IGDA Melbourne

…..and she’s back after a hectic Open Day season I’m glad to be helping the IGDA crew once again, albeit 23 hours before the next meet up.

It’s a bit of a taster’s plate this month, with the main course being some delicious morsels of GCAP goodness (I think I might be hungry, but I digress)

WHEN: Tuesday 7 September 7.30pm onwards (yep, that’d be tomorrow/tonight/you’ve already missed it)

WHERE: 3 Degrees Bar (http://www NULL.3degrees NULL.com NULL.au/), located in the QV cnr Swanston & Lonsdale Sts

WHAT:

Tony Reed will give us an update about how GCAP’s shaping up (might be time to look for some cheap flights north)

Martin Wilkes will treat us to the low-down on FMOD as well as some government-based (we still have one somehow, right?) initiatives that will be of interest to some games folk out there

No doubt discussions will be around the current state of play in Oz, so it’s also good to look at the new evolving options out there for game creators in their many forms; we’ll kick around more ideas on studio and salon setups, cross skilling, upskilling, Game Jam, art exhibitions and lots more…. so there should be something there for everyone!

NEW VENUE:

Yep, the kind folk of 3 Degrees have agreed to take us, and have offered a slab of beer as a door prize for tomorrow night, as well as their specials drink list:

$5 Glasses of Wine of the Month – Hardy’s Nottage Hill Chardonnay/Shiraz

$5 Bottles of Crown Lager

$5 Bottles of Beer of the Month – Dry Dock Lager

$5 Spirit of the Month – Johhny Red (unless sold out – then they’re all something else…)

Any queries, we’ll be keeping an eye on the facebook event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/?sk=events#!/event NULL.php?eid=109394082451166)(and will soon be updating the whole facebook thang to encourage dialogue), and @igdamelbourne will be in twitterland on the day – join the chirping

I’ve personally been looking forward to this one since March, so I hope to see you there, you can tell me all about Freeplay  :D  -Giselle

If you are wondering what is happening this month with the IGDA, we are swapping our first Tuesday get together for two nights of partying and networking in association with the Freeplay (http://freeplay NULL.net NULL.au/)event on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th of August.

These events will be held at the Match Bar (http://www NULL.matchbar NULL.com/match_bar_melbourne NULL.php), in the QV building, overlooking the State Library, venue for Freeplay.
The fun begins as the lectures and workshops wind down, (around 6:00pm), and will continue until late.

On Saturday we have a dedicated space until 10:00, and on Sunday we have the whole place to ourselves! Food will be available both nights, with the full menu on the first night, and snacks on the second.

Even if you can’t make it to the conference, feel free to drop by the after parties, share a drink and swap stories with the cream of Australian game development talent.

We look forward to seeing you there, and are thrilled to be able to support Freeplay, which is shaping up to be one of the most important events of the year.

Game creators are invited to head down to The Embassy on Tuesday 6 July to catch up, meet people, and discuss what it is that drives people to make games with those that do.

The evening starts at 7pm with the panel assembling at 8pm

The discussion will kick off with the question “What inspires you to make games?”. From there, we’ll delve deeper, exploring production, gaming trends, the indie boom, E3 and much more. It’ll be a great, relaxed discussion with some incredibly talented, experienced and diverse panel members:

Kevin Chan

Kevin is the General Manager of THQ’s Blue Tongue Entertainment (http://www NULL.bluetongue NULL.com/) game studio. Prior to his current position, Kevin has worked in production roles on a number of Blue Tongue’s games, including Jurassic Park Operation Genesis and Nicktoons Unite.

Cameron Lee

As the Producer at EA Melbourne, Cameron is responsible for driving the vision, quality and production of titles which are commercially successful and aligned with EA’s strategic vision. Cameron has successfully increased the profile of EA Melbourne by driving studio involvement in the local industry and throughout the wider EA community

Neil Rennison

Neil is the Creative Director for Tin Man Games (http://www NULL.tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au/), an independent games developer currently bringing back interactive gamebooks to the iPhone and iPad. He also runs the art outsource company, Fraction Studios (http://www NULL.fractionstudios NULL.com/main NULL.php) and has worked as an artist and art manager on numerous titles including the Need For Speed, Tiger Woods and Sims series amongst many others.

