given my fighting background (eg, be sure to ask me about the time I got thrown through a window during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sparring while in Rio next time you see me). But, there was surprisingly a lot of mention of failure and defeat. That great fighters need to accept that failure is possible and/or that many great fighters first had to fail before they kicked themselves into high gear.
To cap off 4 weeks of back-to-back travel/events, I dropped by Toronto for the inaugural INplay conference. Hosted by Interactive Ontario, the focus of the event was children’s media across all platforms. Video games were part of the agenda, of course, but the speakers and attendees cut across many disparate segments of the media and entertainment universe.
The day1 closing keynote by the co-creators of Yo Gabba Gabba (a very popular kids show now in its third season), was particularly inspiring. Their story of struggle and putting everything on the line to pursue their vision paralleled many of the success stories of the game industry.
Also of note, every conference attendee got a little stuffy modeled after the event mascot. It was produced by Monster Factory. Easily the most innovative and thematically appropriate piece of conference swag/promo I’ve ever gotten.
Alexander Manu (InnoSpa International Partners) gives a very playful opening keynote on why play is an adult activity.
The mommies’ panel (well, plus one dad): Jen Maier (UrbanMoms.ca), Brad Moon (GeekDad), Cora Brady (Mom Central Canada) and moderator Erica Ehm (YummyMummyClub.ca).
Freelance kids’ tech developer Carla Engelbrecht Fisher explores the impact of child psychology on game design.
The teaser Yo Gabba Gabba viral clip that “started it all”…
Every table was covered with paper and had crayons. Some used it to take impromptu notes. Others used it for more inspired doodling.
Right off the heels of FMX, I popped over to Seattle to attend the 2010 edition of LOGIN. Focused squarely on online/web games. In fact, similar to FMX, the LOGIN folks worked really hard to inject a sense of intimacy and connectedness. And while the sessions at the conference were mostly top-tier quality, the real value (for me anyway) were the long breaks and ample networking opportunities.
Lots of emphasis on monetization models and legal stuf, and of course tech and design issues. And magic! The closing keynote was a magic show instead of the usual lecture.
Some quick pics:
Opening legal session to really get folks fired up first thing in the morning: Sean Kane, Tom Buscaglia, Randy Price (Arenanet), Mona Ibrahim (Imua), Nick Mitchell.
Ori Inbar (ogmento) invokes Jane McGonigal to discuss the future of games and the role of augmented reality.
Louis Castle (Instant Action) delivers the first lunch keynote.
Peter Freese (LOGIN) and Nick Berry (Real Networks) enjoy wine on the terrace during the speakers’ reception.
Leighton Read (Seriosity) and Byron Reeves (Stanford University) discuss their book, Total Engagement, during the day2 lunch keynote.
Conference party at the Seattle Aquarium!
Jon Gagnon eying the squid.
Otters getting fed…
Corvus Elrod inspects the octopus.
Post aquarium caravan looking for the next watering whole.
Closing design panel on the question of hard vs. easy: Jay Minn (The Amazing Society), Isaiah Cartwright (Arenanet), David Edery (Fuzbi), Erin Hoffman (HumaNature Studios), Andrew Leker (Mind Control Software).
I came to FMX as a stranger and left feeling part of a family. How the organizers are able to create such a sense of community and intimacy at one of the premier European animation/vfx/games conferences (with 7000+ attendees, in Stuttgart, Germany, now in its fifteenth year) is beyond me. Though, I’m guessing, it’s partly to do with the food – there was a banquet every night, and a good portion of my time was spent stuffing my face with food and drink, and chatting with folks from all corners of the digital entertainment industries.
Of course, there was work and learning and all that good stuff. From the making of IronMan2 on the film side to the inspirations behind Alan Wake on the game side. Very much like the type of high-level content you’d see at SIGGRAPH (there was even a SIGGRAPH “selects” series of recent awesome SIGGRAPH papers curated by Paul Debevec) with a bit of Euro flair.
I had two sessions to present. One was a high level look at some of the positive trends in the game industry (e.g., broadening audiences and deeper user research, more production process rigor, shifting economics of risk with online business models, etc). The other was being part of a panel on fostering the game development community/business at a regional level (that whole cluster development stuff that I do), sponsored by the MFG.
