SXSW - Screenburn A new addition to the SXSW Interactive Festival this year was the First Annual Screenburn Beta Festival. The intention of the festival was to combine the cutting edge innovation that has become associated with SXSW's music and movie industries with the gaming industry. The original concept provided for an exhibition of new technologies in the gaming world, as well as public exposure for these emerging innovations. The exhibition was ultimately excluded from the festival this year, but they did make this comment in their news blog: “Due to a variety of unexpected circumstances, SXSW has elected to postpone the exhibit portion of the ScreenBurn Beta Festival until March 2007. Postponing the exhibit space will allow more time to pull together a larger collection of gaming companies that truly reflect the next generation of thinking for this industry.” The exhibition itself may have fallen by the wayside for this first year, but the panel discussions remained strong. I was extremely surprised at the diversity of the panels and speakers. It really looked at the gaming industry from many sides. Pardon the ease, but there was something for everyone. I would like to see this continue next year with an emphasis of the gaming industry speaking not only to its peers, but advocating itself to the players and general public. Some of the speakers and topics included: Sheri Graner Ray: What if the Player is Female? Red vs. Blue Presentation: Video Game Killed the Storyboard Star Aliza Gold: Combat Medics Tactical Trainer Harvey Smith: Counter Intuitive Creative Direction This was a very strong, possibly a little small, start of something that could get much larger. If they keep their diversification and originality, they are sure to draw a lot of attention. Look for it to be available next year during SXSW. It was definitely worth the price of the free admission this year. Next year with the energy growing stronger, I look forward to the well-rounded discussion, as well as getting my hands on new toys for both the industry and the player. -WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd Related Links: Screenburn's Site