At a time when the game industry is struggling to define itself within the context of free, freemium, and paid games, Lunar Giant decided to ask a separate question: Should it cost the customer money to extend the life of a game they purchased? From Call of Duty to Orcs Must Die, paying for downloadable content (DLC) has become de rigueur in the games industry. Most gamers have come to accept the fact that they aren’t done paying for a game after they’ve bought it. But does that make it right? And is it always more profitable for a game company to sell DLC?

More over at MyGiant.

But one thing is for certain: despite the technology stack involved HTML5 games are no longer just for web developers. Proper game devs should be paying attention and starting to dip their toes in, because the routes to market and associated technology are exploding.

We take a slight detour from our normal format in this episode to talk about the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to game design. Do games that draw from other areas of culture benefit from that approach? Do they make themselves more culturally relevant and impactful by doing so? Have you watched Wrath of Khan recently?

George and I delve into this topic, drawing perspective from interviews with game designers Neil Wickman and Duane Beckett throughout.

Panel 1: I Made A Game, Now What?

A Panel on Business and Self-Publishing in the Game Industry.

Topics including: starting your own game development studio, self-publishing techniques, marketing, business-specific endeavors, etc.

(We’re trying to bring back most of the old gang from this original IGDA Chicago panel)

Panel 2: Chicago Exists! (A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of Chicago Game Development)

The Chicago games industry is a microcosm for the kind of changes taking place within the game industry across the world.  With new business models transforming how companies operate, and independent game companies on the rise, Chicago is adapting by creating a community where information sharing and collaboration are central.  Join Chicago developers Josh Tsui (Robomodo – Mortal Kombat, Tony Hawk), Christian Arca (Toy Studio – Squishy’s Revenge), Jay Margalus (IGDA Chicago, Lunar Giant – Delve Deeper), Phil Tibitoski (Young Horses – Octodad), Ryan Wiemeyer (The Hats – Organ Trail), George Hufnagl (My Escape – Da Num Nums), and Dave Lang (Iron Galaxy Studios – Scribblenauts Remix, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online) as they discuss the past, present, and future of the Chicago games industry… and how Chicago plans on changing the way games are made.

Feel free to let the folks over at C2E2 that you’d like to see these panels happen!

Tweet to @c2e2

Two (and 1/2) years ago I quit my job in downtown Chicago, started my own company, and co-founded a hackerspace (and worldwide space blimp competition) with a few friends.  I also started brewing beer, which I consider to be one of the best hobbies I’ve ever taken on.

A year (or more) ago I became co-owner of a video game company and started working with a great group of people at IGDA Chicago (who I would later become a board member with).

This year, at 27, I’ll be having my first child.  Having a child will be my biggest responsibility and undertaking to date, but I can’t help wondering: what else am I going to do?

The question haunts me.  The idea of being comfortable with where I’m at is frightening.  Many of my friends and family talk about retirement; about reaching some comfortable age where they’ll stop working and start enjoying life.  For me, my work is part of who I am… it is the way I enjoy life.  Yet the idea of doing the same work — of not creating or innovating — is unacceptable.

So, what now? What comes next?

In a decidedly 21st-century twist, team of German hackers bent on fighting the powers that be has chosen a rather ambitious means of taking the power back: building a hacker-owned and -operated space program, complete with a constellation of communications satellites beaming uncensored Internet to users on the ground.

(Via Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)

At first Tong was a little unsure about getting into a rental van parked along a busy highway, but he took the chance.

(Via NPR Blogs: Planet Money)

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