rAGE '08
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Steve Vosloo
Oct 31, 2008, 1:19:22 AM10/31/08
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So, who went to rAGE? What was it like? Was there any talk of
educational/serious gaming there?
educational/serious gaming there?
Thanks,
Steve
--
Steve Vosloo
Fellow, Communication and Analytical Skills Development
The Shuttleworth Foundation
Tel: +27 21 970 1240 | Fax: +27 21 970 1241
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Blog: www.innovatingeducation.wordpress.com
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siyafrica
Oct 31, 2008, 7:11:28 AM10/31/08
to Games and Learning South Africa
Hi Steve
I went there on a media pass and was totally bored. rAge is more of a
commercial event and the only educational aspect to it was a few
varsities advertisiing their game development/3D development courses.
Plus it was too full for my liking. It got to a point where you
weren't looking for the next stall instead you were looking for
somewhere to stand, let alone sit.
I hope that helps.
Siyabonga
On Oct 31, 7:19 am, Steve Vosloo
I went there on a media pass and was totally bored. rAge is more of a
commercial event and the only educational aspect to it was a few
varsities advertisiing their game development/3D development courses.
Plus it was too full for my liking. It got to a point where you
weren't looking for the next stall instead you were looking for
somewhere to stand, let alone sit.
I hope that helps.
Siyabonga
On Oct 31, 7:19 am, Steve Vosloo
Jeffrey Knipe
Oct 31, 2008, 7:58:55 AM10/31/08
to Games and Learning South Africa
I went, it wasn't totally bad. I found that they don't have a good
focus. It's a mash of suppliers, gaming company's and distributes.
With some service providers on the side. The few collages that had
stands there really didn't reach out much at all (handing out old
flyers with some famous artists picture pasted on the side isn't good
advertising to real potential students)
On a side note, I have been playing the new "Brothers in arms" game.
This highlights in a big way how educational games are normally really
terrible. The game is a game first and yet based on real world events,
it rocks. You actually have to earn the right to unlock extras which
include factual recounts of the events of the battle you are currently
fighting (including original photos and personal recounts of events).
Educational gaming needs to be more about gaming first and education
second. Now this may sound a bit like a paradox, but think about what
clutters peoples minds these days. Students can tell you word for word
the lines of their favourite movie but can't remember a short poem for
an exam. What are educators competing with for "Brain space" ?
This leads me back to Rage. Any game can be seen as an educational
tool of some sort. Solitaire card game was put into Windows to teach
mouse skills. At Rage there are no true focuses, I don't think the
organises have much of an idea what market they are pitching to if you
look at the stalls put up. Education in gaming, it isn't even a blip
on the radar for them. I think looking at each game title and weighing
it for it's pros and cons is the best way to go. Rage will hopefully
come round and be for the gamers again one day. But if any one expects
educational gaming to have a real impact there, they them selves would
have to go and do the "show and tell"
Jeffrey K.
focus. It's a mash of suppliers, gaming company's and distributes.
With some service providers on the side. The few collages that had
stands there really didn't reach out much at all (handing out old
flyers with some famous artists picture pasted on the side isn't good
advertising to real potential students)
On a side note, I have been playing the new "Brothers in arms" game.
This highlights in a big way how educational games are normally really
terrible. The game is a game first and yet based on real world events,
it rocks. You actually have to earn the right to unlock extras which
include factual recounts of the events of the battle you are currently
fighting (including original photos and personal recounts of events).
Educational gaming needs to be more about gaming first and education
second. Now this may sound a bit like a paradox, but think about what
clutters peoples minds these days. Students can tell you word for word
the lines of their favourite movie but can't remember a short poem for
an exam. What are educators competing with for "Brain space" ?
This leads me back to Rage. Any game can be seen as an educational
tool of some sort. Solitaire card game was put into Windows to teach
mouse skills. At Rage there are no true focuses, I don't think the
organises have much of an idea what market they are pitching to if you
look at the stalls put up. Education in gaming, it isn't even a blip
on the radar for them. I think looking at each game title and weighing
it for it's pros and cons is the best way to go. Rage will hopefully
come round and be for the gamers again one day. But if any one expects
educational gaming to have a real impact there, they them selves would
have to go and do the "show and tell"
Jeffrey K.
Danny Day
Oct 31, 2008, 8:32:58 AM10/31/08
to Games and Learning South Africa
Game.Dev was at rAge in force... We ran talks and sessions on game
development from just starting out all the way through to advanced
shader usage. Our main focus was getting people into game development
by lowering barriers and showcasing the games that the community had
produced so far - the Xbox 360 games were a big hit.
We did cover building educational games and the community's "Guerrilla
Learning" concept, but that was in discussion groups and in interviews
about what my company had been doing. Luma covered their Fashion
Empire educational game a little in their report-back session though,
AFAIK.
Steve: We've got a 4 DVD set of our sessions at rAge and we'll start
making them available on the Game.Dev site as soon as the impending
redesign is finished.
