[IGDA_indies] SIG Focus?

[Jason Della Rocca]

>What focus should the Indie SIG have?

Indeed, a pretty broad question. And, one that has come up on the list 
several times before.

The reason Mikey asks is because I said I'd like to reboot/rebirth the SIG 
as it lacks focus, has no real sense of purpose, and is accomplishing much 
beyond Mikey's personal efforts to go stuff locally in Austin, etc.

Part of the challenge is that so much of what an Indie SIG could offer is 
already being offered elsewhere. For example:

- project/team matchmaking and tools (GarargeGames, SourceForge, etc)
- business and legal resources (eg, IGDA Business Committee, GDC and other 
conferences, various websites, etc)
- indie interviews (DIYgames, various other resources)
- contests (IGF, Big C, etc)
- game promotion/marketing (various sites, portals, etc)

I'm not an indie developer so it is hard to divine what the gaps are, but 
it seems like something is already addressing the various aspects/needs of 
indie developers.

Perhaps a more meta approach would be appropriate:
- listing resources (ie, pointers to all those things listed above)
- reports on the state of the indie "sector" and issues it is facing
- anything related to industry guidelines or standards (I can't think of 
what would be appropriate here)

But, the challenge here is that so many indie developers are just too 
swamped and fighting to stay alive that anything that is not directly 
applicable to their immediate survival is not of much interest (especially 
if it means volunteering to get it done)...

I'm at a loss for concrete ideas.

Jason

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason Della Rocca
Executive Director
International Game Developers Association

t: +1-514-426-1162
f: +1-514-426-1201
Montreal, Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.realitypanic.com/

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