Why Are We Here?

Hey look, first post...

Well, the purpose of this blog is to get information about FuturePlay 2007 out to the community. I promise lots of content on the blog, and the frequency of posting will ramp up as the conference approaches. I will also live blog from the conference.

Of course, there will be content from the thunderbird six podcast, including interviews with past conference attendees, and a couple of past paper presentations.

The Future Play Conference focuses on three main themes. The first theme, future game development, addresses academic research and emerging industry trends in the area of game technology and game design. The second theme, future game impacts and applications, includes academic research and emerging industry trends focused on designing games for learning, for gender, for serious purposes, and to impact society. Finally, the third theme, future game talent, is designed to provide a number of industry and academic perspectives on the knowledge, skills, and attitude it takes to excel in the games industry.

Future Play addresses these issues through exciting and thought-provoking keynotes from leaders in academia and industry, peer-reviewed paper sessions, panel sessions (including academic and industry discussions), workshops (including design, technology, and career workshops), and exhibitions of posters, games, and the latest game technologies and supports from industry-leading vendors. The highlight of the games exhibition is a peer-reviewed competition of games in three categories: Indie Games, Serious Games, and Student Games.

For Future Play 2007, Algoma University College teams up with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology to bring you some of the most thought provoking and talented people in the gaming world today.