A sponsored party is like a hug that conference attendees give to their expense reports. We appreciate hugs, we like parties, and we love game developers—so, GameSpy Technology is getting behind the IGDA Seattle Pro Chapter’s “Login BlowOut” party during the Login Conference in a big way. Festivities will take place on Tuesday, May 12 9:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. at the Copper Cart Cafe.  We’ve signed on as co-sponsors of the event, and we hope to see you there!

The Seattle Pro Chapter of the IGDA has invited all Login attendees, as well as IGDA & WIGI members to attend the party. If you’re attending the conference, or if you’re simply a local member of the International Game Developers Association or Women in Games International, we encourage you stop by, rub elbows with your colleagues, and perhaps enjoy a tasty beverage. Visit the event’s Website for more information!

GameSpy Technology is teaming up, superhero crossover issue style, with Dr. Jamie Madigan, author of the increasingly popular ”The Psychology of Video Games” blog, to present a session at the 2010 Login Conference in Seattle, Wash. Conference attendees can watch Dr. Madigan in action on Thursday, May 13 @ 2:30 p.m. in the Waterfront Marriott Harbor Room.  The topic: Why We Do What We Do With Friends (and Screw That Other Guy).  Note: despite the superhero reference above, none of us will be wearing tights to the session. You’re welcome!

Jamie will base his presentation in part on trending data that we have provided him about some of the games we power.  GameSpy Technology’s social and data tracking services have been used in dozens of games to power everything from buddy lists and buddy-based leaderboards to rich statistics gathering and reporting features (both in-game and on the Web). We’re making some of that available to see what conclusions this industrial psychologist (who also knows a few things about hardcore gaming) can draw about what makes us tick when we play online with—and without—our friends.

You can read more about the session on the Login Conference Website and on Jamie’s blog. We’ve been avid readers of the blog—and Jamie’s guest columns on Gamasutra and GameSetWatch—since it launched (having known and respected Jamie for a long while now). We’re excited to be a part of this with him!

I really welcomed the disappearance of the week-long assault on my senses that E3 had become in recent years. Our primary focus at the show has been to meet with our publisher and developer partners to discuss current projects as well as begin talking about things they had announced at the show. The mega-event had grown so over-the-top that it was difficult to get anything done. As the E3 booths grew more elaborate and the decibels increased meetings held on the show floor literally turned to exchanges shouted between drum beats.

I was relieved when the ESA announced the format change last year. President Doug Lowenstein cited making the show more "business-friendly" among their key reasons for the change:

"When we asked key audiences what they wanted in the new event, we heard that they wanted opportunities for high-level meetings in a business-like setting, to play games, network, and socialize, to see major company offerings while also preserving the sense of discovery that is so much a part of the show, and to hear substantive presentations on the most important issues and trends facing the industry," Lowenstein said.

Sure enough, this year's format was great for business. The 30 minute shouting matches were gone and replaced by leisurely conversations with publishers and developers in private, quiet locations. It was easy to bump into someone walking down Ocean and have an impromptu discussion on the way from the Fairmont to Lowes. What a change!

What was missing, though, was the "sense of discovery." What was missing, more specifically, was Kentia Hall.

Kentia always held a special place in my heart. You never quite knew what you would discover there. There were crazy peripherals, like the CyMouse, that you controlled with your head instead of your hand. I saw the first cool use of a USB camera on a PC at Kentia in Gaijin's Flight of Fancy in which you controlled your dragon and cast spells via gesture recognition.

Kentia was always the home of the risk-taker. While there was certainly a large number of flat-out kooks (God love 'em!) showing their wares in Kentia you could always find one or two gems that you knew would go on to greatness. You can never forget the biggest thing to ever come from Kentia: Guitar Hero. Would Rock Band be all the rage this year without the help of Kentia oh so many years ago? I tend to doubt it.

There was no place at this year's E3 for the smaller developer to participate. If the ESA can crack that nut next year I think that the new E3 will be on the right path.