Give some love to the gamers! The Columbus Interactive Media Festival (CIMFest) conference did just that when it took place on main campus on March 7. Held in the Synovus Center for Commerce & Technology and hosted by the Middle Georgia branch of the Georgia Game Developers Association (GGDA), this conference was both the hub for all things gaming as well as any aspiring game developer’s opportunity to show off their newest projects, test others, and gain useful connections and knowledge.
“America is obsessed with the idea of individualism and monetary success,” Michelle Menard said. ‘To, I think, the detriment of mental health and satisfaction.” Menard is a seasoned game developer, the founder of Artemic Games, and author of Game Development with Unity (2014). She teaches game design as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Menard and her team are currently working on a “super-not-so-secret RPG” that is geared specifically toward Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
At CIMFest, Menard delivered her keynote speech, titled “A Recipe for Success: Being Resourceful and Not Prescriptive,” on the many ways the gaming industry has shifted over the years. Her talk targeted what ‘success’ even means and the ways developers can succeed in such a tumultuous time. Menard highlighted the many ways success is measured: in profit, customer satisfaction, personal satisfaction, sustainability, and growth. Leaving room for innovation is better than a set rule of instruction.
“Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one concept.” Menard said. “I had a lot of students who were like ‘well if I don’t get hired right out of the industry at my dream job, it’s a failure.’ That’s unrealistic.”
That’s just one of the many takeaways from CIMFest that aspiring developers left with. Yet what was it all about? Why is something like CIMFest so important? Well, Andrew Greenberg, executive director of the Georgia Game Developers Association (GGDA) has some insight into that as well.
“The goal of events like SIEGE and CIMFest are primarily to help inspire people to do more, create more,” Greenberg explained. “But the other secret of them is that we’re trying to give you the network so you can accomplish all these different tasks.”
CIMFest has been hosted here at CSU for a decade now and is within the Middle Georgia chapter of the GGDA, an organization that also produces the largest video game industry show in the southeastern United States. That’s the Southern Interactive Entertainment & Game Expo (SIEGE), a nonprofit event that is for all things gaming, from the business and legal side, the developer and beginner side, as well as marketing. Here in Columbus, the community is very small but dedicated.
“This is an effort of local game developers to bring into reality,” Greenberg said. “There are a lot of very talented people here, but they’re very disconnected, and this is a great center of gravity for all of them.”
Andrew Greenberg, as the GGDA’s executive director, has been in the game development industry since the 1990s. He co-created the Fading Suns roleplaying and computer games, as well as being the original developer of White Wolf’s Vampire: The Masquerade. He has also worked on products with other roleplaying game companies, including Star Trek Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
“On top of the inspiration is that network to make this actually happen and happen and happen effectively, and then beyond that, we know that this [game development] is a long slog,” Greenberg said. “It’ll go on and on and on, and it really is a long slog. So, part of that is also that reaffirmation of what you love and that rededication to your craft.”
He also highlighted how his experience in game development has helped him as an event organizer: “What game development will teach you to do is: be organized. If you’re not organized, you’ll drive yourself crazy.”
Greenberg joined Tim Ryan and Mike Stumhofer on the “Quality Assurance in Games” panel where they offered advice on how to streamline the play-test process—making sure a game plays as intended and there are no issues that could impede the quality of your game. It requires clear communication between developers and testers.
“When I first started making games, I felt guilty when I was playing games, like I was wasting my time, but I don’t feel that way anymore,” Mike Stumhofer said. “I think if you don’t play games, how are you going to know what’s fun? You’re not gonna know what’s going on.”
Mike Stumhofer is known for creating HOF Studios, and the games Depth of Extinction and Panic Porcupine. He has been within the industry for over 15 years. At CIMFest, Stumhofer sat on multiple panels, including “Starting a Game Studio.” Stumhofer shared his experiences in the industry with both attendees and The Uproar.
“I usually don’t give a lot of advice, because I feel like what may work for me may not work for you,” Stumhofer admitted. “If you can’t make the game that you have in mind, try to start small. Maybe just take one aspect of the game you’re looking to make.”
Joe Cassavaugh, another speaker, is most notably known for his Clutter series, with the 19th edition having come out recently on his website: Puzzles By Joe. He is also known for the very successful Mah Jong Quest I, II, and III. His talk was on “A Solopreneur’s Journey in Successful Game Development.”
“I am arguably the most successful solo game developer in Atlanta,” Cassavaugh divulged proudly. “It took me 10 years to make my first million but only five to make the second, and that’s mainly what my talk is about.”
In his talk, he speaks a lot about an idea called “Lottery Tickets of Time.”
“Whenever you use your time wisely, you buy a ticket that may pay off in the future, so instead of just Netflix and Chill, you actually do something useful,” he explained.
Cassavaugh lamented our generation’s lack of soft skills: showing up on time, demonstrating a good attitude at one’s workplace, and other essential skills that lead to success within the workforce.
“If you act like it’s a chore to have you be there, nobody’s going to want to work with you,” he said.
These gripes seem to highlight a consequence of the digital age. Even in a space so forward thinking and positive, when it comes to technology, there are still concerns. As a Computer Science teacher at Hardaway High School and CSU alumni, Anthony Obando highlighted these concerns in his talk on ‘Technology’s Effect on the Human Experience.”
“We need to make sure that we at least start the kids early understanding that there are limits and that you have to know when to stop, and I’m not going to be able to be there and tell my kids ‘All right, time to get to work,’” Obando explained. “It has to be a self-driven situation.”
Because of the speed of technological development over the years, the concern of digital addiction and phone reliance has become more apparent.
“As a teacher, I have to not even play or fight, I have to work with the phones in the class,” Obando continued. “Because these little supercomputers in our pockets that we carry with us are fighting for our attention, there’s something clearly more interesting.”
Obando runs his class very similar to a college course, meaning his students are not necessarily given homework, but there are expectations for them that may not be reflected in their other classes.
“I try to give them a way of ‘Okay, here’s your deadline, I want this done by this date. Please make sure you have it in by then,’” he explained. “If it is late, have an excuse ready for me on why it is you need to turn it in late, or we’re gonna have a rough conversation.”
When it comes to game development and CIMFest, Obando explains that the talk he was a part of was led by one of his students’ reflective papers. But as a game design teacher, he also needs to prepare his students for the industry.
“It’s not pretty,” Obando said. “Game design is very much going to be a hit-or-miss sort of field.”
All in all, CIMFest was a success here at CSU with a diverse panel of experienced speakers building connections with the small but now connected network of Columbus and inspiring the hearts and minds of the next generation of game developers to come.
