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San Francisco gets ready for the Game QA & Localization Forum

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Hot off the back of its world premiere in London, Gaming IQ is pleased to announce that the acclaimed & unique Game QA & Localization Forum is going to San Francisco this December.

As the world’s only forum series dedicated entirely to QA and localization for the gaming industry, the San Francisco event, taking place at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf on December 10-11, unites senior QA and localization professionals from all across the industry – console, PC, online, social or mobile.

http://sanfran.qalocforum.com/news

Representing a true spectrum of large AAA studios to smaller indie developers and publishers, the forum has assembled a world-class speaker line-up that includes the likes of Sony, EA, BioWare, Ubisoft, Konami, Namco Bandai, Gearbox, Disney and many others.

The Game QA & Localization Forum: San Francisco is a unique opportunity to hear from world-leading developers, indie studios and key industry solution providers in testing and localization.

The event offers the opportunity to benchmark with industry peers & competitors in an informal, senior-level setting dedicated to networking with people facing the same challenges. The event agenda is available to download here

What’s fantastic about this forum is how positively the industry has responded – everyone is excited to spend some decent time with likeminded senior professionals discussing the issues that really matter; issues that are too focused or niche to be discussed at broader industry events like GDC”, said Arran Oakes, the Head of Production at organiser Gaming IQ.

Gaming IQ are working with the IGDA on the forum, with Executive Director Kate Edwards saying “this underrepresented area of game development can shine in its own forum, and people from all functions across the game industry can improve their own work by better understanding the critical aspects of QA and Localization”. Annual memberships are available to purchase with a ticket to the forum.

The Game QA & Localization Forum: San Francisco speaker and panel highlights include:

  • Tulay McNally, Director of Studio Development QA and Quality Engineering Dep., BioWare

  • Mario Vasquez, Head of WWQA Operations, EA

  • Michele Kassis Carlson, Localization Director, Sony PlayStation

  • Tad Hirabayashi, Production Services Director, Namco Bandai

  • Michael “Gryf” Weber, Director of Central Development, Gearbox Software

  • Marietta Pashayan, Director, Mobile QA and Live Services, Disney Interactive

  • Daniel Pangelina, QA Manager, Double Fine

The Game QA & Localization Forum: San Francisco takes place in December 10-11, 2013 at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel, San Francisco, California. Find the program, event details and registration information about the forum on http://sanfran.qalocforum.com/news , phone +1 646 378 6026/ +44 (0) 207 036 1300 or email enquire@iqpc.co.uk

Mobile Apps Showdown and Last Gadget Standing at the 2014 International CES

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In a world where it’s raining apps, there are few ways to get yours noticed. Mobile Apps Showdown is an online and live event in cooperation with the 2014 International CES®. Through an online vote, expert judges, and a real-time event at CES, we determine the Mobile App with the greatest “staying power”. Over 1 million Web viewers and 500 live audience members along with an expert panel of judges all weigh in and experience your app.

Plus, there’s an opportunity for you to showcase your app on our Wall of Apps in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center and World Trade Center (LVCC). Maximum fun, maximum exposure, and no heavy lifting on your part. That’s Mobile App power.

To enter the competition

Mobile Apps Showdown Entry Fee: $800.
Wall of Apps Exhibit (includes Mobile Apps Showdown Entry): $3750

Last Gadget Standing

Sponsored by Lenovo, the Last Gadget Standing is now in its 12th year. The event, both live and online, looks for the coolest gadgets most likely to succeed, even after the 2014 CES draws to a close. An expert panel of judges, online votes and a live audience event determine the winner. Last Gadget Standing is the perfect case of “when last is first.”

To enter the competition

Last Gadget Standing Entry Fee: $950.

Game Audio Job Descriptions: What are companies looking for?

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From GameSoundCon.com: Over the past dozen or so months, I’ve been copying down job descriptions of sound or music openings in the game industry as well as posting them to the GameSoundCon Facebook Page. In this post, I’ve pulled out the “Requirements” sections for a few and have listed them.

Just about every posting has something akin to “experience with game audio implementation”, or “knowledge of game audio and how it gets integrated into a game” or “Possess a working understanding of the technical constraints of audio design for GAMES.”

Game audio definitely begins with a great ear, great compositional skills and the ability to create great sounds using traditional DAW’s, but that’s really only the starting point. The people who are hiring are looking for something above and beyond that.

This quote from the Senior Audio Manager for Volition, discussing what goes into the hiring process, sums it up:

I see a lot of applicants applying who emphasize that they are musicians or composers. if that’s all you got, you’ll be outgunned.

