The new lineup for the board of directors of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) was recently revealed. Joining the 10-man team will be designer and professor Brenda Brathwaite, consultant Mark DeLoura, and THQ/Big Huge Games studio manager Tim Train. Other details regarding the new board of directors can be read in our full article.

The Game Developers Conference is gearing up not only for conferences and lectures but parties as well. We know that these game developers play hard and party even harder. General events are lined up for the whole week. Find out more on the events after the jump!

The largest annual gathering of video game developers, the Game Developers Conference, will be held next year on February 18 to 22 at the San Francisco Moscone Center. The event, minus a Jack Thompson debate, will feature six game summits for the community. Read about the summits in the full article.

The first Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC) coming September 6, 2007 will have numerous regional game industry leaders to speak at the two-day conference, so goes the official announcement made earlier today. The press release named Joonmo Kwon, CEO of MMORPG tycoon Nexon and Nexon Mobile, to be one of those to speak at the GCAC in Asia and Pacific (A&P) commercial hub Singapore.

 

The event will be held alongside an open-to-all GC Asia Exhibition which will run up to September 9 - two days longer than the conference - in an effort to spur exposure of the region's most reputable game companies to investors, retailers and the public alike. But more importantly, Asian game developers will be able to tout their best products to international publishers.

In addition to Mr. Kwon, who will be addressing attendees on Mobile Development, James Miller (Lead Program Manager, Microsoft, USA) will prime the region's developers in the views of third-party publishing. And because A&P is a region of oft-outsourced game developer studios, a panel consisting of Charles Speyer (COO, Glass Egg Media, Vietnam), Alexander Fernandez (CEO, Streamline Studios, Netherlands) and Bob Bates (Board of Director, IGDA, USA) will tackle issues with outsourcing and its overall effect to the game industry.

Other discussions will express opinions on the growing trend of game financing, often the source of funds for independent game developers the world around. As of press time, the GCAC is accepting registrations online, reachable through the Read link provided below.

The recent outbreak of anti-video game movements and ideals pressed the Entertainment Consumers Association to build defenses around the gaming consumer. This came at a critical moment in gaming history as the ordinary gamer didn't have an official body to represent him against those that may attempt to hinder one's right to responsible entertainment.

 

The ECA was established to protect the consumers of the gaming community, just as the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) enveloped the developers of the industry, the Entertainment Software association (ESA) represented the publishers, and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) spearheaded movements for the game retailers.

In an interview with GoNintendo, Hal Harpin dived into the ECA's objectives and its history, all the while hinting the ECA's views and opinions that gamers might find helpful and could relate to. The ECA is currently concentrating on monitoring developments of anti-games legislations nationwide, including updating a tracker frequently for "potential" laws as they pass through the legislative process.

Interestingly, they are also mindful of the fear of violence in video games that seem to come from people who hardly had any gaming experience. They provide the needed education for interested parties to see the pluses and minuses of gaming, while slowly dropping the non-gamers' irrational fear of games.

But perhaps more interesting than most is the ECA's view of infamous anti-video game advocate Jack Thompson. Harpin cautiously answered GoNintendo's question about their perspectives and opinions of the Florida lawyer and said:

With the resignation of Doug Lowenstein, the former president of the publisher’s trade association, I may be close to the top of his hit list. Jack is definitely not a fan, let’s put it that way. My thoughts on Jack are that he is an extraordinarily effective communicator and advocate. He’s able to pull together groups of otherwise disparate people and channel their support for his side of the argument. To-date, we, as a people, haven’t given him near enough credit, nor concerned ourselves with uniting against him and other anti-games groups. The time has come to do just that, and we need member support in order to be effective in combating them.

For those who have been keeping up, Jack Thompson has declined to show up for a debate in the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). You know why? Because he wasn't allowed to send out a press release or say anything about it. Kotaku got hold of this info and released some pretty interesting facts about it.

Still, you have to wonder why the guys at PAX were keeping Thompson's appearance a secret. PAX said that they did this for both Mr. Thompson's security and to avoid what would've been hordes of people rushing over to see the debate.

Penny Arcade was hoping to get a knowledgeable opponent for JT to debate with, such as Entertainment Consumer Association (ECA) president Hal Halpin or Jason Della Rocca who many know to be the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

Mr. Thompson's response to the entire issue seems to be typical of his usual responses. Be sure to read the full letter before you make any judgments on the situation.

... I would be delighted to do the [debate], but Penny-Arcade's position that this must be kept "under wraps" and that I cannot tell the media and others about the event is both absurd and troubling.

