IGDA Chapter Inaugural Lecture at the University of Lincoln

Lincoln, UK

This was an overnight trip to Lincoln, the home of a spectacular cathedral and also the University of Lincoln, which is starting up a student chapter of the IGDA. As the organization's first chairman, I was privileged to deliver the inaugural lecture for the chapter thanks to the invitation of my host, Mark Doughty. It was called "Overview of the Interactive Entertainment Industry," a basic introduction for newcomers. The lecture was well-attended -- a whole busload of them had come down from Hull, the University’s former home -- and the crowd somewhat merry. Afterwards I signed and sold books, and went to the pub for a while with the die-hards. Great fun.

Keynote at the Digital Storytelling Society Conference, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea

This was a short but interesting two-day conference in South Korea. I was invited to deliver one of the keynotes on the first day, so I gave them "Interactivity versus Narrative: This Time It's War!" It seemed to go over very well, probably in part due to the simultaneous translation that was available. In the course of the conference I met some fascinating people: David Howard, a professor of screenwriting at USC; Jinzo Toriumi, an elderly and very famous Japanese animation director; and Tim Petras of the Microsoft Game Studios, who is doing some extremely interesting work on on-line interactive entertainment that is not a game. I was put up in a five-star hotel and treated like a king the whole time -- several sumptuous banquets of excellent Korean food.