Give someone else a reason to be thankful

Happy Turkey Day to you USA-ians out there! Us Canucks had ours more than a month ago. Copycats :P

Regardless of where you live, I'm sure that most of you have many reasons to be thankful. So while you're thinking about how grateful you are, why not pay-it-forward a bit?

Child's Play has started it's annual donor drive. Most gamers are familiar with the charity started by Penny Arcade where people can donate toys, books, movies and games to local children's hospitals. Sick kids who are stuck in the hospital over the holiday will get to keep some of the gifts donated. Game systems and some other items will stay at the hospitals so that sick kids can escape from their pain and loneliness for a while.

The One Laptop Per Child Foundation has brought back their Give One Get One offer where one amount will buy you 2 laptops, one that's sent to you and one that's sent to a child in a developing country. While they haven't yet reached their $100/laptop goal, they're pretty close. Your contributions will not only help a kid connect to the world, but will help the foundation continue its work.

Not all of us have been so fortunate this year that we have room in our budgets for charitable contributions. The economy has brought hard times for a lot of people. But you can still give from the heart. Literally. I've posted here several times about how to become a Stem Cell Donor. I've posted this because it has hit home to me and making the importance of this issue known has been a huge fight for my friend and neighbour, Tamu.

Less than a year ago, her brother was diagnosed with leukemia. He died 2 weeks ago. Minorities are especially under-represented on the donor registry, the numbers are frightening. He was lucky enough to find a match. Not only that, but the graft was successful! Unfortunately, it came too late and the cancer was too strong. He lost the fight a few weeks later.

But because Tamu and Emru raised awareness, the number of registrants this past year saw a significant spike. And already a few of the people they know have been contacted by the registry because they are a match for someone else. So please make the difference in someone else's life (and for their family too) and sign up to be a marrow donor. Scared it'll hurt? Think it's dangerous? Maybe you should check to see if what you know about marrow donation is a fact or a myth.

Links of the day...

The Ars Staff Gift Guide 2008 is as good, if not better than the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalogue for geeky and wonderful toys, but at much more reasonable prices. Like the Sorapot teapot, Fuzebox programmable 8-bit system or the fully-automatic Nerf Vulcan.

Via videogaming247, I had no idea that Valve published the stats for their Steam games! You can see what percentage of players have each achievement, the heat maps for player deaths and which weapons produce the most kills. So much neat info!

And speaking of Valve, Rock, Paper, Shotgun featured this amazing and hypnotic video of people messing with the TF2 engine.

Watch more video games and play free games at WeGame.

From project to project

*sigh* Such is the life in the gaming industry. The project I was just on got cancelled. It came as a surprise to us since we had a date with a publisher this week to show off our lovely vertical slice. But we didn't even make it that far. The powers-that-be made a tough call and declared our project too risky.

It was a huge surprise to all of us, given the timing and the incredible progress we'd made in the past month. But given that it was an original IP, in an unfamiliar genre, with an uncertain audience, in an unstable market... well... it's easy to see why the safer path is going to be followed.

I'm sure that this is happening at a lot of companies out there. I know that the Vivendi-Activision merger left a lot of projects orphaned as they trimmed the fat and went with the safe bets. A lot of the more risky titles were left looking for new publishers.

You think we're seeing a lot of sequels in the market right now? Wait another 2 years when the effect of today's economy will show on the games that are being launched. Sequels, re-skins and licenced IPs. At least from the big companies, that is. I really hope that all the start-ups and indie developers will be able to weather the economic changes.

Jason Rohrer featured in a great Esquire article

What a great article! Jason Rohrer, creator of the indie sensation Passage, has been featured in a very wonderful article in Esquire. I had the chance to play Passage at Kokoromi's Gamma event last year and I must admit that I did tear up at the end of my turn. It's simple, it's short but it packs a punch. It's wonderful to know that there's space in this world to showcase this kind of art.

[via Tiny Subversions]

MIGS party was, in fact, awesome

Yes, I went to the party, and yes, I had a great time.

I had made that post Friday at lunchtime after reading about the poster on the IGDA Women's SIG mailing list. I, and perhaps a few other people, wrote to the conference organizers and sponsors to complain about the ad.

When I checked my work mail Monday morning, I found that the Executive Director of the conference had written me back Friday evening, shortly after I left work. Now, having organized conference myself, I know just how crazy those couple of days leading up to the grand event can be! The fact that he put together a well-written response so quickly was really impressive. Here's what he wrote:

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to write us regarding the Official MIGS Party ad. We take these remarks seriously.