For Penny-Arcade to take the position that there must be a news blackout on this strikes me and others as hypocritical to the max. You guys are the ones who think that even adult entertainment materials should be marketed and sold to children because of "freedom of expression," and yet I am not allowed to tell media and others of this debate?  Come on, how transparently double-standard-bound in your machinations can you all be?

If you want me to come to Seattle and address 6000 hostile people as to why the United States is the only backward nation in the world when it comes to the distribution of adult video games to children, then I will be happy to do it.  But your position that only Penny-Arcade gets to tell the world about this event and in the way that only you all get to decide is patently ridiculous. 

Man up and realize what the First Amendment is really all about, Robert and I'll be happy to celebrate it with all my "admirers" in Seattle, including Gabe.

I've been in far more hostile environs than what you offer. You all need to grow a pair of what a kid can cut off in Manhunt 2.

It's always heartwarming to see game developers getting their dues for all the long hours and backbreaking work they put into making video games for us to enjoy. Such was the case when developers Massive Entertainment, Funcom, and Vendler Game Consulting became the first few to receive Nordic Games Awards in an inaugural ceremony held during the two-day games conference.

Massive's World In Conflict took the title of Most Innovative Game Technology from hopefuls Alan Wake of Remedy and Funcom's Age of Conan - the latter, however, bouncing back to take home the Most Promising Nordic Game Project award.

It's to note that Age of Conan went up against nominees coming from all over the Nordic region, with Alan Wake and World in Conflict in the roster which makes the Most Promising Nordic Game Project award all the more important. Nothing better than being called out as the best in your own playing field, after all.

The final award, bestowed upon by IGDA president Jason Della Rocca, was for Best New Nordic Game Talent - and Vendler Game Consulting walked off with the win, leaving behind nominees Lockpick and Gogogic.

Congratulations to all developers, and more appreciation for the guys behind the code!

It seems that Jack Thompson has said another mouthful about the Virginia Tech Massacre in a recent interview on MSNBC. He has singled out Counterstrike in this specific interview and went on about how it should not have been released to the public. Yup, it's more of the same.

What should interest most people is the fact that Jack Thompson actually called Jason Della Rocca, the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), an "idiot" and a "jackass". This was because of a statement Della Rocca gave: "It’s so sad. These massacre chasers — they're worse than ambulance chasers — they're waiting for these things to happen so they can jump on their soapbox."

Those are pretty strong words coming from Mr. Thompson who has recently settled with Take-Two Interactive. Check out the full interview and listen in on what Thompson had to say.

 

Ask the question "What makes a next-gen game?" Game developers themselves got a chance to answer that question earlier this month in GDC. Towards the end of this month, the 29th of March, it will be the game journalists' turn to offer their opinion on the edge of gaming in an exclusive, free panel event hosted by International Game Developers' Association (IGDA)-San Diego chapter.

The panel, to deliver their thoughts on "What Makes A Next-Gen Game," features:

• editor-in-chief Dave Halverson from Play Magazine;
• editor-in-chief Francesca Reyes from Official Xbox Magazine;
• deputy editor-in-chief Kaiser Hwang from PSM;
• editor Brandon Sheffield from Game Developer Magazine;
• contributing writer Paul Semel for GamePro, Official PlayStation Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and others;
• and Game Head host Geoff Keighley from Spike TV.

As the event is free, but space is limited, registration is required, via the Read link below. The event is scheduled for 6:30-9:45 PM at the Qualcomm Auditorium.

It seems gay characters are fast becoming a non-issue, at least in the minds of game developers. On the other hand, while this "non-troversy," as Designer Jeb Havens put it, is more or less a sort of plot issue for games, it's doubtless going to be something that many outside the games community might grit their teeth at.

That being said, part of this year's Game Developers' Conference (GDC) was devoted to tackling the issues related to homosexuality and gaming. As Joystiq reports, issues in various game-related fields were discussed, from an International Game Developers Association (IGDA) special interest group to establishing Human Rights Campaign corporate equality index numbers for all game companies.

At the same time, one of the more notable portions of the videogame homosexuality controversy is that it doesn't truly exist. As Joystiq mentions,

 As the roster of gay characters increases, which according to a recent study are wanted much more in RPGs, could gay characters become non-troversies in games like a Gears of War sequel?

All signs, whether to your delight or annoyance, definitely point to "yes." For us, we wouldn't mind seeing more diverse character types in games. It may just bring something new to game stories that no one's thought of yet.