Group items tagged

Merger between two companies developing "mobile devices into wireless controllers" for game use and other applications

A premier news aggregator for the tech startup culture,hosted by tech incubator YCombinator, featuring articles on programming, hacking, software and other topics of possible interest to game designers. Also hosts query functions, comments and job listings.

Tuniisan startup plans to develop several video games in the near future relying on the work of graduates from the country's only design program

"In this thesis, the objective is to study the technical framworks in game development startups and compare them to medium size game development organizations with established product lines. The thesis was done as qualitative research applying grounded theory method in analysis of the data. Based on the results, the game organizations, regardless of their size, are pleased with the tools they have chosen. The main selection criterias for the tools are support for fast iterations, -sharing and -prototyping regardless of the organization size. Game development projects are adaptable and features can change rapidly. The technical framework in game development has to support these features."

Collaboration between startup and institute

Employees from Curt Schilling's failed game company pursuing new opportunities

"As the third annual video gaming PAX East expo wrapped up its final day at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday, the president of its producer, Penny Arcade, said the event "has taken over the city like never before."

Invitation to list game development projects on International Game Developer's Association (IGDA) Kickstarter page, along with status of current projects.

"If you saw some odd costumes wandering the streets of Boston this past weekend, chances are they were en route to a games-related event (I'm talking about you, Anime aficionados). The one I attended, MIT's Business in Gaming conference, contained more suit-clad attendees than outlandish hairdos and capes (thank goodness)."

"Three years ago, PAX East came to Beantown. It landed at the Hynes Convention Center and was seen by many as the acknowledgement that Boston was a worthy adversary against the perceived dominance of the West Coast gaming giants. They had EA and Microsoft, we had Harmonix and Rockstar New England."

Crowd funded futuristic apocalyptic war game

"MassDiGi Game Challenge"

A sequel to a popular game crowdfunded via Kickstarter

CAMBRIDGE, MA, Mar 22, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- "The gaming industry is a harsh environment in which to start and to grow a business. It's risky, hits-driven, and traditionally receives minimal support from governments, banks, incubators, and most modern institutions devoted to nurturing new companies. How then does one survive and, ultimately, thrive? Thursday, April 5, 2012, the 4th Annual MIT Sloan Business and Gaming (BiG) Conference will gather industry insiders, independent developers, gaming enthusiasts, venture capitalists, attorneys, academics, and students from across MIT and other top-tier colleges for a day-long exploration into the business side of the gaming industry." MIT BiG is being held on the MIT Sloan campus in Cambridge, MA the day before PAX East -- one of the country's largest events celebrating gaming culture -- which takes place in Boston, making it convenient for participants to attend both conferences.

Caroline Murphy's blog about game design and business

Compiled by the Serious Games Association and offering free listings in 2012 to companies producing serious games and simulations

Critique of popular crowdfunding sites and identification of a new alternative to raise capital for one's startup or product

Application of political economics to the study of video game industry business models

Presents results of a gamer questionnaire as well as analysis of effective games and their producers

Abstract: "The video game industry is a billion dollar industry with an ever-growing fan base. Massachusetts, along with other states, has begun to take an interest in further developing this dynamic industry. A problem facing many policy makers and economic developers is accurately defining the video game industry, determining the types of workers that form of human capital within its workforce and where these businesses are located. This study helps to solve this problem by converting video game credits, found in all video games, into Standard Occupational Codes to identify the types of workers who comprise the industry and by conducting spatial analysis using Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). It also uses the Occupational Information Network to evaluate what forms of human capital comprises the video game industry. The results show the video game workforce comprises both creative workers such as artists and musicians, but also computer programmers, engineers, and business management and marketing professionals. This workforce tends to be concentrated not only in larger U.S. metropolitan areas but also in regions with a significant high-technology workforce, college towns, and government laboratories. Also, as this diverse workforce contains a wide variety of skills and abilities, a common theme is being able to work together as a team to develop a product. This study is part of a growing body of research and initiatives to identify and to locate new, creative industries within metropolitan regions. This research will contribute to future research using occupational analysis to identify new and growing industries."