the-guildhall posts

It's one thing to create a feature film that has a game as part of the plot. It's another to actually make a working game that will be integrated into the movie. That's what Dallas-based Dreamfly Productions is doing with their upcoming sci-fi film Minuteman.

The movie, currently filming in the Dallas area, deals with a former Special Forces soldier who had now retired and is now working on a ranch. However his former Special Forces members stage a surprise attack against him and now he has to fight for his life against the seemingly brainwashed soldiers. The movie will cut between live action and a game called Minuteman which will help reveal why these attacks are occurring. The film is being written and directed by Mark Millhone and stars actor Riley Smith in the lead role of former Captain Lance Deakin. Veteran actors like Willa Ford , Barry Corbin, Christian Kane and Marshall Teague have also been cast in the film.

Last month game retailer GameStop announced their sponsorship of new Indie Game Challenge with $100,000 each going to the professional and non-professional indie game teams for the grand prize. If you and/or your team have been thinking about entering your game in the contest, we have some good news.

Today the organizers of the contest announced that the deadline for entry has been extended from October 1 to October 31. According to the organizers, they decided to extend the deadline to give dev teams more time to get their entries ready. Finalist will still be announced on Jan. 15, 2010 and the winners will be announced during the annual DICE Summit on Feb. 19, 2010.

Massive game retailer GameStop has just put down a lot of money to support the creation of independent games. This week the company announced the launch of the first Indie Game Challenge which will give both professional and amature game development teams a chance to win a whole lot of money for their game.

How much, you may ask? Brace yourself. Both the professional and the non-professional grand prize winning teams will each receive $100,000 for their winning game. Not only that but all contest participants will get a chance to win a $50,000 scholarship to attend the game-oriented development school The Guildhall. 12 team finalists will also get to travel to Las Vagas this coming February for the DICE Summit where they will get to pitch their title to a unnamed game publisher for a possible publishing deal.

Entries for the contest are being taken from now until October 1. The finalists will be announced on January 15 and the two $100,000 grand prize winning teams will be revealed on February 19.

In recent years, several colleges and universities have added game design curriculums to their course catalogs. Many programs have been intelligently intertwined with Computer Science and art programs in order for students to learn as much about not only the industry as possible, but the ever-changing field of technology.

However, some feel that while universities are a fine place to learn the industry, their methodology of updating courses is too slow to keep up with the breakneck pace of video games. Develop magazine, in their inaugural Education Spotlight, has conducted an interview with Nic Oliver, marketing guru at new private educator Quantm, based in the U.K.

According to Oliver, Quantm offers something that most universities simply cannot: faster integration of new technologies. Oliver explains that universities must undergo a rigorous updated course validation process that could last as long as three years. "But our course structure, the way we run things, means that if something new is released tomorrow we could have it in our course in a matter of weeks," Oliver says.

To supplement their literal board of developers, Quantm also holds a number of workshops designed to teach or enhance skills integral to success in the gaming industry. Oliver stresses the importance of the workshops, saying that most universities "aren't well enough equipped to teach 3D and games effectively," nor does he believe that they place enough emphasis on the aforementioned. By providing extensive workshops, Quantm believes that participants will get constant hands-on experience with the latest trends and technologies practiced in the industry.

The full interview is available at DevelopMag.com.