We would like to take this occasion to insist on the fact that we had absolutely no intention to offend anyone or to show any disrespect to the professional women working in the video game industry. We are strongly opposed to sexism and are deeply sorry if this ad was perceived as offensive.

Our goal was to take a humoristic approach and make a reference to the stereotypes surrounding parties in the game industry. Our sole target was to show and communicate that it is an inclusive event, where everyone is welcome. We still hope that this event will be fun and inclusive and that we will be able to make it a great celebration after a big day of work for the participants of the Montreal International Game Summit.

We are strong supporters of talented men and women in the videogame industry, both as developers and players.

Thank you again for your comments.

I can understand that they were trying to make light of how things used to be and that they were trying to point out that it's not like that any more. And frankly it's pretty shameful that my first thought, and the first reaction of most of the people I spoke to, was that they would have to hire women to make it seem like a wasn't a sausage fest. It's our own ingrained idea that there aren't going to be enough women. Really quite unfortunate.

The ad was pulled from the MIGS website by Monday morning. And at the conference on Tuesday, while they didn't have time (or money) to reprint the program which featured the ad, they did have flyers for the party on the seats for the first keynote which featured the art with new wording "Mingle with the best in the industry and have fun!

Again, doing that on such short notice is pretty commendable. Putting in the effort to redesign, print, and distribute the new ad in so little time really shows how much they cared about the perceived message.

I also stopped the Executive Director when I saw him running by one time to thank him for his email and the effort they put into making those changes. My email had been a tad harsh, as are most that you send off in a flurry of anger. But his calm and collected response really shamed me.

That all told, I went to the party. The place was PACKED! There were men and women there, all ages, students and professionals, speakers and attendees. It was tons of fun and I met some really great people.

MIGS party will be a total sausage party

Like someone on the IGDA Women's SIG said, this is going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The ad for the Microsoft and Ubisoft sponsored event for the MIGS conference is...pathetic.

I've already written to Alliance Numérique, Microsoft and Ubisoft about how I feel. And now I'm going to jump on my little blog soapbox and rant to the faceless internets as well.

Fine, people in the past may have complained that MIGS parties are sausage fest. So what should you do? Try to attract more women? Oh no! You do something that will turn off any female attendees!

I can't imagine that the poster is going to attract a lot of females, since it's obviously aimed at lonely men who crave the attention of women. It's not aimed at people who want to network, it must be an event for people who are looking to get a little out-of-town action. Lonely guys, who need women to be hired to pay attention to them.

It really sounds like the party is going the "hired guns" route, getting models or something to make the party look more attractive to lonely men.

And how does that make me feel as female attendee? Well, for one, I'm not very likely to attend the event now. As much as I would love the opportunity to network with people, I dread several all-too-likely situations...

The guys who have taken the poster to heart and when you try to strike up a conversation they say "Alright! MIGS really came through, this isn't a sausage party after all!"
My credibility being in doubt, because when I say I'm a game designer, people will think that's just my acting classes paying off while I'm on the job.
Being judged by people who wonder if I'm just being nice and talking to them because I'm a hired gun.

How on earth could any of that sound like something anyone wants to go through? I can't be taken seriously if people think I'm just there as eye candy? It puts me in an uncomfortable and creepy situation.

I would really have hoped that the industry could be past this kind of attitude by now. So much for encouraging women to get into the industry!

Thank you, grandpa.

Today, in Canada, is Remembrance Day. It's a time to reflect on the sacrifices that so many people have made in the name of freedom. For me, it's a time to remember my grandfather.

He was born and raised in the southern part of Sweden. He and one of his brothers left home at an early age to move to Canada. When they got here, they worked out west as farmhands and doing other handiwork. It was simple, honest work.

When the war came, my grandfather joined the Canadian army and was stationed in several places before ultimately landing in Hong Kong. At the time of his capture, he was injured and in the hospital. The Japanese took the region and all the enemies in their territory became prisoners of war, including my grandfather. He lived through it, although his mistreatment and malnourishment would affect his health for the rest of his life.

I know next to nothing about my grandfather's experience. He never talked about them to me or my father. He would meet up regularly with other Hong Kong vets because only they could understand what he went through. He didn't tell us what horrible experiences he wen through because he did all that so that we would never have to.

