[IGDA_indies] more opinions on the value of the IGDA(esp.forindies)

[Ted Southard]

You weren't sounding aggresive, so there's nothing to be sorry about. I'm
not complaining because the IGDA hasn't benefitted me as an individual.
There hasn't been any time at which I've presented myself to the IGDA to be
helped, so they haven't failed me. I don't know how I'd go about it anyway.

What I'm talking about is the sense that I got over the past few months that
the IGDA is a buracracy(spelled wrong, but that's not the point). And when
people start talking about the IGDA in terms of "non-profit" and
"constituents", that "legal fund" sense just gets more cemented in my mind.
Those are terms of the burecratic messes that are non-profits and government
agencies, not an organization that is supposed to be helping people to
innovate.

Certainly there's been things that the IGDA has done for the good of the
community, but for it's size, the IGDA should be a hive of activity and it's
not. If it is, then it's buried under layers of hierarchy and SIG's. Maybe
someone needs to hit the hive with a stick or something ;) Maybe break down
the walls seperating everything into rigid interest groupings so there's
more cross-talk. Something.

Ted Southard
DigitalFlux Entertainment, LLC
Ted at DigitalFlux.com
http://www.DigitalFlux.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jason Della Rocca" <jason at igda.org>
To: "Indie SIG mailing list" <indies at igda.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: [IGDA_indies] more opinions on the value of the
IGDA(esp.forindies)


>
> >is all talk, no action.
>
> Who's fault is that? The IGDA provides basic infrastructure for SIGs (and
> chapters), but it is up to the developers to actually do the action.
>
> As Brandon noted, it is all about harnessing volunteer energy. If there is
> no action, it is because no one here is taking any action.
>
> To be fair, there are a few who are starting to rebuild the web site and
> are looking at some new SIG projects, etc.
>
>
> >Who cares? I mean, really, where has all this organization gotten anyone?
>
> To be clear, the role of a non-profit organization like the IGDA is to
> benefit the community as a whole, and not directly any one member of the
> community. For example, one role of the IGDA is to help students become
> more employable by the industry right out of school by working with
> universities on curriculum and degree programs. We do not actually help
the
> student get the job directly. This also has an effect on the quality of
> workers in the industry, and potential quality of games made.
>
> In terms of specifics, here are some other examples:
>
> - the IGDA has participated in several court cases to defend games as an
> artistic/expressive medium and save them from being censored/regulated by
> the government (ie, the legal defense fund Brandon refers to)
> http://www.igda.org/censorship/lobbying.php
>
> - we send 25 university students to GDC each year on scholarships
> http://www.igda.org/scholarships/
>
> - we wrote a guide on how to best submit games to publishers
> http://www.igda.org/biz/submission_guide.php
>
> - we wrote a curriculum framework that has been used by nearly every
> college and university in the world to set up game degrees and courses
> http://www.igda.org/academia/curriculum_framework.php
>
> - we present the Game Developers Choice Awards, the most respected and
> credible industry awards
> http://www.igda.org/awards/
>
> - we released a "quality of life" white paper that has shed much
> attention/light on the topic of developer work/life balance issues
> http://www.igda.org/qol/whitepaper.php
>
> - every month, dozens of IGDA chapters from around the word host meetings,
> allowing developers to connect, share ideas and grow their personal
networks
> http://www.igda.org/chapters/updates.php
>
> - we hosted a developer members-only party at E3
> http://www.igda.org/events/rsvp_e3party.php
>
>
>
> Seems like a lot more than just blah blah talk to me ;)
>
> Have these things helped you personally? I don't know. Has this helped
> better/grow the industry and community as a whole? I certainly like to
> think so.
>
> Can the IGDA do more? Yes! Can we do things better? Yes! We don't have all
> the answers...
>
> Sorry for the aggressive tone.
>
> Jason
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Jason Della Rocca
> Program Director
> International Game Developers Association
>
> t: +1-514-426-1162
> f: +1-514-426-1201
> Montreal, Canada
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> http://www.igda.org/blogs/realitypanic/
>
> "Do or do not. There is no try."
> - Yoda
>
> _______________________________________________
> indies mailing list
> indies at igda.org
> http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/indies
> ---
>
>