Some Thoughts on FuturePlays Past and Present

I have been digging up some quotes from people about FuturePlay and I thought I would post them here... (Yes, I know that is a lame introduction...)

Chris Swain:
“Future Play @ GDC mixes cutting edge thinking from the world of research and academia with the frontlines of creativity from industry and the indie-scene. A powerful concoction indeed.”

John Nicol:
“Future Play is a very important forum for Acron to in which to participate and help shape the future of the industry. Future Play is more than just about the game and game-play, it is about the underlying technology, how we use it to learn, to visualize and apply these developments and research activities to advance the state-of-the-art and apply it to other industry and learning metaphors. We are excited to be part of Future Play 2009.”

Jim Parker:
"I have a high regard for the role of Future Play in the game research and development vista in Canada. I was an early participant in Futureplay, since 2004 in fact, when it was still named the Game Technology Conference, and have been enthusiastic ever since. It has been the home of many innovations, such as the game contest in 2007 and in acting as host for the Canadian Game Studies Association in its early stages. What I think is important is that it is a broadly based conference, having participation from academics and industry, game studies and technology. There is nothing else like it in Canada, and I am excited to see it connect with GDC Canada this year."

Gardner Condon:
“Future Play is one of those rare opportunities where a diverse group of thought leaders are brought together to focus on the games industry. “

Eric Gagnon:
"Serious games are a rapidly changing industry. Future Play gives professionals an opportunity to get up to speed on all aspects of the industry, meet partners, and find new opportunities. I would not want to miss it for the world."

Duane Dunfield:
"Future Play has proven itself to be a great showcase of the quality of research, ideas and people that exist in Canada. I feel it is a valuable place to network with academic institutions and researchers around innovative game concepts, philosophy, and methodology -- especially pertaining to games for learning"

These all seem much better than my quote used a couple of years back "I met a lot of really smart people" (though that is also true. Hope to see you in Vancouver in May!

Ben Sawyer to Speak at FuturePlay 2009

Ben Sawyer, the co-founder of Digitalmill and the Serious Games Initiative, will be one of the keynote presenters at the Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada, this May 12th and 13th in Vancouver, British Columbia. Registration for Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada is now open.

Sawyer has long been a leading advocate for the applications of serious games, serving as the volunteer producer of the first Serious Games Summit that took place at GDC in 2004. He is currently the co-director of the Serious Games Initiative located at the Woodrow Wilson Institute for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. The chief aim of the initiative is to foster a new series of policy education, exploration and management tools by utilizing state-of-the-art computer game designs, technologies and development skills.

A prolific writer, Sawyer has authored more than ten computer trade books and a multitude of articles covering a wide swath of technology issues. He is a former contributor to Game Developer Magazine and its online counter-part Gamasutra. His expertise has made him a sought-after speaker and his observations have been important in formulating a better understanding of how the gaming industry's value chain functions.

Digitalmill, based out of Portland, Maine, is a technology project and software development company that was co-founded by Sawyer and Dave Greely in 1997. The firm is known for its strong focus on how new technologies, especially games, create new opportunities for businesses and organizations. Notable clients have included Lockheed Martin, Cisco Systems and the American Hospital Association. In his capacity as President of Digitalmill, Sawyer is responsible for strategy, business development and technology.

Sawyer last spoke at Future Play 2008 on the topic of serious games, building his presentation around the question, "Are We Learning Yet?" Sawyer has also been a member of Future Play's advisory committee for several years.

Abstract Submission Deadline Extended

The deadline to submit your extended abstract or panel/seminar for Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada is now Feb 20. If you did not RSVP but still wish to submit, follow the guidelines on futureplay.org.

Submissions will be accepted until Feb 20 for extended abstracts for oral or poster presentation, seminars, panels and workshops relevant to the conference themes.

Deadline For Submissions is Fast Approaching.

The deadline to submit your extended abstract or panel/seminar for Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada is Feb 10. If you did not RSVP but still wish to submit, follow the guidelines on futureplay.org.

Submissions will be accepted until Feb 10 for extended abstracts for oral or poster presentation, seminars, panels and workshops relevant to the conference themes.

Future Play is an annual conference hosted by Algoma University of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with support from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, located in Oshawa, Ontario. The conference focuses on three major themes: future game developments, future game impacts and applications and future game talent.

Future Play is teaming up with the Game Developers Conference Canada (R) (GDC Canada) and will be held on May 12-13th 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Registration is now open.

GDC Canada is a conference for Canadian game developers to share best practices for fostering ingenuity and quality games. The conference emphasizes studying the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating games with long-production cycles, large development teams and across multiple platforms.

Future Play 2009 at GDC Canada will provide the opportunity for leading intellectuals and industry researchers to present their findings before an audience that includes: students, game developers, government representatives, investors and academics.

We're Baack, and This Time We Brought GDC Canada WIth Us..

After five years in Michigan and Southern Ontario, Future Play, the international conference on gaming and design, is heeding the advice popularized by Horace Greeley to "go west!" Future Play is teaming up with the Game Developers Conference Canada (R) (GDC Canada) and will be held on May 12-13th 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Registration is now open.

"We're excited to be joining forces with GDC Canada," says Dr. Bill Kapralos of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and co-chair of the Future Play 2009 committee. "We feel that the new format we will be introducing will provide leaders from both the gaming industry and academia with a unique forum to discuss the future of games and gaming."

Future Play is an annual conference hosted by Algoma University of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with support from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, located in Oshawa, Ontario. The conference focuses on three major themes: future game developments, future game impacts and applications and future game talent.

GDC Canada is a conference for Canadian game developers to share best practices for fostering ingenuity and quality games. The conference emphasizes studying the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating games with long-production cycles, large development teams and across multiple platforms.

Future Play 2009 at GDC Canada will provide the opportunity for leading intellectuals and industry researchers to present their findings before an audience that includes: students, game developers, government representatives, investors and academics. Over the years the Future Play conference has also featured many renowned keynote speakers from the gaming field including: Don Daglow of Stormfront Studios, Academy Award winner and inventor of Perlin Noise Dr. Ken Perlin and John Lester, the creator of Second Life.

This year's conference speakers will include: Duane M. Dunfield, President of Red Hot Learning; Eric Gagnon, General Manager of Cinetek Studio; Jerry Heneghan, Founder and CEO of Virtual Heroes Incorporated; Lucie Lalumière, Vice-President Interactive with Earth Rangers; Kevin McNulty, founding partner of Coole Immersive Incorporated; Kal Shariff, CEO of Project Whitecard Incorporated; and Kenton White, co-founder and CTO of DISTIL. Researchers from a number of universities from across North America and around the world, will be presenting their work as well.

Online registration for Future Play 2009 at GDC Canada is available now on the revamped Future Play website at www.futureplay.org.

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...