Indie Passion

About the Conference

IMGDC was created to be a venue for Indie and Hobby game developers who are interested in building and designing virtual worlds or MMOGs. Last Straw Productions is hosting the conference in Minneapolis, MN on March 29th and 30th, 2008. IMGDC will give Indie developers the information and contacts needed to build successful MMOGs. IMGDC features industry keynotes, informative tracks, demo stations, informal round-tables, and more.

The IMGDC 2007 website is still available here.

About the Company

Last Straw Productions, LLC is an Indie game development and publishing company based in Minneapolis, MN. Last Straw is dedicated to bringing quality games and Indie game tools to developers all over the world. Last Straw has several projects currently including MMOGs and MMOG related tools.

Official Conference Advisors

IMGDC relies heavily on the expertise and knowledge of industry professionals to help ensure the highest quality sessions and help with sponsors, speakers, and other conference necessities. Here is the list of the IMGDC 2.0 advisory board.

Richard Bartle - Design Track Advisor

Dr Richard A. Bartle co-wrote the first virtual world, MUD, in 1978; he has thus been at the forefront of the MMO industry from its very inception. He divides his time equally between being an industry consultant and an academic (he's Professor of Computer Game Design at the University of Essex, UK). His 2003 book, Designing Virtual Worlds, is the standard, text on the subject, and he is an influential writer on all aspects of virtual world design and development.

Cynthia Freese - Conference Planning Advisor

A Washington native, Cynthia Freese is founder and CEO of Evergreen Events. Evergreen Events is a conference company dedicated to the enrichment of the games industry through innovative, high-quality conferences that are both informative as well as connective. A dynamic networker who loves meeting people and helping others, Cynthia exemplifies the mission of making connections happen. A mother of three, she is an entrepreneur, volunteer, artist, and a writer who believes in sharing and giving back to her community. Cynthia has recently taken on the role of Business Relations for Alchemic Dream a company that offers a variety of services to companies that create online games.

Ron Meiners - Development Track Advisor

Ron Meiners has worked in a wide range of online community applications, from casual games to virtual worlds, from HearMe.com and Uru Live to a volunteer position as the Online Community Advocate for the Burning Man organization. His work at Multiverse as Developer Relations Manager brought him in contact with the tremendous creative energy in the Indie Developer and Academic communities. He is passionate about the potential for online communities to foster relationships between participants, and is committed to the exploration of new forms of interaction and collaboration online. His current position is Director of Community at C3L3B digital, a startup working in the casual MMO space.

Jay Moore - Business Track Advisor

Jay was previously Dir. of Business Development, Marketing Director & Evangelist for GarageGames, an online tool dev and game publisher. He joined GG in '02 when they were 5 guys crammed into a one-room office. When he left, they were a team of 30+. While at GG, he launched IndieGamesCon, oversaw the online publishing of independent games, and worked to establish Torque as the game engine platform of choice for independent game developers.

Jonathon Stevens - Conference Creator/Director

Jonathon Stevens founded an independent game development studio Last Straw Productions, LLC in 2005, followed by two game launches and an incredibly successful IMGDC 2007. Jonathon is a passionate game designer and developer hoping to help shape the future of MMO development.