Future Play

Some Thoughts on FuturePlays Past and Present

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Mon, 6 Apr 2009 16:40:00 -0400

I have been digging up some quotes from people about FuturePlay and I thought I would post them here... (Yes, I know that is a lame introduction...)

Chris Swain:
“Future Play @ GDC mixes cutting edge thinking from the world of research and academia with the frontlines of creativity from industry and the indie-scene. A powerful concoction indeed.”

John Nicol:
“Future Play is a very important forum for Acron to in which to participate and help shape the future of the industry. Future Play is more than just about the game and game-play, it is about the underlying technology, how we use it to learn, to visualize and apply these developments and research activities to advance the state-of-the-art and apply it to other industry and learning metaphors. We are excited to be part of Future Play 2009.”

Jim Parker:
"I have a high regard for the role of Future Play in the game research and development vista in Canada. I was an early participant in Futureplay, since 2004 in fact, when it was still named the Game Technology Conference, and have been enthusiastic ever since. It has been the home of many innovations, such as the game contest in 2007 and in acting as host for the Canadian Game Studies Association in its early stages. What I think is important is that it is a broadly based conference, having participation from academics and industry, game studies and technology. There is nothing else like it in Canada, and I am excited to see it connect with GDC Canada this year."

Gardner Condon:
“Future Play is one of those rare opportunities where a diverse group of thought leaders are brought together to focus on the games industry. “

Eric Gagnon:
"Serious games are a rapidly changing industry. Future Play gives professionals an opportunity to get up to speed on all aspects of the industry, meet partners, and find new opportunities. I would not want to miss it for the world."

Duane Dunfield:
"Future Play has proven itself to be a great showcase of the quality of research, ideas and people that exist in Canada. I feel it is a valuable place to network with academic institutions and researchers around innovative game concepts, philosophy, and methodology -- especially pertaining to games for learning"

These all seem much better than my quote used a couple of years back "I met a lot of really smart people" (though that is also true. Hope to see you in Vancouver in May!

Ben Sawyer to Speak at FuturePlay 2009

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:39:00 -0500

Ben Sawyer, the co-founder of Digitalmill and the Serious Games Initiative, will be one of the keynote presenters at the Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada, this May 12th and 13th in Vancouver, British Columbia. Registration for Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada is now open.

Sawyer has long been a leading advocate for the applications of serious games, serving as the volunteer producer of the first Serious Games Summit that took place at GDC in 2004. He is currently the co-director of the Serious Games Initiative located at the Woodrow Wilson Institute for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. The chief aim of the initiative is to foster a new series of policy education, exploration and management tools by utilizing state-of-the-art computer game designs, technologies and development skills.

A prolific writer, Sawyer has authored more than ten computer trade books and a multitude of articles covering a wide swath of technology issues. He is a former contributor to Game Developer Magazine and its online counter-part Gamasutra. His expertise has made him a sought-after speaker and his observations have been important in formulating a better understanding of how the gaming industry's value chain functions.

Digitalmill, based out of Portland, Maine, is a technology project and software development company that was co-founded by Sawyer and Dave Greely in 1997. The firm is known for its strong focus on how new technologies, especially games, create new opportunities for businesses and organizations. Notable clients have included Lockheed Martin, Cisco Systems and the American Hospital Association. In his capacity as President of Digitalmill, Sawyer is responsible for strategy, business development and technology.

Sawyer last spoke at Future Play 2008 on the topic of serious games, building his presentation around the question, "Are We Learning Yet?" Sawyer has also been a member of Future Play's advisory committee for several years.

Abstract Submission Deadline Extended

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:48:00 -0500

The deadline to submit your extended abstract or panel/seminar for Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada is now Feb 20. If you did not RSVP but still wish to submit, follow the guidelines on futureplay.org.

Submissions will be accepted until Feb 20 for extended abstracts for oral or poster presentation, seminars, panels and workshops relevant to the conference themes.

Deadline For Submissions is Fast Approaching.

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Fri, 6 Feb 2009 19:24:00 -0500

The deadline to submit your extended abstract or panel/seminar for Future Play 09 @ GDC Canada is Feb 10. If you did not RSVP but still wish to submit, follow the guidelines on futureplay.org.