Please let us know if you can make it via the facebook event to make sure the bar is well staffed for the evening (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/#!/event NULL.php?eid=129698707048823)

Earlier this week, the IGDA’s meetup for the month of June – a more relaxed coming together for networking and socialising – was another success! People showed up from many aspects of development, media, academia, and more. Many thoughts were shared as well as new meetings. It was a great time for those who’ve made friends and partnerships to solidify things in a relaxed atmosphere.

Due to the content of the night, there’s not much to report… except that a lot of scheming went on that paints an exciting picture for future IGDA initiatives and events.

Stay tuned for more! We’ll be sure to speak up when we can.

Look forward to seeing you all again at July’s event.

Much love, the IGDA Committee.

Gathering from 7 for catch up social shop talk.

8pm – Trivia starts

Teams include:

SARQAT
Touch my Pixels
The Voxel Agents
Colonel Mustard’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
*My Epeen is over 9000*
The Billionaire Skeletons
The Lavish Badgers
Tin Man Games
Team Rocket
Team 3
Tuckshop Lady Headbutt
The Red Barrels,
Team Rocket’s Blasting off again
Team Andromeda

More teams will be formed tomorrow night and anyone not wanting to play is welcome to hang about

It’s at the BLVD Bar in Southbank, just around the corner from The Embassy near the Macca’s. If all else fails The Embassy folk will help you with directions.

Great prizes, and also the possibility of a gold coin donation from trivia players towards a decent drink card for the winn ing team.

Also up for grabs are:

A PS3 thanks to Big Ant Studios (who have two teams vying for the prizes)

A Wacom tablet thanks to Wacom

A Ballistic book and online membership to the CGSociety

A $100 Drink card for the Mana Bar – save it up for GCAP!

Three GDC ‘collectors’ tee-shirts

Along with much revelry and merriment…

You make them, you live them, you breath them, but do you really know them?

Tuesday May the fourth 7pm for an 8pm kickoff
Where: BLVD Bar 6 Queensbridge St, Southbank

The Embassy looks like it’s being sold so sadly can’t accommodate us any more – we’ll let you know when they’re having last drinks!

On the upside they’ve recommended us to the BLVD Bar (http://www NULL.blvd NULL.com NULL.au/main NULL.html) which is just around the corner from the usual spot with a great trivia night space, better AV and a private deck overlooking the river.

Come along to the IGDA Melbourne trivia night and find out!

Grab a team or join one on the night.

Free entry
Great Prizes

Register yourself or your team here:

When: Tuesday 13 April 7pm
Where: The Embassy, 1 Queensbridge St, Southbank

What: 8pm The Voxel Agents: One year into indie

The creators of iPhone App ‘Train Conductor’ give a rundown of the highs and lows, challenges and successes of life as an Indie Developer Start-up.

8.30 GDC Goss

A selection of people who went to GDC – including Jenn Sandercock – who was there as a volunteer and Mark Flanagan – who went to look from an education and IGDA perspective, will spend a few minutes sharing their experiences and answering questions…. details of other speakers will be listed once they are confirmed.

9.00 Big Ant sound guy, Stephan Schutze

Stephan will give you a quick rundown on his awesome FREE sound library (http://www NULL.stephanschutze NULL.com/).

If you’re a FBer please RSVP here (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/event NULL.php?eid=334288174057&ref=mf) so we can make sure staffing is alright on the night

Any questions, feel free to email info@igdamelbourne.org, and we hope to see you there

It’s a double header for the April meet up, covering near and far.

First up is The Voxel Agents, creators of Train Conductor, reviewing their first year as local indie developers.

