Free Play 2007 is a one-day conference for independent and artistically-oriented game developers. It’s happening on August 18 in Melbourne, Australia. Here’s a site where you can go for more information; they will fill it out with further details soon…
They were kind enough to invite me to give the keynote lecture. My talk will contain an expanded and improved version of the prototyping material I presented at the GDC’s Independent Games Summit this year. That part of the talk will be the “how” of making independent games. But it will also go beyond that, into the “why” of making games: what exactly should we be doing? Why are we making games in the first place? There should be plenty of time for Questions & Answers after this talk, as well.
The conference will take place at the Australian Center for the Moving Image, which I am very much looking forward to visiting. They’ve had exhibits showcasing the Best of the Independent Games Festival for the past few years. Any museum with a Games Lab is cool by me.
Will a recording or transcript of your talk be available? Is the IGF one online anywhere?
Good question! I will ask around (about both talks).
I’ve been told that a video of the Indie Game Summit lecture will be available in a few weeks (which is better than an audio recording or transcript, since there were a lot of demos shown).
I’ll make a posting about it when they put the video up.
Might have to try and come to this. I live in Melbourne.
Hi Jonathan,
Id love to get hold of a recording of your presentation. I gave a keynote speech at the Freeplay a few years ago and found it to be probably the most open(and artistically)minded games-based conference I’ve been to. I teach games design/culture at a Uni in the UK and its very difficult to get hold of rpesentations by developers that arent just sales pitches. For some reason, the independent angle is something they rarely consider as I guess they are usually lost in a haze of next gen hi rez gfx and halo 23. They are often derisive when I show them Flow or N, but subsequently shocked when those games edge their way into the mainstream. Its easy for them to look at current studio models and assume they can only be single role participants (mr texture/mr animation etc). This is sad, when the Uni environment is the ideal space for them to explore all roles of game creation and attempt experimental ideas without substantial risk (instead of deigning yet more bigger gun FPSs)
Allo Jonathan,
Well, it was nice to have a tiramisu with you at the Game Developer’s Conference in Melbourne. I hope you returned home safely. Keep in touch.
Regards, Genevieve