Sadly, I was only in Stutgartt for 2.5 days, so didn’t have much of a chance to see the city. And, no time for the Porsche factory tour…
The “witchcraft” building (or, the Haus der Wirtschaft business building at the University of Stuttgart), where the bulk of FMX took place.
Heather Kelley (Kokoromi) explores the idea of “game spaces” to support the creative efforts of indie developers.
The AIAS had its famed Into the Pixel collection of game art on display.
At the pre-release screening of IronMan2 for speakers and VIPs.
Jean-Michele Blottiere (FMX) and Industrial Light & Magic president, Lynwen Brennan, welcome everyone to the movie, just ahead of a personal introduction from director Jon Favreau.
Joseph Oline (AIAS) welcomes speakers to the Wednesday night banquet.
Steffen P. Walz (sreee) and Saku Lehtinen (Remedy) chilling at the “rocker” party.
Christophe Brusseaux (Quantic Dream) discusses the art direction of Heavy Rain.
Ben Diamand (Sony Santa Monica) gets technical with God of War III lighting models.
Looking up into the rafters of the movie studio/set at the Filmakademie, just outside Stuttgart.
This dispenser was next to the thankfully obvious soap dispenser in the men’s bathroom. “Spitacid”?! No clue, man. And I wasn’t about to find out.
Saku Lehtinen (Remedy) goes in depth on the inspiration for Alan Wake, and covers the design and development process at length.
Volcano be damned! I flew right over the Atlantic, skirting past Iceland, to get in (and out) of Denmark/Sweden for the 2010 edition of the Nordic Game Conference. Though, the delegation from Iceland themselves had an uncharacteristically long 24-hour journey out of Reykjavik.
I started the visit by spending the initial day in Copenhagen, hanging out at the “game house”, where a dozen mid to small independent game studios share office space. There’s also a cozy sofa on the 2nd floor that I used for a quick nap to help thwart off the jetlag. Thanks Lars!
The first day of the event served as an interesting set of contrasts. During the day, I participated in the Exec 2.0 Summit, an informal gathering of studio execs from around the Nordic countries. The focus was on business matters, of course, but in a freeform discussion style format. Conversely, the evening was dedicated to the exploding Nordic indie scene. I gave the introductory mini-keynote, and opened with Mega64’s classic, “If You’re Not Indie, F**K You” to great applause.
The rest of the week was a mishmash of meetings, sessions, interviews, networking and all the usual good stuff. Nothing particularly groundbreaking or awe-inspiring to report on; just an all-around solid and valuable event, as usual.
On the last day, I headed back into Copenhagen for a developer meeting, and to scope out the “Robot” gamer oriented expo. And the final meal of the trip was an awesome home-cooked meal by Emma. Gotta love those Swedish meatballs! Now on to the pics:
The new opera house across the water in Copenhagen.
The “English” church and woman+bulls fountain at the entrance of the Kastelskirken park.
The fabled mermaid was visiting the Shanghai World Exp, but the doves were still in town.
Another big church.
Jacob Buck (Apex) enjoying a piece of his birthday cake and showing off his sprint charts at the Game House.
Tobias Sjogren (DDM) leading the discussion during the Exec 2.0 Summit.
Indie Night game reviews: boys from Frecle reviewing D-pad Studio’s Owlboy.
More indie review action: Boys from D-pad Studio reviewing Frecle’s Youropa.
Kristian Segerstrale (PlayFish) gives a business focused opening keynote.
The boys from Press Play win at the Nordic Game Awards for Max and the Magic Marker.
Yes, there is a game industry in Iceland!
Student showcase from nearby school, The Game Assembly.
The Robot main stage got rained out on Friday…
…but tournament action remained in full swing inside.
Emma Mellander (Nordic Game Program) slaving over the stove for her special house guests.
Tom Mattea, Wayne Kazan and Tommy Persson enjoying the wonderfully home cooked meal.
Reality Panic hosts the musings and ramblings of Jason Della Rocca. Posts focus on game industry issues and economics, and Jason's travels around the globe.
