Dorkbot Seattle: Innovation in Games (Dec 6th)
polycounter lvl 18
Im like sooo there, I was there yesterday. These are the areas I am trying to go versus being another name on another bland game.
Hope some of you come. Dorkbots are always cool, (and you get to drink BEER while listening).
::::::::::
************************PLEASE FORWARD FREELY*********************
* *
*WHAT: December DORKBOT: Innovation in Games*
WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006*, *7:30 PM (7:00 for a bit of socializing!)
WHERE: Center for Contemporary Arts (CoCA), 410 Dexter Ave N, Seattle
ADMISSION: Free, all ages and species, but support CoCA by buying drinks at
their lovely bar!
******************************************************************************
Greetings, Dorks! On Wednesday, December 6th at 7:30 PM at the Center of Contemporary Art (CoCA), we will have three fabulous presentations about innovation in games!
* *
*Jordan Weisman* and *Elan Lee* from *42 Entertainment* will discuss their innovative approach to immersive, participatory entertainment, *James Gwertzman* from *PopCap Games Inc.* will share techniques for creating casual games, and *Ruth Fruland,* the Regional Coordinator for *Games for Change* will provide an overview of using games and game concepts for social
change.
* *
Doors will be open at 7:00 if you want to show up early, have a drink at CoCA's bar, and chat with your fellow dorks! If you would like to take the mic for a few moments at "open dork" after the presentations let me know.
Please find more information about our presenters below;
http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotsea will also have full information about the talks shortly. Please send any questions or comments to me, Shelly, your
Dork Overlord, at shellyhivemind@gmail.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the 6th! Special thanks to CoCA (http://www.cocaseattle.org) for providing a venue!
**************
*Jordan Weisman*, 42 Entertainment, CEO (http://42entertainment.com)
A creative visionary in the entertainment and media world for the past 25 years, Jordan is responsible for driving 42's overall creative vision and steering conceptual development on behalf of 42's clients and partners. In
this role, Jordan provides hands-on direction to all 42's creative teams.
The creative motivating force behind the founding and success of a number of companies, Jordan launched his career in 1980 when he co-founded FASA Corp.,
and led the design and creation of game lines such as BattleTech, Shadowrun, and Crimson Skies. In 1987, Jordan and his partners founded VWE, and built
the world's first virtual reality entertainment venue, The BattleTech Center. In 1992, members of the Disney family acquired a majority stake in VWE. In 1995 Jordan founded FASA Interactive to develop MechWarrior, a PC
game that ultimately sold more than 11 million units. Microsoft acquired FASA Interactive in 1999 and Jordan assumed the role of Creative Director of Microsoft's Entertainment Division. In 2000, Jordan and Dawne Weisman founded WizKids, creating collectable miniatures games such as Mage Knight, Marvel HeroClix, and MechWarrior: Dark Age. Retail sales for WizKids
products topped $100 million in 2002. In 2003, Jordan sold WizKids to TheTopps Company.
Jordan has won over one hundred awards during his career, including election to the game designer's hall of fame by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts
& Design, and selection as Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year for 2003 by Ernst & Young.
*Elan Lee*, 42 Entertainment, Vice President, Experience Design (http://42entertainment.com)
Elan has pioneered numerous breakthroughs in the area of entertainment and immersive gaming in his career. At 42, he is responsible for crafting the audience experience on innovative new projects, and also plays a key role in
the creation of the company's content-driven platforms. Elan started his career as a character designer at Industrial Light and Magic, where he worked on several motion pictures. In 1998 he became lead game designer at
Microsoft Game Studios, designing and directing games for the PC and Xbox.
Elan has served as Director and Lead Designer on numerous projects including Steven Spielberg's AI experience, "The Beast", and "ilovebees".
Elan's work has been featured in numerous publications around the world. As a pioneer in the field of immersive gaming, and interactive experiences, Elan is a frequent speaker at forums including the Game Developer's
Conference, The Alternative Gaming Forum, and Intel Research Laboratories.
