The 2008 ScreenBurn Festival
March 7 - 11, 2008
Austin, Texas

If you plan on attending Austin GDC this September 15-17 at the Austin Convention Center, make sure you purchase your registration by this Thursday, August 5 at midnight EST to receive their special advance rate. ScreenBurn @ SXSW Interactive in conjunction with Austin GDC, will be co-hosting the official closing event of Austin GDC on Wednesday, September 17 from 7-10pm at the Mohawk here in Austin, Texas. Please stay tuned for more event information, and learn how you can network and mingle with Austin GDC and ScreenBurn @ SXSW Interactive industry attendees!

At 11:00 AM PST on Thursday, July 24th, exactly one half hour before SXSW Interactive 2007 Keynote speaker Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims, Spore) is scheduled to give his Comic-Com International 2008 Keynote, room 6CDEF is already at near capacity - stuffed to the brim with eager geeks and media patiently waiting for a glimpse at the much anticipated game, Spore, and a chance to listen to it’s dynamic creator. And where is that creator? Quietly fiddling with a laptop on the table next to the podium. The time passes quickly and then the fun begins.

After a brief introduction from MashOn CEO Philipppe Benoliel, and a mention of the MashOn Spore Comic Book Creator - an interactive application that allows users to create comic book stories featuring their Spore creature creations, Mr. Wright takes the stage and begins his talk with an ode to the fan - giving a humorous definition of the Otaku and describing Comic-Con as the one place forty-year-olds can walk down the street in costume without getting a second glance. All this to set up his own place in the all-emcompacing world of the true fan and to give an insight into the many inspirations behind the creation of Spore.

In the first half on the presentation, Mr Wright gives the audience a glimpse into his own fascination with outer space, from the dawn of space exploration in the 1960’s to it’s representations in art and literature throughout history - particularly the film 2001, which he saw for the first time as a young lad of seven. Through funny stories and insightful anecdotes about the ever-evolving nature of aliens, robots, humanity, art, story-telling and Blade Runner, the audience is brought up to speed with all-in-the-universe that lead to the creation of what we are all here to see. Spore. And what a universe…

A quick glance at his wrist watch indicates that’s it time to put aside the PowerPoint and get to the meat: a demo of the game due out in September of this year. But first, some numbers. When the Creature Creator was released last month, developers envisioned reaching the one-hundred-thousand created creature mark by the time the game was released in September. The reality? One-hundred-thousand in a blink of an eye… two million to date. The reality check? There are only about 1.6 million creatures on earth! Clever math, and an even cleverer graph on the screen, transforms Spore fans into 38% God (the whole six day thing - you figure it out.)

Into the game itself. Mr. Wright takes the audience into the world of his latest creation, exploring a created species as it evolves through time to build a civilization that eventually becomes a citizen of the universe, traveling to distant planets, colonizing them, terraforming them… and then, sometimes, blowing them up. Players use the embedded editors, 10 in all, to create buildings, vehicles, space ships and theme songs (the later through a music editor created for the game by Brian Eno.) Once created and named, an asset can be used by other players. Likewise, players can use the assets of others (and even leave messages for the creator.)

In building civilizations, things don’t always go as planned. Moving into the space stage of the game Mr. Wright demonstrates the delicate balance of planetary atmosphere and bio diversity through a terraforming experiment taken a little too far. An aggressive action against a small colony brings down the wrath of a very powerful civilization and an isolated colony on a distant world suffers from low moral. The deployment of a strategically placed wiggly-armed, inflated “happiness booster” can take care of that - showing off one of many embedded cultural references within the game space.

By the end of the demonstration, it’s clear that the vast diversity of the Spore gamespace is limited only by the player’s imagination and creativity - a quotient that, as proven by Mr. Wright earlier in the session, can be greatly bolstered when given access to advanced tools for creation. With ten minutes left on the clock, the Q&A stated in the panel description is almost unanimously voted down by the audience in favor of a demonstration of what imagination and the proper tools can create - in the form of the Mr. Wright’s now infamous “Russian Space Minute.” Only this time it’s Germany: Van Braun and the Saturn V.

Congratulations, women age 18 and over! You have now surpassed (at 33%) boys age 17 and younger (18%) as active gamers. The 2008 sales, demographic and usage data numbers from ESA’s (Entertainment Software Association) “Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry” came in earlier this month stating that women now make up 40% of all gamers in the US, up slightly from 38% in 2007. The average age of the gamer has also gone up to 35 from last year’s 33, with an increase in the percentage of gamers over the age of 50 from 24% to 26%. There are significantly more households with game consoles - 38% in 2008 as opposed to 33% in 2007, with 63% of parents (up from 55% in 2007)believing video games to be a positive influence in their children’s lives. What do all these numbers actually mean? According to ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher, “This new data underscores the fundamental principle that computer and video games are a mainstream entertainment form, which captures the imagination of every segment of our society. No longer is there a stereotypical gamer.” The only market left to be conquered by the ravenous video game industry may just be the family pet. Fido, look out!