Submissions will be accepted until Feb 10 for extended abstracts for oral or poster presentation, seminars, panels and workshops relevant to the conference themes.

Future Play is an annual conference hosted by Algoma University of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with support from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, located in Oshawa, Ontario. The conference focuses on three major themes: future game developments, future game impacts and applications and future game talent.

Future Play is teaming up with the Game Developers Conference Canada (R) (GDC Canada) and will be held on May 12-13th 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Registration is now open.

GDC Canada is a conference for Canadian game developers to share best practices for fostering ingenuity and quality games. The conference emphasizes studying the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating games with long-production cycles, large development teams and across multiple platforms.

Future Play 2009 at GDC Canada will provide the opportunity for leading intellectuals and industry researchers to present their findings before an audience that includes: students, game developers, government representatives, investors and academics.

We're Baack, and This Time We Brought GDC Canada WIth Us..

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Mon, 2 Feb 2009 21:30:00 -0500

After five years in Michigan and Southern Ontario, Future Play, the international conference on gaming and design, is heeding the advice popularized by Horace Greeley to "go west!" Future Play is teaming up with the Game Developers Conference Canada (R) (GDC Canada) and will be held on May 12-13th 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Registration is now open.

"We're excited to be joining forces with GDC Canada," says Dr. Bill Kapralos of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and co-chair of the Future Play 2009 committee. "We feel that the new format we will be introducing will provide leaders from both the gaming industry and academia with a unique forum to discuss the future of games and gaming."

Future Play is an annual conference hosted by Algoma University of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with support from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, located in Oshawa, Ontario. The conference focuses on three major themes: future game developments, future game impacts and applications and future game talent.

GDC Canada is a conference for Canadian game developers to share best practices for fostering ingenuity and quality games. The conference emphasizes studying the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating games with long-production cycles, large development teams and across multiple platforms.

Future Play 2009 at GDC Canada will provide the opportunity for leading intellectuals and industry researchers to present their findings before an audience that includes: students, game developers, government representatives, investors and academics. Over the years the Future Play conference has also featured many renowned keynote speakers from the gaming field including: Don Daglow of Stormfront Studios, Academy Award winner and inventor of Perlin Noise Dr. Ken Perlin and John Lester, the creator of Second Life.

This year's conference speakers will include: Duane M. Dunfield, President of Red Hot Learning; Eric Gagnon, General Manager of Cinetek Studio; Jerry Heneghan, Founder and CEO of Virtual Heroes Incorporated; Lucie Lalumière, Vice-President Interactive with Earth Rangers; Kevin McNulty, founding partner of Coole Immersive Incorporated; Kal Shariff, CEO of Project Whitecard Incorporated; and Kenton White, co-founder and CTO of DISTIL. Researchers from a number of universities from across North America and around the world, will be presenting their work as well.

Online registration for Future Play 2009 at GDC Canada is available now on the revamped Future Play website at www.futureplay.org.

New stuff coming soon

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 21:02:00 -0500

I recorded both Ken Perlin and John Buchanan's talks at FuturePlay 2008. Instead of releasing the raw audio of these I will be turning them into two episodes of thunderbird six in the next few weeks. I of course will put them on the feed here.

Thanks to everyone at FP, it was great meeting everyone, and the talks were great. Plus, I got a bunch of new facebook and twitter followers...

Hard Rock Cafe Tonight

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 16:46:00 -0500

I have been asked to blog this by the powers that be, which sounds ominous doesn't it?

Some folks are heading over to the Hard Rock Cafe around 6 pm for dinner and beverages...

Jackie Copland's Keynote: Living The Dream

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 15:31:00 -0500

Jackie is from Electronic Arts and she is a member of the Global University Relations Team for EA.

Her talk focussed on life in the industry (specifically at EA). Her presentation included videos of EA emplyees talking about working at EA and what they expected and did not expect. My take on her talk, if you want to work in this industry be sure to know how to work with REALLY big code bases (like oh millions of lines of code) and learn to play with others. Indeed most of EA's projects involve huge teams. If you are designing a computer science curriculum that is intended to stream people towards the industry you might want to take this into account.

