Thanks a lot for bringing this up, but I think the "too insanely soon" thing definitely applies to most of us; those going back to school as well.

So that said, I think you should go ahead with the early October date this year, but ensure that next year's Jam takes place sometime over the summer, so that any and all indies can attend, not just those not currently going to university/college. 

Just thought I'd say I really like all the stuff in this thread!  Great crit too, Jrsqee. 

im getting into art because of this program

Great to hear! 

I really think people should send info about their work to their local media, especially if it's even remotely progressive.  Papers are always looking for stories, and local "new media" success stories are always a win.

Speaking for myself, I'll definitely be sending something on to the Edmonton Journal once I release something of note, or enough small things of note.  Like Renton said, the more people know about your work the better; if not, why bother?

I hadn't seen this topic until now; "necessary?" I thought to myself.  But then 20 pages seems to have proved otherwise.  Wow.

Tigana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigana  Huh, sounds interesting; liking it so far?

Anyway, the last fiction I read was Mona Lisa Overdrive, about a month ago, to round off Gibson's Sprawl trilogy.  I quite liked it, but it just wasn't as good as Neuromancer; definitely better than Count Zero though.

Currently it's just a bunch of non-fiction on a variety of topics.

Haha, definitely a nice excuse for some hilarious character design.  And it's definitely successful in that; the style seems to work pretty well too; it's consistent, and that's a huge plus in its favor. 

Wow, this is looking great!  

My only comment is that dialogue text; it really seems out of place with the rest of the stuff.  I do see what Chev's getting at too, but I don't find it nearly as glaring as the text.

Wow, this looks really cute/awesome!  Good luck making it. 

HOLY SHIT: has anyone actually pressed the Unicorn at the bottom of Offworld?  Try it.

And don't just press it once.  Keep pressing it.

Oh, good to hear then!  Definitely an interesting concept, too; Metroid is about as solid as it gets when it comes to atmosphere/exploration, and Metroid Prime (1) is probably the best 3d exploration game so far.  I've been so tempted to replay it, but the re-release with Wii controls is coming out at the end of the summer (ugh...great timing Nintendo), and I really loved the controls of 3.

Anyway, best of luck with prototyping etc. 

I'm definitely with Alec on this one.

And to expand that a bit, I think it's very true that most 3d games don't truly make use of all three dimensions.  Beyond that, most of them really lack sophistication, because designing 3d space is very hard, and I'm of the belief that most game designers just aren't educated (or even self-educated) enough in that field (architecture) to pull off highly thought out, meaningful spaces.  I've seen it done in 2d numerous times, and there are a few bright points with 3d games (it probably wouldn't be to hard to argue that Mario 64 had sophisticated level design, for instance), but still, overall the spaces in 3d games just aren't as well designed as their simpler, more sophisticated 2d counterparts.

But, I am very confident that this will change as game design slowly becomes a serious pursuit, for reasons beyond profit, and it is given the academic rigor it currently lacks.  Already a lot of people in the indie scene are pushing things in the right direction, and it's only natural that things will become more sophisticated over time, in both 2d and 3d.

My goodness; it's like Animal Planet, but a game.  Good luck man!  :D

Got a link to the article?  That's very very good news as far as I'm concerned.

Just out of curiosity, are you working on any more exploration-oriented projects like An Untitled Story?  Would you even say if you were?  :D

Haha, enjoy your books then, and definitely post what you thought of the arch one. 

Marian/Dyson/Machinarium

I know, how unconventional.  What a rebel.

Well, I preordered, and the music is very very atmospheric.  I love the visuals, anyway, so regardless of the puzzling, the game will definitely be very atmospheric, and that's what I care about, so.

Also, it seems that by pre-ordering you get the whole soundtrack when the game comes out, which is something I definitely do care about (and from what I can tell, you don't just get the soundtrack when you buy the game the normal way).

I find a lot of the parallels you draw between level design and architecture very appealing. I really like the way you describe the appeal of game spaces in the original post.

Thanks.  They're very inter-related fields, but architects are too pretentious, and game-designers too oblivious, for the connections to ever get much attention.  At some point down the line, I'll probably write something real about it all (like an essay), but I don't think my architectural knowledge is there quite yet.

For those interested in the games/architecture connection, check out the book/anthology Space Time Play.  It's a book of academic level papers interspersed with small looks at old and new games, from a slightly more architectural perspective.  I remember stuff like SimCity, Wii Sports, and REZ were in there, as well as something like 50-100 others.  And like all architecture books: full glossy colour.  It's also quite a thick book for its price, which is always a good thing.

You also NEED to add Machinarium.  It will be the adventure gaming event of the year!