Startups, Games & Interactive!

[Eric Renz-Whitmore]

Hi everyone!

I hope the summer is treating you well - it's certainly been pretty busy.

For those of you interested in starting a new venture, or seeing where Artificial Intelligence, Crowdsources data and games intersect, The Sandia Serious Gaming Consortium, Rio Grande IGDA and NM Tech Council will have a small event this coming Monday from game development pro and MIT Media Lab researcher Jeff Orkin.  Details below.

STARTUP WEEKEND

On the new venture front, I'd like to invite you to New Mexico's 2nd Startup Weekend event next Friday through Sunday (6/21-23) in downtown Albuquerque. We had a great time in Santa Fe back in March (over 60 participants, over 30 initial pitches, 11 teams formed, 9 teams demoed - of which 3-4 are still operational (and at least 2 have received funding), and expect to see another good crowd in Albuquerque.

While we should have a good technical crowd, software development experience isn't necessary. It takes several talents working together to launch most startups these days, so business people, designers and others who are great at communicating... are all welcome.  And students are only $49 for the whole weekend.

If you're interested, please visit http://albuquerque.statupweekend.org

Order tickets via Eventbrite:
http://nmgames17jun-efbevent.eventbrite.com/

RIO GRANDE IGDA: TOPICS IN GAME DEVELOPMENT

MIT Media Lab's Jeff Orkin will visit to discuss the game-based research he conducted for his dissertation at MIT: 

"Collective Artificial Intelligence: Simulated Role-Playing from Crowdsourced Data" 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) commonly focuses on physical interaction in videogames - making characters "do things" - Jeff Orkin of MIT Media Lab shows how AI advancements are now leading to dynamic social interaction and dialogue. Orkin introduces "Collective Artificial Intelligence" (CAI) which is:


Bringing people together in ways never before possible
Amplifying the authoring power of individuals by harnessing the creativity and productivity of the crowd
Revolutionizing the simulations we create

About our speaker:

Jeff Orkin has been a AI programmer in commercial titles for a number of years and decided to go back to school to pursue his research ambitions. For more information on Jeff, check out his website at http://web.media.mit.edu/~jorkin/

This event is sponsored by the Sandia Serious Gaming Consortium.

--

   
    Eric Renz-Whitmore
    Executive Director, New Mexico Technology Council

   "Creating Opportunities for the Tech Business Community to Connect & Grow"

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[Eric Renz-Whitmore]

Quick update and correction:

First, I had an error in the earlier email. The correct link for Startup Weekend Albuquerque is http://albuquerque.startupweekend.org  (Sign up directly at http://albuquerquesw.eventbrite.com).

We have a great lineup of speakers and judges involved, including key people from some of the area's hottest startups: @Pay, Leverage Legal, POS Lavu, RockTops and Etsy cofounder Jared Tarbell. Whether your interests and skills are in tech, design or something else, it'll be a great chance to get your startup idea launched.

Best wishes,

Eric