Highlights:

-Ian Schreiber held a talk that not only proved that the argument for games as art was solved over fifty years by art critic Harold Rosenburg. He also explained how lessons from art history can be used to solve and influence many game designs. It was one of the most interesting talks I went to, even though much of his art histroy discussion went over my head. I’m not too sure about surrealism in game design, where games can not be comprehended how to play, but it does sound like it’s worth experimenting with.

-Dustin Clingman honored many game designers throughout history that have contributed much to games and have since passed away in his talk “Where do Game Designers go when they Die?” The talk was a little blue at first; however, Dustin built it up into a very inspiring speech letting those in attendance know that they are the heirs to the legacy left behind by many greats.

-Colonel Reverend The Fat Man George Alistair Sanger basically told us to “put our dick on the anvil” if we want to achieve true greatness. Everything that man says is amazing. It actually made me think a lot about what I am doing with my life these days. I think I’ve grown too comfortable in my current position and that is keeping me from truly growing as a person and a game developer. I think some changes may need to happen for me personally. I hope to find my bliss someday, that’s for sure.

-I missed Jason Rohrer’s presentation live but was able to catch it later on GDX’s website. He compared some big titles that have visual glitches and bugs to smaller ones that accomplished what they set out to do and told the attendance “don’t write checks you can’t cash.” His presentation had more to offer but that is what i got most out of it more than anything else.

-Richard Dansky, in his talk “Just a Lad”, proclaimed that “we are a young industry” is not a valid excuse anymore, noting that the videogame industry is older than the internet, disco, Star Wars, parachute pants, and most of everyone in the room. Because of this, he feels that it’s time for games to be better and that we take games and the content they can provide more seriously. I’d say that this was the most important presentation I went at GDX to and I agree with many of his points.

-Andrew Bains of Epic Games went into the process of how a single level of Gears of War 2 is created and visually showed us the steps. It’s a long process that takes many months that includes brainstorming, prototyping, multiple visual and scripting passes, bug fixing, and finally shipping. The amount of time and detail that goes into each level is very impressive and its a good thing Gears makes the big bucks for Epic. I think I will stick to making smaller games for now.

In review, GDX had a lot to offer to those who want to think deeply about where the industry needs to go next, as opposed to learning how to be a better programmer or artist. I think a lot of these lectures were very important for game students around the world to attend which made me wish that some of my students in attendance. Many of the SCAD students I met were very nice to me and I think Brenda Brathwaite and SCAD did a really great job hosting this conference and I hope a certain other game school does something like this on their campus someday. I feel like my mind opened up to some new ideas that I hope to implement in future games.

The 24 hour Playmine is an extra-curricular activity at Fullsail University where students in the Game Development program, coming from different parts of the curriculum, get together and work on a game from concept to completion in the span of 24 hours. The idea was that of Keyvan Acosta’s, Associate Course Director for Structure of Game Production at Fullsail.

Playmine’s Mr. Apple Head

This will be the second time this project will be happening. The first time this event was held was over this past summer where eleven students — sophmores, juniors, and seniors — of the Game Development program were broken up into teams of production, gameplay, quality assurance, and tools for this game. The students brainstormed a game where a toy golem, looking like an apple, had to piece together it’s parts and wreak havoc on a playground. The idea was simple in scope and the students accomplished most of what they set out to do.

The next Playmine will start this Saturday, September 27th at noon and conclude the next day, on Sunday, at noon. This time, students can pitch ideas ahead of time if they are to work on the project and I will be one of many Game Development faculty members to help guide and motivate students to completion. Fullsail also has a food and beverage budget, which I know hungry students will appreciate. You guys may want to bring a pillow, jacket, deodorant and of course your development laptop. Most importantly, take a shower before you come! 24 hours is a long time without bathing.

If some of my current student will work, I will totally bake my super-awesome strawberry cupcakes for the team to enjoy! It is important that students take advantage of opportunities like this where they can boost their student portfolio with more projects. It will certainly help to make such student more noticeable by potential employers. We hope to see as many of you there as possible!

Below are specifics on how you can be a part of the development team for this weekend’s Playmine:

The sign-up list is capped at 24 entrants, with any above that number not working in an ”official” capacity; though who knows if we need more people. From today till Friday, we’ll expect all communication related to the event (game proposal submissions, sign-up info, questions, etc) to be sent to kacosta_at_fullsail_dot_com with the subject of [24hrs]. And although the “tickets” issued are first come, first served, you must fill-in the following information before Friday Noon (12pm) in order to be allowed to participate:

Name :

GPA :

Current class :

Cell phone # :

Email :

You must have a minimum GPA of 2.00, a laptop, and a smile. The list will be sorted by seniority, in other words, those closer to Final Project get first dibs… Oh, you will receive confirmation by Friday evening. Bring a pillow, comfortable clothing, and a jacket in case the typical Full Sail frostbite Monster shows up.

DETAILS

Where Game Development Offices, building 130 (second floor) closest to Taco Bell.

Date 9/27/08

Starts Saturday, 12pm

Ends Sunday, 12pm

Food Dinner and Breakfast

Drinks Soda, Monster

… Punch and Pie…

We WILL be there rain or sunshine, will you?