..if you’ve got other skills that make you valuable, like knowing how to script… or knowing how memory and streaming work, … well, that is awesome, because that sounds like someone I might want to work with.

Senior Audio Manager, Volition, discussing hiring

Read more at GameSoundCon.com.

LOGIN 2013 Conference Photos

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We attended the latest LOGIN Conference held in beautiful San Francisco last month. Here are a bunch of photos we took! An interview with the director of LOGIN will be coming up soon.

LOGIN Conference

OTOY Joins Cloud Gaming USA Conference 2013 as Lead Diamond Sponsor

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(PR Web Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) San Francisco (PRWEB) September 21, 2013 Cloud gaming provider OTOY has joined the prestigious agenda at the Cloud Gaming USA Conference (October 7-8 in San Francisco, CA) as the lead Diamond Sponsor. Having played a significant role in the growth of the cloud gaming industry, OTOY has solidified its stance by providing unparalleled support to the industry’s number one networking conference. OTOY CEO, Jules Urbach, will deliver this year’s keynote.

“We’re very excited to partner with the Cloud Gaming USA Conference as their lead sponsor. The coming months are going to mark a major turning point for cloud gaming,” says Urbach.

With market forecasts suggesting that cloud gaming revenues will reach over six percent of the total gaming market by 2017 (equal to a staggering $4bln), Urbach adds: “We feel the timing couldn’t be better for OTOY to engage and support the cloud gaming community in this way.” OTOY is an active participant in the expected growth of the cloud gaming market. Speaking on OTOY’s forthcoming release (ed. expected Q4 2013), Urbach enthusiastically discusses ORBX.js which revolutionizes the way games are streamed by end users.

“It’s a JavaScript library developed by OTOY, and is the first ‘zero client’ cloud gaming system for HTML5 browsers. ORBX.js delivers HD cloud gaming streams to any browser, at 720p60 or 1080p60, using pure HTML5 and JavaScript,” says Urbach. Impressively the system relies on no dependency or plug-ins like Java or Flash.

The new system is receiving wide scale praise and support from the HTML5 community, including Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and Mozilla CTO. Eich has reported on the impact of the future of the web and referenced ORBX.js in a recent article (ed. https://brendaneich.com/2013/05/today-i-saw-the-future/.).

“Cloud Gaming USA provides invaluable insight on business models on the cloud, and perspectives on where the market is heading,” says George Kiley, Managing Director, Video Games Intelligence. “We are hugely excited to announce OTOY’s invaluable support for the conference.” Cloud Gaming USA is the must attend event in 2013. Held on October 7-8 in San Francisco, over 250 c-level representatives from every one of America’s top 20 publishers come together at the only Cloud Gaming event. After two sell-out years, early booking is strongly advised. Book your place online now: https://secure.firstconf.com/videogamesintelligence/cloud-gaming-usa/register.php For more information contact George Kiley at gkiley(at)vgintel(dot)com , or Tel: +44 (0) 207 3757545.

OTOY Inc. is a pioneer in the field of CG rendering, visual effects software and cloud streaming technology. In 2010, OTOY’s LightStage™ tools received an Academy Award ® for their role in creating a breakthrough visual effects pipeline for films. For more information about OTOY, ORBX™ and LightStage™ visit http://www.otoy.com. For developers looking to build software using the OTOY WebCL™ SDK tools please visit http://www.webcl.com.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/9/prweb11140359.htm (c) 2013 PRWEB.COM Newswire

D.I.C.E Summit 2013: Live Stream of Sessions

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D.I.C.E (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit 2013 is happening this week! Intel is sponsoring the D.I.C.E Summit in London, which sees some of the biggest names in the video games industry gather for a series of high profile talks and networking (http://www.dicesummit.org/). As part of the sponsorship, the event will be streamed live worldwide via Twitch.tv (see above live stream – just click to play!).

What is D.I.C.E? Here’s more information:

  • The most well-respected and prestigious video game conference in the industry
  • Honors interactive entertainment culture and all creative culture in our rapidly changing global theater
  • A celebration of great ideas and great entertainment
  • Themes pay homage to the pillars for which this conference was founded – Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain
  • Unparalleled networking opportunity with the key decision makers in the interactive entertainment industry

Speakers will include Victor Kislyi, CEO and Founder, Wargaming; Peter Molyneux, CEO and Founder, 22cans; Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Director, EA; Torsten Reil, CEO and Founder, NaturalMotion; Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek; Lorne Lanning, CCO and co-founder of Oddworld Inhabitants, Ian Livingstone, Eidos’ life president and founder of Games Workshop; Paul Wedgwood, CEO of Splash Damage; and Paul Gouge, CEO and founder of Playdemic. From Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences:

“The Academy, along with our partner VGI, is excited to welcome their audience of 40million gamers to share the D.I.C.E. Europe experience

and get inspired – and maybe even challenged –from our line-up of video game heroes, which we’re thrilled now includes Ian Livingstone, Paul Wedgwood and Paul Gouge.”

