AIAS President Hopes To Expand DICE

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Science wants every gamer to know who they are.

If you were at PAX East this past weekend, you may have come across Into the Pixel, a unique exhibit exploring the art of videogames and featuring some of the best art from around the industry and hosted by the Academy of Interactive arts and Sciences. The Escapist had the opportunity to speak with Martin Rae, president of the AIAS, about his thoughts on the gaming industry, the AIAS and the DICE Summit.

Every year, the AIAS hosts the Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain Summit (DICE), where game industry professionals the world over meet to discuss the latest news and advances in the game industry. Currently held in Las Vegas, Nevada and specifically only for game executives, Rae hopes the DICE summit will continue to grow into other areas of the game industry.

“I’d like to expand DICE. I’d like to take DICE to Europe,” Rae said of possible future plans for the annual game conference. “I think there’s an opportunity to get executive-level folks together in Europe to have a discussion and conversation around what they do for business, what they do personally, and how they look at life in the same kind of setting we have for DICE.”

Prior to becoming president of the non-profit organization, Martin Rae held executive positions at two different game companies along with serving as CEO of The Electric Playground. No stranger to the game industry, Rae found how the gaming community has evolved over the past decade to be an impressive feat.

“I like the robustness these days of having communities being so involved in game play. They’re passionate about it. I mean look at [PAX East],” Rae said, citing the Boston-based convention as an example of how the gaming community has grown. “Even the board gamers out there know they can go sit at a table and if they love Settlers of Catan, they can go sit at one of those tables and they’ll find some other people who are equally as passionate about that game, and they’re immediately in a community that they love. That’s cool. You couldn’t do this years ago.”