[IGDA_indies] the value of the IGDA

[Brandon J. Van Every]

Brian Hook wrote:
>
> Most people don't understand the value add of IGDA

I currently view the IGDA as "the legal defense fund."  When I was an
IGDA member (I've let it lapse due to lack of funds and lack of
interest) pretty much any organizational idea I had was stridently
opposed.  I never got around to needing the biz / legal resources,
because I've been mired in R&D so long that still don't have a product
to ship.  Let's face it, basic survival is more pressing to me right
now.  I feel good about the next 10 years, but the next 10 weeks are
going to be a pain.

> or of having indies be organized,

I think local networks of professionals are always valuable.

I'm not convinced that national or international networks ala IGDA
provide more than a feel-good brand identity.  If you actually look at
the staff of the IGDA and its budget, it's tiny.  Legal defense aside,
most of the heavy lifting gets done by people on their own accord.

> and with membership so sporadic IGDA is not the first place
> people turn to for advice or questions, they instead hit the
> GarageGames forums or GameDev or flipcode or whatever.

'Cuz market mechanism is operating.

The IGDA has made deliberate decisions to limit the scope of what it
takes on.  They don't want to do their own 'craft' articles because
"Gamasutra already does that."  Pardon me if I think it would be ok to
compete with Gamasutra rather than just step aside?  I like Gamasutra
just fine, but I don't have a command economy sense of where we should
put our resources.  I don't think we should be eliminating ways for
people to get interested in the IGDA.  The argument "we don't have the
staff" doesn't wash with me.  If that's the bottleneck, lighten the
process and get volunteers.  Lotsa volunteer labor can be leveraged if
people feel they actually have a stake in operations.  Instead, all I
personally got were obstructions and reasons why things "couldn't" be
done.

I don't see the IGDA as a grassroots organization.  I see it as a
top-down management structure.  Some industry types decided how the IGDA
should fit in with the rest of the industry, and what the agenda is
going to be.  The legal defense fund is constructive, but for other
things, I don't see that they're doing any better than anything else out
there.


Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA

When no one else sells courage, supply and demand take hold.