The event will be held at the Royal Garden Hotel in London on Sept. 24-25, 2013, beginning with a full day of networking events followed by a full day of speaker sessions to address the dynamic changes and growth of the industry.

First speakers announced, set to pack a punch at Game Connection Europe 2013

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Leading international experts from across the breadth of the video game industry heading to Paris in December

PARIS, FRANCE – 19 September 2013 – Game Connection Europe revealed today the first sessions, panels and master classes announced for its 13th edition, which will be held in Paris, December 3rd-5th 2013.

Encompassing marketing and business disciplines, together with game design, technology and arts, the announcement features cutting edge content presented by leading industry insiders.

Digging deeper into the world of independent development, Game Connection Europe 2013 also tackles distribution, monetization, crowdfunding and more. More program announcements will follow in mid-October.

Confirmed sessions to date include:

The Tricks Up Our Sleeves – An Overview of the Simple Techniques Used to Create Realistic Details within Game Effects – Keith Guerrette , Lead FX Artist at Naughty Dog
Supercharging word of mouthJussi Laakkonen, CEO & Founder at Applifier

Loved by Millions – How to make a game a global sportDavid Hiltscher, VP Gaming Communities at Turtle Entertainment
Great Expectations – Beta in the Modern MarketplaceLinda Carlson, Director, Global Community Relations at Sony Online Entertainment
Staring Down the 800 Lbs Gorilla: Guild Wars 2 one year laterSteve Fowler, Head of Global Marketing at ArenaNet
Chasing Rabbits, What I have learned from prototyping with Nintendo
Fred Markus, Director Design Lab at Epic Games
The Tiered Pyramid Method: Next-Generation Game DesignDoru Apreotesei, Creative Supervisor at Ubisoft Blue Byte
How to help oversea partners in Chinese mobile marketEdward He, CEO at Renren Games
Social vs. Mobile GamesArthur Chow, CEO at 6waves
App Store Insights: How to Make the Next Killer AppBertrand Schmitt, CEO at App Annie
Truly cross-platform – combining a digital gaming experience with physical products and toysThomas Bleyer,
Managing Director at Ravensburger Digital
Data & Trends 2013: The online games industry in reviewJoost van Dreunen, CEO at SuperData Research

In depth descriptions are available at: http://www.game-connection.com/gameconn/program-europe2013

A conference pass is now available online for all those who are interested in levelling up with Game Connection’s packed program. Giving you access to all session plus the showfloor, the pass is available at a price of 300 Euros.

For those more interested in networking and business development – and in particular the use of the Game Connection Meeting Application, take advantage of other offers available with the Early Bird discount until October 2nd.

Book here now.

Master Classes also presented at the event will include:

Game Writing: An OverviewRichard Dansky, Central Clancy Writer at Red Storm/Ubisoft
Think locally, act globally: Lessons in International PR
Cathy Orr, Founder at Outside Eye PR
ZBrush creature design
Scott Spencer, Artist at Weta Digital

For a closer look at the Master Class schedule, click HERE

Master Classes, one full day of professional training, are subject to additional fees that the Conference Pass alone does not give access to. Companies interested in sending teams or groups to the Master Class sessions are invited to contact sales@game-connection.com

We’re working extremely hard to bring the very best people from across the industry to share their unique insight at the event” said Pierre Carde, Founder of Game Connection. “We’re very excited to see the incredible added value the program will bring to our delegates this December.
For more information about Game Connection Europe 2013, visit the website: www.game-connection.com

Media interested in attending the event are invited to contact press@game-connection.com

ESA Announces Second E3 College Game Competition

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September 18, 2013 — Washington, DC — The Entertainment Software Association today announced the second edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 Expo) College Game Competition. The E3 College Game Competition honors the best student talent in video game development, and provides collegiate developers with a chance to display their games at E3, the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games.

Competing colleges and universities are required to submit one game, along with story details, and content assets from their playable video game, to be judged by a panel of game industry veterans and media professionals. A total of five finalists will be invited to present their game on this year’s E3 show floor.

