Indie MMO Developer Game Conference Announced

[leunas]

Organizers for the upcoming Indie MMO Game Developers Conference 2007 (IMGDC) have announced that early registration has opened for the upcoming event, which will be held in Minneapolis, MN on April 14th and 15th, 2007. Officials note that reservations will be on a first come, first serve basis, as space is limited.

The two day event (which is not affiliated with Game Developers Conference creator and Gamasutra owner CMP) will be an informative and educational gathering of independent game developers who want to focus on or are otherwise interested in the use of technologies useful in the development of massively multiplayer online games. IMGDC will also feature multiple tracks and round table discussions, as well as team building "elevator pitch" sessions that are meant for developers to pitch their projects or their talents to other developers.

According to event organizers, the conference will feature sessions covering a variety of topics, such as game design and the legal issues facing independent MMOG developers. Industry professionals, such as Dr. Richard Bartle and Brian “Psychochild” Green (Meridian 59), are also scheduled to offer sessions focusing on "Industry Secrets."

“IMGDC is providing an outlet for Indie developers to learn valuable lessons and take the steps needed to produce a AAA quality Indie MMO and Dream Games, Inc. is proud to co-sponsor this much needed conference,” noted Ashley Kelley, co-founder and chief financial officer of MMOG development tools firm Dream Games. “For years developers have been seeking ways to break into the ever growing MMO market. IMGDC will provide the resources and education needed for Indies to realize their dreams.”

For more information on the event, including speaker and schedule information, as well as how to register, visit the official IMGDC website.


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[leunas]

Can Indie Developers Build a Successful MMOG

I just found out about the Indie MMO Game Development Conference that takes place April 14th - 15th, 2007 at Minneapolis, MN, USA. I must say that I was impressed since I didn’t realize there wouldn’t even be such events like this. One of the featured speakers is Brian Green (aka Psychochild), so I bet there will be some informative sessions there.

IMGDC describes the conference in the following way:

The IMGDC is a much needed conference that is geared towards the ever-growing world of Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) and the Indie developers who dream to cut themselves a piece of the MMO market pie. Designers and developers alike will find useful tracks and discussion groups at the conference. This conference is here to prove that Indie developers can and should be successful in the MMOG market.

I wrote in the past about MMORPG production and even answered to couple of questions about MMORPGs. I believe that tools such as Multiverse will help indies make MMO games, but there still lots of work to do. Presumably the conference will shed light on how to succeed in MMO production. We’ll see how the event goes in April.

The registration fees seemed quite decent (especially for the next couple of days, since the fees go up after 15th February). Here are their rates:

* Early Bird special rate: $49.99 until December 15th, 2006.
* Normal rate: $99.99 until February 15th, 2007
* Late registration rate: $149.99 starting February 16th, 2007.

If you wish to find out more about the event, there’s speaker bios and other information available at their website.

If you liked this entry, feel free to visit GameProducer.net to read more similar articles.

Article:
www.gameproducer.net/2007/02/12/can-indie-developers-build-a-successful-mmog/