ACM Sandbox 2008 is barely over, but the 2009 edition is already appearing on the horizon. There are at least two notable changes from the current format:
The first deals with the way Sandbox is now integrated “properly” into SIGGRAPH (as the blurb on its website tells us:)
Since SIGGRAPH 2006, the ACM Sandbox Symposium has explored the expressive nature of video games; the relationships among game design practices, technologies, and player experiences; and the intellectual challenges that face game designers, developers, researchers, and players. Starting in 2009, the Sandbox Symposium is no longer a separate event but is integrated into the main SIGGRAPH conference, living on through The Sandbox, Game Papers, and more.
The second change is: there will be a “real-time section” in the animation track. In other words: although the word “machinima” was not mentioned, the result will be that machinima will enter the realms of SIGGRAPH. This framing in a more technological-experimental area might lead to some interesting new contributions and can be only good for machinima. Very interesting indeed.