Enjoy Jackie's talk.

Ben Sawyer's Keynote: Are We Learning Yet?

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 10:49:00 -0500

Ben Sawyer kicked off FuturePlay 2008 with his keynote about the serious games space and he asked the question "Are we learning yet?"

My impressions from his talk are that content and context are king, you can't teach oceanography with an FPS, and you can't use the America's Army model for every problem. (I am VASTLY oversimplifying the message here...) His talk was great, so I hope you enjoy it.

Ben's talk.

Tag Your Media, Tag Your Tweets

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 10:45:00 -0500

Those of you at the conference, be sure to tag any blog posts, pics etc with "FuturePlay2008".

Oh and tag your twitter posts with #futureplay.

Just announced - One Day Registration Option

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:08:00 -0400

Wow, just got this, the organizers have announced a special one day registration rate, so if you can only make it for one day, this might be the ticket for you. Seems like a good idea if you can only make it for a single day.

New this year, the first-ever three-day Project Management Course for Game Development, led by Heather Chandler

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:51:00 -0400

This workshop session is ideal for anyone who leads a game development team of any size. Those new to the leadership role will leave with new tools to help them keep projects on track, motivate team members, and conduct risk analysis. More experienced producers will also benefit from learning the production techniques and methods discussed.Registration includes your copy of the Game Production Handbook, 2008 Edition.

Learn ways to keep projects on track, by using cross-functional teams, prototyping game features, and conducting a risk analysis. Develop new skills to build and motivate your team, and learn new strategies for improving developer and publisher relationships including how to define milestones and accommodate scope changes.

The game development course is 16 hours in duration. The course is worth 1.6 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits. Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion and documentation of the amount of CEU's earned.

Jackie Copland of Electronic Arts to Deliver Keynote at FuturePlay 2008

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:26:00 -0400

Jackie Copland is a member of the Global University Relations Team of Electronic Arts (EA), the world’s largest interactive entertainment software company (perhaps you have heard of them...). Jackie’s physical office is based at EA’s development studio in Burnaby, BC – but she works with all five of EA’s studios in Canada, and many post secondary institutions across the country. University Relations at EA is a centralized team that manages relationships with faculty, professors, staff, and students at colleges and universities worldwide.

Prior to joining EA in 2006, Jackie worked for with Co-op students and employers for five years in the Engineering Co-op Program at the University of British Columbia, building partnerships between academia and industry, and helping students to transition from school to work. She also has a scientific background, with 6 years in the mining industry as a research project manager working with new refining technologies. She holds a B.Sc. from McGill University, and an MBA from Queen’s University.

The idea of a University outreach program from a game company is something that newcomers to the gaming space may not be aware of. Of course at FuturePlay the idea of the interaction of the gaming industry and the academy is really a central theme. Companies like EA and Microsoft (to name just two) work closely with academics on research projects. I wonder if she can get me a copy of Madden 09 for free... Oh, did I say that out loud? Anyway, I really look forward to her talk. EA have been supporters of FuturePlay for quite a while now and I cannot wait to meet Jackie.

Woo Hoo! FuturePlay 2008 Conference Program Announced

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:13:00 -0400

I just got an email announcing the FuturePlay 2008 Program. The keynotes look great (and I will be profiling more keynoters throughout the next couple of weeks) and I am pretty interested in the poster session. Some guy there will be presenting research that shows no relationship between trashtalk, violence in games and aggression... (ok that may be a little self serving, but, hey, it is my blog....).

It turns out that the hotel have extended the rate deal of 129 a night until the 14th, which is good news if you have not booked your room yet.

See you there!

Conference Rate at the Toronto Delta Chelsea Downtown Extended Until October 10

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 11:40:00 -0400

Booking period extended! Toronto's Delta Chelsea Hotel is offering rooms at the guaranteed conference rate, starting at $129 until October 10. Don't miss this great offer. Visit www.futureplay.org now and follow the links to the Delta Chelsea booking page to make your reservation.

