New stuff coming soon

I recorded both Ken Perlin and John Buchanan's talks at FuturePlay 2008. Instead of releasing the raw audio of these I will be turning them into two episodes of thunderbird six in the next few weeks. I of course will put them on the feed here.

Thanks to everyone at FP, it was great meeting everyone, and the talks were great. Plus, I got a bunch of new facebook and twitter followers...

Hard Rock Cafe Tonight

I have been asked to blog this by the powers that be, which sounds ominous doesn't it?

Some folks are heading over to the Hard Rock Cafe around 6 pm for dinner and beverages...

Jackie Copland's Keynote: Living The Dream

Jackie is from Electronic Arts and she is a member of the Global University Relations Team for EA.

Her talk focussed on life in the industry (specifically at EA). Her presentation included videos of EA emplyees talking about working at EA and what they expected and did not expect. My take on her talk, if you want to work in this industry be sure to know how to work with REALLY big code bases (like oh millions of lines of code) and learn to play with others. Indeed most of EA's projects involve huge teams. If you are designing a computer science curriculum that is intended to stream people towards the industry you might want to take this into account.

Enjoy Jackie's talk.

Ben Sawyer's Keynote: Are We Learning Yet?

Ben Sawyer kicked off FuturePlay 2008 with his keynote about the serious games space and he asked the question "Are we learning yet?"

My impressions from his talk are that content and context are king, you can't teach oceanography with an FPS, and you can't use the America's Army model for every problem. (I am VASTLY oversimplifying the message here...) His talk was great, so I hope you enjoy it.

Ben's talk.

Tag Your Media, Tag Your Tweets

Those of you at the conference, be sure to tag any blog posts, pics etc with "FuturePlay2008".

Oh and tag your twitter posts with #futureplay.

Just announced - One Day Registration Option

Wow, just got this, the organizers have announced a special one day registration rate, so if you can only make it for one day, this might be the ticket for you. Seems like a good idea if you can only make it for a single day.

New this year, the first-ever three-day Project Management Course for Game Development, led by Heather Chandler

This workshop session is ideal for anyone who leads a game development team of any size. Those new to the leadership role will leave with new tools to help them keep projects on track, motivate team members, and conduct risk analysis. More experienced producers will also benefit from learning the production techniques and methods discussed.Registration includes your copy of the Game Production Handbook, 2008 Edition.

Learn ways to keep projects on track, by using cross-functional teams, prototyping game features, and conducting a risk analysis. Develop new skills to build and motivate your team, and learn new strategies for improving developer and publisher relationships including how to define milestones and accommodate scope changes.

The game development course is 16 hours in duration. The course is worth 1.6 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits. Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion and documentation of the amount of CEU's earned.

Jackie Copland of Electronic Arts to Deliver Keynote at FuturePlay 2008

Jackie Copland is a member of the Global University Relations Team of Electronic Arts (EA), the world’s largest interactive entertainment software company (perhaps you have heard of them...). Jackie’s physical office is based at EA’s development studio in Burnaby, BC – but she works with all five of EA’s studios in Canada, and many post secondary institutions across the country. University Relations at EA is a centralized team that manages relationships with faculty, professors, staff, and students at colleges and universities worldwide.

Prior to joining EA in 2006, Jackie worked for with Co-op students and employers for five years in the Engineering Co-op Program at the University of British Columbia, building partnerships between academia and industry, and helping students to transition from school to work. She also has a scientific background, with 6 years in the mining industry as a research project manager working with new refining technologies. She holds a B.Sc. from McGill University, and an MBA from Queen’s University.

The idea of a University outreach program from a game company is something that newcomers to the gaming space may not be aware of. Of course at FuturePlay the idea of the interaction of the gaming industry and the academy is really a central theme. Companies like EA and Microsoft (to name just two) work closely with academics on research projects. I wonder if she can get me a copy of Madden 09 for free... Oh, did I say that out loud? Anyway, I really look forward to her talk. EA have been supporters of FuturePlay for quite a while now and I cannot wait to meet Jackie.

