FIRST! entry and my IndieCade experience

Hey everyone!

So here I am doing something I never thought I would do: blogging. Any new form of communication strikes me as bizarre first and life-changing second. A few months ago I couldn’t see the point of Twitter, and now I couldn’t stop Tweeting to save my life. But that’s another story.

I’m going to try to keep this blog focused on my experience here at the Interactive Media Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. I’ll talk about what I’ve been up to and anything in the video games industry that interests me.

This past weekend, I volunteered at IndieCade, an independent games festival here in Los Angeles. Game developers from all over the world came to display video games that they dedicated countless hours of their lives to create. The developers were judged by industry professionals, and were given awards for different areas in which their games excelled.

It was incredibly inspiring to meet these people. They had fresh ideas on what can be achieved with interactive media, and many of their games had brilliant concepts behind them. One game had the player manipulate the words of a poem to change both the story and gameplay. Another game tasked the player with manipulating objects to cast different shadows that acted as land for the player to traverse. There were so many great ideas on display, and it would be impossible for me to try and do them justice by just describing them. I strongly encourage you all to visit the IndieCade website and discover these games for yourself.

Publishers are no longer shrugging off independent games. With the advent of digital distribution, smaller teams with smaller budgets are able to find ways to give their games an audience. Some of our own Interactive Media students have found success on digital distribution platforms such as the PlayStation Network, XBOX Live Arcade, and iPhone App Store.

Many developers of commercial games were present at the festival. They too understand that these independent developers offer glimpses into the future of the video game industry. I was lucky enough to be in the presence of employees of EA, Naughty Dog, and even Keita Takahashi, the creator of Katamari Damacy. I had the pleasure of meeting Jenova Chen, a USC alumni and a co-founder of thatgamecompany. He told me that the video game industry is like a wave. No matter what, it is always moving, and it is up to us to decide if we are going to ride with it. He is absolutely right. The video games industry is not like other entertainment industries. It is young, still growing, and definitely not stagnant. Despite our different backgrounds, I felt a strong connection to the game developers at IndieCade. We all know that the game industry is moving forward. Although we don’t know where it is headed, we all know that we have to be a part of it.