“Last year’s collegiate game competition showcased the immense creative talent that our university system is developing for the video game industry,” said Mike Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, the trade association that owns and manages E3 and represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. “ESA is proud to continue hosting the E3 College Game Competition, and its important mission of providing a spotlight for the rising game design talent that will influence the future of our industry.”

This year’s competition will target almost 400 U.S. colleges, universities, art and trade schools offering video game courses, certificates and degree programs. Last year’s competition ended in with a tie between the University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Flash Frozen and Savannah College of Art and Design’s Lost in Thought.

“The E3 College Game Competition was an amazing experience for our students. It allowed our students to get an insider’s view of the game industry and make many valuable connections within the industry,” said Diane Christie, game design and development program director at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  “The showcase provided our students with a unique opportunity to have their game exposed to a large number of people and the feedback they received from game industry veterans and media professionals was invaluable.”

“For many years, E3 has been a legendary expo where heavyweight AAA game studios showcase their best projects. It was an honor to be a winner of its first college game competition in 2013,” said Tony Tseng, professor of interactive design and game development at Savannah College of Art and Design. “Our faculty and students were thrilled to be a part of this fascinating expo and showcase the game our students produced at SCAD. It was exciting to demo our game alongside the world’s top game development studios. The game industry is changing and the demand for indie games grows each year. By incorporating this college game competition into E3, and by bringing that indie student spirit to the expo, the ESA once again demonstrates a clear understanding of the latest trends in the industry.”

ESA will provide complete instructions to participating schools including guidelines on specific design, concept and key asset requirements.

Important competition dates:

  • Submissions will be accepted starting on March 14, 2014.
  • Final deadline for submissions is April 18, 2014.
  • Finalists will be notified on May 9, 2014.
  • The winner will be announced during E3.

Universities and colleges interested in more information on the competition rules and submission requirements should email ESA@theESA.com.

About E3

E3 is the world’s premier trade show for computer and video games and related products. The show is owned by the ESA, the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies, publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. For more information, visit www.E3Expo.com.

About the ESA

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning E3, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com.

About IDG World Expo

IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) is a leading producer of tradeshows and events for professionals and consumers seeking world-class education, strategic business relationships, and access to industry-leading products and services. IDG World Expo’s portfolio of conferences and events includes Macworld / iWorld, the MacIT® Conference, the Electronic Entertainment Expo® (E3®), Anime Expo®, The Game Marketing Summit, Enterprise MobileNext (mNext), and Macworld Mobile. IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research and event company.

Attending the Largest Game Guild Conference in the World

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We attended one of the largest game guild conferences in the world last month. As the community manager for the studio, I was super excited to see what was in store for this year’s event. While there are hundreds of game industry events of all types, only a handful of them represent guilds like The Syndicate. Sean “Dragons” Stalzer (with such an awesome game name, I must refer to him by it from this point forward) has been the leader of the guild since the very beginning in 1996, just before Ultima Online entered beta.

The Syndicate

The Syndicate has more experience and resilience than any other guild I’ve ever encountered, and they bring it all together at their yearly conference, SyndCon. The event is the epic result of what can be achieved when a guild sets long-term community goals and has strong leadership for it to grow and prosper. Dragons has already written two books about the guild and how to grow a community of gamers into an organization like The Syndicate.

You can pick up the books on Amazon here: http://alturl.com/ya9ip

“The Syndicate is uniquely successful in the online gaming space. SyndCon is a great example of that, since 200+ people are willing to invest their vacation time and dollars to come hang out with their guildmates and grow their friendships.” – Dragons

SyndCon is a long, 5 day, supercharged weekend filled with plenty of activities and chances to meet up with fellow guild members, as well as prominent industry guests. I had attended the last few events over the years and met cool new guild members each time. This year was special in that it was the first time attending after I was inaugurated into the guild as a member. SyndCon was also hosted near the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., a city worth exploring if you ever get the chance.

The main focus of SyndCon is to put faces to names of the hundreds of guildmates we encounter daily in various games, and to solidify friendships and forge new ones. You meet guild members all over the conference floor, as well as throughout the hotel where the conference takes place. Several developer panels and lectures fill the bulk of the scheduled time. The rest of the day includes guild members playing games in the various game rooms, including a larger room dedicated to a wide array of popular board games.

Industry Visitors

A highlight of any event is of course the guests. Several developers attended from Alienware, EA/BioWare, Zenimax, Petroglyph, City State, Roberts Space Industries, and even the legendary Richard Garriott from Portalarium. Alienware provided an array of supercharged laptops to play games on, as well as giving away one in a charity raffle during the last day of the event. We also got a sneak peek at some of their fancy new computer hardware. If you are looking to purchase a new laptop soon, Alienware’s new 2013 lineup is worth checking out!

