IndieGamesCon '02
by Jay Moore · in General Discussion · 09/18/2002 (9:40 am) · 40 replies
November 1, 2 & 3 - "The Gathering" Fun, Informal & Informative.
After meeting with several GG'ers at GDC in 2002 we knew that a conference aimed at the specific needs of indies had to be done. After the response to our query GGCon??? Anybody Interested? we knew we had to put on a face to face community event. GDC has grown too big and too expensive. We need to get back to our roots of talking about game development, and especially the needs of the small, under funded indie developer.
Have we done one of these before? NO
Do we want your input on the sessions & content? YES
This is our conference and we know its going to rock, because we have a community that rocks.
We've got a conference hall that will hold 200+ we have food and beer (Spank Dog Ale - from our official sponsor Wild Duck Brewery & Restaurant) and some other sponsors in the works. I've gotten Jeff Tunnell to agree to do the keynote. The website will be us soon with more information.
It will cost $150 for 3 days including food, some beer and a LAN party Saturday Night.
Now we want your help telling us what sessions you'd like to see!
Some of the ideas we're thinking about for presentations, roundtables and breakout sessions.
"Making it as a traditional game developer." What to expect. How to get your jobs. How to sell your ideas to a publisher. Should I use an agent? Do I need a demo? How much can I make?
Where Do I Get Money? How can I possibly raise enough money to get my game out? Traditional methods, non-traditional methods.
IT Needs - Open Source Solutions: How to use Linux, Apache, PHP and other Open Source technologies for your website or game servers. Save $$$.
Making Money as a Contract Artist - Get the word out, how much to charge, can you make $ doing this?
PR Marketing Getting press for games reaching the core market and beyond.
Community Projects: RealmWars an experiment in available source development.
Blender Initiative: Working together to build 'indie' tools.
Torque Exporting: A walk through of the steps involved with exporting from 3DS Max.
Indies at GDC Game plan and preparation for GarageGames developers.
Possible Presentations:
"What Game Companies Expect or Working at a Big Game
Company": This is the mirror image of the above presentation in that it is from the perspective of a large publisher instead of the developer.
Business Aspects of Running your company: Very traditional accounting and legal aspects. LLC vs. partnership, record keeping, etc.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Use of NDA's. Can I post ideas to forums? Work for hire and IP protection.
MMP Games. Fortune or Folly?: The difficulties involved with create a MMP start up. Technology, content, infrastructure, costs.
Quark - How to use this tool to make levels, buildings and shapes for Torque.
Development - Open source programming solutions. Getting the most from GCC3, CVS, etc.
Scripting vs. C++ Programming in the Torque. TorqueScript.
After meeting with several GG'ers at GDC in 2002 we knew that a conference aimed at the specific needs of indies had to be done. After the response to our query GGCon??? Anybody Interested? we knew we had to put on a face to face community event. GDC has grown too big and too expensive. We need to get back to our roots of talking about game development, and especially the needs of the small, under funded indie developer.
Have we done one of these before? NO
Do we want your input on the sessions & content? YES
This is our conference and we know its going to rock, because we have a community that rocks.
We've got a conference hall that will hold 200+ we have food and beer (Spank Dog Ale - from our official sponsor Wild Duck Brewery & Restaurant) and some other sponsors in the works. I've gotten Jeff Tunnell to agree to do the keynote. The website will be us soon with more information.
It will cost $150 for 3 days including food, some beer and a LAN party Saturday Night.
Now we want your help telling us what sessions you'd like to see!
Some of the ideas we're thinking about for presentations, roundtables and breakout sessions.
"Making it as a traditional game developer." What to expect. How to get your jobs. How to sell your ideas to a publisher. Should I use an agent? Do I need a demo? How much can I make?
Where Do I Get Money? How can I possibly raise enough money to get my game out? Traditional methods, non-traditional methods.
IT Needs - Open Source Solutions: How to use Linux, Apache, PHP and other Open Source technologies for your website or game servers. Save $$$.
Making Money as a Contract Artist - Get the word out, how much to charge, can you make $ doing this?
PR Marketing Getting press for games reaching the core market and beyond.
Community Projects: RealmWars an experiment in available source development.
Blender Initiative: Working together to build 'indie' tools.
Torque Exporting: A walk through of the steps involved with exporting from 3DS Max.
