In particular, I wanted to share this talk, called "Working With Publishers as a Developer Producer". Chris Natsuume does a great job of detailing a approach to collaborating with your publisher, starting with how your company's goals contribute to a more positive relationship in the first place, and going all the way through development.
]]>
From the article:
"The men and women on Variety’s inaugural “10 Innovators to Watch” — 15 names, actually — are looking beyond 2008 to build the entertainment industry of the future, from the digital studio to the home and cyberspace.
Meet them today. Before they turn your world upside down tomorrow."
Yeah, so watch out! =)
For the article as well as video interviews (although nothing new to most of you IMDers):
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=hottopic&id=innovators
The AIAS will award four $2,500 scholarships to students attending accredited universities.
The fund honors Dr. Randy Pausch, professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Pausch, a co-founder of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center, has greatly influenced the industry through his teachings, sabbaticals at Walt Disney Imagineering and Electronic Arts, and consultation with Google on user interface design.
The AIAS has stated it will donate one dollar for every Academy member’s vote for the 2008 Interactive Achievement Awards.
The scholarship recipients will be selected by a committee comprising AIAS board members from Electronic Arts, Stormfront Studios, Epic Games, University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon.
The AIAS will begin accepting applications for the scholarship after the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit. Additional information on the Dr. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund and the application process will be available at www.interactive.org.
]]>Things I Did Right:
* Before I graduated, I had four months of living expenses covered.
This actually came from my experience as a freelancer (aka sometimes employed, sometimes not) in between undergrad and graduate school. You just never know what's going to happen. And four months covers the entire summer following graduation, which to me seemed like a good amount of time. Waiting through an entire season/quarter allows for the possibility that the job market might totally blow when you graduate, but take a turn by the fall. It also gives you plenty of time to explore all of your options. Of course, it turned out that when I graduated, I was starting a company, and so the savings became even more important. (more on this later)
* I got a reliable used car with good fuel efficiency, and I've maintained it.
A 2000 Toyota Corolla. You see this car everywhere in Los Angeles, and that's not just hyperbole - it's got one of the best MPG next to a hybrid. And it doesn't need a lot of repair. And unlike my past experience, I've been diligent on taking it in for it's quarterly tune ups, which really is SO much cheaper in the long run.
*I moved close to where I work.
No joke! I saved a lot of money on gas between this and #2 above. Plus, it turns out car insurance is significantly cheaper in Venice than where I was living in Hollywood (I saved $400/yr). Also, because it doesn't take me very long to get to and from work, I'm much more motivated to fix my lunches and cook dinner in the evening.
* I bring my lunch to work.
The average work lunch at TGC is around $7. Times five per week, four weeks a month, and that's $150/month.
Things I Did Wrong:
* I bought a car too soon after graduation.
While at USC, I had a 1994 Acura Legend. For those that saw it, it was a disaster, primarily from one hit-and-run (I was the one hit), and one fender bender that was my fault. No internal damage, but the frame was bent in a few places, and repairs to get it to a somewhat normal looking state would have cost me around $1500. Plus, I was paying around $750/year to keep it running. Looking back, I should have sucked it up and paid those costs and just driven the car right into the ground before even looking at a new car. It would have probably given me 2 years to save up some money for the next vehicle, or to go towards the student loans.
* I spent my new salary too soon.
After being a student for 3 years, I got excited by having a full-time salary again. Of course, what killed me is that although I knew it would take awhile to negotiate our contract on flOw, I wasn't pessimistic enough. In the end it took 6 months for it to happen. That was 6 months with no salary. Remember - I had 4 months saved up. It was a brutal time, and I had to live off my credit cards. The American Dream!
* I didn't keep a budget, and didn't keep aware of upcoming expenses.
I'm still trying to get better at this. But thesis time is almost like the holidays - there are so many unexpected costs, so many small things that come up, that it's easy to throw up your hands at the whole notion of a budget. Correction - it's really effing hard to keep track of your budget at all. Especially if you don't even know what your income will be when you graduate. If I did it again now, I still don't know that I would be any better at it. But, these are my suggestions. Draw up a current state of your budget, and allocate the money you can spend on your project. Be pragmatic. And then, stick to that. And if you go over, take the money from somewhere else (dining out is usually where I hit first).
Suggested Reading:
I've been taking a lot of inspiration from these blogs:
Gather Little by Little - note that the author is a Christian, and so will weekly bring in inspiration he's gotten from the Bible, but whether you take inspiration from the Bible or not, his anecdotal posts are useful
Both of these blogs link to a slew of other financial blogs. I particularly like the two above because they aren't perfect people, and tell you so.
