Today we are here with Jason Della Rocca who is the Executive Director for IGDA. It is time to see beyond the game and look into a source whom helps developers make the wonderful games that gamers play. So now on to the interview!
Can you give us a brief history of your self in the Video Game community?
I come more so from a technology and 3D graphics background, having worked at Silicon Graphics and Matrox, and later with Quazal on multiplayer/online tech. Those roles all entailed working with and supporting game developers. So, while I have a few credits in games, I’ve never actually work at a game studio.
I landed at the IGDA about eight years ago through the usual friend-of-a-friend type reference. It was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.
For someone who has not heard of your Association or visited your website. Could you please give an explanation of some of the things that you all try to accomplish for your members?
The IGDA is dedicated to improving developers’ careers (and lives) through community building, professional development and advocacy.
That translates into initiatives like:Of course, the list goes on and on. More details can be found at the IGDA’s “about” page.
- Having chapters in over 60 cities around the world where local developers can network and share knowledge
- Establishing curriculum standards and working with universities to set up game degrees/programs
- Fighting government on anti-game legislation and promoting games as a valid form of artistic expression
- Hosting a two-day conference focused on leadership within the game industry
How long has IGDA been formed and what changes have you seen that have been beneficial to the industry?
The IGDA was founded in 1995, right around the same time as the political scare over Mortal Kombat. Game developers didn’t have a voice in the ongoing debates, and it was time that the community got its own professional society to advance their needs.
There’s been so much change since then that I can’t possible outline things briefly… Certainly, a lot has improved over the years, but the industry continues to have many challenges as well.
Having community support is big to keep things going and in what ways do you try to get the IGDA name out there besides word of mouth?
The IGDA has over 500 dedicated volunteers and community leaders, and of course, many passionate and engage members. To some extent, the community drives itself. We do our best to provide the frameworks and tools needed, but I largely try to just get out of the way!
With such a large community (over 120,000 developers and industry types in our database), it is indeed hard to communicate the rights things to the right audiences. We’re still figuring that out to some extent. Leveraging the social web is a big part of it, no doubt.
With your support for education for people who want to break into the business. How did this idea come up and can you give an example of a success story?
More and more schools were beginning to explore game development related education. But, there were no standards to guide their efforts – that is, to ensure what they were teaching was relevant, etc. So, around 2000, the IGDA put together a committee to establish a curriculum guide, and things have snowballed from there.
Nearly every school teaching game development has leveraged the resources of the IGDA. Countless students have benefited, and gone on to vibrant careers in the industry.
Being a Non-Profit Association has this stopped you all from not doing something you have wanted to do so far?
No. In fact, the opposite is true. Being a non-profit means that your mission comes first. Delivering on our mission, and our promise to members/developers, is always our priority and liberates us from making short-term profit oriented decisions. Sure, revenue is critical, as funds are required to do all the things we do, but it is never about the money.
When having summits and lectures how do you all pick the speaker or the organization to speak? Can anyone who is not a member of IGDA attend if they are in the area during that time?
It all depends on the type of event. Much of this is volunteer driven, where we leverage the expertise of our members to make those decisions.
Local chapter events are usually open/free, and all are welcome to attend. Some larger scale events, like our 2-day Leadership Forum, are reserved for members only.
For my final question I am going to deviate from topic a little. Assuming you play games, what have you been playing lately?
Well, the IGDA does keep me pretty busy – as do my two young children. Still, I do my best to sneak in some gaming action whenever I can. Most recently, I completed Burnout Paradise, Assassin’s Creed and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Next up, I’m looking forward to playing Soul Calibur IV.Thank you for taking the time out for this interview. Continue to do great work and look forward to the fruits of what you all do behind the scenes. The IGDA homepage has lots of info for those interested in more details; also Jason has a personal blog at www.RealityPanic.com