Then we will be hearing from those who went to GDC to get the goss

If you have any questions feel free to email info@igdamelbourne.org (info null@null igdamelbourne NULL.org)

And then there’s the customary facebook event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/event NULL.php?eid=334288174057&ref=nf)

Tuesday 13 April, 7pm

The Embassy
1 Queensbridge St, Southbank

The audio from the Open Mic Night that was held on Tuesday the 3rd of March 2010 is now available. Just listen below. Have comments on how audio should be available in the future? Please just leave a comment below.

Thanks to Jamie Galea from Level 3 (http://www NULL.level3 NULL.org NULL.au) games podcast for the recording.

Thanks for everyone who came along to Open Mic Night to help make it such a great success, especially to the presenters!

There have been some requests for speaker details.  We are in the process of gaining approval to publish them, and will continue to update any missing once once we get the all clear….

Trent Kusters - Torus Games - trent@igdamelbourne.org (trent null@null igdamelbourne NULL.org)

Alexander Bruce - Hazard - alex@igdamelbourne.org ( alex null@null igdamelbourne NULL.org)

Craig Peebles - Cosmos Concerto, Moving Target Games – info@movingtargetgames.com (info null@null movingtargetgames NULL.com), www.movingtargetgames.com (http://movingtargetgames NULL.com)Twitter: @movingtargetgam

Chris Watts - Mole, Roo Games – designerwatts@gmail.com (designerwatts null@null gmail NULL.com) Twitter: @DesignerWatts

Neil Rennison - Gamebook Adventures, Tin Man Games – neilrennison@tinmangames.com.au (neilrennison null@null tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au)www.tinmangames.com.au (http://www NULL.tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au)Twitter: @TinManGames

Andrew Golding - Jolly Rover, Brawsome - andrew@brawsome.com.au (andrew null@null brawsome NULL.com NULL.au)
Jolly Rover website: http://www.brawsome.com.au/JollyRover
(http://www NULL.brawsome NULL.com NULL.au/JollyRover) http://www.brawsome.com.au
(http://www NULL.brawsome NULL.com NULL.au/)Twitter: @brawsome
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jolly-Rover/302892718921 (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/pages/Jolly-Rover/302892718921)

Matt Clark - Train Conductor, The Voxel Agents – mattclark@thevoxelagents.com (mattclark null@null thevoxelagents NULL.com), www.thevoxelagents.com, (http://www NULL.thevoxelagents NULL.com) Twitter: @TheVoxelAgents Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheVoxelAgents (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/TheVoxelAgents)

John Sietsma - Layar AR Games – john.sietsma@gmail.com (john NULL.sietsma null@null gmail NULL.com)

Paul Seidel – Voice over artist, Big Mouth Media – info@bigmouthmedia.com (info null@null bigmouthmedia NULL.com) mob: 0410 699 916

Adrian Lyons - TBC

Andrew Drage - brewin@hotmail.com (brewin null@null hotmail NULL.com) mob: 0425 726 136 www.infinitespiral.com.au (http://www NULL.infinitespiral NULL.com NULL.au/)

Alex Fraser - Cargo – alex@phatcore.com (alex null@null phatcore NULL.com) – you can download a demo of Cargo from http://phatcore.com/alex/?p=177 (http://phatcore NULL.com/alex/?p=177)

David Thompson - Tiberian Sun Rising - dthompson@cnc-source.com (dthompson null@null cnc-source NULL.com) mob: 0438 043 261 http://www.moddb.com/mods/tiberian-sun-rising (http://www NULL.moddb NULL.com/mods/tiberian-sun-rising)

Ian Stewart - http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/app-my-state.html (http://www NULL.premier NULL.vic NULL.gov NULL.au/app-my-state NULL.html)

Brad Giblin - FilmVic – brad.giblin@film.vic.gov.au (brad NULL.giblin null@null film NULL.vic NULL.gov NULL.au), http://www.film.vic.gov.au ( http://www NULL.film NULL.vic NULL.gov NULL.au)

And finally, the committee is always happy to receive feedback and suggestions, so feel free to email feedback@igdamelbourne.org (feedback null@null igdamelbourne NULL.org) with any thoughts or suggestions.