SIGGRAPH 2014 BRINGS INDIE GAME SHOWCASE TO VANCOUVER

SIGGRAPH 2014 has teamed up with Media Indie Exchange (The MIX) to bring the first-ever SIGGRAPH indie game showcase to its Exhibition, 12-14 August, at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia.  

SIGGRAPH is the premiere international conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques and consistently offers top-notch content for gaming professionals and enthusiasts alike. As part of this special collaboration with The MIX, attendees will have access to exclusive presentations — with the game developers themselves — on indie projects featuring a wide variety of cutting-edge graphics and gameplay that in some instances is still in the experimental stages.

“The MIX brings a high level of talent, creativity, and quality to the table. We are excited to bring this experience to the SIGGRAPH community and put a spotlight on it,” remarked SIGGRAPH 2014 Conference Chair Dave Shreiner. “Hopefully, speaking with indie developers first-hand will inspire individuals and small teams in attendance to ‘go for it’ with their own projects.”

The MIX team has been organizing showcases for independent game developers to present their projects to media and industry leaders since 2012. SIGGRAPH 2014 will mark the first MIX showcase outside of the United States.

“The MIX at SIGGRAPH 2014 shows the ongoing impact of indie studios on the industry,” said Justin Woodward of The MIX.  “This event provides another platform where we can help share advances from this world with new audiences.”

The MIX lineup during SIGGRAPH 2014 will be released in the weeks leading up to the conference. For the latest updates visit s2014.siggraph.org or stay tuned to SIGGRAPH 2014 on Facebook and Twitter. Access to the Exhibition starts at $50 USD and is available by clicking here.

SIGGRAPH 2013 Calls for Real-Time Live! Content

SIGGRAPH 2013 seeks cutting-edge Real-Time Live! content to be presented as part of this year’s prestigious Computer Animation Festival. Examples of accepted real-time simulations and graphics submissions include:

• Military or industrial simulations
• Interactive animation and graphics
• Research projects
• Computer games
• Real-time art explorations
• Scientific visualizations: medical, astrophysics, astronomy
• Interactive data visualization and information graphics

As long as the submission is interactively controlled, rendered in real time, and repeatable for a live audience, it will be considered. Accepted work is demonstrated live on a PC or game console in front of an audience. The result is an entertaining, informative, and engaging experience.

Check out examples from a previous year in the following video:





“Celebrating its 5th anniversary, Real-Time Live! has grown into a can't miss event at SIGGRAPH and has established itself as the premier annual showcase for the best of the best in interactive real-time graphics,” said Abe Wiley, Real Time Live! Chair from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. “We hope that this year's content will be more diverse than ever and highly encourage submission from all industries and fields of research."

The Real-Time Live! submission deadline is 5 March 2013. All real-time work will be reviewed by a professional jury of industry experts from traditional computer graphics, video games, and research organizations.

Entries will be judged on creativity, innovation, performance, and most importantly, the ability to render in real time in front of a live audience as part of the Computer Animation Festival. The top selections will be played and demonstrated live on a PC or game console.

View detailed information on how to submit Real-Time Live! content.

SIGGRAPH 2012 Game Industry Content Summary Guide

The following is a roundup of all content at SIGGRAPH 2012 originating from the game industry as compiled by Naty Hoffman, SIGGRAPH 2012 Games Chair and Technical Director for Activision.

Introduction:

This post lists all the content at SIGGRAPH 2012 originating from the game industry; note that in addition to the sessions on this list, SIGGRAPH 2012 also includes many relevant presentations from other industries (animation, VFX people, research, software and hardware vendors, etc.).

 

Summaries:

SIGGRAPH 2012 will feature content from 33 game development studios and industry R&D groups:

• Activision Studio Central
• Avalanche Studios
• Bioware Austin
• Bungie
• CCP
• Crytek
• DICE
• DONTNOD Entertainment
• Double Fine Productions
• EA Canada
• Epic Games
• Firaxis
• Gobo Games
• Guerrilla Games
• High Moon Studios
• Id Software
• Limbic Software
• LucasArts
• Maxis
• Microsoft Studios User Research Lab
• Naughty Dog
• NetherRealm Studios
• Ninja Theory
• Petroglyph Games
• Project Soul/Namco Bandai Games
• Q-Games
• Relic Entertainment
• SCEA R&D
• Square Enix Research
• tri-Ace
• Ubisoft Montreal
• Valve
• Vicarious Visions

This content will cover 20 game titles:

• ADRIFT
• Civilization V
• DmC Devil May Cry
• DOTA 2
• Dust 514
• End of Nations
• Far Cry 3
• Just Cause 2
• Killzone 3
• Mortal Kombat
• Once Upon A Monster
• Pixeljunk 4AM
• Rage
• SimCity
• Soulcalibur 5
• SSX
• Star Wars 1313
• Star Wars: The OId Republic
• Uncharted 3
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
• Plus content will cover game engines and various industry R&D projects

The lists below break out the game industry presentations by conference program.  Each session lists the participating game development studios and any specific games covered.

