IGDATC Oct 2017 – Zodiapp: Or Why I Never Want to Develop a Freemium Game Again
Member Project: Unite Conference Overview
Patrick Swinnea
A short summary of the Unite Conference, and the experience involved with the Unity certification test.
Zodiapp: Or Why I Never Want to Develop a Freemium Game Again
Matt Gravelle and Nick Miller
This mini post-mortem will, in a nutshell, explain why we never want to work on a Freemium game again.
Freemium mobile games are often attributed making large sums of money. At the time of writing this, 199 of the 200 top grossing iOS apps are Freemium in some form! So when Graveck teamed up with their old buddies from Freeverse to build a Zodiac themed freemium game, it seemed like a winning combination. It wasn’t. After 3+ years of development, countless soft launches, and heavy iterations Zodiapp lived in the app store for only a month before it was deemed dead.
Graveck was officially Founded by Matt Gravelle and Jonathan Czeck in 2005. We entered the industry professionally with Big Bang Brain Games, the first boxed retail product developed by the Unity 3D engine (back when retail game sales was still a thing). Since then we’ve created a mixture of independent and work-for-hire games, seeing releases for big-name clients such as Disney and independent releases such as Skee-Ball and Strata. We also have some exciting things on the horizon that we may touch on in the presentation!
Plug My Thing!
In addition to informal verbal plugs, we’ll also show your trailer, user group, recruitment page, promo video, demo reel, etc. Grab the appropriate ticket – first come, first served.
Guidelines:
- Short and sweet. 3 minutes max!
- Related to games, gaming and or game development in some way. (Exceptions can be made, but please consult us first.)
- 1 short URL, Zero setup (Media is streamable from fast/reliable site like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
- Your Contact info is on page or in video.
- You were a part of this project, are attending the meeting, and will introduce it.
- Meet us in the auditorium at least 5-10 minutes early, so we can load your page.
Agenda (approximate)
6:00 Pizza and drinks (thanks to the Nerdery!) and socialize.
6:30 Meeting starts. Announcements and Plug My Thing!
6:45 Member Project
7:30 Main Presentation
We’ll be heading to Joe Sensers in Bloomington after the event. Come socialize with other local developers.
Many, many thanks to The Nerdery for hosting the IGDA Twin Cities events over the years.
This event is open to the public. An IGDA Membership not required.
Other Happenings and Announcements
Check out other local happenings at Ice Cold Games.
Help us find interesting presenters, use this easy form to let us know.
IGDATC Sept 2017 – How to build a Holodeck
Skyera, Sneak Peak at a Work in Progress
Matt Meuwissen
Matt Meuwissen is developing a game with an intriguing mechanic and we’ve convinced him to tell us about it. Skyera is a work-in-progress game where the player can explore a bizarre world in amazing ships, obliterate enemies, loot treasure, and raise pets. In Skyera, the animals have adapted to the chaos and can morph into powerful ships and weapons that the player can use. With live game play, Matt will talk briefly about the game and its development so far, the inspiration and mechanics, as well as challenges and implementation using Unity 5.0. Matt is looking for feedback and suggestions from the audience to help improve the game. (Matt’s website.)
How to build a Holodeck: A Star Trek VR postmortem
Mark LaCroix
For its Summer 2017 “Star Trek Live” event, the Minnesota Orchestra asked GLITCH (http://glitch.mn) to come up with a Trek-themed lobby installation, and GLITCH asked game developer and noted Trekkie Mark LaCroix (http://noblerobot.com) to create it.
In his presentation, Mark will talk about designing a VR installation space for a non-gamer audience, and walk though his method for “impersonating” high-end 3D content for Google Cardboard by using photospheres in Unity. He’ll also talk about the dead ends, false starts, and various “trials and Tribble-ations” he faced along the way.
Mark LaCroix is a filmmaker, game developer, and co-host of the weekly gamedev podcast Nice Games Club (http://nicegames.club). His video work has appeared on NBC and Netflix, while his Javascript advertising template is probably cached on your computer right now (sorry). Mark lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three computers.
Meeting Photos from July 2017
Thanks to Patrick Swinnea for heading up our new initiative to take more photos at our events!
IGDATC July 2017 – ColecoVision Zaxxon Cartridge Development
Wednesday, July 12, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Story Time With Zachary Johnson
Pull up a beanbag and roast some fish-shaped cheese crackers on the fire of the stage lights… it is time for Story Time with stories! Zach Johnson has returned from adventures abroad and domestic bringing tales of games like you’ve never heard nor played before. For approximately 30 minutes, there will be pictures and ramblings about A Maze. / Berlin, JS Conf EU, Signal Conf, Play Date Game Show, and the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Oh, also E3, too.
