News

Tim Langdell steps down from IGDA board

Did he jump, or was he pushed over the edge?

Tim Langdell steps down from IGDA board
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Maybe the media and gamers sided unfairly with developer Mobigame after its award-winning iPhone and mobile title Edge was crowbarred from the App Store over a copyright dispute with Tim Langdell because we simply wanted to play the game.

Of course, the media and gamers might have rallied against Langdell because of the distasteful nature of video game law suits.

Either way, it must be said that a significant part of the industry will be pleased to hear that Langdell has stepped down from his (already tenuous?) position on the IGDA board.

"The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) today announced that Tim Langdell has resigned from the IGDA Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr Langdell had served on the Board since March 2009," came the organisation's official stance on the matter. "The resignation means that Dr Langdell's seat on the Board is vacated, and will be up for election in early 2010. The special meeting called for the membership in Oct. on this matter will no longer take place."

Langdell did quickly point out on the IGDA forums that his departure was purely a way to deflect any negative press from the organisation due to the current issue hanging over his alleged copyright ownership of the name EDGE, and not because of any wrongdoing is on his part.

"I make this decision not because I have done anything wrong -- on the contrary I am confident that all accusations against me were unfounded and purely intended to defame," says Langdell, "and am confident that I have at all times acted in the best interest of the IGDA and its membership -- but because I must make this decision between concluding a process that will show I did no wrong, and having that process irreparably damage the IGDA, I cannot permit the latter to happen. This has to drive my decision today, taking priority over defending myself against these accusations to a conclusion."

Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.