John Hopson's 2007 Keynote

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:53:00 -0400

John Hopson is a pretty cool guy. He has a PhD in experimental psychology, whcih in my books already makes him cool. Then it turns out, his PhD work was done in a lab where they study animal cognition. OK, that is even cooler, as well, the cool kids take animal cognition. Then we got to talking and realized we had read each others' stuff. I know that has nothing to do with game design, but it is, to me, an indication of the serendipitous connections you can make at FuturePlay.

Anyway most of you will know John from his work on a little text called "Behavioral Game Design" which applies the psychological literature to game design. See I knew I liked this guy...

John gave a keynote at FuturePlay 2007 which I recorded with my little iRiver (this year I will use a Zoom H2 which is MUCH better). So some of the audio is a bit shall we say messy. You will also notice someone (who I will not name...) picking up my recorder and looking at it and you will hear me say "That's my recorder" when she asks what she is holding....

John basically described his work at Microsoft, working with various studios to make better games. Tell me that isn't a cool job.

This talk should give you an idea of the quality of speaker at the conference.

I hope you enjoy John's keynote from the 2007 FuturePlay conference.

This Week It Is An Oscar Winner: Ken Perlin To Speak at FuturePlay 2008

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:41:00 -0400

In last week's Keynote Speaker Profile (I have made a command decision to capitalize that...) I talked about Don Daglow, well, this week I thought I would mention another luminary coming to FuturePlay 2008. Ken Perlin.

Ken Perlin is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at New York University.He is the founding director of the Media Research Laboratory and also directed the NYU Center for Advanced Technology. Ken's research interests include graphics, animation, user interfaces, science education and multimedia. OK, now this is pretty cool, he received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (that is an Oscar for those of you scoring at home...) for his noise and turbulence procedural texturing techniques, which are widely used in feature films and television, as well as the TrapCode award for achievement in computer graphics research, the New York City Mayor's award for excellence in Science and Technology and the Sokol award for outstanding Science faculty at NYU, and a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation.

He spoke at FuturePlay 2006 where he showed some software that models emotions and then maps them on to faces. This technology has been used to help teach autistic kids how to read emotion. (Take that Jack Thompson).

Oh yeah, he has also been a featured artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

I can tell you as well that he is a great speaker, and frankly he is funny as hell too. You do not want to miss ths

Don Daglow to Speak at FuturePlay 2008 (and I am psyched...)

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:55:00 -0400

In my second profile of a conference speaker at FuturePlay 2008 I am going to shine the spotlight on Don Daglow.

Man, where to begin.... Don has been designing games since 1971. Yes, that is not a typo, 1971. He designed the first graphical MMORPG (Neverwinter Nights), he designed the first computer baseball game, he designed what is, to me, the best baseball game ever (Earl Weaver Baseball). What about Utopia for the Intellivision? Yeah, that was him too. This was the first sim game, or god game if you will.

He is also the founder of a little outfit called Stormfront Studios.

Awards? Oh he has awards.. How about an Emmy and an award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (oh he is the only guy to have those two).

I could go on, and on... but I want to mention personally how huge this is for a gamer like myself. I have played four entire Major League baseball seasons (playing every single game myself) using Earl Weaver Baseball. I got interested in baseball stats and the history of the game through the statistical modeling used in Earl Weaver Baseball. I found out about Cool Papa Bell, and Amos "the Hoosier Thunderball" Rusie and Josh Gibson and Honus Wagner because of a great video game. When I was younger I had a copy of Utopia for the Intellivision. While playing that game with my buddy Brent in high school I learned that the military is not the only way to gain power and be prosperous (like it was in most games, and often still is). Running an economy and keeping people happy was NOT just about getting more land in this game. It was about providing service. Oh, I learned that in a video game, imagine that. Adventure Construction Set taught me directly about design. It introduced me to the idea of modding, and to the idea of story in a game. ACS came out in the mid 80s, who was modding in the mid 80s? Well, those of use with ACS were, and we have Don Daglow to thank.

I can't wait for his keynote. I might bring my old Earl Weaver disks and get him to autograph them...

If you have not registered yet, you should, the price is about to go up...

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Sun, 7 Sep 2008 18:10:00 -0400

Future Play is the international conference on the future of game design and technology. It is the place to discover new directions in computer game technologies and explore groundbreaking visions for the future of game development. Don't miss out.