Courses

• Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Part I and Part II: Bungie, CCP (Dust 514), Epic Games, Ubisoft Montreal, Firaxis (Civilization V), Vicarious Visions, Gobo Games
• Beyond Programmable Shading: DICE
• Character Rigging, Deformations, and Simulations in Film and Game Production: Bioware Austin (Star Wars: The Old Republic)
• Efficient Real-Time Shadows: Guerrilla Games (Killzone 3)
• Virtual Texturing in Software and Hardware: Id Software (Rage)
• Practical Physically-Based Shading in Film and Game Production: Ubisoft Montreal (Far Cry 3), Activision Studio Central, tri-Ace

 

Talks

• Furry, Floppy, Fuzzy: Once Upon a Monster's Fur Pipeline: Double Fine Productions (Once Upon a Monster)
• What If Earth was Flat - Building Globe UI of SSX: EA Canada (SSX)
• From a Calm Puddle to a Stormy Ocean - Rendering Water in Uncharted: Naughty Dog (Uncharted 3)
• Adaptive Level-of-Detail System for "End of Nations": Petroglyph Games (End of Nations)
• Screen Space Decals in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine: Relic Entertainment (Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine)
• Asking the Impossible on SSX: Creating 300 tracks on a ten-track budget: EA Canada (SSX)
• Fast Generation of Directional Occlusion Volumes: Maxis (SimCity)
• Local Image-based Lighting with Parallax-corrected Cubemaps: DONTNOD Entertainment (ADRIFT)
• Creating Vast Game Worlds - Experiences from Avalanche Studios: Avalanche Studios (Just Cause 2)
• Character Customization of Soulcalibur 5 In-Depth: Project Soul/Namco Bandai Games (Soulcalibur 5)

 

Technical Papers

• Theory, Analysis, and Applications of 2D Global Illumination: Limbic Software

 

Panels

• The Battle for Motion-Controlled Gaming and Beyond: Microsoft Studios User Research Lab, SCEA R&D
• Virtual Production Branches Out: High Moon Studios

 

SIGGRAPH Dailies!

• Mortal Kombat Morphing: NetherRealm Studios (Mortal Kombat)
• Pixeljunk Space Odyssey: Q-Games (Pixeljunk 4AM)

 

Computer Animation Festival

Screenings (Daytime Selects)

• DOTA 2 Teaser: Valve (DOTA 2)

Production Sessions

• Ninja Theory presents DmC Devil May Cry: Breathing Life into Video Games: Ninja Theory (DmC Devil May Cry)

Real-Time Live!

• Luminous Studio Tech Demo: Square Enix Research
• Uncharted 3 Visual Effects: Naughty Dog (Uncharted 3)
• Star Wars 1313: LucasArts (Star Wars 1313)
• Unreal Engine 4 Elemental: Epic Games

 

The Studio

Studio Talks

• Film/Game Convergence: What's Taking So Long?: Crytek
• Creating Vast Game Worlds - Experiences from Avalanche Studios: Avalanche Studios (Just Cause 2)

Studio Workshops

• Python Scripting in Maya: Crytek
• MaxScript for Artists: Crytek
• VFX for Games: Pre-Baked Destruction: Crytek
• Building a Game Level: Crytek
• VFX for Games: Particle Effects: Crytek

SIGGRAPH 2011 Game Industry Content Summary

The following is a roundup of all content at SIGGRAPH 2011 originating from the game industry as compiled by Naty Hoffman, SIGGRAPH 2011 Game Development Community Director from Activision Studio Central.

From Naty, "Please note that this content originating from the game industry is not the same as 'content of interest to game developers', which is a much larger set. Also note that I have taken a fairly strict definition of “game industry” - basically a studio that develops games, or a research group belonging to a game publisher."

SIGGRAPH 2011 has content from 30 game development studios:

• Advanced Technology Group (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
• Avalanche Software (Disney Interactive Studios)
• Avalanche Studios
• Black Rock Studio (Disney Interactive Studios)
• Blizzard
• Bungie
• CCP Games Iceland
• CCP Games Newcastle
• Criterion Games (Electronic Arts)
• Crytek
• Disney Interactive Research
• Double Fine
• Electronic Arts Black Box
• Electronic Arts Canada
• Electronic Arts Montréal
• Electronic Arts Tiburon
• Epic Games
• Evolution Studios (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Frontier Developments
• Guerrilla Games (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Kalloc Studios
• LucasArts
• Media Molecule (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• NetherRealm Studios (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• Q-Games
• Remedy Entertainment
• SCE Santa Monica Studio
• Treyarch (Activision Blizzard)
• Ubisoft Montpellier
• Valve

Please note: If the studio is owned by a publisher and it’s not clear from the studio name which (for example, “SCE” = “Sony Computer Entertainment”), then the publisher’s name is listed in parenthesis. Publisher-owned central R&D groups are listed as studios. When the work described was done at a previous place of employment of the author or presenter, that place of employment is listed instead of their current affiliation.