*James Gwertzman*, Director of Business Development, PopCap Games, Inc. (http://www.popcap.com)
You should be making casual games!
The casual game industry has erupted out of nowhere in the past few years to become a major piece of the overall game industry, with revenues projected to top $1B by 2008. Small, addictive, fun, and aggressively mass-market,
casual games are not only good business but they're also incredibly fun to produce. Who wants to spend years being part of a 100+ person team building a giant "blockbuster" game that will cost so much to build that its publisher is unwilling to take any creative risks, when you could be
producing the equivalent of an "art house" film a small, tight, creative game that will live and die in the market entirely by the merits of its actual game-play? And quite literally do so at home in the garage, with a
very real chance at being successful?
Come to this talk to learn more about casual games, and also to get an overview of tools & resources available to you for free to help get you started creating the next great gaming masterpiece at home in your free time. James Gwertzman is the Director of Business Development for PopCap games, one of the leading casual game developers and publishers, but he's also got first-hand experience as an "indie" developer in this space, having
co-founded Sprout Games (a small and successful casual game developer) prior to its acquisition by PopCap. As part of this talk James will also share some of the techniques that PopCap uses in developing its own best-selling
casual games such as Bejeweled or Zuma.
* *
*Ruth Fruland*, Ph.D., Research Associate, Human Interface Technology Lab (HITL), and Regional Coordinator, Games for Change
Ruth Fruland is the Northwest Coordinator of the national Games for Change organization, a subset of the Serious Games movement, and for several years have been spearheading a group called GaSworks, which is an informal group of people who share an interest in Games and Simulations in Education in the Puget Sound area. Her presentation will include some of the games and game
concepts that people in this group have developed, in addition to what else is out there, or is on the horizon. Check out the Games for Change and
Serious Games websites at:
http://www.gamesforchange.org/ and http://www.seriousgames.org/index2.html
........................................................................
.........dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity..........
..........................http://dorkbot.org............................
........................................................................
[/ QUOTE ]
Hope some of you come. Dorkbots are always cool, (and you get to drink BEER while listening).
::::::::::
************************PLEASE FORWARD FREELY*********************
* *
*WHAT: December DORKBOT: Innovation in Games*
WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006*, *7:30 PM (7:00 for a bit of socializing!)
WHERE: Center for Contemporary Arts (CoCA), 410 Dexter Ave N, Seattle
ADMISSION: Free, all ages and species, but support CoCA by buying drinks at
their lovely bar!
******************************************************************************
Greetings, Dorks! On Wednesday, December 6th at 7:30 PM at the Center of Contemporary Art (CoCA), we will have three fabulous presentations about innovation in games!
* *
*Jordan Weisman* and *Elan Lee* from *42 Entertainment* will discuss their innovative approach to immersive, participatory entertainment, *James Gwertzman* from *PopCap Games Inc.* will share techniques for creating casual games, and *Ruth Fruland,* the Regional Coordinator for *Games for Change* will provide an overview of using games and game concepts for social
change.
* *
Doors will be open at 7:00 if you want to show up early, have a drink at CoCA's bar, and chat with your fellow dorks! If you would like to take the mic for a few moments at "open dork" after the presentations let me know.
Please find more information about our presenters below;
http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotsea will also have full information about the talks shortly. Please send any questions or comments to me, Shelly, your
Dork Overlord, at shellyhivemind@gmail.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the 6th! Special thanks to CoCA (http://www.cocaseattle.org) for providing a venue!
**************
*Jordan Weisman*, 42 Entertainment, CEO (http://42entertainment.com)
A creative visionary in the entertainment and media world for the past 25 years, Jordan is responsible for driving 42's overall creative vision and steering conceptual development on behalf of 42's clients and partners. In
this role, Jordan provides hands-on direction to all 42's creative teams.