Indies at GDC Game plan and preparation for GarageGames developers.
Possible Presentations:
"What Game Companies Expect or Working at a Big Game
Company": This is the mirror image of the above presentation in that it is from the perspective of a large publisher instead of the developer.
Business Aspects of Running your company: Very traditional accounting and legal aspects. LLC vs. partnership, record keeping, etc.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Use of NDA's. Can I post ideas to forums? Work for hire and IP protection.
MMP Games. Fortune or Folly?: The difficulties involved with create a MMP start up. Technology, content, infrastructure, costs.
Quark - How to use this tool to make levels, buildings and shapes for Torque.
Development - Open source programming solutions. Getting the most from GCC3, CVS, etc.
Scripting vs. C++ Programming in the Torque. TorqueScript.
About the author
Serial / parallel entrepreneur, insight merchant, sailor and red wine enthusiast. Co-founder of BitRaider, out to change the game. An original partner in GarageGames and hosted Indie Game Con `02-`05.
#22
If you're looking for lodging in the Springfield/Eugene area, we have all the major chains here. If you guys would like, I can call around and find the best local deals and list them here. Let me know and how many rooms, wants, needs, etc.
*Edit* Nevermind, Jay covered it. :)
09/19/2002 (8:32 am)
Sounds cool, especially since I'm just across town. I'll try and scrape up the $150 (and get a beating from the wife for it heh). If you're looking for lodging in the Springfield/Eugene area, we have all the major chains here. If you guys would like, I can call around and find the best local deals and list them here. Let me know and how many rooms, wants, needs, etc.
*Edit* Nevermind, Jay covered it. :)
#23
1) Lodging - I've got a rooms blocked at the Ramada for $62 a night plus tax (9.5%) - 2 double beds rollaways are $10. I've got a list that starts at $42 a night for the real low end. Also, we have a home game on Sat. night so rooms are going to be scare... Go DUCKS UofO against Stanford.
2) Food - From Friday evening until Sunday Lunch food and some beer will be included. The food is coming from our sponsor The Wild Duck Brewery & Restaurant - home of Spank Dog Ale (see how I got that plug in there)
3) We're working on the LAN Party - looks like it will be 32 machines and we'll rotate for competition. We have Tribes2 licenses, but we're open. It will be BYOC for those who can drive.
4) Car Pooling and finding room mates can be facilitated online... see roomate forum posts
5) All of Friday night is dedicated to ShowOFF Center and networking hanging out and having some beers. We'd talked about bringing in an indie band, but there are a number of good shows going on in Eugene that night for those that want to party together.
Again the web site will have more info soon!
09/19/2002 (8:59 am)
The website will be up soon!1) Lodging - I've got a rooms blocked at the Ramada for $62 a night plus tax (9.5%) - 2 double beds rollaways are $10. I've got a list that starts at $42 a night for the real low end. Also, we have a home game on Sat. night so rooms are going to be scare... Go DUCKS UofO against Stanford.
2) Food - From Friday evening until Sunday Lunch food and some beer will be included. The food is coming from our sponsor The Wild Duck Brewery & Restaurant - home of Spank Dog Ale (see how I got that plug in there)
3) We're working on the LAN Party - looks like it will be 32 machines and we'll rotate for competition. We have Tribes2 licenses, but we're open. It will be BYOC for those who can drive.
4) Car Pooling and finding room mates can be facilitated online... see roomate forum posts
5) All of Friday night is dedicated to ShowOFF Center and networking hanging out and having some beers. We'd talked about bringing in an indie band, but there are a number of good shows going on in Eugene that night for those that want to party together.
Again the web site will have more info soon!
#24
How about Sunday, are we scheduled to go till the evening?
Just trying to plan my coast hopping :)
09/19/2002 (12:43 pm)
Will there be events Friday morning? Should we fly in Thursday night?How about Sunday, are we scheduled to go till the evening?
Just trying to plan my coast hopping :)
#26
Friday - Registration starts at Noon. ShowOFF Center opens at 3pm. Opening session at 4 PM ... Dinner at 6PM - ShowOFF and networking reception until Midnight.
Saturday we go - 9am Breakfast until Sun. 2AM with the LAN Party
Sunday we go until 3pm.
