Macguffin Games

IGDA Elections – Paul Skiera

If you’re coming to this post without having seen the lead-in, you can find that post here.  It links to all the other assessments I’ve posted.  You can also find my disclaimer there – I’m on the Boston IGDA chapter’s board and support the candidacy of Darius Kazemi.

Paul Skiera

Mr. Skiera’s statement strikes a somewhat apocalyptic tone, starting with the definitive statement that, “Traditional education is broken and cannot be fixed using 20th century instructional practices.”  His statement hammers on that single nail – his purpose if elected would be to “ensure [the] IGDA and our members are the cornerstone partners working with the researchers, policy makers and educators to transform education in the 21st century.”

Mr. Skiera has not posted his Q&A answers as of the publication of this profile.

Questions for Mr. Skiera:

• Why run now?
• Will you be posting your Q&A?
• Given the mission of the IGDA, “to advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community,” how do you justify making it a goal of the IGDA to effect a major revision to the American educational system?  Would you attempt to revise the IGDA’s mission?
• Your statement seems to imply changing the American educational institutions.  Even if this were the mission of the IGDA, would this be a worthy goal for an organization that bills itself as international?
• What do you see as the immediate concerns of “rank and file” developers, and where would these fit into your priorities?
• What do you think the IGDA’s role in the industry-wide Quality of Life discussions should be?
• Do you think the IGDA’s dependence on studio sponsorships for money is a bad thing?  If yes, what will you do to begin changing this?  If no, why not?

Tags: igda