International Game Developers Association

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International Game Developers Association
(IGDA)
legal form Registered association under American law
purpose Interest group for computer game developers
Seat Mount Royal, New Jersey , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
founding 1995 (as Computer Game Developers Association)

Board Dustin Clingman
executive Director Kate Edwards
Members > 10,000
Organization type Non-profit
Website www.igda.org

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a United States registered non-profit organization . It is a professional and interest group for over 10,000 computer game developers worldwide, with the aim of "improving career opportunities and the lives of game developers". The IGDA presents the Game Developers Choice Awards for the best computer games of the past year as part of the annual Game Developers Conference .

history

The IDGA was founded in 1994 as the Computer Game Developers Association. It arose as a result of political discussions on the subject of computer games, which led to the so-called Video Game Rating Act and the introduction of the Entertainment Software Rating Board . Since the game developers felt they were not sufficiently represented in the debate, the decision was made at the Game Developers Conference in 1994 to found their own interest group. The association's co-founder and first president and chairman was the longtime EA game developer Ernest Adams, who was also one of the initiators of the Game Developers Conference . In 1999 the association was renamed the International Game Developers Association.

From September 2000 to March 2009 the association was headed by Jason Della Rocca as Executive Director. Under his leadership the membership grew from 500 to 15,000. He was succeeded by Joshua Caulfield, who stepped down from office in July 2010. Gordon Bellamy took over the chairmanship in August 2010 , which he held until July 2012. In December, Kate Edwards was appointed as the new Executive Director.

organization

Recognizing the far-reaching, multidisciplinary nature of interactive entertainment, there are no entry barriers to membership in the IGDA. Anyone who considers themselves a game developer is allowed to apply for membership. The association is organized in chapters, special interest groups and committees.

  • Chapters are used for informal networking of game developers at the local level. A fixed form for chapters has not yet existed despite corresponding considerations. They vary in size and frequency of the meetings and offer, for example, a forum for discussions about current problems in the computer game industry or show demos of the latest games. Regional chapters can cooperate with events like the GameX Industry Summit.
  • Special Interest Groups (SIGs) aim to arouse the interest of developers in specific topics or disciplines. An example of this is the Game Education SIG, whose aim is "to create a community resource that will strengthen the IGDA's position in academic teaching and at the same time improve the training of future and active game developers". Some SIGs act as sponsors for events such as the Global Game Jam .
  • Committees are usually set up to conduct research on a specific topic, usually over a short period of time, which lead to a report. However, some work over a longer period of time and produce annual reports. Some of these reports lead to new standards in the gaming industry.

Controversy

For the Game Developers Conference in March 2013, YetiZen approached the IGDA in order to win them over as a partner for the organization of the GDC party for industry representatives. To promote the event, YetiZen hired two models, but their clothing and appearances were perceived as inappropriate. The IGDA was accused, among other things, of demeaning women, which the association denied in a statement and apologized for the event. In protest, Brenda Romero , among others, announced her resignation as Co-Chair of the IGDA Special Interest Group for women in the games industry.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ About ( English ) IGDA. Accessed February 2009.
  2. ↑ Christopher Henson: Game Developers Conference (GDC) . In: Mark JP Wolf (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming . ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara (California) , ISBN 978-0-313-37936-9 , pp. 227-228 ( online view ).
  3. ↑ Della Rocca Quits IGDA ( English ) In: Edge . February 2, 2009. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved on February 28, 2009.
  4. ^ The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Announces Search for a New Executive Director ( English ) IGDA. February 2, 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 28, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.igda.org
  5. ↑ Ben Gilbert: IGDA executive editor resigns after first year ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . July 26, 2010. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved on May 14, 2013.
  6. ↑ Mike Schramm: IGDA executive director resigns, joins China's Tencent ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . July 31, 2012. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved on May 14, 2013.
  7. ^ Mike Schramm: Kate Edwards named IGDA's new executive director ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . December 28, 2012. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved on May 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ partner with GameX Industry Summit in Philadelphia. Press release of April 9, 2009, http://www.gamexpo.us/summit/press/20090409.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 24, 2009@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gamexpo.us  
  9. ↑ IGDA Education SIG Spawns First Global Game Jam ( English ) IGDA. November 23, 2008. Archived from the original on August 14, 2010. Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
  10. ↑ IGDA apologizes for 'inappropriate' party ( English ) In: GameSpot . March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ IGDA Responds to the GDC Party Faux Pas ( English ) In: Forbes Magazine . March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.