Brenda Garne Brathwaite talks about her experiences using game design to discuss the Middle Passage and other great tragedies of human history at TEDxPhoenix.
Get more information and join the discussion at TED’s website.
Erin Hoffman’s Lance of Earth and Sky Available
Lead game designer Erin Hoffman’s latest novel, Lance of Earth and Sky, the second part of her Chaos Knight series, is now available. See Erin’s website for more information about the book, appearances, and signings.
Elizabeth Sampat will be a Guest of Honor at Gencon 2012
GenCon 2012 has announced that Loot Drop game designer Elizabeth Sampat will be joining this year’s list of Industry Insider Guests of Honor, a diverse group of professionals from all areas of gaming.
Elizabeth will be presenting on a number of panels including A Taste of Indie RPGs, and will be selling her games through the Maschine Zeit booth.
Brenda Garno Brathwaite Interview at G4
G4tv.com has just released new coverage of Ghost Recon Commander, showing in-game footage and an interview with Brenda Garno Brathwaite. In the video, Brenda discusses the innovations of Ghost Recon Commander and how it relates to the franchise.
Like GRC on Facebook for more updates.
Loot Drop Announces Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Commander
Ubisoft and Loot Drop have been working in conjunction to develop Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Commander, a turn-based tactical combat social game to be released on Facebook.
Like the game on Facebook for more information.
For additional press coverage, see ign.com’s preview coverage, the article on VG24/7 sharing information from Ubisoft’s Chris Early, Inside Social Games, and games.com news.
Loot Drop Feature at Gamasutra
Today Gamasutra features excerpts from Breaking Into the Game Industry, Advice for a Successful Career from Those Who Have Done It, by Brenda Garno Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber. The book, published by Course Technology PTR, can be purchased at Amazon, B&N, and other retailers.
The excerpt includes advice on what items an aspiring designer should include in a portfolio, from Loot Drop designers Brenda Garno Brathwaite and Tom Hall, Steve Meretzky (Playdom), and Kim McAuliffe (Microsoft Game Studios).
Brenda Garno Brathwaite Named One of iQU Group’s 7 Influential Women in the Games Industry
iQU Group has named Loot Drop co-founder Brenda Garno Brathwaite one of 7 influential women in the games industry.
Other honorees include Belinda Van Sickle (GameDocs, WIGI), Jane McGonigal, Amy Henning (Naughty Dog), Siobhan Reddy (Media Molecule), Kellee Santiago (thatgamecompany), and Kim Swift (Airtight Games).
GDC Highlights: Advice from John Romero
Loot Drop co-founder John Romero is featured at gameinformer.com, saying, “What are you waiting for?”
The article recaps Romero’s GDC discussion panel ”Back To The Garage: The Return of Indie Development,” alongside Tim Sweeney (Gears of War), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), Markus “Notch” Persson (Minecraft), and Adam Saltsman (Canabalt). His advice? Jump right in.
Loot Drop on the Web: Fan Letter to Jordan Mechner
Jordan Mechner, designer of Prince of Persia and Karateka, recently published a 1985 fan letter from Loot Drop CEO and co-founder John Romero. Mechner tweets:
John still has Jordan’s reply in storage somewhere.
John and Jordan will present together (Along with Epic’s Tim Sweeney, Mojang’s Markus “Notch” Persson, Semi Secret’s Adam Saltsman and UC Santa Cruz’ Jane Pinckard) at GDC 2012 at Back to the Garage: The Return of Indie Development (From Those Who Were There and Some Who’ve Just Arrived).
Loot Drop at GDC
This year, Loot Drop’s John Romero, Brenda Garno Brathwaite, and Dren McDonald will speak at the Game Developers’ Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, CA.
John Romero will present at two sessions.
Back to the Garage: The Return of Indie Development (From Those Who Were There and Some Who’ve Just Arrived) is on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 in Room 135, North Hall. John will be accompanied by Adam Saltsman (Semi Secret), Markus Persson (Mojang), Jane Pinckard (UC Santa Cruz), Jordan Mechner (Mechner) and Tim Sweeney (Epic).
The speakers discuss the indie renaissance that the game industry is experiencing today, and explore real-world examples of success and failure from their own careers.
Forgotten Tales Remembered: The Games that Inspired Leading Innovators is on Thursday from 11:30-12:30 in Room 3014, West Hall, 3rd Floor. John will present with Cliff Bleszinski (Epic Games), Jon-Paul Dyson (The Strong), Sid Meier (Firaxis Games), and Will Wright (StupidFunClub).
The speakers discuss the games that influenced them, exploring those qualities that are essential game-design choices applicable to any era, as well as those that were time-bound or technology-dependent.
To see more about these events, go to John Romero at GDC’s site.
Brenda Garno Brathwaite will speak at one panel.
Breaking Into Game Development: Ask the Pros. The session is held Friday at 2:40 to 3:40 in Room 135, North Hall. Frank O’Connor (Microsoft), Kim Swift, Travis George (Riot Games), and Chris Charla (Microsoft Games) will also be on the panel.
This event presents an opportunity to learn about the process of breaking into the industry, from the creative leads themselves. Attendees have the opportunity to learn directly from some of the best game makers in the industry.
More information on this event is available from Brenda Garno Brathwaite at GDC’s site.
Dren McDonald is presenting at two panels.
Demo Derby: Sound Design is returning to GDC once again, on Wednesday, 3:30 to 5:30 in Room 3010, West hall, #rd Floor. Dren is presenting with Paul Lipson (Pyramind Studios), Emily Ridgway (Emily Industries), Gene Semel (Sony Computer Entertainment America), and Scott Gershin (SoundeluxDMG).
At this event, attendees submit 60 seconds of audio for critique and feedback from a team of leading audio professionals. Event is open to all GDC attendees, but only active, registered members of the Game Audio Network Guild may submit demos for critique.
Audio Evolution in Social Games: Not Just a 15 Second 60kbps Loop Anymore! is on Friday 2:30-3:30 in Room 3004, West Hall, 3rd Floor. Dren is the sole presenter at this event.
Dren discusses the rapidly-changing environment that is sound design in social games. This year, social games titles compete with MMOs for the Best Audio in an Online Game at GDC Online. Dren discusses new developments in the field and covers some of the technical challenges of working in the social space.
For more information on Dren’s events, see Dren McDonald at GDC’s site.