IGDA Melbourne

It’s been an amazing week for local and visiting game developers, and I’d like to thank Antony Reed, Mike McNabb and the GDAA (http://gdaa NULL.com NULL.au/)for hosting a truly inspirational GCAP.  Personal highlights were the keynotes by the very charming and creatively inspiring Robin Hunicke and Sheri Graner Ray’s no nonsense discussion about what to do to grow inclusiveness in game development.

Next up we have a play date on Tuesday 13 November (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/374854389258380/?context=create) and then it’s onwards to the Christmas party on Saturday 8 December – it’s not too late to pledge at Pozible (http://www NULL.pozible NULL.com/index NULL.php/archive/index/10150/description/0/0), the only way to get a ticket this year – the campaign closes in less than a week. Thanks to all the generous supporters, it’s going to be a corker. More details will be available once the crowdfunding campaign closes. Thanks to all of you who have already supported ZOMGWTFIGDAMBBQ – make sure your friends don’t miss out but spreading the word.

Thanks to Timothy Zeven for the following pictures of some of the wonderful visitors (oh and Brad, but he’s lovely too) we met at GCAP who stayed for IGDAM.

GCAP 2012: Inspire is less than two weeks away. The Game Developers’ Association of Australia have put together a fantastic program, which can now be accessed via their handy dandy GCAP app/mobile platform (http://eventmobi NULL.com/gcap2012/), including information on speakers, schedules, attendees and more. It’s well worth checking out.

Don’t forget to register this week for the best prices, and kudos to the organisers for keeping the price down whilst not skimping on the catering. For a great place to meet attendees and find out what’s on the menu before the event join up to the GCAP12 Facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/342374022523140/350583398368869/?notif_t=event_mall_reply) and get the latest news as all the planning comes together.

If you’re an IGDAM regular, you can also email giselle@igdamelbourne.org for an extra 10% discount.

Early bird + IGDAM discount = $261 for a full conference pass or $136.80 for a student. You can register at the GCAP site (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/wp/registration-2/). Early bird registration closes 14 October!

We’ll also be holding our October meet as the unofficial after party and invite regulars and visitors along – for more information see the previous post. Although it’s going to be hard to follow up from the aptly named EPIC Party (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/wp/social-events-2/) on the first night being held at Game Masters!

When: Tuesday 23 October from 7pm

Where: Thousand Pound Bend, 361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne (https://maps NULL.google NULL.com/maps?q=361+Little+Lonsdale+St+Melbourne&hl=en&geocode=+&hnear=361+Little+Lonsdale+St,+Victoria+3000,+Australia&t=m&z=16)

What: Automating GCAP

Whilst it’s a different Tuesday than usual, and not an official GCAP event, we couldn’t resisit running IGDAM straight after GCAP 2012: Inspire so any interstate or international visitors could join our little gathering and experience IGDAM first hand.

Not only will you have the chance to meet and network with local developers, we’ve also got a great talk lined up.

Camshaft Software will talk about making Automation (http://automationgame NULL.com/), tapping into niche markets and how to make money as an indie. This will include an appearance from their Producer/Nuclear Physicist who’s travelled all the way from Germany.

So after GCAP, head down to The Bend grab a roo burger and a beer and join us for what’s sure to be another informative and enjoyable evening.

If you have any queries, email giselle@igdamelbourne.org (giselle null@null igdamelbourne NULL.org) or ask the folk on the facebook event page (http://facebook NULL.com/events/279308982183949).

See you there!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who’s supported the ZOMGWTFIGDAMBBQ Pozible campaign. We met our target today and also have the fabulous Big Ant Studios (http://bigant NULL.com) as gold sponsors, so it’s going to be a doozy! If you haven’t already booked your spot at the biggest game dev BBQ in town you have until 4 November to do so by supporting the crowdfunding campaign  (http://www NULL.pozible NULL.com/index NULL.php/archive/index/10150/description/0/0). The greater the amount raised, the greater the party!

GCAP (Game Connect Asia Pacific) (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/wp/) the preeminent game developers’ conference in Australasia, the is returning to Melbourne next month. With announcements coming out via the GCAP12 Facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/342374022523140/), it’s truly looking inspiring.

Speakers and, excitingly, workshop leaders announced so far include Robin Hunicke and Chris Avellone. Robin is a Game Designer, Producer and passionate advocate of Experimental Gameplay. Her work includes the bestselling downloadable PSN title Journey, as well as family-friendly franchises like MySims and Steven Spielberg’s BOOM BLOX for Nintendo Wii. Chris Creative Director and co-owner of Obsidian Chis as worked on Entertainment,Planescape: Torment (Lead Designer), Fallout 2, the whole Icewind Dale series, and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, and a number of canceled titles that still make him weep, including Baldur’s Gate 3 and Fallout 3.

For full speaker announcements, join the GCAP Facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/342374022523140/), check out the GCAP website (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/wp/) or follow @gdaa_oz on twitter (https://twitter NULL.com/gdaa_oz).

