RPI Gamefest 2013 - So, So Many Games
Great time at Rensselaer Polytechnic this past weekend, meeting with the advisory board about their games program and then getting to see all the insanely interesting student projects. Games were not just RPI but also Champlain College, Rochester Institute of Technology and Becker College. Then I got to do my talk on the largest screen I’ve ever had slides projected on (seriously, it was big - even Lee Sheldon looks short as he does my intro). Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to see all of the games, but some cool ones were The Bigfoot Journals (RPI - immersive action-adventure), Sasquatch: Photo-Bomber (Champlain - hybrid Kinect game), Cogs of War (RPI - pretty mech-based MOBA, soon to be renamed), Energy Drive (RIT - clean-energy-simulator), Unbroken (RIT - touch-based slash-em-up, could be released on iOS any minute), Heist (RPI - 2D stealth heist game), Quibly Ball (Champlain, aka battle of the Wall-Es), Prismatic Showdown (RPI, unique strategy online PvP game). Congrats to all the students for keeping us honest.
Worth coming to NYC just to pick these up.
Is there a more charming picture than this anywhere in existence?
I’ll be doing speaking and otherwise pontificating at two upcoming events.
Coming up on April 26/27, Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute Gamefest is a showcase of all the student projects from RPI and surrounding schools, followed by a talk (by me) and a panel of smart industry people (including Rich Vogel, Tobi Saulnier, Mark Terrano, Jennifer Oneal) talking about (not surprisingly) the industry. This year’s title is “The Future of Games." Lee Sheldon’s one of the head honchos over there, and he was nice enough to invite me.
Then on May 10th, UC Santa Cruz is having their 2013 "Interactive Storytelling” symposium titled, ahem, “Inventing the Future of Games." I’m on a panel there with Clint Hocking and Kevin Bruner and moderated by Michael Mateas, so that should be interesting, to say the least. The rest of the day is a who’s who of interactive storytelling people, with Warren Spector opening and Brenda Romero closing, so, yeah, that’ll be a lot of ideas flying around.
Looking forward to both! Better get working on my content…
Ages ago I got to work with Harvey Smith (he of Deus Ex and now Dishonored fame) on some pretty cool projects. Despite the madness going on around us, working with him was always a very stimulating experience. It was way back then he first showed me an early version of his novel, Big Jack is Dead. (Back then it was called His Black Wings - I like both titles.) I remember thinking, “Wow, that’s bleak." Beautiful, but bleak. He’s recently finished it and now the book is out in the world (available at Amazon). Harvey assures me it is now "more human” though I thought it was plenty human when I read it. I can’t wait ‘til my copy (paper, naturally) gets here so I can find out what difference a few years of polish can make.
It’s about that time that I have the first slide in my talk done - I’m on in the first slot at the GDC Narrative Summit - 10am on Monday morning. Come see how the Sneetches tie in, if they in fact do…
Happy Valentines Day.
And in particular to my lovely wife, who thankfully likes this movie too.
Long lost Sophia shambling out of the barn in the middle of The Walking Dead season 2… one of those great storytelling moments when so many plot threads come together so beautifully.
After episode 6 of season 1, I thought the show show had lost its way. Yet something drew me back to season 2. I’m glad I came.
(And yes, I know I’m a season behind.)