It's not as though he never thought about it, he had numerous books and videos on the topic. But he never discussed it with family. I tried to read one of the books he left behind that was specifically on the experiences of Hong Kong (Long Night's Journey Into the Day) and I haven't been able to get past more than 50 pages of it. It's heartbreaking, full of diary entries and recollections from people who did and didn't make it through. It's hard to fathom that my own grandfather must have gone through those same things.

What I have left from his times as a POW is a photo taken in Hong Kong just after they were released. My grandfather, a tall and skinny man, looks absolutely gaunt. My father has his discharge papers from the army with only a few notes as to what his experiences had been like, in typical government paperwork form. And I have a Nazi belt buckle, complete with swastika. I don't know how he got it, if it was during the war or through trading with his army buddies afterwards.

But it's physical evidence that I can hold that proves to me that all this happened. And that war happened for a reason. Even if we can't agree with any of the wars that are happening in the world right now, we can be thankful that there are people out there who are willing to risk their lives for the hope of something better for the rest of us.

When my grandfather passed away, several vets came to the funeral. When his urn was lowered, they took the poppies from their lapels and threw them into his grave. I broke down crying. And I still tear-up every time I see poppies.

CliffyB, all grown up?

“Gears of War 2” lead designer Cliff Bleszinski no longer wants to be called “CliffyB,” a name he’s used since the 90s. It’s “time to grow up a bit,” he wrote in a quick note.

How do you make a game girlfriend-friendly?
You have very cool and bad-ass main characters that have a very human side. And you make sure that the female characters in your game don't have ginormous tits and aren't bad stereotypes. "If the sequence is overwhelming for your significant other, he or she can just sit behind cover, blind fire a little bit, and you can handle all the shenanigans," Bleszinski says.

A beta is like hooking up with a girl just to say, "yeah, I f*cked her." I know that sounds crude, but it's the honest-to-God truth. Once you play a beta, you can check it off your list -- you can say, "yeah, I played it." Then you might not feel motivated to get that initial cherry popping from the proper, final game.

You've got to have a thick skin. If I had a nickel for every time I was called a fag on the internet, I could retire. It's just the way the fans are sometimes; you do a good job and they'll hold you up in a chair and carry you through the streets. You screw up once and they'll be the first to tar and feather you, and that's the risk I take when I stick my neck out there.

And guys like this don't even realize how what they're saying might make some people uncomfortable. I know. I've worked with a few of them. No wonder women so few women want to work in the industry and so many leave after having to deal with guys like this. In any other industry, no company would stand to be represented in public by a person like this.

Grim Fandango Design Docs available...and hilarious!

It's like Christmas has come early! Tim Schafer has released the Grim Fandango design document to the internets! *glee*

[via videogame24/7]

Stem Cell Awareness

I've mentioned this here before, but it's worth mentioning again since this it's Stem Cell Awareness Week in Canada and Month in the US. Here's a quick FAQ taken from my friend, whose brother just received a marrow transplant last month.

1. 70% of people requiring a stem cell transplant need an unrelated donor.

The first choice is a family member, but more people will have to rely on a stranger.

2. Register by providing a blood sample in Quebec or the UK, or a cheek swab sample in the rest of Canada or the US.

In the US, UK and most of Canada, you can even fill in your registration online and get a kit sent to your home.
This is a free service in many countries, and in the US, there are ways to register for free.

3. Donation is safe, fast, and not risky.

You never donate stem cells or bone marrow at risk to your own life. Whatever is donated replenishes itself naturally in the body.

4. There are 2 ways to do it.

70% of people will donate in a process that takes a few hours and is similar to donating blood. For a few days leading up to the extraction process, the donor receives injections to produce additional stem cells in the body.

30% of people will donate by having liquid marrow extracted from within the back of the pelvic bone.

5. Many people cannot find matches.

Giving blood is important, and people who need transplants (in addition to many other people) need blood to survive. There are 8 blood types, but several million combinations of possible human leukocyte antigen (HLA) profiles - 150 billion different possibilities in theory.

Where to go for more information:

OneMatch (Canada) free
Hema-Quebec (Quebec) free
National Marrow Donor Program (US) free in person if you are in a minority donor pool, subsidized or free at some bone marrow drives, free online registration this month
DKMS Americas (US) Find out how to register without leaving home for free or by paying what you can
Anthony Nolan Trust (UK) free