NPR’s On The Media is running a story this weekend on the independent computer gaming scene called, “DIY Gaming”. It’s free to listen to or download on NPR’s site, if you’re interested.
Pretty standard stuff, although it concentrates mostly on the console scene, with a particular discussion of Microsoft and XNA. There was a nice portion at the end on Chen’s “Flow” and “Flower”, but in general it was not a very deep discussion, and it really didn’t go into the PC indie scene at all — except for a mention of how designing games just for computers, rather than consoles, is too limiting and not “the big leagues”, based on the size of the user base. There was some mention of the creativity and experimentation in the indie world, and how this should eventually revitalize the mainstream industry, but all in all a relatively shallow discussion.
Still, it’s [More...]
Austin GDC Submission Deadline Soon
As I cram for tomorrow’s combined Indiecade/Utah Indie Gamers Night deadlines, another looms close on the horizon. The deadline for submissions to the Austin Game Developers Conference, or AGDC, is coming up in a little over a week. This is not a deadline for game submissions, but rather submissions for lectures, classes, or panel discussions.
I went to last year’s conference and had a great time. It’s much smaller than the main GDC in San Francisco, but there’s a lot of great activity and opportunities to meet and talk with people. While GDC is probably overwhelming, AGDC is considerably more welcoming and relaxed (and less expensive). I’m planning on going again this year, and depending on when the IGF Showcase deadline is, perhaps submitting a demo of Vespers.
But one thing I thought about doing for last year’s conference, and am now planning on submitting [More...]