There is something special going on in Dallas, and not a lot of people know about it. People move to Dallas and don't want to leave. It's a great place to raise a family. The cost of living is much lower than on the West and East coasts. Hate winter? Dallas has a temperate climate and very little snow. When it does snow, it's a holiday. Love summer? Well, you'll get a lot of that in Dallas, too. Arts, sports, nightlife, education -- it's all there and it's all Texas-sized.

Aaron, I assure you, can be serious. But he also gives great hugs!! I’ve known him for so long that we always find each other at events and conferences to catch up on family, life, work, to have a debate or two and of course to share a couple of great hugs. His zombie meal choice doesn’t surprise me at all!

MM: If you didn't go into games, what would you be doing?
AT: Searching for my true calling while stunt acting for kicks.

MM: Who has been your biggest influence or mentor in the industry?
AT: Jack “Stretch” Williams at Origin Systems, my first mentor in the industry. He always stayed cool under pressure!

MM: What's your favorite quote?
AT: “Do nothing which is of no use.” –Miyamoto Musashi

Mary-Margaret Network is excited to announce the newest member to the AbleGamers Foundation Advisory Board! With our own Mary-Margaret Walker on the board, we are all the more excited to see this fantastic addition and the voice he will bring with him.

Harpers Ferry, WV – August 12th, 2010 – Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, maker of the mega-smash-hit Rock Band series, has joined the Advisory Board of the AbleGamers Foundation. "I am honored to sit on the advisory board for the AbleGamers Foundation and be a part of an organization that is striving to ensure that all people, regardless of abilities, can enjoy the fruits of the video game industry," said Mr. Rigopulos.

Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Los Angeles, CA

Women In Animation International (WIA) announces its upcoming “Battle of the Animation Bands” concert. This evening of indie music will be held in late September in Hollywood and will feature bands created at animation, visual effects and game studios.

Bands will be selected by the Women in Animation board from CDs submitted to WIA before the deadline of Friday, September 3rd. All music genres are welcome; however, music with a dance-able beat is preferred. At least one member of the band must work for an animation, visual effects or game studio.

Mary-Margaret Network is helping two great studios in Dallas with their hiring: Gearbox and Robot. Both have fantastic projects in the works, have great reputations in the area and the industry and are actively seeking game developers.

September 9th, 2010 @ 8:30am
Paris - Porte de Versailles

Future Game On is a new annual event uniting game developers, publishers and researchers from the video game industry and its many branches, from professional applications to consumer-oriented games. FGO is organized by the clusters Cap Digital and Imaginove along with partners Capital Games and ACM SIGGRAPH.

FGO will encompass a series of conferences presenting top quality technical and scientific papers to a mixed industry/academia public. The event will highlight the state of the art of European video game research and will be an opportunity for major video game actors to present their latest innovations in different fields, including:

From one of the most iconic series in real-time strategy games for Windows PC comes a new way to grow your empire. Robot Entertainment has teamed up with Games for Windows LIVE to bring us Age of Empires Online. With a series that sold over 20 million copies, you can imagine the anticipation for its newest counterpart!

Looking for a way to show your dominance over your friends, or even perfect strangers half-way around the world? How about taking over their village? Or better yet, let them put in long hard hours growing it into an empire and then methodically take it all away from them piece by piece!

Using the Internet for self promotion is a great way to increase your reach and exposure without digging deeper into your pocketbook. The most important thing to remember is that not everything that is free comes without a price. All of us who work and play online can be subject to bad publicity. The key is to be aware of the possibility and have a game plan, more formally known as an Online Reputation Management plan. Online Reputation Management (ORM) is simply keeping track of all online content about you or your company and knowing what to do when you run across something negative or untrue. Many ORM companies also offer search engine optimization, but that’s a whole other article!

If you Google online reputation management you will come up with hundreds of companies that offer their services to those who are willing to pay for it, and believe me there are plenty of people who are! According to Wikipedia, an online research report from August 2008 estimated the value for such service firms in the UK to grow that year to around £60 million.

The IGDA announced that Gordon Bellamy, Chair of the Board of Directors and former Executive Director at the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, has been appointed acting Executive Director of the association effective immediately. Bellamy is a 9-year veteran of the industry and has served on the IGDA Board of Directors since 2009.

"I'm deeply excited to have this opportunity to better help game developers. Serving our members by growing a strong, vibrant community and providing them with the resources they need to succeed is what this organization is all about," said Bellamy.

"There is a lot to look forward to with preparations for the upcoming IGDA Leadership Forum, Global Game Jam and the many events of our chapters and Special Interest Groups well underway," he added.

When it’s time to dust off the resume and go out in search of a new job, it doesn’t take that much effort if all you have to do to update it is add the employment info from the job you just left. Type, type, type, proofread, print, done! That works just fine if all you want is a job exactly like the one you just left.

Unless you were lucky enough to be born with a singular talent and just one passion (Ah, the simple life!), you’re probably going to find it’s not such a straight line from one job to the next. Maybe you’re looking to make a lateral or upward move in your field and take on different responsibilities. Perhaps you’re changing careers entirely. Or perhaps you’re in a pinch and needing to apply for a temp job outside your usual field.