Register today to take advantage of the current early bird price. Registration fees will increase September 26th.

The same thing is about to happen to the room rate at the Delta Chelsea in Downtown Toronto. Currently conference attendees get a room for 129 (CAD) a night. This is frankly a killer price, but the rate won't last forever, indeed, in about four weeks time it is gone. So sign up to come to the conference today, and book your room too.

Katie Salen to give FuturePlay 2008 Keynote

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Wed, 3 Sep 2008 07:47:00 -0400

The keynotes at FuturePlay are always great, and I will be profiling each speaker, a different on each week. Man I just used 'week' twice in the same sentence...

Katie Salen will speak at FuturePlay 2008 at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto in November. Katie is a writer, editor, and eesigner. She has worked on a range of projects for clients including Microsoft, SIGGRAPH, the Hewlett Foundation, XMediaLab, the Design Institute, gameLab, and mememe Productions. Katie is of course the co-author of Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals and The Game Design Reader. She is a member of Playground which recently worked with areacode to invent a new genre of games. Currently she is working on two projects funded through the MacArthur Foundation focused on digital media, games, and learning, and is producing two new media works for the ZeroOne Festival. A contributing writer for RES magazine, she has worked as an animator on Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed animated feature Waking Life. She partnered with screenwriter and director Hampton Fancher to develop an animated storytelling experience distributed through Xbox Live. Finally, she has curated programs at the Lincoln Center, Cinematexas, ZKM, Exploding Cinema, and the Walker Art Center on machinima. Not a bad start eh...

FuturePlay 2008, Book Your Room Early

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:46:00 -0400

Future Play 2008 will be held at Toronto's Delta Chelsea Hotel. Reserve your hotel room at the special conference rate today. It is quite the savings vs. the regular rate BTW (rates start at 129 a night)....

Project Management Course For Game Developers at FuturePlay 2008

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:40:00 -0400

This is a new expanded version of the popular course taught by Heather Chandler. Last year's reviews of this course were very positive, and this is your chance to take advantage of Heather's experience and expertise.

Please register online as space is limited and walk-in registrations may not be accepted.

This is a three-day workshop. Participants must attend all sessions to receive the completion certificate. Participants will be included in Future Play 2008 keynote presentations, meals and breaks, so you will be able to network in between learning sessions.
Looking for ways to demonstrate your commitment to professional development and education?

The CEU is a nationally recognized uniform unit of measurement in the United States. It is designed to permanently record an individual's non-credit continuing education accomplishments in increments of one CEU per 10 contact hours of instruction. All participants who complete the class will receive a certificate of completion that documents the CEUs earned by taking the course.

T6 Episode 57 - An Interview with Diane Devenyi

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:00:00 -0500

Yeah I know, I said that I had interviewed her a few posts back, well, here is the interview. This is a really cool project and I really hope there are some people out there that will share their game stories with Diane.

Music by Battery Life and Jet Pin Army.

Listen and Enjoy

Interview With Eitan Glinert - Accessibility in Games

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:17:00 -0500

During the conference I recorded a couple of interviews, so besides the keynotes I got to hang out with some cool people and talk games. One of those cool people was (well is, I am sure he is still cool...) Eitan Glinert. Eitan and others have been working on a game that is equally playable for sighted and visually impaired people. Having low vision myself, this game is pretty interesting to me. The game is called Audiodyssey, it is available now as a free download, check it out.

He is also getting going on a startup in May called Fire Hose VIdeo Games, so if you need a job in May or so, perhaps you should contact Eitan....

Music in this episode is from Uncle Seth, (whose bass player I hung out with at the Toronto Podcast Meetup on Thursday, November 15) and The Mark Harold Band.

Listen Now.

T6 Flashback 12 - Mia Consalvo

thunderbird.six@gmail.com (Dave Brodbeck) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:44:00 -0500

I did not get a chance to go to Mia's talk yesterday, as I was off to the Toronto Podcast Meetup (which was cool BTW, thanks to Scarborough Dude, John Meadows, Mark Blevis et al). However, I interviewed Mia on T6, episode 52, so I thought I would post that.

Enjoy.