Drexel Game Developers

This Week's Meeting

2008-12-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hey Everbody!

Welcome back from Thanksgiving break, and welcome back to finals! In lieu of a meeting this week, we'll be attending the IGDA meeting, which will be this Wednesday. Hope to see you all there!

http://www.igda.org/philly/archives/2008/11/next_philly_igd.html

-Aaron

First Event Presentation

2008-10-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

The presentation we gave on the 21st is now available online. If you missed it, you can find it here. Along with helpful links, if you're looking for what classes to take at Drexel to get into Game Design, they're listed in here as well.

Next week we'll be talking about this week's IGDA meeting, followed by Lee, Hardik, and myself giving short introductions to our current projects, and discussing how to start and maintain a game project. It's Tuesday at 7 in UCross 150, so come by but don't forget to vote first!

Bancannon, FIRE!

2008-10-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

We've just finished the removal of all the spam that was on our forum, much to our delight. Now they are open for business! Also, we've added a "Reviews" section, where you can praise or pan the games you love, hate, and obsess over.

Details about next week's IGDA meeting will be coming out soon.

First Event of the 2008-2009 School Year!

2008-10-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

After a period of hibernation, we're dusting off and firing up again! Our first meeting is on Tuesday, October 21st, at 7pm. We'll be meeting in UCross 150, and discussing how to get into Game Development at Drexel. See you there!

Halo Tournament and IDGA Meeting

2008-07-28T06:51:00.001-07:00

While I'm sure some of you are actually out having fun this summer, the DGDG has not forgotten the poor souls stuck going to class in the "beautiful" weather. So, we are having a Halo tournament this Thursday! We'll have two 360s set up in UCross 149, and we'll be starting at 4. If you're interested in coming, please sign up on the facebook event, so we have an idea of how many people to expect. We're planning on providing free pizza as well, though we have to double-check with the bean counters first before we can make any promises.

Also, we're hosting the Philly IDGA's July meeting right here at Drexel. It's going to be the day before the tournament, Wednesday the 30th, from 7 to 10pm. The meeting is going to be a game exhibition night, so it should be a lot of fun.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Game design workshop

2008-04-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday, April 23, at 5 pm in University Crossings 149 the Drexel Game Developers Group will host a game design workshop. During the workshop, attendees will work towards creating simple game concepts, which they will have the chance to implement in subsequent workshops focusing on programming, art, etc.

We will (finally) have elections before the workshop in order to prevent further delay. If you won't be able to make the meeting but would like to run, please email me your speech and I'll pass it along.

When: April 23 @ 5 pm
Location: University Crossings 149

Game Design Challenge

2008-04-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

Jame Portnow, game designer at Activision, has created a weekly game design challenge on the the Game Career Guide website. This week's challenge is to "create a new class or set of classes for a fantasy MMORPG. " These challenges are a great opportunity to gain some industry exposure while practicing basic game designer skills.

Effective Networking in the Game Industry

2008-03-13T09:18:00.001-07:00

Darius Kazemi will be presenting a lecture entitled "Effective Networking in the Game Industry". The talk will be held in University, Crossings Room 149 at 2 pm on Monday, March 17.

Lecture Synopsis
Effective networking is key to breaking in and staying ahead in the game industry. But networking is more than just schmoozing: it's a valuable way to make lifelong friends and open up new opportunities. In this session, you'll learn how to talk to anyone, how to make yourself memorable in an industry full of memorable people, and how to increase the value of your contacts over time.

Darius Kazemi
President, Orbus Gameworks
Darius runs Orbus Gameworks, a startup that's building gameplay data metrics tools to help developers keep track of what their players are doing in-game. Before Orbus, Darius did gameplay metrics at Turbine Inc for MMORPGs including Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online. He is also a technology officer for the IGDA Education SIG, a committee member for the Boston Postmortem, and spends a good deal of his free time giving advice on how to break into the game industry.

What: Effective Networking in the Game Industry
When: Monday, March 17 @ 2 pm
Where: University Crossings 149

Wednesday Meeting Topic Change

2008-03-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

There has been a change in topic for tomorrow's meeting. Instead of a lecture we will be hosting a mini dev session. At minimum, you should walk away with an idea on how to start developing a game using XNA. Bring a laptop if you have one!

Where: University Crossings 153
When: Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 @ 5PM

Angry Face Studios Talk

2008-03-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

The Drexel Game Developers Group will be hosting a talk by the senior design group Angry Face Studios in University Crossings 153 at 5PM on Wednesday March 12th. The group is currently working on the alternative reality game Inversion, and will be discussing their experience developing the game and it's various components.

Inversion is an interactive video game played on both PC and Mobile platforms. The game will allow players on both platforms to interact with each other in a variety of competitive and cooperative game modes. The game world consists of predesignated real world environments that are represented in 3D for the PC players. As mobile players move through the real world game area, they to are represented in the 3D game environment. PC operators will guide the mobile agents through the game as they are afforded a broader view of the game state. Communication and interaction between players is facilitated through text based messages and virtual items placed in the game world.

Date: Wednesday, March 12th
Time: 5PM
Location: University Crossings 153

Generations Talk

2008-03-04T03:56:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday, March 5th, at 5PM, the Drexel Game Developers Group will host a talk by the Generations Senior Design Group. The developers of Generations (description below) will be presenting on their experiences creating an evolutionary MMORPG.