You’ll also get a chance to pitch your game to Tapjoy (https://www NULL.tapjoy NULL.com/)  (https://www NULL.tapjoy NULL.com/)- more information on that soon.ta

Tickets are on sale now, and if you’re an iGDAM regular you can email Giselle (giselle null@null igdamelbourne NULL.org) for a further 10% discount off the early bird prices $260 ($152 student) that’s a lot of bang for your buck and get in early for the best prices.

We’re very excited about GCAP (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/)at IGDAM Central, and when the lovely folk from Traction Games (http://tractiongames NULL.com NULL.au/Games NULL.aspx)got in touch wondering where all the drinking networking nights were being held, we were happy to add to the festivities of GCAP by helping them out sorting drinks on Monday.

So….

All GCAP participants are invited to a lovely evening of networking at bevvies

When: 8:00 Monday 14 November

Where: Bluestone Bar (http://www NULL.bluestonebar NULL.com NULL.au/), 349 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Thanks to GDAA and Traction Games, hope to see you there!

To assist us with estimating expected numbers, it would be appreciated if you could RSVP to the facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/event NULL.php?eid=260218827361881&context=create).

(http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/)Thanks to  the Games Developers’ Association, we can offer a 10% discount on all tickets to GCAP, 14-16 November 2011 (http://gcap NULL.com NULL.au/) to all IGDA Melbourne regulars.

To make sure you are actually involved in IGDAM you need to contact Giselle directly, giselle@igdamelbourne.org for a unique code, which can be entered at the time of booking your conference ticket.

This is the biggest local developer conference in the Australian calendar and it’s highly recommended that you don’t miss out.

GDAA members receive a 20% discount, so if you’re a studio or indie it would be worth checking out membership options too.  For further information email info@gdaa.com.au

The Game Developers’ Association of Australia is now soliciting session proposals for speakers from all disciplines to address our core theme of ‘The Journey’ for Game Connect Asia Pacific 2011.

The 2011 conference aims to establish the foundations on which the Australian industry will grow to become a major international game development territory in the future by exploring the lessons learned in the past 30 years of Australian development, how they have led to the current development landscape, and how those lessons can influence the future of studios, projects, and the creation of intellectual property.

The event also seeks to identify and understand the resources, tools, production processes, platforms and new business structures that exist for the industry, and how the implementation will assist the creative development and competitiveness of the Australian industry.

GCAP Event Information

Date: 14 – 16 November 2011

Venue: Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia

GCAP Structure

GCAP consists of a number of tracks:

Programming | Art | Design | Production | Business Development

and has multiple presentation formats:

Panel/Roundtable discussions | Lectures | Workshops | Masterclasses

For more details head over to your friendly, neighbourhood GDAA website (http://gdaa NULL.com NULL.au/gcap-2011-call-for-submissions)

MELBOURNE – 19 July 2011 – The Game Developers’ Association of Australia today announced that the industry conference Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) is returning to Melbourne in November 2011.

With it’s theme of ‘The Journey’, GCAP 2011 will deliver a series of lectures, master classes and discussions, designed to identify the processes, resources and opportunities that will grow the Australian industry over the next few years.

“’The Journey’ is a liberating theme for the conference as it not only allows us to look forward and plot the path of the Australian game development industry over the next few years, but also lets us look back at our evolution, dissecting what has been learned over 31 years of creating games in Australia,” said Antony Reed, CEO of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia.

“GCAP 2010 was a community driven event and in many ways defined the capabilities of the Australian industry. For 2011, participation from every discipline in the game making process ensures we establish the right foundations for the industry’s future growth.”

GCAP 2011 ‘The Journey’ will consist of a number of tracks – programming, art, design, audio, business development and marketing – addressing the needs of the whole industry. The conference will also include multiple presentation formats, including panels, round table discussions, lectures and master classes.

GCAP 2011 will be held at the new Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre from Monday 14 November to Wednesday 16 November 2011.

The GCAP 2011 website will go live on August 1, 2011 – www.gcap.com.au (http://www NULL.gcap NULL.com NULL.au/)

About Game Connect Asia Pacific:
Game Connect: Asia Pacific (GCAP) is Australia’s premier annual game development conference, exhibition and networking event for the Asia Pacific Games Industry and is administered by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia. GCAP 2011 will be held at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre from Monday 14 November to Wednesday 16 November, 2011.

For event and media information, contact:

Alison Barnes

Director

Alpha Event Management

Ph: + 61 2 9126 9412

E: alison@alphaevents.com.au (alison null@null alphaevents NULL.com NULL.au)

Due to the horsies doing that thing they do on the first Tuesday of November, we’ll be having our next meet up:

Tuesday 9 November

3 Degrees, QV Building

7.30pm – 11pm

More info available soon (we’ll let you know!) but the following speakers will be supplying a triple treat for our November meetup:

Symphonic Pixels: Courtney (Hae Won) Kim - http://symphonicpixels.com/ (http://symphonicpixels NULL.com/)

Cokoon: Yi Yi Wang - http://cokoon.com.au/ (http://cokoon NULL.com NULL.au/)

Rhys Sullivan

In addition there’s sure to be many a lively discussion over the good’s (GCAP) and the bad’s (Krome) of late.

We hope you can make it, if you ever want to get more actively involved just let us know, the more the merrier!