Siyabonga: It's a shame you didn't find the Game.Dev room, we were
upstairs above the organisers office (not the best position compared
to being on the show floor last year, but at least it had aircon) I
think you'd have enjoyed what we were doing. Plus it was quieter ;)
development from just starting out all the way through to advanced
shader usage. Our main focus was getting people into game development
by lowering barriers and showcasing the games that the community had
produced so far - the Xbox 360 games were a big hit.
We did cover building educational games and the community's "Guerrilla
Learning" concept, but that was in discussion groups and in interviews
about what my company had been doing. Luma covered their Fashion
Empire educational game a little in their report-back session though,
AFAIK.
Steve: We've got a 4 DVD set of our sessions at rAge and we'll start
making them available on the Game.Dev site as soon as the impending
redesign is finished.
Siyabonga: It's a shame you didn't find the Game.Dev room, we were
upstairs above the organisers office (not the best position compared
to being on the show floor last year, but at least it had aircon) I
think you'd have enjoyed what we were doing. Plus it was quieter ;)
Steve Vosloo
Oct 31, 2008, 10:59:06 AM10/31/08
to ga...@googlegroups.com
Sounds great, Danny. Look forward to seeing the DVD sessions ...
Danny Day
Nov 1, 2008, 9:30:16 AM11/1/08
to Games and Learning South Africa
Jeffrey: rAge is an exhibitor-driven expo. The organisers (Tide Media)
provide the venue and a marketing push and you pay for the stand space
you want. That's how pretty much every gaming expo since E3's
popularity exploded works. Of course you're going to get distributors
marketing their wares like crazy, but rAge 2008 was definitely the
best rAge by far: There was preview code of oodles of new and up-
coming games to ogle at. As a gamer, I was blown away by everything on
offer (plus I got to play Guitar Hero: World Tour onstage in front of
an audience, that's my dreams of being a rockstar right there). At
rAge the focus is simple: Games. That's such a huge area of interest
with so many different angles that it can seem unfocused to people
expecting something specific, especially when not everyone comes to
the table (where was Nintendo/Core? What happened to Ster Kinekor?).
I'm rather worried that people didn't seem to find the Game.Dev stand.
This was where you could have had an interesting discussion with SA's
burgeoning game development community about education in gaming, yet
it sounds like none of you even knew we were there? I thought our
crack squads of publicity volunteers were doing a good job, the room
was mostly full but we appear to have missed tons of interested
attendees. That's not good :(
Next year we're going to need floor space as well as a room to do our
sessions in.
provide the venue and a marketing push and you pay for the stand space
you want. That's how pretty much every gaming expo since E3's
popularity exploded works. Of course you're going to get distributors
marketing their wares like crazy, but rAge 2008 was definitely the
best rAge by far: There was preview code of oodles of new and up-
coming games to ogle at. As a gamer, I was blown away by everything on
offer (plus I got to play Guitar Hero: World Tour onstage in front of
an audience, that's my dreams of being a rockstar right there). At
rAge the focus is simple: Games. That's such a huge area of interest
with so many different angles that it can seem unfocused to people
expecting something specific, especially when not everyone comes to
the table (where was Nintendo/Core? What happened to Ster Kinekor?).
I'm rather worried that people didn't seem to find the Game.Dev stand.
This was where you could have had an interesting discussion with SA's
burgeoning game development community about education in gaming, yet
it sounds like none of you even knew we were there? I thought our
crack squads of publicity volunteers were doing a good job, the room
was mostly full but we appear to have missed tons of interested
attendees. That's not good :(
Next year we're going to need floor space as well as a room to do our
sessions in.
Siyabonga Africa
Nov 2, 2008, 11:43:05 PM11/2/08
to ga...@googlegroups.com
Hi Danny
Sorry about that. I did see a GameDev sign (from what I remember). I must have given up looking for your hidden spot at some stage that day. But I'd definately like to see the DVD of your sessions :-)
Laters
Danny Day
Nov 3, 2008, 6:16:54 AM11/3/08
to Games and Learning South Africa
Anyone interested in getting hold of the Game.Dev rAge session DVDs
can email wil...@contactmarketing.co.za with the title "rAge 2008
DVDs" and he'll organise everything from there.
The full four DVD set costs R200. Unfortunately we don't have an
electronic system we could use for the payments just yet.
On Nov 3, 6:43 am, "Siyabonga Africa" <siyafr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Danny
>
> Sorry about that. I did see a GameDev sign (from what I remember). I must
> have given up looking for your hidden spot at some stage that day. But I'd
> definately like to see the DVD of your sessions :-)
>
> Laters
>
can email wil...@contactmarketing.co.za with the title "rAge 2008
DVDs" and he'll organise everything from there.
The full four DVD set costs R200. Unfortunately we don't have an
electronic system we could use for the payments just yet.
On Nov 3, 6:43 am, "Siyabonga Africa" <siyafr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Danny
>
> Sorry about that. I did see a GameDev sign (from what I remember). I must
> have given up looking for your hidden spot at some stage that day. But I'd
> definately like to see the DVD of your sessions :-)
>
> Laters
>
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