Minneapolis, MN or Chicago, IL mini-conference?
by Jonathon Stevens · in General Discussion · 08/31/2006 (2:03 pm) · 30 replies
I'm just curious to see if anyone would be interested in attending a mini-conference for indies either in Minneapolis, MN or Chicago, IL? We're looking at having keynote speakers in the field of virtual worlds/MMOs as well as some booths for vendors. We're also looking to do mini-classes on various mmo related game development topics.
The cost schedule would be somewhere in the vacinity of $100 - $200. This would be a 1- or 2-day conference depending on interest.
The cost schedule would be somewhere in the vacinity of $100 - $200. This would be a 1- or 2-day conference depending on interest.
About the author
With a few casual games under his belt as CEO of Last Straw Productions, Jonathon created the increasingly popular Indie MMO Game Developers Conference which. Following the success of IMGDC a new MMOG fan event called LFG Expo will debut in June of 2010.
#2
09/01/2006 (7:58 am)
Minneapolis is currently looking like the most likely spot, but I wanted to keep options open if it helped people make a decision. I'm looking for people to give mini-classes on various Torque related subjects. If you are interested, either post here or email me at dishmal@gmail.com
#3
09/01/2006 (12:20 pm)
I would be interested in attending if it was in Minneapolis.
#4
09/01/2006 (1:18 pm)
I am from the Minneapolis area and would also be interested if it were here. 
#6
We're looking at Minneapolis, MN as the location for sure now.
09/05/2006 (2:13 pm)
Just to give a quick update, I've had a lot of interest in a conference so far to where I believe this will be possible. I'm getting a lot of feedback outside the forums as well. Things are looking good and if I can get a few more sponsors, I'll get a website up with more information soon.We're looking at Minneapolis, MN as the location for sure now.
#7
Curious - are you planning to retain this as a *Torque* specific conference? Or open it up to any virtual world/MMO type stuff? Occurs to me you might boost attendance by opening it to users of systems other than the DreamKit like Realmcrafter, Multiverse, and others.
09/08/2006 (12:38 pm)
Put me down as interested. ;)Curious - are you planning to retain this as a *Torque* specific conference? Or open it up to any virtual world/MMO type stuff? Occurs to me you might boost attendance by opening it to users of systems other than the DreamKit like Realmcrafter, Multiverse, and others.
#8
09/08/2006 (1:15 pm)
This is indie specific, not Torque specific. If GG wants a presence, I'm more than happy to accomidate, but it's not the theme at all. I've had way more interest than I initially thought, so I'm moving ahead with the planning and have a few possible sponsors lined up.
#10
I've been scouting out places, and it will be at a hotel near the airport. I'll have info on the site about ridesharing so people wont have to worry about that. Also, I'll put something up about hotel sharing if people are interested to save some $$. We have roughly 30+ people who've expressed interest so far in attending and a few possible speakers have come forward as well.
If you are interested and haven't posted, please do so as it helps me gage what sort of attendance I need to account for.
09/11/2006 (10:25 am)
Thanks to Michael Wojcik we now have a website sponsor and will be getting a site up very soon. The url will be http://www.mmogamedev.info. It's currently parked, so wont have anything to do with the conference, but look for it sometime by the end of this coming weekend.I've been scouting out places, and it will be at a hotel near the airport. I'll have info on the site about ridesharing so people wont have to worry about that. Also, I'll put something up about hotel sharing if people are interested to save some $$. We have roughly 30+ people who've expressed interest so far in attending and a few possible speakers have come forward as well.
If you are interested and haven't posted, please do so as it helps me gage what sort of attendance I need to account for.
#11
09/11/2006 (12:12 pm)
We're looking at April 14th - 15th, 2007. I checked all the conferences I know of to make sure this entire month is open and didn't find anything that would be in April. Anyone know of something I missed?
#12
09/12/2006 (8:27 am)
Just to give a quick update on this (because I'm so damn excited) I have all but signed up the keynote speaker. I can't give out his name yet because it's not QUITE official, but let's just say he is EXTREMELY influential in the MMO/Virtual World industry and is going to be a GREAT asset to the conference! More info will be up once the website is up later this week or early next week!
#13
09/13/2006 (6:01 am)
I'm interested and already in Minneapolis. Once the website is up I'll post the information to the forum of the engine I'm currently working with.
#14
09/16/2006 (10:56 am)
Just wanted a quick little poll to find out what people think Indie's need the most out of a conference as far as 'training' and 'information' goes? Do Indies need more business and game design training versus technical training, etc. What would you benefit most from an indie conference outside of pitching games to publishers and showing off games?
#15
"Richard A. Bartle, Ph.D., co-wrote the first virtual world, MUD ("Multi-User Dungeon"), in 1978, thus being at the forefront of the online gaming industry from its very inception. A former university lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, he is an influential writer on all aspects of virtual world design and development. As an independent consultant, he has worked with almost every major online gaming company in the U.K. and the U.S. over the past 20 years."
Full bio: http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/biog.htm
09/18/2006 (10:18 am)
WOOHOO! I can finally announce it! Our headliner speaker at the MMO Conf in April is the godfather of virtual worlds himself DR. RICHARD BARTLE! "Richard A. Bartle, Ph.D., co-wrote the first virtual world, MUD ("Multi-User Dungeon"), in 1978, thus being at the forefront of the online gaming industry from its very inception. A former university lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, he is an influential writer on all aspects of virtual world design and development. As an independent consultant, he has worked with almost every major online gaming company in the U.K. and the U.S. over the past 20 years."
Full bio: http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/biog.htm
#16
09/18/2006 (11:02 am)
Any word if GG is going to make an official appearance? Would like a free GG coffee mug.
#17
09/18/2006 (11:21 am)
No reply from GG at this time. There will be an unannounced GG related product pegged for release at the conference however! =)
#18
09/27/2006 (8:27 am)
I'll be there to represent Dream Games, Inc.!
#19
09/27/2006 (8:49 am)
Good deal! We should have the site up by the end of the weekend. We're working out the tracks still, so if you have requests, let me know.
#20
I'm still negotiating with the venue on hotel pricing as it's currently set at $99/room and I'm shooting to get them down to $60/room. The rooms are normally $129/night as they are VERY nice rooms, so wish me luck!
As for vendors, we only have a few slots left, so if anyone is looking at a possible booth, they should contact me asap at jonathon@mmogamedev.info.
vendor and sponsor options will be up by tomorrow afternoon at the IMGDC site.
09/28/2006 (2:26 pm)
We're making good progress on the website and we've got the pricing structure worked out. we're doing a little more research on the pricing as we're trying to make this as cheap as possible for indies. Vendor booths are roughly 1/3 the cost of a smaller booth at AGC and we wont even talk about the difference between ours and GDC .I'm still negotiating with the venue on hotel pricing as it's currently set at $99/room and I'm shooting to get them down to $60/room. The rooms are normally $129/night as they are VERY nice rooms, so wish me luck!
As for vendors, we only have a few slots left, so if anyone is looking at a possible booth, they should contact me asap at jonathon@mmogamedev.info.
vendor and sponsor options will be up by tomorrow afternoon at the IMGDC site.
Torque Owner Dave D