[IGDA_indies] SIG Focus?

[C Ratchet]

Things I'd like to see at meetings (somewhat based on the meets I've 
been to here at the UT gamedev group)... I want comments here:

Gameplay - have all the indies bring the games they are working on to 
play them... testing's good... LAN party style ;)
Speakers - if we can have good ones
Talk - just talk about issues etc that's what generally happens if 
there's not a speaker, and I agree that that's a good thing...

Places we could work with/have meetings at:

Libraries, College and University Gamedev/Gaming groups, Community 
Centers, Computer Training Centers, Youth organizations, IGDA chapters, 
User Groups, etc...

I have 6 pages of various initiatives I'd like to see happen if 
anyone's interested.

I also have some interviews I need to post.

Ratchet

On Jan 29, 2005, at 3:47 PM, Brandon J. Van Every wrote:

> Jason Della Rocca wrote:
>>
>> Perhaps having a central meta-resource/pointers that is unbiased and
>> readily available to any and everyone would help get some
>> indies rolling much faster and avoid many of the pitfalls early on.
>
> Except, I'm leaping ahead to imagine the inevitable condition, whereby 
> a
> long list of URLs is made, and it's just a long unsorted list of
> gobbledygook, and half of 'em are old and broken, because the IGDA
> volunteers have no particular incentive to keep the links 'live' and
> 'known useful'.  The reason people probably should use Google, is they
> will thereby go directly to live information that website authors have 
> a
> vested interest in maintaining.
>
> If I could figure out a way to get volunteers to prove the utility of
> all sorts of links and resources, and do concise writeups about why
> "this site is good, that site is good," then I would be more keen on
> this project.  But I don't see volunteers ever maintaining it at a high
> level of quality.  I am thinking it's the ideal sort of thing for a 
> paid
> staff position.
>
> Lacking someone who's really focused and really on the ball about all
> these resources, i.e. lacking a professional CyberLibrarian, then I
> think people should learn to use Google.  And forums.  Asking other
> people "Hey, where do I find out about X?" is the least painful way to
> acquire oodles of info on various game development subjects.
>
> Now, this hints to me that forums, both real and virtual, are quite
> valuable.  Since virtual forums can be had in abundance all over the
> net, this returns me to the importance of local face-to-face meetings.
> For instance, I understand Functional Programming much better for 
> having
> started a local Seattle group about it, than what I got out of talking
> to people online.  Not because I'm dense and can't read things online,
> but because when you have someone knowledgeable in front of you, you 
> can
> access their knowledge quickly and often serendipitously.
>
>> Face-to-face in what context/setting? Learning? Social/fun?
>> Project/work oriented?
>
> Every local group I start centers around drinking beer at The Stumbling
> Monk, a Belgian pub in Capital Hill.  This sort of venue works well 
> when
> a group is first formed, i.e. when only 3..6 people show up.  I don't
> see a reason to distinguish what people choose to talk about.  The
> important point is to bring interested / interesting people together
> over beer.  They will then do the rest.  And if they don't, I'll prod
> them.  :-)
>
>> If it is more for the learning and socializing aspects, that
>> is already
>> being addressed by regular IGDA chapters (while some are
>> better organized
>> than others), there is nothing inherently limiting involved of indies.
>
> Seattle Sputnik is not indie focused, however.  In fact for me
> personally it's indie boring.  Too many Microsoft "hey look at this
> DirectX thingamabob we want to market to all you programmers!" 
> lectures.
> Maybe I'm being unfair, as there have been some good lectures too.  I
> certainly haven't put the elbow grease into changing anything.  I could
> talk a lot about how Sputnik IGDA, at least as of last year, wasn't
> particularly social.  The "schmooze" just wasn't happening.
>
> When I go to a Sputnik meeting, I know there's going to be a lecture.
> My decision on whether to go amounts to "do I want to hear someone 
> drone
> on about something, or is it actually a subject I really want to know
> about?"  A person who 'declines the drone' enough times develops a 
> habit
> of skipping meetings.  Never do I think, "Oh cool!  I'm going to see A,
> B, C, D, and E person again, and we're going to talk about cool things 
> X
> Y Z P D Q."  Which is exactly the opposite from the groups I organize
> myself.  I personally get a lot more professional value out of
> discussion and debate than I do out of lectures.
>
> One of the better Sputnik meetings I went to was one where we actually
> talked the whole time, instead of listening to someone's lecture.  It
> got many more people involved.  It was a planning meeting, the subject
> was something like "what are we going to do?"  Many good things were
> said; I didn't act upon them, and it was quite some time ago.  I've 
> been
> under a rock the past year.
>
> If I were to run a local group, I would call it "Indie Beer."
>
>
> Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
> Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA
>
> When no one else sells courage, supply and demand take hold.
>
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---
 From Ratchet (Mikey Lubker)
Lead Coordinator of the IGDA Indie SIG: http://igda.org/indie

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