The creative motivating force behind the founding and success of a number of companies, Jordan launched his career in 1980 when he co-founded FASA Corp.,
and led the design and creation of game lines such as BattleTech, Shadowrun, and Crimson Skies. In 1987, Jordan and his partners founded VWE, and built
the world's first virtual reality entertainment venue, The BattleTech Center. In 1992, members of the Disney family acquired a majority stake in VWE. In 1995 Jordan founded FASA Interactive to develop MechWarrior, a PC
game that ultimately sold more than 11 million units. Microsoft acquired FASA Interactive in 1999 and Jordan assumed the role of Creative Director of Microsoft's Entertainment Division. In 2000, Jordan and Dawne Weisman founded WizKids, creating collectable miniatures games such as Mage Knight, Marvel HeroClix, and MechWarrior: Dark Age. Retail sales for WizKids
products topped $100 million in 2002. In 2003, Jordan sold WizKids to TheTopps Company.
Jordan has won over one hundred awards during his career, including election to the game designer's hall of fame by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts
& Design, and selection as Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year for 2003 by Ernst & Young.
*Elan Lee*, 42 Entertainment, Vice President, Experience Design (http://42entertainment.com)
Elan has pioneered numerous breakthroughs in the area of entertainment and immersive gaming in his career. At 42, he is responsible for crafting the audience experience on innovative new projects, and also plays a key role in
the creation of the company's content-driven platforms. Elan started his career as a character designer at Industrial Light and Magic, where he worked on several motion pictures. In 1998 he became lead game designer at
Microsoft Game Studios, designing and directing games for the PC and Xbox.
Elan has served as Director and Lead Designer on numerous projects including Steven Spielberg's AI experience, "The Beast", and "ilovebees".
Elan's work has been featured in numerous publications around the world. As a pioneer in the field of immersive gaming, and interactive experiences, Elan is a frequent speaker at forums including the Game Developer's
Conference, The Alternative Gaming Forum, and Intel Research Laboratories.
*James Gwertzman*, Director of Business Development, PopCap Games, Inc. (http://www.popcap.com)
You should be making casual games!
The casual game industry has erupted out of nowhere in the past few years to become a major piece of the overall game industry, with revenues projected to top $1B by 2008. Small, addictive, fun, and aggressively mass-market,
casual games are not only good business but they're also incredibly fun to produce. Who wants to spend years being part of a 100+ person team building a giant "blockbuster" game that will cost so much to build that its publisher is unwilling to take any creative risks, when you could be
producing the equivalent of an "art house" film a small, tight, creative game that will live and die in the market entirely by the merits of its actual game-play? And quite literally do so at home in the garage, with a
very real chance at being successful?
Come to this talk to learn more about casual games, and also to get an overview of tools & resources available to you for free to help get you started creating the next great gaming masterpiece at home in your free time. James Gwertzman is the Director of Business Development for PopCap games, one of the leading casual game developers and publishers, but he's also got first-hand experience as an "indie" developer in this space, having
co-founded Sprout Games (a small and successful casual game developer) prior to its acquisition by PopCap. As part of this talk James will also share some of the techniques that PopCap uses in developing its own best-selling
casual games such as Bejeweled or Zuma.
* *
*Ruth Fruland*, Ph.D., Research Associate, Human Interface Technology Lab (HITL), and Regional Coordinator, Games for Change
Ruth Fruland is the Northwest Coordinator of the national Games for Change organization, a subset of the Serious Games movement, and for several years have been spearheading a group called GaSworks, which is an informal group of people who share an interest in Games and Simulations in Education in the Puget Sound area. Her presentation will include some of the games and game
concepts that people in this group have developed, in addition to what else is out there, or is on the horizon. Check out the Games for Change and
Serious Games websites at:
http://www.gamesforchange.org/ and http://www.seriousgames.org/index2.html
........................................................................
.........dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity..........
..........................http://dorkbot.org............................
........................................................................
[/ QUOTE ]