Directors

Dustin Clingman - Chair

CEO, ZeeGee Games

A 14-year veteran of the Games Industry, Dustin has developed games for nearly every mobile platform. In 2002 he founded Zeitgeist Games, which was acquired in late 2008 by IMI Labs and relaunched as ZeeGee Games to focus on the growing Social Games market. In 2012 he founded his newest label, First5 Games, to focus on creating games with the core mantra that they "Be understood in 5 seconds and loved in 5 minutes or less!" Presently, he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Game Developers Association and lifetime member of the IGDA.

Dustin can be reached via dustin@igda.org. 

Ed Fries - Treasurer

Former Vice President, Microsoft Game Studios

Ed Fries created his first video games for the Atari 800 in the early 1980s. He joined Microsoft in 1986, and spent the next ten years as one of the early developers on Excel and Word. He left the Office team to pursue his passion for interactive entertainment and created Microsoft Game Studios. Over the next eight years he grew the team from 50 people to over 1200, published more than 100 games including more than a dozen million+ sellers, co-founded the Xbox project, and made Microsoft one of the leaders in the interactive entertainment business. In 2004, Ed retired from his Microsoft Vice President job to continue his work in the video game business as board member, advisor and consultant to a broad range of publishers, independent game developers, and media companies. In 2007 Ed launched his own startup, FigurePrints, an innovative company that uses 3D color printing technology to bring video game characters to life. In the summer of 2010 Ed released “Halo 2600”, a “demake” of the Halo video game series for the Atari 2600.

Ed can be reached via ed@igda.org.

Brian Robbins - Vice Chair

Founder & President, Riptide Games

Brian Robbins is the Founder of Riptide Games, an iPhone and next-gen mobile game development studio based in Denver, CO. He has spent most of his career pushing the limits of emerging tech markets and is frequently evaluating new technology and markets for unique ways to entertain people. Brian has programmed over 100 games and still finds time to dig into coding whenever he gets a chance.

In addition to running Riptide Games, Brian is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and is heavily involved in volunteering within the game industry, primarily through his work with the International Game Developer's Association (IGDA). In addition to serving on the Board of Directors he is also a Trustee for the IGDA Foundation. Prior to that he has chaired multiple Special Interest Groups and local chapters. He was awarded the IGDA's MVP award in 2006 for his contributions.

Brian can be reached via brian@igda.org.

Sheri Rubin - Secretary

Founder and CEO, Design Direct Deliver

Sheri Rubin is the founder and CEO of Design Direct Deliver (DDD), a small business consultancy that focuses on project management and improving customer experiences. Prior to DDD, she was Producer and Corporate Communications Director for High Voltage Software, Inc. Sheri got her start in the game industry over 15 years ago and has more than 30 game credits under her belt. She is an avid philanthropist and fierce advocate for the betterment of the video game industry, dedicating much of her free time to volunteer organizations including Women in Games International (WIGI), the Red Cross, and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Sheri received her B.A. summa cum laude in Business Administration from DeVry University and also serves on the boards for IGDA Chicago and Jenkat Media, Inc.

Sheri can be reached via sheri@igda.org.

Tom Buscaglia

The Game Attorney

Tom Buscaglia, The Game Attorney, is a principal in the law firm The Game Attorney PC, with offices in the Seattle, Washington, area. Tom has assisted independent game developers since 1991 with all aspects of business and legal matters. Tom wrote the chapter entitled “Effective Developer Agreements” for the book, The Secrets of the Game Business and has written numerous articles, including in Game Developer Magazine and the Game Law series of articles and an Expert Blog on Gamasutra.com. Tom is a perennial presenter at numerous conferences such as the Game Developer Conference and PAX where he speaks on the game industry business and legal matters. Tom, an IGDA member since 2000, Chairs the IGDA Charitable Foundation, is the Coordinator of the Seattle IGDA Chapter, and serves on the IGDA Board of Directors. As FaTe[F8S] Tom is founder and Supreme Warlord of FaTe’s Minions, an online gaming "clan" that has been competing online since January, 1998. So, in addition to his deep professional knowledge base, he has a gamer's appreciation and understanding of the game industry.

Tom can be reached via tom@igda.org.

Luke Dicken

Founder, Robot Overlord Games

Luke Dicken is the founder of Robot Overlord Games, a researcher with the Strathclyde Artificial Intelligence and Games group at the University of Strathclyde in the UK and is one of the organisers for the web-based AltDev Conference series. Luke has been passionate about artificial intelligence since playing "Creatures" as a teenager, and pursued it at university, first through several degrees in traditional AI before specialising in AI for games as part of a PhD he is still (occasionally) pursuing.

After winning one of the IGDA Scholarships to attend E3, Luke began volunteering for IGDA Scotland, rising to a leadership position in the chapter. He also went on to win a further two scholarships, making him one of the first ever three-time IGDA Scholars. He now works to coordinate the Scholarships program worldwide, as well as acting as Chair for the IGDA's Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group. At the end of 2012, Luke was named as one of Develop magazine's "30 Under 30" list of young developers to watch, but hasn't yet found a subtle way to work that into a bio.

Luke can be reached via luke@igda.org.

Cordy Rierson

Microsoft Studios

Cordy is a 20 year entertainment industry veteran. She’s worked in film, television, music videos, and commercials in live action, visual effects and post production on projects such as Forces of Nature, Independence Day, Batman Forever, Clear & Present Danger, Broken Arrow and Mission Impossible.

She has spent the last 10 years in interactive entertainment, developing dozens of titles for Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP and Wii such as Front Mission: Evolved, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Kinect Fun Labs. Cordy is currently a Studio Manager for Microsoft Studios.

Cordy is a graduate of University of Central Florida and Full Sail University where she studied communication, film, video, radio & TV. Cordy is a 2009 inaugural Hall of Fame Inductee for Full Sail University for outstanding contributions and achievements in the entertainment industry and has been honored with a Congressional Recognition Award for dynamic digital visual effects in the film industry. She is also on the Board of Directors for the International Game Developers Association.

Cordy can be reached via cordy@igda.org.