SIGGRAPH 2011 game industry content covers 25 games titles:

• Alan Wake
• Battlefield 3
• Call of Duty: Black Ops
• Costume Quest
• Cars 2: The Video Game
• Crysis 2
• EA Sports MMA
• EVE Online
• From Dust
• God of War III
• Halo: Reach
• Killzone 3
• Kinectimals
• LittleBigPlanet 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Mortal Kombat
• Motorstorm Apocalypse
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
• Need for Speed the Run
• PixelJunk Shooter 2
• Portal 2
• Split/Second
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
• The Saboteur
• World of Warcraft

The lists below break out all the game industry content by program. First the title of the content (course/talk/paper etc.) is listed, then the studio name (as in the studio list above), and finally (in parenthesis) the game title which the content is focused on. If the content is not focused on any specific game title, (#) is used.

Courses:

• Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Part I: Bungie (Halo: Reach), Avalanche Software/Disney Interactive Studios (Cars 2: The Video Game), Crytek (Crysis 2), Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment (LittleBigPlanet 2)
• Advances in Real-Time Rendering in Games Part II: Electronic Arts Montréal* (Battlefield 3), Electronic Arts Black Box (Need for Speed the Run), Treyarch/Activision (Call of Duty: Black Ops), CCP Games Newcastle (#), SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III), Electronic Arts Canada (#)
• Filtering Approaches for Real-Time Anti-Aliasing: Double Fine (Costume Quest), SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III), Advanced Technology Group/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (#), Kalloc Studios (The Saboteur), CCP Games Newcastle (#), Avalanche Studios (#), LucasArts (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2), Crytek (Crysis 2)
• Beyond Programmable Shading Part I: Disney Interactive Research (#)
• Character Rigging, Deformations, and Simulations in Film and Game Production: Electronic Arts Canada (#)
• Destruction and Dynamics for Film and Game Production: Avalanche Software/Disney Interactive (#)

* - Presenter is from Electronic Arts Montréal, but Battlefield 3 was developed by DICE.


Talks:

• Making Faces: Eve Online’s New Portrait Rendering: CCP Games Iceland (EVE Online)
• MotorStorm Apocalypse: Creating Urban Off-Road Racing: Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment (Motorstorm Apocalypse)
• Spherical Skinning With Dual Quaternions and QTangents: Crytek (Crysis 2)
• Rendering the Interactive Dynamic Natural World of the Game: From Dust: Ubisoft Montpellier (From Dust)
• Deferred Shading Techniques Using Frostbite in Need for Speed The Run: Electronic Arts Black Box (Need for Speed: The Run)
• Animation Workflow in Killzone 3: A Fast Facial Retargeting System for Game Characters: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• Occlusion Culling in Alan Wake: Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake)
• Increasing Scene Complexity: Distributed Vectorized View Culling: Electronic Arts Black Box (Need for Speed: The Run)
• Practical Occlusion Culling in Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• High-Quality Previewing of Shading and Lighting for Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• Run-Time Implementation of Modular Radiance Transfer: Disney Interactive Research (Split/Second)
• Fluid Dynamics and Lighting Implementation in PixelJunk Shooter 2: Q-Games (PixelJunk Shooter 2)

Technical Papers:

• Physics-Inspired Upsampling for Cloth Simulation in Games: Disney Interactive Research (#)

Posters:

• Character Shading in EA Sports MMA Using Projected Poisson-Disk-Based Ambient Occlusion: Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA Sports MMA)

SIGGRAPH Dailies!:

• Mortal Kombat X-Ray Attacks: NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (Mortal Kombat)
• God of War 3: Chimaera Tail Swipe Attack: SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III)
• God of War 3 Poseidon Creature Boss Fight: SCE Santa Monica Studio (God of War III)

Computer Animation Festival:
Electronic Theater

• Halo Reach: Bungie (Halo: Reach)
• Portal 2: Turrets: Valve (Portal 2)

Screening - Commercials, Games, and Music

• Left 4 Dead: The Sacrifice: Valve (Left 4 Dead 2)
• Portal 2: Bot Trust: Valve (Portal 2)
• Portal 2: Turrets: Valve (Portal 2)
• World of Warcraft: Catacysm Intro: Blizzard (World of Warcraft)

* Please note that game cinematics not made by the game’s developer aren’t counted.

Production Sessions:

• Guerrilla: The Creation of Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)

Real-Time Live!:

• Kinectimals: Frontier Developments (Kinectimals)
• A Look Under the Hood of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: Criterion Games/Electronic Arts (Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit)
• Samaritan Real-Time Demo: Epic Games (#)

The Sandbox:

• A Look Under the Hood of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit: Criterion Games/Electronic Arts (Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit)
• Alan Wake: Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake)
• Bring the Storm to the Apocalypse: Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment (Motorstorm Apocalypse)
• Killzone 3: Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment (Killzone 3)
• Kinectimals: Frontier Developments (Kinectimals)

The Studio:
Studio Workshops

• Introduction to Python Scripting: Crytek (Crysis 2)
• Rigging Characters for CryEngine: Crytek (Crysis 2)
• World Creation in CryEngine: Crytek (Crysis 2)

Emerging Technologies:

• Surround Haptics: Sending Shivers Down Your Spine: Black Rock Studio/Disney Interactive Studios (Split/Second)

International Resources Events:
The IGDA Presents Game Jam!: IGDA (#)