Albert Art

IGDA Membership, renewals and me Final reminder

I'm a really bad IGDA member.

I seemingly let my membership with the International Game Developers Association expire, forgetting to renew it every time an email reminder came along in my inbox. I wouldn't ignore the emails, in fact I'd read them, but I always just forget about them soon after.

Second reminder.

Looking back at them, the emails sent out sounded really serious, as if I'm committing some sort of crime against humanity, if I didn't renew.

First reminder.

Then again, the tact and urgency of each email is appropriate when considering the importance of each member to the association, and the contribution members have on the game industry at large. In the email above (the first email I got, and unintentionally forgot to follow up on) from the Executive Director of the IGDA, Jason Della Rocca, sums up in a nutshell the IGDA's purpose. These are concerns all developers, and even enthusiast gamers should be concerned with.

And though registration with the IGDA requires that you are an employee within the game industry, or a student on the path to being a game developer, that doesn't mean gamers can't keep up with all the resources, and information available through the IGDA, and it's various events, and publications. After all, as the end user of the products that the game developers create, people tend to think of solely the entertainment on their screens, strategy guides, and game reviews, but there's a whole slew of issues that any informed gamer needs to know about the industry.

I guess I'm a good member after all for spreading the word, and you know what I don't mind the email reminders. I mean it could have been worse. Della Rocca could have Judo'd every person who didn't renew their membership.

For more detailed info on the IGDA, visit their FAQ.

PS.UGO shouldn't be your only source for game industry news. Gamasutra/ Game Developer Magazine/ Game Career Guide, FTW!