Woo Hoo! FuturePlay 2008 Conference Program Announced

I just got an email announcing the FuturePlay 2008 Program. The keynotes look great (and I will be profiling more keynoters throughout the next couple of weeks) and I am pretty interested in the poster session. Some guy there will be presenting research that shows no relationship between trashtalk, violence in games and aggression... (ok that may be a little self serving, but, hey, it is my blog....).

It turns out that the hotel have extended the rate deal of 129 a night until the 14th, which is good news if you have not booked your room yet.

See you there!

Conference Rate at the Toronto Delta Chelsea Downtown Extended Until October 10

Booking period extended! Toronto's Delta Chelsea Hotel is offering rooms at the guaranteed conference rate, starting at $129 until October 10. Don't miss this great offer. Visit www.futureplay.org now and follow the links to the Delta Chelsea booking page to make your reservation.

John Hopson's 2007 Keynote

John Hopson is a pretty cool guy. He has a PhD in experimental psychology, whcih in my books already makes him cool. Then it turns out, his PhD work was done in a lab where they study animal cognition. OK, that is even cooler, as well, the cool kids take animal cognition. Then we got to talking and realized we had read each others' stuff. I know that has nothing to do with game design, but it is, to me, an indication of the serendipitous connections you can make at FuturePlay.

Anyway most of you will know John from his work on a little text called "Behavioral Game Design" which applies the psychological literature to game design. See I knew I liked this guy...

John gave a keynote at FuturePlay 2007 which I recorded with my little iRiver (this year I will use a Zoom H2 which is MUCH better). So some of the audio is a bit shall we say messy. You will also notice someone (who I will not name...) picking up my recorder and looking at it and you will hear me say "That's my recorder" when she asks what she is holding....

John basically described his work at Microsoft, working with various studios to make better games. Tell me that isn't a cool job.

This talk should give you an idea of the quality of speaker at the conference.

I hope you enjoy John's keynote from the 2007 FuturePlay conference.

This Week It Is An Oscar Winner: Ken Perlin To Speak at FuturePlay 2008

In last week's Keynote Speaker Profile (I have made a command decision to capitalize that...) I talked about Don Daglow, well, this week I thought I would mention another luminary coming to FuturePlay 2008. Ken Perlin.

Ken Perlin is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at New York University.He is the founding director of the Media Research Laboratory and also directed the NYU Center for Advanced Technology. Ken's research interests include graphics, animation, user interfaces, science education and multimedia. OK, now this is pretty cool, he received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (that is an Oscar for those of you scoring at home...) for his noise and turbulence procedural texturing techniques, which are widely used in feature films and television, as well as the TrapCode award for achievement in computer graphics research, the New York City Mayor's award for excellence in Science and Technology and the Sokol award for outstanding Science faculty at NYU, and a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation.

He spoke at FuturePlay 2006 where he showed some software that models emotions and then maps them on to faces. This technology has been used to help teach autistic kids how to read emotion. (Take that Jack Thompson).

Oh yeah, he has also been a featured artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

I can tell you as well that he is a great speaker, and frankly he is funny as hell too. You do not want to miss ths

Don Daglow to Speak at FuturePlay 2008 (and I am psyched...)

In my second profile of a conference speaker at FuturePlay 2008 I am going to shine the spotlight on Don Daglow.

Man, where to begin.... Don has been designing games since 1971. Yes, that is not a typo, 1971. He designed the first graphical MMORPG (Neverwinter Nights), he designed the first computer baseball game, he designed what is, to me, the best baseball game ever (Earl Weaver Baseball). What about Utopia for the Intellivision? Yeah, that was him too. This was the first sim game, or god game if you will.

He is also the founder of a little outfit called Stormfront Studios.

Awards? Oh he has awards.. How about an Emmy and an award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (oh he is the only guy to have those two).