Description: Generations�?? goal is to break new ground in providing a dynamic and unique experience to players all too used to having a static reality within MMORPGs. Through a unique genetics system that forces players to mate and produce offspring, users will be able to continue playing when their character dies of old age, and produce a unique and one-of-a-kind lineage. Now players will be able to not only grow powerful, but create generations of purebred characters, or perhaps delve into one of many hybrid classes created by cross-breeding with other classes. Now, when a player logs in a year later, the world won�??t be the same old static landscape they left it, since the world grows and changes in an organic and fluid way as well.

Where: University Crossings 153
When: Wednesday, March 5th @ 5PM

IGDA Meeting

2008-02-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

NOTE: This week's Drexel Game Developer's Group meeting is cancelled. Instead, attend the IGDA meeting (details follow) for a broader recap of the GDC.

This Wednesday, February 27th, the Philadelphia IGDA is having a meeting at 7PM. The meeting will be held on Penn's campus and will have the following agenda:
- Philly Game Jam Demo Night
- GDC Recap (from students, indies, serious game devs, and professors)
- Big Changes Coming Up for Local IGDA Chapters

Free pizza will be provided!

Directions and more information can be found at http://www.igda.org/philly/archives/2008/02/february_2008_m.html

Where: Levine Hall 307, UPenn
When: February 27th @ 7 PM

GDC Postmortem (Cancelled!)

2008-02-24T19:17:00.000-08:00

Note: This meeting is cancelled. Instead, attend the monthly IGDA meeting. (http://blog.drexelgamedev.org/2008/02/igda-meeting.html)
This Wednesday, February 27th, the Drexel Game Developer's Group will be holding a GDC postmortem. Members who attended are invited to talk about their experiences, as well as share any tips and advice they picked up during the conference.

Where: University Crossings 153
When: February 27th @ 5 PM

Game Idea Workshop

2008-02-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

The DGDG will be having an open forum for game ideas this Wednesday in UCROSS rm 153 at 5pm. A topic will be presented to the group and then we all will form ideas for games based upon that topic.

This is a great way to come up with some new ideas and subject matter for your games.

Where: University Crossings 153
When: 5PM Wednesday, February 20th

Shader Talk

2008-02-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday, February 13th, the MCS Society and the Drexel Game Developers Group will be presenting a talk by Paul Diefenbach on Shader Programming. It will take place in UCROSS 153 at 5PM. Pizza will be provided!

Where: University Crossings 153
When: Wednesday, February 13th at 5PM
Perks: Pizza will be provided

Hope to see you there!

Great Resource of Industry News

2008-02-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to ScienceDaily.

It takes you to the video game section of the site.

There's some great news items here. You should definitely bookmark.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/video_games/

Networking Talk

2008-01-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday, January 30th, Tom Bennett will be giving a talk on networking and staying connected in the video game industry, with an emphasis on the upcoming Game Developers Conference. Tom has attended numerous conferences, including GDC, and is "connected." He will be basing his talk on notes from Darius Kazemi.

Where: University Crossings 153
When: January 30, 2008 5PM

Game Jam Postmortem - Wed. Jan. 23rd

2008-01-22T14:12:00.000-08:00

The Drexel Game Developers Group will host a meeting this Wednesday, January 23, in University Crossings 149 at 5 pm. We will be hearing from participants in the Philly Game Jam this past weekend.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Game Dev Meeting Wednesday

2008-01-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Drexel Game Developers Group will host a meeting this Wednesday, January 16, in University Crossings 149 at 5 pm. We will be discussing the events for this term, and look for any feedback on the organization's direction. The meeting should be brief, so please stop by if you can!

Date: January 16 (Wednesday)
Time: 5 pm
Where: UCross 149

Tips on obtaining a GDC Scholarship

2007-12-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

Applications for an IGDA scholarship to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) are due Friday! Click here for more information on the scholarship.

For those applying, be sure to check out this post made on the IGDA forums. Someone who evaluates scholarship applications was kind enough to explain his process for evaluation - giving great tips for those applying.

Forum Polls

2007-11-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

Everyone please checkout the new Polls in our forum.

3D Game Modeling Introduction

2007-11-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, December 4, 2007, Will Muto, a Digital Media grad student with numerous game projects under his belt, will be giving us an introduction into the world of 3D modeling for games, delving into the art of low-poly modeling in Blender.

Where: Campbell Auditorium (113 Stratton Hall)
When: December 4th, 2007, 6:30-8:00PM Note the Updated Time

November IGDA meeting

2007-11-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

The November meeting of the Philly IGDA will take place on Wednesday November 28th at 7:00 PM.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

7:00 - 7:30: Food, refreshments and informal chat
7:30 - 7:45: Around-the-world introductions
7:45 - 8:00: Chapter business, call for volunteers and 2007 IGDA Leadership forum summary by Dan Hettrick
8:00 - 8:45: Featured speaker: Chris Jurney "A Day in the Life of an AI Programmer"
8:45 - 9:00: Margaret Chen "Imagine Cup - Microsoft's Game Programming Contest"
9:00 - 9:45: Featured Speaker: Al Vazquez "Challenges of Non-Electronic Game Design"
9:45- 10:00: Game Design Challenge Workshop (if time permits)

More info is available at the IGDA website and IGDA Forums

DGDG Related Photos

2007-11-15T05:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a Flickr album of pictures (taken by Tom) relating to the Drexel Game Developers Group.

Enjoy!

Game Design Workshop

2007-11-12T13:01:00.001-08:00

This Wednesday, November 14, at 5 pm in University Crossings 153 the Drexel Game Developers Group will host a brief lecture on game design followed by a game design workshop.

When: November 14 @ 5 pm
Location: University Crossings 153