“SyndCon also plays host to a number of great developer guests. It is always a great time learning about upcoming games, offering opinions in real time and getting the chance to meet them as people and not just names on forums. Syndicate members take a great deal of pride in giving constructive feedback and trying to do their small part to make the online world better for all players.” – Dragons

This year’s guest speakers were chock-full of great games to present. While the guild normally keeps a focus on just two online games at a time, they are looking for another, probably a replacement to one of the existing games. It’s important to keep a guild together and not spread out to thin. Anyone can play any game they like of course, but for official guild activities and events, it’s set at two. Portalarium’s Shroud of the Avatar game, as well as Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls Online, are the two presented at SyndCon that excited me the most.

Outdoor Activities

What group event wouldn’t be complete without some time sunning outdoors around the BBQ? The guild gathered Saturday afternoon at a nearby park for a picnic. While the food was being prepared, several games were setup and played around the open park space. Everything from volleyball to tossing Croquet balls (sometimes at each other) was in action. Even strangers from around the park had gathered to watch the fun.

Catered by a guildmate’s company named In10sebbq and served by an army of guild members, dinner included pulled pork chicken, hamburgers (including turkey burgers for us health geeks), hotdogs, and of course an entire row of cakes for dessert. Bees later came out of the trees, swarming the cakes and threatening to steal the frosting. Fortunately, someone was prepared and had brought with a bottle of Magical Bee Spray (-5 health per second to bees, area-of-effect). We gamers are resourceful types!

Charity Raffle

Swag time! I’m a sucker for free stuff, even if I have to pay for it. What I mean by that is the donations given to the guild’s Charity (American Cancer Society) Raffle event. You donate in exchange for a chance to win some of the items on the swag tables (and simply to be a nice person, of course). There were piles of t-shirts, hats, posters (signed!), game cards, cos-play outfits, hand painted miniatures, and the previously mentioned Alienware laptop as the grand prize.

The charity raffle lasted for over an hour as Dragons and a small team tirelessly handed out hundreds of items, calling off names in his commanding voice. Eventually the piles of swag dwindled to a smattering of leftovers. At that point most members said their goodbyes, while the rest ran up to their hotel rooms to stash away their new loot to free up their hands for one last evening of gaming.

“SyndCon is, at its core, a chance to establish and grow real relationships with the people you would otherwise know only online. It is the single best thing we do as a guild and since we began doing them it has eliminated drama within the community.” – Dragons

There is never enough time to play games, let alone simply enjoy the company of good friends. This is especially true when a fun group of guildies get together. The conclusion of the event came way too soon for my liking, but we all ended up sharing great stories of conquests both in-game, and out in the world of bees…

Here is hoping newcomers will be at next year’s event! If you are interested in joining the guild, you can send in an application at:

http://www.llts.org/Join.php

LLTS (Long Live The Syndicate)!

Written by: Mathew Anderson

Dragon Con 2013 a success on multiple fronts

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ATLANTA – September 18, 2013 – Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, and sci-fi convention, announced a record attendance of more than 57,000 for this year’s convention in downtown Atlanta. In addition to attendance, the convention set new records in its charity fundraising and blood drive efforts.

“We had a great year,” said Pat Henry, President of Dragon Con, Inc. “We had amazing actors and other celebrities join us. We had a terrific program of panels, discussions, concerts and shows. And, as always, the cosplay was out of this world.”

During the closing ceremonies, Dragon Con announced a change in convention leadership for 2014. Rachel Reeves, Senior Director of Guests and Media, will join David Cody as convention co-chair. Convention chairs are responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the convention.

Henry and Cody, Senior Director of Gaming, have co-chaired since 2011. Henry stepped down from that role but will continue to be President of Dragon Con, Inc.

Dragon Con’s annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive attracted a record turnout, with 2,972 attendees donating more than 6,000 units of blood and blood products this year. The annual drive – consistently ranked as the largest convention-based blood drive – benefits LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospitals in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast.

Call for Speakers for Macworld/iWorld 2014 is now open

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Macworld/iWorld is known around the world for featuring high quality instructors who deliver instruction and best practices about the latest tools and technologies of interest to Apple product users.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: Tuesday, November 12th

Click here to go to the Call for Speakers submission page.

To read the Macworld/iWorld Speaking Guidelines, click here.

Captivate Conference 2013 Promotional Video

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Here is the new Captivate Conference 2013 promotional video courtesy of The Manifest Collaborative:

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