A Brief History of the ColecoVision Zaxxon Cartridge Development in 1982
David Megarry
In 1982 David Megarry was part of the development team for the ColecoVision Zaxxon Cartridge. He will explain the history of how the cartridge was programmed, what part he played in the development and answer questions about cartridge creation in the 1980’s. He will bring a working ColecoVision, the listings for the ColecoVision OS, the listings for the Zaxxon cartridge as well as other examples of the ColecoVision development process. At the end of the talk, David will be making a brief announcement of an idea he has for the ColecoVision, seeking the audiences input.
David started playing Avalon Hill’s Blitzkrieg in about 1967 and eventually fell into David Arneson’s basement Napoleonic Campaign in 1968 (he is the Emperor of Austria, so treat him accordingly..;). He designed Dungeon! In the Fall of 1972 (Oct) after almost being drafted into the U.S. Army in the previous September (they threw him out as he was too skinny). He worked briefly for TSR in 1976 as Treasurer, did programming for video consoles (ColecoVision) in the 1980’s, produced data games (Compton’s) in the 1990’s. Ultimately he became a software tester in the medical and process control industries.
He is now retired and is exploring his passions of independent scholarship (physics, math & history) as well as game design.
David has two grown children, Martha and Henry, lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Rose, and two chickens, St. Joan of Arc and Charlotte Corday.
IGDATC June 2017 – “It’s A Little Weird, But We’ll Deal”
Wednesday, June 14, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Camping Games
Ryan Foss
If you go camping this year, Ryan has a few fun game suggestions.
“It’s A Little Weird, But We’ll Deal” – A GLITCHCON 2017 Post-Mortem
Evva Kraikul
GLITCH CONNECT is an arts and cultural festival celebrating digital games and play.
Attendees explored two packed days of powerful keynotes, panels, arcades, exhibits, and quests. The festival serves as a catalyst for digital innovation and attracts 700+ makers, doers, and thinkers in video games from all over U.S.
GLITCH’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Evva Kraikul, will dive into developing and designing the festival in its 5th year. Evva will touch briefly on the history of the project as well as discuss the challenges, tools, and strategies that are used to build the longest running games conference in the region.
Plug My Thing!
In addition to informal verbal plugs, we’ll also show your trailer, user group, recruitment page, promo video, demo reel, etc. Grab the appropriate ticket – first come, first served.
Guidelines:
- Short and sweet. 3 minutes max!
- Related to games, gaming and or game development in some way. (Exceptions can be made, but please consult us first.)
- 1 short URL, Zero setup (Media is streamable from fast/reliable site like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
- Your Contact info is on page or in video.
- You were a part of this project, are attending the meeting, and will introduce it.
- Meet us in the auditorium at least 5-10 minutes early, so we can load your page.
Agenda (approximate)
6:00 Pizza and drinks (thanks to the Nerdery!) and socialize.
6:30 Meeting starts. Announcements and Plug My Thing!
6:45 Member Project
7:30 Main Presentation
We’ll be heading to Joe Sensers in Bloomington after the event. Come socialize with other local developers.
Many, many thanks to The Nerdery for hosting the IGDA Twin Cities events over the years.
This event is open to the public. An IGDA Membership not required.
Other Happenings and Announcements
Northern Spark is all night Sat 6/10. Grab the free Green Line pass!
Eyeo Festival is the week of 6/26, still a few tickets left.
For Northern Spark, our own Martin Grider and Patrick Swinnea worked on Chaos on the Green Line (VR on a train!) The team is handing out 2,000 Cardboard VR viewers, and is seeking volunteers for short shifts Sat night 6/10. Contact Joanna at jj@joannajahn.com
Check out other local happenings at Ice Cold Games.
E3 2017 Keynotes and Hang Out
Monday, June 12, 2017 from 2:30 PM to 10:00 PM
IGDA Twin Cities and Glitch are hosting the 6th annual E3 Social at Glitch HQ near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
The conference schedule is more spread out than pervious years, so we’re doing things a little differently. We’ll watch the live press conferences from Ubisoft and Sony, and watch recorded press conferences between. Stop by any time. Bring your laptop and “work” (though space is limited), or just come to hang out, play some games, run some playtests, etc.
There isn’t food or drink service, but you can bring your own food and drinks. Or plan to order in or go to a nearby restauraunt for dinner. You may bring your own drinks if you want (alcohol is ok so long as you’re responsible and legal age).
Between 4 and 8 there are no live press conferences, so we’ll watch other recorded press conferences, go out for food (or order in), or play games.
This event is open to all, no memberships required.
Schedule
The schedule is a little complicated so check out this IGN Conference Schedule for times.
Agenda
2:30 pm – doors open at Glitch and coordinators coordinate and setup, come on by
3:00 pm – live stream of Ubisoft Press Conference
4:00 pm – recorded stream of EA or Bethesda press conference, games, whatever
6:00 pm – recorded stream of Microsoft press conference
8:00 pm – live stream of Sony Press Conference
9:30 pm – last keynote ends and we need to leave Glitch, but if enough people are intersted, we’ll move downstairs to the Viking Bar.
