So where does someone now considered an industry “veteran” go when they fancy a break from “games”? It wasn’t that I’d stopped enjoying working on games, more that I had a sudden overwhelming urge to do something “worthy” with what I’d learned over the last 16 years. Not that relaxation and entertainment isn’t worthwhile, but surely there must be something else?
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Mythic isn’t bad, they’re just a victim of genre. Jen MacLean, Chairperson of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and VP of Business Development at 38 Studios, recently set the record straight about the Mythic Warhammer Online credits controversy. For those not in the know, Mythic was targeted for press attacks when news got out that people who worked on the Warhammer MMO prior to the studio shift and lost over 3-4 years of work wouldn’t get credit.
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For all of you independent game developers out there, it ain’t always easy finding funding, especially for avant garde or experimental games. That’s where GCube Ventures, an investment firm for interactive entertainment, steps in. Managing Director Shiraz Akmal, formerly from THQ, filled us in on the details of this unique form of financial support for a “gaming ecosystem” from content development to publishing to distribution.

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I get emails from 3D modelers, animators and other artists now and then. Based on my very scientific research (that would be bunch of emails) I could estimate that 50% of the emails I get have no sample links. Some send me extremely long emails explaining their history since they were born. Some send me spam-like messages that are generated to some list (from where I’ve never signed, and cannot unsubscribe).

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Ready for a Retro-Future with customizable characters and a wide range of new creative “homemade weapons” to blast away your nuclear waste enemies? The time is almost here! But until then, there’s a range of concept art and sneak peek screenshots. In this interview we feature character artist Dane Olds, who is responsible for weapons as a character artist for Bethesda’s much anticipated Fallout 3.
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The Austin Game Developers Conference unofficially began on Sunday night, September 14th, as many attendees met with specialized groups in various bars around downtown Austin. If you have ever wondered how to go about networking yourself with industry professionals, this is it. More than likely, you will not find a more relaxed environment to introduce yourself and voice your opinions on the current state of the industry.  And, if you miss the opening night, fear not. The following three nights proved to be just as open to mingling and card-swapping as the first.

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Independent game development is, by and large, a solitary activity. Collaborations take place across countries, and even if your team is in the same city, chances are you communicate mostly by email. Consequently, I know other developers mostly by their games.

All that changes once a year at an event simply known as “Mittens.” It was founded eight years ago by a group of indie game developers who knew each other from the internet. Every year they pick a different location to meet and hang out for a week. This year we rented a chateau in France. For 26.

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Although we specialize in game art and design, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk with Blaine Christine, Producer at BioWare Austin. Sadly we didn’t get any good juicy bits about the mysterious unannounced forthcoming MMO (are you thinking what I’m thinking?) but we did get ourselves a case of BioWare job envy. Blaine’s is a classic story from QA to Producer.

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This weekend, Electronic Arts Inc. released Spore, the next game from Will Wright, designer of SimCity and The Sims. EA is relying on the new game to reinvigorate its market-leader position and boost its revenue.  And while the company is projecting it will sell two million copies of Spore before the end of the year, not everyone thinks they can do it. Regardless of how sales turn out, Spore will revolutionize the way we think of gaming. The industry is becoming more user-driven and there is no turning back.

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There are a lot of “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games” (MMORPGs) on the market. They are games whose center focus is the leveling of the player’s character. Almost everything in the game is built to provide experience points or items that allow leveling, thus giving access to new content, whether it be dungeons, challenges, or cities to explore. This new content is built so it will provide experience so players can level up, and move on.

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