– The Austin Game Conference, one of the largest gaming conferences in the world, has a slew of side projects in the mix. A portion of their 2006 registration fees were donated to Tech Tots, a program that gives computers to children from low-income families. The Game Initiative, the company that runs the Austin Game Conference, also donated $17,000 to a dropout-prevention program called Communities in Schools. CIS helps thousands of Austin families and children a year.
– MTV News spent Oct. 22-26 examining the video-game industry in our city for a news segment about the abundance of game-related stuff in Austin. For five days Stephen Totilo knocked on the doors of game-designer pros and other such gameheads. The news segment is set to run sometime in November.
– Über-skilled Austin gamer David Geffon defeated 40,000 others to win a slot on Team USA for the World Cyber Games. From Oct. 18 to 22, Geffon and his team battled 800 gamers from 70 different countries in Monza, Italy, for $430,000 in prizes. Team USA’s gaming expertise landed them in the finals.
– Austin’s Recreational Intel Gamers Group along with Dell are throwing a party to benefit the United Way. Nov. 10-12, a chunk of Camp Mabry will transform into a gamers’ paradise with tournaments and prizes. See www.infernaledge.com for more info.
This article appears in Chris Bell.