Transportation and Parking
You can get to GLITCH via the 2, 7, 22, Blue, and Green Lines. Check this useful Google map for parking and transit options.
A note about accessibility: This event takes place on the second floor and there is not an elevator in the building.
Meeting Date Changed Reminder
Monthly IGDATC meeting is next Wed., May 17th.
Meeting Date Reminder, Not our normal Wednesday. It’s May 17th 2017.
Joint IGDATC and MN VR&HCI May 2017 – Adaptive Audio
Note: this meeting is a joint meeting for both IGDATC and MN VR&HCI. It’s a week later than the normal IGDATC monthly meeting.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (CDT)
Game Design for HoloLens
Zach Wendt
The current HoloLens is aimed and priced only for business adoption. So, a profitable game market doesn’t exist. But, the totally unique hardware capabilities (and limitations) have already given rise to game designs and interactions that aren’t possible in VR, or AR on devices like phones or Tango. So, think of this more of a preview of the future – when these capabilities start showing up in more affordable devices late 2017 and 2018.
Adaptive Audio: What Video Games and The Performing Arts Can Learn From Each Other
Benji Inniger
Video games and the performing arts have a lot to offer audiences. One of the aspects that makes them unique is the use of adaptive audio and music. Video games have many strengths that could benefit theatre audiences and visa versa. This session will explore audio design strategies that can capitalize on the strengths of each of these art forms to create compelling and immersive audio design.
Benji Inniger is a composer and sound designer from North Mankato. His theatre design experience includes Des Moines Metro Opera, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Guthrie Theater, The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Trinity Repertory Company and Brown University. He also works as a a freelance video game and media composer and sound designer and Associate Professor of Theatre at Bethany Lutheran College.
Plug My Thing!
In addition to informal verbal plugs, we’ll also show your trailer, user group, recruitment page, promo video, demo reel, etc. Grab the appropriate ticket – first come, first served.
Guidelines:
- Short and sweet. 3 minutes max!
- Related to games, gaming and or game development in some way. (Exceptions can be made, but please consult us first.)
- 1 short URL, Zero setup (Media is streamable from fast/reliable site like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
- Your Contact info is on page or in video.
- You were a part of this project, are attending the meeting, and will introduce it.
- Meet us in the auditorium at least 5-10 minutes early, so we can load your page.
Agenda (approximate)
6:00 Pizza and drinks (thanks to the Nerdery!) and socialize.
6:30 Meeting starts. Announcements and Plug My Thing!
6:45 Member Project
7:30 Main Presentation
We’ll be heading to Joe Sensers in Bloomington after the event. Come socialize with other local developers.
Many, many thanks to The Nerdery for hosting the IGDA Twin Cities events over the years.
This event is open to the public. An IGDA Membership not required.
Other Happenings and Announcements
GLITCH is hosting GlitchCon for its fourth year this May 5 – 7, 2017!
Check out other local happenings at Ice Cold Games.
IGDATC Apr. 2017 – The Rift Between ZeniMax and Oculus
Wed, April 12, 2017 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
If you’re paying attention, this might look like a duplicate meeting announcement. Due to a scheduling mistake, last month’s main presenter was moved to this month.
Music Theory for Devs: Basics for Non-Composers
Troy Strand
Do you find yourself unable to express the musical ideas for your game? Want to save time and money when talking with your composer? Come listen to Troy Strand discuss the building blocks of music, helpful hints to get the exact sound you’re looking for, and how to communicate with the composer you’ve hired for your next big hit!.
The Rift Between ZeniMax and Oculus, and What It Means for the Future
Brent Lorentz
February’s jury decision ordering Oculus to pay half a billion dollars to game company ZeniMax finds developers, game executives and hardware designers wondering what could come next. Among charges of violating a non-disclosure agreement, misappropriating trade secrets, copyright infringement and other allegations, the lawsuit poses real implications for players in an industry that is as collaborative as it is secretive.
Join Brent Lorentz as he walks us through the details of the case, how the charges came about, and highlights how the case has the potential to significantly alter the VR gaming landscape.
Brent Lorentz is a litigation shareholder with Winthrop & Weinstine, representing clients in complex litigation matters. He has a personal passion for the video game, game development and gaming industry, especially where it intersects with intellectual property and business law. He also frequently blogs about gaming topics and the law via Winthrop & Weinstine’s award-winning DuetsBlog.
IGDATC Mar. 2017 – GDC Review
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (CST)
GDC Recap
It’s a few weeks after GDC and some talented, local game developes have volunteered to discuss some GDC topics. Additonally, if time permits, we will have an open forum for discussing some of the bigger news events. So bring your favorite stories from GDC – a favorite talk, demo, conversation, big announcement, experiences, hero sightings, questions, etc.
