Colorful Thoughts from the CEOAs I sit here writing the opening for this edition of the ogdconnection, I watch the autumn leaves fall from the trees. The vibrant colors of autumn are starting to fade from the bright reds and yellows of last week to a dull shade of browns of this week. Just another reminder that winter is on the way. While many go into hibernation this time of year I can guarantee that Evergreen Events is working overtime to make sure that just six months from now you will be dazzled and delighted with what we have in store for you. With Thanksgiving holiday around the corner, I dream about the future and think about the things I am genuinely thankful for:
We have been busy making new friends and keeping in touch with the old ones. We are excited to have a great lineup of partners for ION 2008. Blabbermouth PR is taking the lead in getting the word out about ION and its qualities that make it such a great event. Our current media partners, ChinaGameBiz/China GC Networks, MPOGD.com and the Themis Group will be working with us over the next 6 months and will be onsite at the event. We are also excited that Dolby has joined in supporting ION this year and will be exhibiting at ION 2008, and will be joining many other excellent companies in support this show. For those of you that want to speak or have an accomplished friend in the industry that may have mentioned wanting to speak, we have recently listed our suggested topics for the upcoming call for speakers. This information can be found on the conference website. The suggestions were provided by our amazing ION 2008 advisors, so if you have an idea that’s not on the list that is okay too. Don’t be shy — our advisors are open to new ideas and suggestions! I am excited to have been invited to the Montréal International Game Summit event, so if any one wants to get together in Montréal the last week of November feel free to give me a shout! Over the six months in the lead up to the show, through ogdconnection we will be sharing more news about ION on a regular basis. More news, more interesting features are coming up in the near future. In the meantime I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Sincerely,
Interview with Conference Director Peter FreeseWelcome to our series of feature editorials for ogdconnection, starting with an interview with the ION Game Conference's Director, Peter Freese. I'm Paul Philleo, writer, entrepreneur, and also the editorial manager at ogdconnection and on the ION board of advisors. At ogdconnection, my main role is to help ensure a reliable flow of interesting and useful information related to ION and the online game development industry finds its way into your Inboxes. We feel this interview should set things off to a running start!
Again, for those who may not have attended ION 2007, where do you feel the event succeeded and where do you feel it needs improvement for 2008? In a sense, our goals for ION 2007 were very modest. I wanted to create a top-notch event for my fellow developers that filled what I felt was a serious void – the needs of those at the forefront of online games, principally the designers and programmers, who were all facing similar challenges, but lacked a forum to collectively share in solutions to those challenges. While we were successful in meeting our primary goals for 2007, it became obvious at the event that there existed another group that had an equally compelling need: that of business leaders in the online games space. Addressing those additional needs is one of our new challenges for 2008, and one for which we are already actively augmenting the conference, with meeting spaces, a business to business meeting matrix, and facilitated networking events.
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I came for the lectures. I only attended a few because of the incredible networking. I feel I have reduced my company’s time to market by 12 months and avoided several pitfalls. I highly recommend the ODGC and will attend with the rest of my staff next year. Chris Breckenridge |
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Sponsorship Opportunities Available at ION 2008 Cynthia Freese |
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Industry HighlightsCDC Games Aids Shutdown of Illegal Pirate Server OperatorCDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corporation and pioneer of the “free-to-play, pay for merchandise” model for online games in China, today announced it has helped the Chinese Government and local police successfully shut down what it believes is the largest pirate server group that was illegally operating CDC’s popular online game, Yulgang. This success was achieved through the extensive anti-piracy efforts of the Online Games Alliance Against Piracy (OGAAP), founded by CDC Games in September. » NCsoft Annexes City of HeroesNCsoft has founded a new studio and acquired the full ownership of the City of Heroes MMO franchise as it plans to build upon the series. The City of Heroes brand was previously shared between the original developer Cryptic Studios and NCsoft. Publisher NCsoft said it has initiated "a renewed push to further develop the City of Heroes property." The City of Heroes acquisition (which includes City of Villains) is tied to the foundation of a new NCsoft studio in Mountain View, Calif., which is built around key members of the City of Heroes team from both NCsoft and Cryptic. » Full article on NextGeneration Syracuse study compares online games to single player gamesSyracuse University announced today that Joshua Smyth, associate professor of psychology in The College of Arts and Sciences, recently conducted a trial study of college students comparing the effects of playing socially interconnected online video games with single-player games. Interestingly, the results indicated that online games have greater chance for both negative and positive consequences on a physical, educational and interpersonal level. The results will be published in the October 2007 issue of the peer-reviewed journal CyberPsychology & Behavior. » Forbes Interview with Neowiz's Chief Executive Choi Kwan-hoNeowiz was born in 1997 as an Internet service provider, then reborn as a community site, offering chatting, bulletin boards and online services. Its "Say Club" service was the first to commercialize avatars, or online personalities, Neowiz claims; people paid money in microtransactions to buy, clothe and otherwise decorate them. Choi joined as chief operating officer in 2001, the same year that Neowiz moved into gaming. » |
PAUL PHILLEO: Peter, thank you for taking time from your hectic schedule to share a few thoughts about the online game development industry and the ION Game Conference (ION) with us. For those not acquainted with you, give us a brief insight into who you are and what qualifications you have to establish yourself as a leader in the online game development space.
PETER FREESE: In addition to having over 25 years experience as a professional software developer, I'm a game industry veteran of 15 years, with the majority of that industry experience in online games. I've worked on successful AAA game titles, and I've also worked on huge budget titles that have spectacularly failed. I've started four companies and served on advisory boards and steering committees for major conferences and industry groups. All of these experiences have shaped and deepened my perspective on the online games business.
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