]]>The talk began as an idea after a lengthy conversation between Jon Mak and Pekko Koskinen at last year's GDC. It was one of those great conversations you tend to have during the week of GDC; you know, starting with a discussion on one game, and then moving to the definitions of interactivity, to comparisons between games and literature, and then somehow wrapping it all up with Street Fighter.
Jon then thought of the Seinfield tv show "...maybe THIS could be the show...." For me, I feel that as a new designer you don't even know where to begin with designing a game, so you often copy off a game you think is fun, instead of evaluating at a deeper level why you think the game is fun and how can you apply that to your own design. Also, for more experienced designers, looking at games through totally different lenses can be really eye opening in troubleshooting a particularly tricky mechanic.
All of this leads to our talk: three developers with three different perspectives, three different backgrounds, who love talking about games and hope to inspire others to see games differently, too. Because there is no magic bullet. There's no answer we have on how to evaluate a game. But we're going to try out some different stuff and see what happens.
The description of the talk:
"When we stop at the words "good" or "better" or "fun" we don't even scratch the surface of what games are... or could be. Looking for "better" games seeks uniformity of value. Yet we need to understand the variety, potentiality of games first, to know where we are going... or could be going."
The GDC page:
http://gdconf.com/conference/igs.htm
SO....please consider flOw for nomination! Also, as a heads up, flOw qualifies for the "Best Debut Game" which is the first game from a new studio. =)
Here's where you go to nominate:
https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/choice_2008_games.php
And here's the requirements you have to meet to nominate:
"All professional game developers who are part of Gamasutra.com's member list are eligible to provide nominations, both for the Special and Regular Awards. Choice Awards organizers will vet the profiles of those nominating to ensure that the nominating parties are indeed game development professionals. If you are not a member of Gamasutra.com, please sign up to via the Gamasutra.com join page to participate."
]]>EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: November 30, 2007
Fee: Only $25 for first submission; $15 for each submission after!
Be one of the FIRST filmmakers to have your short film screened over
thousands of CELL PHONES through GoTV! (www.gotvnetworks.com).
GoTV Networks is the first made-for-mobile network/studio group that
create on-demand film/television programming customized to the mobile
experience. Cingular, Nextel and Sprint users can view your film for
free!
SHORTS REQUIREMENTS:
* 15 seconds-3 minutes in length
* Available to screen over cell phones
* Short can be shot the traditional way or WITH YOUR CELL PHONE!
* Mail your DVD or upload your film online
Prizes include:
* Cash
* A day with a well-known studio/production company
* Possible distribution deal
* Fuji Film
* Cell phone
* Much more....
REGISTER, upload your film online at www.CenturyCityCellPhoneFest.com
It's so unreal!
Yes, you have to register an account with G4, which sucks. But please take the two minutes to vote for flOw anyways! It would mean so much. =)
]]>1916 article: "85 percent of the juvenile crime which has been investigated has been found traceable either directly or indirectly to motion pictures which have shown on the screen how crimes could be committed."
1932 article [...]: "To us, the question of whether film is art or not seems misplaced, and ought to be replaced by one regarding the degree to which it might become art."
The top critic of the day called people who went to the cinema as "movie morons."
]]>Excerpt:
Barlog: In writing novels and screenplays, all the elements serve the story. Characters, dialogue, locations and props exist solely to advance the story, the story being the central conflict. In video games, the story serves the game play. First and foremost in any video game project is the fact that game play takes precedence over all else. Anything outside of game play is kept to the absolute minimum. If your story interferes with the game play, you've failed as a writer. The greater challenge here is to deliver a tight, meaningful story without imposing on the player's interaction with it.
Click here for Part I
Click here for Part II
I'm very interested to see how the "Team Assault" feature continues. If N'Gai is able to continue getting such open feedback from his interviewees, it should serve as great a resource in giving outsiders a window into what exactly is involved in making games, and insiders into how different teams approach and execute a project.
]]>Dine Out Los Angeles is a one-day fundraising event, where Los Angeles area restaurants donate 20% or more of their day's proceeds to Aid For AIDS to help prevent homelessness and hunger for individuals and families impoverished and disabled by HIV/AIDS.
This is such an easy way to support the HIV/AIDS community - you have to eat, right? So on Thursday April 19th, 2007, for breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurants from West Hollywood to Silverlake to Hollywood to Long Beach to Pasadena to West Los Angeles to Beverly Hills to the Valley and more will be donating monies from meals purchased that day. One day. One meal
(or more). It is so simple and delicious!
For a list of different restaurants and how much they are donating(Astro Burger is donating 50% of it's profits!), visit http://www.dineoutla.org/
]]>