Talk about serious fun: the local companies that make up the Massachusetts videogame industry rake in 20 billion dollars annually. Tonight, Chronicle takes you inside this dynamic world. We'll see how the makers of Rock Band are dancing their way to a second act, meet a game addict who says his digital obsession paved the way for his present career at Channel 5, and go to MIT where the best minds of a generation are creating the games of the future. Plus, we'll try to understand why so many otherwise normal folks are hooked on the Facebook fad Farmville.

Show Resources:

Suffolk University
41 Temple Street
Boston, Massachusetts
617-573-8000
Interactive Media and Game Development Program

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.
625 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor
Cambridge, Massachusetts
617-491-6144
Harmonix Music
support@harmonixmusic.com

Hiawatha Bray
Hiawatha Bray’s Twitter
bray@globe.com

Xconomy
101 Rogers Street, Suite 402
Cambridge, Massachusetts
617-252-0700
Xconomy Boston
editors@xconomy.com

ImaginEngine
1881 Worcester Rd. Suite 201
Framingham, Massachusetts
508-739-0120
ImaginEngine

MIT GAMBIT Game Lab
5 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, Massachusetts
MIT GAMBIT Game Lab
gambit-request@mit.edu

38 Studios, LLC.
5 Clock Tower Place, Suite 140
Maynard, Massachusetts
978-461-9990
38 Studios, LLC.
info@38studios.com

Blue Fang Games
1601 Trapelo Road, Suite 246
Waltham, Massachusetts
781-547-5475
Blue Fang Games

Zynga Inc.
One Broadway, 14th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts
617-401-2337
Zynga Inc.