Madison Chapter

Welcome to the Madison Chapter of the IGDA. We started this chapter as a forum for professional game developers in Madison and its surrounding area to better our craft, share ideas, and to improve the quality of life in our industry.

The Upcoming IGDA Madison Election

As announced at our meeting last week, we are working hard to comply with the IGDA's new bylaws concerning affiliate chapters. One big part of that is having elected officers, and as such we're going to run our first official election. The plan is to cast ballots sometime in December, but before we do that, we need candidates! That's where you come in.

We have three different positions we need to fill for this election: Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Six months later, we'll have an election for a Vice-Chair as well. For now, though, see below for details about the positions and their duties.

Chair: The Chair shall give active direction and have control of the business and affairs of the Chapter. He or she may sign contracts or other instruments, which the Board of Directors has authorized to be executed, and shall per form all duties incident to the office of Chair as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors.

Secretary: The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors; see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws, ensure appropriate records are kept; and in general perform all duties inci dent to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors.

Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be responsible for and oversee all financial administration of the Chapter. The Treasurer shall ensure that accurate bookkeeping and accounting of the Chapter's moneys are performed, and in general perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors.

The deadline for nominations for any office is October 28, 2008. You can nominate yourself, or you can accept a nomination from someone else if you like. If you're interested in running for any of them, please e-mail us right away!

Posted by EricFrancksen on October 7, 2008 01:45 PM | Comments (0)

Next Meeting September 30

The next meeting of the IGDA Madison chapter will be September 30, 2008, at Herzing College (5218 East Terrace Drive), starting at 7 PM. Herzing College has kindly donated the meeting space, which holds up to 70 people.

The IGDA has recently changed its structure and its relationship with its chapters. This meeting opens with details about these changes and how it will affect the chapter and the board of directors. It also provides notes about how the board of directors works and how to run for election to a position on the board. The election is slated to be held at our next meeting later this year.

After that, our friends at Big Rooster give an overview of the Unreal Engine and how it's best used to make great games. This includes a Q-and-A session about implementing this popular engine.

Once the meeting ends, we make our way to Erins Snug Irish Pub (4601 American Parkway), just around the corner from the school, to continue the conversation.

We hope to see you there!

Posted by EricFrancksen on September 22, 2008 01:13 PM | Comments (0)

April Meeting Report

The April meeting was a huge success. Many thanks to Herzing College (especially Jeff Westra and Erik Pedersen) for providing the space, along with pizza and pop. Thanks also to our three speakers: Ben Geisler of Frozen Codebase, Tim Gerritsen of Big Rooster, and Chris Rhinehart of Human Head Studios.

For a summary of the event, check out the new entry (an RTF file) in our "Minutes" section. Also, Matt Ciarlante—the IGDA Green Bay Student Chapter Secretary—came up with a pair of videos documenting the evening. While they're not as good as being there, they are the next best thing. The first covers the introduction and the talks from Ben and Tim, and the second wraps up with Chris's chat and the following Q&A session.

Posted by EricFrancksen on July 2, 2008 02:36 PM | Comments (0)

April 1st Meeting, No Joke!

The next meeting of the IGDA Madison chapter will be April 1, 2008, at Herzing College (5218 East Terrace Drive), starting at 7 PM. Herzing College has kindly donated the meeting space, which holds up to 70 people, and Jeff Westra and Erik Pedersen of Herzing are providing free pizza for those who can fit into the room. Click on the image to the left to see the promotional poster.

We have three speakers scheduled for the event, each talking for about 30 minutes. The first speaker is Ben Geisler, who will talk about the story of Frozen Codebase: how they started, how they got together, and how they got to where they are now. Ben is titling his talk "The Camaro of Game Development," because he thinks Camaros are funny.

Tim Gerritsen of Big Rooster is the second speaker. His talk is called "They've come to Snuff The Rooster." It's about how Big Rooster got started, how it almost died, the trials and tribulations thereof, and how it's now back and better than ever.

Chris Rhinehart of Human Head Studios rounds out the night with "Heads Will Roll." In it, he discusses the formation and history of Human Head, including the company's challenges and triumphs.

Finally, we will close with a Q-and-A session with all three speakers. After that, we will walk over to Erins Snug Irish Pub (4601 American Parkway), just around the corner from the school, to continue the conversation.

We hope to see you there!

Posted by EricFrancksen on March 20, 2008 08:25 PM | Comments (0)

February Meeting Postponed

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the upcoming IGDA Madison chapter meeting scheduled for February 12 has been postponed. Please spread the word and stop back soon for more information about the rescheduled event. In the meantime, have a great time at the Game Developers Conference if you're going, and don't forget about the IGDA Members-Only Party at the show!