Thanks for your support!

The results of the 2012 election for the IGDA Board of Directors have been announced here:http://igdaboard.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/2012-igda-board-election-results/.

Unfortunately, my bid to join the board failed by a mere 13 votes! That's very frustrating, to say the least. However, I congratulate Sheri Rubin and Ed Fries on their successful election, and I sincerely thank everyone who supported my candidacy - I truly appreciate it!

It's also very unfortunate that the election did not achieve quorum with its voting. We must do better to help IGDA members feel engaged and invested in the work of the organization. Now, let's get back to business and get the IGDA in shape, shall we? It takes more than a board to make that a reality...

Call to Action: PLEASE VOTE!

The election for the IGDA Board of Directors ends on 18 March - that's just 5 days away! If you haven't voted yet, NOW is the time - it's quick and easy! The URL to vote is http://bit.ly/IGDAElection

All IGDA members should have received an email with their registered email address and unique to them password. Anyone who doesn't have that should email James at ops@igda.org to get sorted out.

Of course I would appreciate your support in my candidacy for the board! I also highly recommend Sheri Rubin's candidacy as she's proven herself far above and beyond duty as one of the IGDA's most productive volunteers! More information about Sheri's positions can be found here:http://sheriforigda.org/.

Whoever you decide to elect, PLEASE exercise your right to vote! Let's help the election achieve quorum! Thank you!

Voting has Begun! PLEASE VOTE!

Voting is now OPEN for the IGDA Board of Directors! It's time to exercise your voice as an IGDA member and VOTE! Once you do, please encourage other folks to do the same - it's critical for the IGDA to hit quorum (1,253 votes) for the election to be valid!

Place your vote for the Board of Directors members by March 18th. Visit http://igda.org/elections for information on the candidates, their positions, and the voting process.

Of course, I would greatly appreciate your vote for my candidacy! I hope you'll also consider voting for IGDA über-volunteer Sheri Rubin; she's been a true force of change in the IGDA and also deserves to be on the board!

Sound Off!

As we're about to get started with the 2012 IGDA Board of Directors elections, I'd love to hear from people regarding their top concerns and issues regarding both the IGDA and the game industry at large. I'm talking about general questions, such as:

• What's your top issue about the IGDA, positive or negative?
• How do you feel about the current state of the game industry (however you perceive it)?
• Do you feel your concerns are being met or even heard?

We all know that the industry is in a great state of flux, such is the nature of emerging technologies with a strong social/consumer aspect. We're seeing how that dynamic nature can be both a positive and negative force - improving our medium yet often creating unstable, uncertain working situations. I fervently believe the IGDA can do a much better job at looking to the horizon to anticipate such changes and be proactive in our response. What do YOU think?

Kate's Candidacy Statement

When I desired to create a “home” for game localization professionals back in 2007, I chose the IGDA because I believe in its mission and its critical purpose. The cross-functional collaboration was appealing as an ideal forum in which to cultivate the localization community among other industry professionals. With its responsibility for the GDC Localization Summits, its numerous meetings at industry events, its creation of a Best Practices document, and its Translation Force to provide crowd-sourced translation for the Global Game Jam (and eventually the IGDA website), the Localization SIG has thrived under my leadership.

We all realize that the IGDA has seen a lot of churn with leadership transitions, website frustrations and so forth. We also know that the industry faces both internal and external challenges, to which the organization has sometimes been slow to respond. While I know that faith in the organization has been shaken among some members, I and most members fervently believe the IGDA’s best days lie ahead. However, in order to move forward, we must revisit the fundamentals:

1. Reassert the IGDA’s relevance: The IGDA needs to be more proactive and visionary. We must reassert a thought leadership position for issues affecting game developers; we can start by better leveraging SIG expertise in key areas. 

2. Restate the IGDA’s value proposition: We can demonstrate the value of our dues through stronger partnerships and incentives internationally, nationally and locally; an IGDA membership shouldn’t only equate to a GDC discount.

3. Reemphasize the “I” in IGDA: We must improve our inclusion of people, inspirations and best practices from international chapters by better managing the communication and execution of ideas to/from IGDA leadership.

4. Reestablish the IGDA’s platform(s) for collaboration: Through volunteerism, we can empower our tech-savvy membership to help the IGDA overcome its ongoing technical weaknesses (e.g., the website).

The bottom line is that I’m a doer, I proactively see needs and I collaboratively make things happen. This has included creating a whole new type of “geopolitical” team and process at Microsoft, launching a unique culturalization consultancy, founding a localization community within the IGDA and helping the IGDA succeed at representing game developer interests. 

I believe my 20-year career passion for games and global cultures will strongly complement the IGDA leadership. I humbly ask for your support for my election to the board and for your commitment to help the IGDA succeed in its mission.

IGDA-related Credits:
- Founder & Chair, IGDA Game Localization SIG, 2007-present
- Founder & Coordinator, IGDA Translation Force, 2010-present
- Contributor, Loc SIG’s “Best Practices for Game Localization” guidelines
- Co-organizer, Game Localization Summit @ GDC, 2008-present
- Member, Board of Directors, IGDA Seattle Chapter, 2010-present
- Member, IGDA Board of Directors Special Interest Group Committee, 2010
- Member, IGDA LGBT SIG Steering Committee, 2011-present
- Panel Speaker, IGDA Session at PAX East, March 2011
- Panel Speaker, Inaugural IGDA Summit, July 2011
- Recipient of the annual IGDA MVP Award, 2011