I could go on, and on... but I want to mention personally how huge this is for a gamer like myself. I have played four entire Major League baseball seasons (playing every single game myself) using Earl Weaver Baseball. I got interested in baseball stats and the history of the game through the statistical modeling used in Earl Weaver Baseball. I found out about Cool Papa Bell, and Amos "the Hoosier Thunderball" Rusie and Josh Gibson and Honus Wagner because of a great video game. When I was younger I had a copy of Utopia for the Intellivision. While playing that game with my buddy Brent in high school I learned that the military is not the only way to gain power and be prosperous (like it was in most games, and often still is). Running an economy and keeping people happy was NOT just about getting more land in this game. It was about providing service. Oh, I learned that in a video game, imagine that. Adventure Construction Set taught me directly about design. It introduced me to the idea of modding, and to the idea of story in a game. ACS came out in the mid 80s, who was modding in the mid 80s? Well, those of use with ACS were, and we have Don Daglow to thank.

I can't wait for his keynote. I might bring my old Earl Weaver disks and get him to autograph them...

If you have not registered yet, you should, the price is about to go up...

Future Play is the international conference on the future of game design and technology. It is the place to discover new directions in computer game technologies and explore groundbreaking visions for the future of game development. Don't miss out.

Register today to take advantage of the current early bird price. Registration fees will increase September 26th.

The same thing is about to happen to the room rate at the Delta Chelsea in Downtown Toronto. Currently conference attendees get a room for 129 (CAD) a night. This is frankly a killer price, but the rate won't last forever, indeed, in about four weeks time it is gone. So sign up to come to the conference today, and book your room too.

Katie Salen to give FuturePlay 2008 Keynote

The keynotes at FuturePlay are always great, and I will be profiling each speaker, a different on each week. Man I just used 'week' twice in the same sentence...

Katie Salen will speak at FuturePlay 2008 at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto in November. Katie is a writer, editor, and eesigner. She has worked on a range of projects for clients including Microsoft, SIGGRAPH, the Hewlett Foundation, XMediaLab, the Design Institute, gameLab, and mememe Productions. Katie is of course the co-author of Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals and The Game Design Reader. She is a member of Playground which recently worked with areacode to invent a new genre of games. Currently she is working on two projects funded through the MacArthur Foundation focused on digital media, games, and learning, and is producing two new media works for the ZeroOne Festival. A contributing writer for RES magazine, she has worked as an animator on Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed animated feature Waking Life. She partnered with screenwriter and director Hampton Fancher to develop an animated storytelling experience distributed through Xbox Live. Finally, she has curated programs at the Lincoln Center, Cinematexas, ZKM, Exploding Cinema, and the Walker Art Center on machinima. Not a bad start eh...

FuturePlay 2008, Book Your Room Early

Future Play 2008 will be held at Toronto's Delta Chelsea Hotel. Reserve your hotel room at the special conference rate today. It is quite the savings vs. the regular rate BTW (rates start at 129 a night)....

Project Management Course For Game Developers at FuturePlay 2008

This is a new expanded version of the popular course taught by Heather Chandler. Last year's reviews of this course were very positive, and this is your chance to take advantage of Heather's experience and expertise.

Please register online as space is limited and walk-in registrations may not be accepted.

This is a three-day workshop. Participants must attend all sessions to receive the completion certificate. Participants will be included in Future Play 2008 keynote presentations, meals and breaks, so you will be able to network in between learning sessions.
Looking for ways to demonstrate your commitment to professional development and education?

The CEU is a nationally recognized uniform unit of measurement in the United States. It is designed to permanently record an individual's non-credit continuing education accomplishments in increments of one CEU per 10 contact hours of instruction. All participants who complete the class will receive a certificate of completion that documents the CEUs earned by taking the course.

T6 Episode 57 - An Interview with Diane Devenyi

Yeah I know, I said that I had interviewed her a few posts back, well, here is the interview. This is a really cool project and I really hope there are some people out there that will share their game stories with Diane.

Music by Battery Life and Jet Pin Army.

Listen and Enjoy