Hope that will work for everyones travel plans. Full Schedule on the upcoming web site... SOON.
09/19/2002 (6:25 pm)
Schedule:Friday - Registration starts at Noon. ShowOFF Center opens at 3pm. Opening session at 4 PM ... Dinner at 6PM - ShowOFF and networking reception until Midnight.
Saturday we go - 9am Breakfast until Sun. 2AM with the LAN Party
Sunday we go until 3pm.
Hope that will work for everyones travel plans. Full Schedule on the upcoming web site... SOON.
#27
On the other hand, if anyone is in the Bay area and wants to pay for gas I'll supply the vehicle to drive up, would be able to bring a PC for tha LAN part then.
09/19/2002 (11:52 pm)
OK I can make that pretty easy if I fly ;)On the other hand, if anyone is in the Bay area and wants to pay for gas I'll supply the vehicle to drive up, would be able to bring a PC for tha LAN part then.
#28
09/20/2002 (5:32 am)
Just what I needed to know, Jay, thanks :)
#29
Post any unanswered questions here.
--Rick
09/20/2002 (10:25 pm)
The www.indiegamescon.com site has been updated with the latest information. Ticket sales will start Sept 24th.Post any unanswered questions here.
--Rick
#30
09/25/2002 (8:19 am)
Tickets bought and paid for, now to find a hotel ;)
#31
09/25/2002 (9:46 am)
I would love to have some discussion about performance and greatest factors to consider when creating the art for Torque based games. For example, when do you trade polys for greater texture sizes? Can you tell in advance if you are already shooting too high? I might be alone in this one, but I would really like to have that broken down and discussed. Just a thought.....
#32
I wish I could go! Sounds like a helluva event. Great idea guys! From my understanding, the beer is paid for in the registration costs too? Man, drunk indies playing games at a HUGE LAN Party, sounds damn fun! I hope ya'll do this next year, cuz I'm there!
09/25/2002 (11:37 am)
)C:
#33
10/12/2002 (1:34 pm)
We're considering having all the sessions video taped and offering them on DVD. I need to know there is support in the community for this before we invest the effort. We'll try to do this low cost, but price will be partly determined based on what volume we think we can do as we'll be trying to recoup costs.
#34
A cheaper way to go might be VCD or just some MPEG streams on CD's.
DVD's might be nice, but everyone that would be interested probably has a computer :) so VCD or just MPEG1 videos would suffice and be cross platform and cheaper to produce.
10/14/2002 (12:55 pm)
Jay,A cheaper way to go might be VCD or just some MPEG streams on CD's.
DVD's might be nice, but everyone that would be interested probably has a computer :) so VCD or just MPEG1 videos would suffice and be cross platform and cheaper to produce.
#35
Dunno how to do that so it is DVD video and DVD-Rom ready but I am sure someone does :)
I would pay maybe 20-30$ for it
Cheers,
James Hills
CyPR Media
http://www.cyprmedia.com
10/14/2002 (1:12 pm)
I would be interested in a DVD more than streams. This would especially be true if you could include extra content on the DVD like demos/movies from games included at the show and conference materials i.e. slides etc.Dunno how to do that so it is DVD video and DVD-Rom ready but I am sure someone does :)
I would pay maybe 20-30$ for it
Cheers,
James Hills
CyPR Media
http://www.cyprmedia.com
#37
10/16/2002 (8:16 am)
I'd very much be interested in getting a copy of all the stuff from IGC on DVD. $20? Sure :-) $40? Hmm... that's pushin' it price wise for me. 
#38
10/25/2002 (10:22 pm)
I too would be interested in a DVD if available
#40
I signed up, and when i signed up I thought I was flying, so I said I wasn't bringing my box. But now I'm driving, so I will be bringing my box. Do I need to update this anywhere (couldn't find a place), or is it just casual and I can just bring my box and find space to plug it in?
This is gonna be a sweet conference....
10/31/2002 (1:12 pm)
Hey, I've got a question wrt the LAN party Saturday night, not sure where to post it:I signed up, and when i signed up I thought I was flying, so I said I wasn't bringing my box. But now I'm driving, so I will be bringing my box. Do I need to update this anywhere (couldn't find a place), or is it just casual and I can just bring my box and find space to plug it in?
This is gonna be a sweet conference....
Torque 3D Owner Gareth Davies