Along with Drexel Dragon LAN, I attended PAX East 2014 over the weekend. It was a three day trip immediately following Research Day. The whole trip was a great experience especially since PAX had a decidedly different setting to GDC. There was more fan and developer interaction and the conversations had an even wider diversity in topic. While there weren't as many talks/panels, the ones that I did manage to attend were very insightful and potentially helpful to my thesis. I particularly enjoyed Susan Arendt's advice on understanding the vastly different female perspective in the gaming industry. I attached the panel descriptions and panelists below and hopefully I can attend more of these in the future.
Why it's AWESOME to be a female in the Game Industry -
The gaming industry gets bigger and bigger every year, and women are starting to make a larger presence on both the media and development side! Ever wonder how they got into the assumed male-dominant industry? Have questions about how you can follow their footsteps? Join this panel of renowned women in the industry to find out more about why they do the things they do, and to answer your questions!
Tatjana Vejnovic [Editor-in-chief, Ask Tatjana], Susan Arendt [Managing Editor, Joystiq], Sarah LeBoeuf [News Editor, The Escapist], Dianna Lora [Community Manager, Dualshockers], Maylene Garcia [Senior Games Producer, Nickelodeon], Karen Rivera [Managing Editor, Pixelitis]
What to do with your Game Design Degree: Employment at Social/Mobile/Indie Studios -
Top academics and social/mobile/indie developers will reflect on the virtues and difficulties of preparing students to work at studios with shorter iteration cycles than AAA studios. As the Industry evolves, so does Academia to offer educational programs specific to diverse needs of various subsets of the game development industry. Many young professionals compete in an industry where many colleges are flooding the market with “Game Design Degrees”. This panel will focus on those aiming for employment at smaller studios or peripheral industries that support game development. Specifically, the panel will focus on these areas: How can you stand out from a crowd? What should you have learned in school and what changed since you graduated from even a year ago? When is a Game Design degree worth something to a Social/Mobile/Indie development studio? Or perhaps you already have a degree how can you make it work for you? This session is all about standing out, Do’s and Don’ts beyond basic resume and portfolio tips.
Trevor Stricker [President, Disco Pixel], Elliot Mitchell [Founder, Vermont Digital Arts], Dave Bisceglia [The Tap Lab, Co-Founder & CEO], Ichiro Lambe [Dejobaan Games, President], Mark Sivak [Academic Specialist/Game Design, Northeastern University], Dr. Paul Cotnoir [Department Chair, Becker College Game Design Program], Benjamin Cavallari [Founder, ARC], Farley Chery [Game Design Faculty, Fitchburg State University]
Sex, Sexy, & Sexism: Fixing Gender Inequality in Gaming -
The video game market is composed of as many women as men—yet those working in the industry, and the characters we play as, are still predominantly male. What effect does this imbalance have on the games we play and the people who play them? What does video games’ representation of gender say about our culture, and what lessons is it teaching us? Is it good for business? Today’s leading media critics examine what’s working in our games, what needs to change, and why.
Ken Gagne [Digital Content Developer, Gamebits], Susan Arendt [Managing Editor, Joystiq], Brianna Wu [Head of Development, Giant Spacekat], Tifa Robles [Organizer and Founder, Lady Planeswalkers Society], Duane de Four [Activist, HowManly.com]
PRODUCED - Old friends Vinny Caravella (Giant Bomb) and Rich Gallup (Disruptor Beam) combine for over 25 years experience producing videos, video games and videos about video games. Join them as they share stories, clips and lessons learned from their time working on diverse projects such as Quick Looks, Game of Thrones Ascent, Endurance Runs, farting phone cats, streaming live events and a promising MMO that nobody will ever play, all with an aim towards quality, speed and having fun. This panel threatens to be useful to anyone looking to become a Producer in game coverage or development, but will be entertaining for all ages!
Rich Gallup [Executive Producer, Disruptor Beam], Vinny Caravella [Director, Video Production, Giant Bomb]
