Jeannie Novak is the lead author and series editor of the widely acclaimed GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS series (with over 15 published titles), co-author of PLAY THE GAME: THE PARENT'S GUIDE TO VIDEO GAMES, and co-author of three pioneering books on the interactive entertainment industry--including CREATING INTERNET ENTERTAINMENT. She is also co-founder of Novy Unlimited and CEO of Kaleidospace, LLC (dbaIndiespace), providing curriculum development and consulting services for corporations, educators, and creative professionals in games, music, film, education, and technology.Novak served as director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online and has taught game courses at UCLA, Art Center College of Design, DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Technical Institute, and the Academy of Entertainment & Technology at Santa Monica College. She holds a B.A. in mass communication/business administration from UCLA and an M.A. in communication management from the Annenberg School at USC. She also serves on the Online Gameplay Committee for the Academy of Interactive Arts &Sciences and has served on the executive boards of the International Game Developers Association (Los Angeles) and Women in Games International. An accomplished composer and performer, Novak was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in technology by MicroTimesmagazine and has been profiled by CNN, Billboard Magazine, the Sundance Channel, Daily Variety, and the Los Angeles Times. Rick Hall is a 15-year veteran of the gaming industry with experience as a producer, studio head, programmer, and game designer. During his time in games, he has worked on RPGs, adventure games, RTS games, flight sims, fighting games, sports sims, and even a fishing simulation. He has worked on PC, PlayStation, N64, PS2, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and online platforms. He started his career at Paragon Software, a studio that eventually became the core development group for Take 2's initial 1994 start-up. After leaving Take 2, he joined EA's Origin studio in Austin, Texas where for 5 years he served as a live producer on Ultima Online, and later as executive producer on Ultima X Odyssey. In 2004, Rick joined EA's Tiburon studio in Orlando, Florida, where he has been a Senior Producer on the Madden Football handheld products. For the past eighteen months, Rick has been teaching in a Master?s Degree for Computer Game Development at the University of Central Florida?s FIEA Program. Jeannie Novak is the lead author and series editor of the widely acclaimed GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS series (with over 15 published titles), co-author of PLAY THE GAME: THE PARENT'S GUIDE TO VIDEO GAMES, and co-author of three pioneering books on the interactive entertainment industry--including CREATING INTERNET ENTERTAINMENT. She is also co-founder of Novy Unlimited and CEO of Kaleidospace, LLC (dbaIndiespace), providing curriculum development and consulting services for corporations, educators, and creative professionals in games, music, film, education, and technology.Novak served as director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online and has taught game courses at UCLA, Art Center College of Design, DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Technical Institute, and the Academy of Entertainment & Technology at Santa Monica College. She holds a B.A. in mass communication/business administration from UCLA and an M.A. in communication management from the Annenberg School at USC. She also serves on the Online Gameplay Committee for the Academy of Interactive Arts &Sciences and has served on the executive boards of the International Game Developers Association (Los Angeles) and Women in Games International. An accomplished composer and performer, Novak was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in technology by MicroTimesmagazine and has been profiled by CNN, Billboard Magazine, the Sundance Channel, Daily Variety, and the Los Angeles Times.
