Scholarship Competition
Open for Entries
Deadline Friday, June 20th

Something is terribly wrong with the Game Development Industry and you can fix it… but only if you are a woman and get the education you need to break in.

9% of game artists are women and they make on average over $10,000 less per year than their male counterparts. (Source: Game Career Guide, 2007.)

Notes on Game Dev invites all women aspiring game artists to submit an essay to the 2008 NoGD Aspiring Women Game Artists Competition for a chance at a full time scholarship to Sessions Online(SM) School of Game Art.

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2008 NoGD 2D/3D Environment and Character Design Competition

OPEN FOR ENTRIES
Deadline June 15

The 2008 Notes on Game Dev 2D/3D Environment and Character Design Competition is now open for entries. Art will be judged by some of the top talent in game development today including Damian Pannell (Artist, Relic, Vancouver, British Columbia), Doug Oglesby (Concept Artist, Red Storm Entertainment), Jesse Brophy (THQ, Phoenix, AZ), and Nate Purkeypile (World Artist, Bethesda).

Winners and runners up will be announced in the Notes on Game Dev and Notes on Design Blogs and in their respective newsletters which include 40,000 global subscribers. Winners will also be announced on GameCareerGuide.com, the leading portal site for game career seekers and industry recruitment.

Excellent prizes for winners include a full Game Art Certificate Program from Sessions Online Schools of Game Art, a broad choice of instructor-led game art and animation classes, membership in IGDA, and subscriptions to Game Developer Magazine.

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With the introduction of player voice in Mass Effect, BioWare is taking on change in its writing style and company culture. Kevin Barrett, Director of Design at BioWare Edmonton, shares insights on these changes in a company that established itself as the premier developer behind text-branching role-playing games such as Baldur’s Gate and continues to promote the importance of writing in games.

“It may not seem like a big deal, but giving the player’s character a voice has really opened the door to cinematic presentation of dialogue exchanges. As soon as you go from mute player responses to cinematic, interactive dialogue, the writer’s responsibilities evolve significantly.
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ECD Systems is holding its yearly contest for independent games. Voting began March 14, and they’re still taking submissions. The winners are up to the public, which means you still have a chance to make it if you enter your game!

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If you’re a woman or minority, heads up for a new $45,000 scholarship from the ESA Foundation for students pursuing game education. To be applicable, you must want to attend for full-time study at accredited four-year colleges and universities. Although applications for this round are due on May 15, 2008, the ESA plans to add fifteen more scholarships for fields including graphic design, computer science, animation or programming, digital entertainment or software engineering.

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For all of you independent game artists and designers out there, the IndieCade 2008 festival, which is happening July 10-13 in Bellevue, Washington, has recently announced an open call for their game contest. Not only are they taking straight up art games, but also commercial, abstract, serious, and alternate reality games in a variety of interactive forms.

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Much like the Elans, a few golden games led the way for most of the awards at the 8th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. Valve’s unique genre-crossing puzzle shooter Portal took away Game of the Year, Innovation, and Best Game Design. The Best Visual Art award went to Boston/2K Australia’s BioShock, which also won Best Audio and Best Writing.

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Award season is upon us for 2007 titles! The 2nd Annual Elans, the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts, recently announced the winners for their wide range of game and animation categories divided by commercial titles and student projects. Awards covered everything from writing to design to art to music.

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Hello all animators with a piece of art or animated short sitting around gathering dust! Don’t just let it hang out by itself because it’s student work or you can’t figure out how to get it streamed smoothly on YouTube with the audio working. Admit it, it’s okay, it happens to other people too.

The Center for Graphics Research at Western Connecticut State University is seeking submissions for their Animation Theater, Student Computer Animation Competition, and Art Exhibit to take place during AniFest08. That gives you three different possible avenues to get a shiny award. Animations can’t be longer than five minutes (other than compilations) and artwork should be pre-mounted and ready for display at the event.

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