Agenda:



6:30-7:10: Peace Island talk

7:10-7:55 (or until done): Show off recent work by members

7:55-8:30: Group project pitches and discussion



Developing an open-world game is like composing an opera: Sets, costumes, dialogue, music, lighting, camerawork, and innumerable other elements must work seamlessly together to ensure that the end user has the experience the creator intended. However, beyond bare functionality, what makes an open-world engaging? What does it take to create a story that captures the imagination, as well as the massive backend required to handle dialogue, inventory, and a quest system? What games got it right - which games got it wrong, and what can we learn from their examples? Join us for a short walkabout of the Peace Island game world, and an open discussion about the open-world genre in today's gaming culture.



After the talk, we'll continue our discussion about a possible short-term group project. If you have an idea for one that you'd like to pitch, come join our Discord at https://discord.gg/f25ma55 and see the #project-listings channel for a suggested outline. Bring your pitch and any supporting material to the meeting!



About the speaker:



Eric Blumrich is the lead developer of Peace Island- an open-world videogame set in Maine. His credits include titles for Atari & New World Computing. He's pushing 50, but has been a gamer since he was 15. You can follow Peace Island’s development on his Twitter at @EricBlumrich.