With the Wii named the current champion as the best selling console, Sony seems to be expanding its repertoire of games. However, instead of expanding its games to reach a broader audience, Sony took the route to dip old console gamers into newer waters. At last week’s E3, Sony announced its plans for releasing large-scale MMOs on the PlayStation 3, creating quite a stir in the gaming community. Taking advantage of PS3’s ability to connect online, the massive multiplayer online games will allow normal console players to experience what PC gamers enjoy most: engaging in battle with hundreds of gamers over the world. One of their star efforts, MAG (pictured above) will involve 256 players duking it out in teams of eight. Sony also are putting their efforts into persistent gaming, where the game world continues moving, with or without you. Although these new explorations are currently being refined, it’s gotten dedicated gamers riled up about something new, just for them. At least they won’t have to share this game with their mother, unlike the popular Wii Fit.

World-renown developer of connected games and applications, Hands-On-Mobile, Inc., announced today that Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass will be available for mobile phones. Through a web-based companion site player you can compete against other players, message opponents, manage your music career, compete in contests, download new instruments, and download new music. In the breaking IGN.com news, President of Hands-On Mobile, Niccolo de Masi, announces that “Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass offers Guitar Hero fanatics and casual gamers a way to play the gigs they love, but now there is an added element of working to get the gigs and seeing what it’s really like for an artist to work their way to the top. The Guitar Hero franchise has been key to our success and Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass will continue this while raising the bar for mobile phone gaming with unparalleled community and connectivity.” You thought you needed a television to rock on? Now you can use your mobile device to jam out on the town!

San Francisco based Emotiv Systems has developed nifty new gadget due to hit shelves just in time for the holiday season this year. The Emotiv EPOC is a space aged looking neuroheadset designed specifically for gamers. “We’ve created a brain computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a videogame can accept [in order to] control the game dynamically,” said Emotiv co-founder Tan Le “It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively.” This compact devise, featuring 16 sensors that use electroencephalography to measure electrical activity in the brain, measures the users’ facial expressions and moods and correlates that data into a “thought” that in turn translates to the character on screen.

Retailing in the US for $299, the EPOC will ship with a martial arts fantasy video game in which a “master” teaches players to do things like lift mountains and spin rocks using their minds. Emotiv also offers a software development kit that will allow third party developers to insert this technology into their projects.

While similar devises do exist for other applications, this is the first time this technology have been specifically developed for the video game market.

Studies done by the Information Solutions Group indicate children with ADHD disorder can experience a therapeutic effect from playing casual games. As covered on GameDaily, the study reveals “of the approximately 220 respondents, 83 percent cited Improved concentration skills/Increased attention span and 64 percent cited Stress relief/Relaxation.” Dr. Carl Arinoldo, who headed the study, claims “children with AD/HD often lack that sense of control that comes much more easily to their non-AD/HD peers. Playing casual games such as Peggle and Bejeweled, among others, is one area in their lives in which these children can experience some sense of control with the added benefit of achieving success in something. Both of these aspects, taken together, can serve to enhance the child’s self-concept and self-esteem.” At the 2008 SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn festival, Jane McGonigal’s keynote advocated a very similar response to games: “In games we can be good at things that we’re not good at in real life…Games are the happiness engines.” Games aren’t just for recreation; you can improve your ability to achieve in gaming and life!

Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification has refused to issue an age rating for Bethesda Softworks’ much-anticipated upcoming release Fallout 3 (the third such refusal this year), effectively banning it’s sale and promotion in the country. The OFLC report points to the games’ overt drug use, not the violent content, as the sole reason for the decision. “The game contains the option to take a variety of “chems” using a device which is connected to the character’s arm,” the report states. “Corresponding with the list of various “chems” are small visual representation of the drugs, these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe and blister packs. In the Board’s view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the “science-fiction” drugs in line with “real-world” drugs.”

Critics of the decision place blame with Australia’s lack of an adult rating for games. Currently the highest possible age rating for games is MA 15+, which precludes any material the board may find unsuitable for anyone aged 15 or younger. There are also grumblings in the gaming community about inconsistencies in the board’s application of the rating guidelines set by the Attorney General, siting other games, along with the two previous versions of Fallout, that feature similar drug use elements yet enjoy a MA 15+ classification.

Fallout 3, which is currently awaiting classification in the US, is the third game this year to be refused a rating in Australia, following on the heels of ShellShock 2: Blood Trails and Dark Sector. A recently resubmitted edited version of Dark Sector has subsequently received an MA 15+ rating.

Who says that gaming isn’t educational? Apparently not the American Library Association, who has just developed a project to experiment and expand on electronic gaming programs for libraries. Using a grant of one million dollars from Verizon Communications, the ALA sought out a few select libraries with well-matured gaming programs to gauge on how the programs help promote literacy and other academic areas. After collecting data, a kit will be pulled together to help start up gaming programs in libraries across America. “There’s growing evidence that games in general, from the traditional board versions to electronic and online ones, support literacy and 21st-century learning skills,” says Elizabeth Danforth, a representative librarian who also works as a freelance gaming artist. So far, there has been an enthusiasm that the games are promoting problem-solving and teamwork– skills which book reading lack. With the ALA picking up the effort to use games to attract the teen demographic to their doors, kids like Luis Aguilar (pictured above) will have a safe place to gather, learn, and have some good ol’ new fashion fun.

Do you have an idea you’ve been preparing for next year’s SXSW ScreenBurn game conference? Now’s the time to submit your topics for 2009 SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn, as the 2009 panel submission deadline is tomorrow, Friday, July 11! Programming ideas submitted via this interface will be posted on the SXSW Panel Picker, thereby allowing our community to vote on which ideas they feel are most appropriate for 2009. Click here for more information on how to submit your gaming-related panel idea for 2009 before the end of day deadline tomorrow.