Something related to games

I found this exchange on Twitter to be mildly amusing.

Vox Day ‏@voxday
#GamerGate Open Source projects are the current target of SJW entryists. They use Codes of Conduct to take control.

Stonehead ‏@stonehead
@voxday Could you guys please return to your caves, doing something related to games instead of misogyny? Thanks. #GamerGate

Vox Day ‏@voxday
@stonehead In addition to the 7 games I designed this year, the 3 games I am developing, and the game dev course I teach? #GamerGate

Speaking of the game dev course, I’ve had to take the time to do some infrastructure-building, get a little further down the road with regards to the games we’re developing, and arrange to make it possible to let people outside this blog know that a modified version of the game development course I taught at the institute in Zürich is going to be available online. That’s why the course did not begin this fall, but will instead begin in January, most likely on January 9th.

In order to make it accessible to everyone from Eastern Europe to the West Coast, the ten online sessions will be on Saturdays, beginning between 12 and 2 PM until 2 to 4 PM EST. Is there a strong preference for a specific start time in that window here? The structure will be about one hour of lecture, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A, followed by 15 minutes of me interviewing an industry expert, and 15 minutes of audience Q&A with the expert.

The price of the course is $199, but VP readers will receive a $49 discount if they sign up before my partners begin offering it to the public. Two people asked if they could contribute for scholarships; to do so, simply buy a course and let me know you want it to go to someone who can’t afford it. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, don’t do so now, but wait until I announce how many are available. I will be supplying several myself. As I previously mentioned, all Annual Brainstorm members are guaranteed a free seat if they want one; I will be sending out an email concerning this later today.

There are 500 seats for this first course, but due to the Institute students as well as a partnership with a technology incubator in a European city, it is possible they will fill up faster than one might expect. (Although based on some of the numbers the city representative was throwing around, I may need to do a completely separate course just for them, which would have the effect of creating more open seats here.) 40 seats are presently reserved for the institute, as many as 50 may be taken up by the Brainstorm members, but if you are interested in taking the course you can reserve a seat now.

Some comments from the previous course participants:

  • Great job, great course – you can expect a lot of practical knowledge and a lifetime experience from inside the industry – course is definitely worth the time and money invested! Last but not Least, Theodor is a great guy, as a person and as a mentor! Appreciated his honesty and way of spreading wisdom! 
  • These presentations are really interesting. I learn a lot and the stories and examples, while a bit lengthy, are fun to listen to and show a great deal of first hand experience. It’s like getting a look behind the scenes.
  • For me the workshop gives a unique insight into areas of the game industry, which have been very elusive to me so far. Some might complain about the slightly scattered structure of the workshops, but I think that all the little anecdotes and narrated experiences are the real benefit of these sessions. They explain quite well what to expect of relevant companies, how the people interconnect and give hints where to dig deeper to solve other pending questions. Additionally I appreciate the opportunity to get a feedback on the concepts from someone from the industry, thus not on a academic scale, but well founded in the real life business.
  • Generally speaking, it was good and informative. He talked about different subjects and didn’t get stuck on one topic. It was very good that he showed examples and made interactive discussions. It would be better, if he would also show examples of games when he speaks about the history of games and their mechanics.