(http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=aNWPaHQ6U-U)
Thanks to Ben for filming and letting use share our Melbourne meets further afield.
Posts Tagged ‘Melbourne’
In case you missed it…IGDAM Post GDC panel on Youtube!
17
Apr
(http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=aNWPaHQ6U-U)
One more thing in May
28
Mar
There’s an iOS development conference in Melbourne in May, and early bird tickets are now on sale until April 12.
From the creators of One More Thing…
You’ve got the idea, your code is solid, but you’re still working for the man and uncertain about going solo on the App Store — sound like you? Well you’re not alone. Others have been where you are and taken the leap into being full-time iOS developers, on their terms, doing what they want.
One More Thing isn’t a traditional programming conference. It’s a meeting for iOS developers, designers and those who just want to come along for the ride. You won’t directly learn to code better. Your UI probably won’t improve either. But you will leave with more confidence in your abilities as an iOS developer or designer.
Our hope is that through listening to the stories of successful independent iOS developers, you will be inspired to follow through on your own ideas and projects.
For 2012, we’ve brought the best independent iOS developers from all over the world to Melbourne, and expanded to an extra day of workshops, with masters in the craft of code & design. If you’ve ever wanted to make a living off the App Store, making your own apps and setting your own agenda, One More Thing is where you want to be.
For further information or to book a conference ticket, check out the One More Thing (http://onemorething NULL.com NULL.au/) website.
GDC: Delayed Australian Release Tuesday 10 April
23
Mar
After much ado, GDC’s delayed Australian release will be in Melbourne.
When: Tuesday 10 April 6:00pm onwards
Where: The Workers Club (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com NULL.au/maps?q=The+Workers+Club,+Brunswick+Street,+Fitzroy,+Victoria&hl=en&sll=-25 NULL.335448,135 NULL.745076&sspn=61 NULL.878284,79 NULL.013672&oq=the+workers+club&hq=The+Workers+Club,+Brunswick+Street,+Fitzroy,+Victoria&t=m&z=15), cnr Brunswick and Gertrude Streets, Fitzroy
Despite being a touch out of the CBD it’s very easy to get to…
86 tram stops right outside the door, 96 tram stops on Nicholson st, 112 stops right outside the door.
It’s a 10 minute walk from Parliament station. It also as good afterhours parking on Gertrude/Brunswick street.
What: Along with the usual networking, drinking and mingling we’ll get the GDC goss from;
Tom Killen: It was Agent Tom’s second GDC and he’ll give the low down on the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Player Motivation Talk (http://schedule NULL.gdconf NULL.com/session/6619/Intrinsic_and_Extrinsic_Player_Motivation%3A_Implications_for_Design_and_Player_Retention)
Matt F Ditton: Matt reckons The Game-Dev Start-Up talk (http://schedule NULL.gdconf NULL.com/session/6592/The_Game_Dev_Start-Up_2012%3A_Issues_and_Practical_Answers_for_the_Rookie_Studio) was worth the price of admission in itself, so will share the key points from this talk
Katie Williams: Katie had trouble tearing herself away from the parties, networking, meta-games, IGF expo and GDC Play to actually attend talks, so that will be her main focus.
Brad Giblin: As the main man for Film Victoria at GDC, Brad will wax lyrical about networking and handleboxes.
Harry Lee: While I’m sure meta-games will rate a mention, Harry will give the CA (Conference Associate) perspective, staying at indie hostels, and what happens when you try to illegally sneak into parties.
No doubt they’ll all be showing off the wonderful thing that is party networking, and hope you can make it along to live (or relive, if you made it this year) vicariously through their experiences.
Let us know if you’re coming along via the usual facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/365672066806786/).
Freeplay 2012 Announced: Chaos and Grace 19-23 September.
19
Mar
Freeplay announced today that the 2012 Freeplay Festival will be held at the State Library of Victoria and beyond from 19‐23 September 2012.Freeplay 2012 will see the return of its conference and workshop program, public expo, awards, local and international speakers, and its unique mix of games, industry, culture, education, and play, centred around this year’s theme of ‘Chaos and Grace’.The festival will explore the chaos of the creative process, of development, and of the political, social, and artistic culture that surround us. It will dig into attempts to transform that chaos into systems and rules, and it will look at the way grace seeps into the skin of our work.Freeplay’s weekend program will once again take place at the State Library of Victoria on the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of September.
Acting CEO and State Librarian, Sue Hamilton said “Games are an important way for people to engage with the world and with each other. They allow people to learn through interaction and develop new skills for managing complex thinking. Games succeed in this because they are intrinsically motivating; people play games because they enjoy it, not because they have to.
People also use libraries because they want to. In a modern library, collections take many forms - manuscripts, books, websites, digital media. Games are a fundamental part of this landscape, so it is important that libraries not only ‘play’ in this space, but encourage others to do so.”
Today, Freeplay also says goodbye to co‐director Eve Penford‐Dennis who is moving on to focus on new projects.
Eve Penford-Dennis said, “The Freeplay Independent Games Festival has been an enormously exciting event to run, and I feel very privileged to have been its co‐ director.
“It’s always been important to me to promote, through Freeplay, the talent, and sheer ingenuity that people display when unencumbered by the weight
of conformity in mainstream game development. It has been both humbling and inspiring to work for a community that is so positive and passionate about games, their way.
“Leaving something you’ve been an integral part of for a long time is always a difficult decision but I’m proud of how Freeplay has grown and transformed the public conversation around games and play. In particular, I’m proud of the public program which drew over 1800 people through Experimedia in 2011, the awards which celebrate the best of Australian creative development to local and international audiences, and establishing Freeplay as a stand‐alone organisation which I’m sure will support Freeplay long into the future.” Current festival director Paul Callaghan will remain on to direct the 2012 festival before also pursuing new opportunities.
“It’s been an amazing experience working on Freeplay for so long and watching it evolve as we’ve gone from 600 attendees in 2009 to over 2000 in 2011, as the opportunities for independent game developers have grown and as games and play have shifted into the cultural mainstream. I’m looking forward to the 2012 festival being bigger and more ambitious before handing it over to somebody with a fresh perspective.”
Expressions of interest for the position of festival director will be available later in the year.
For more information on Freeplay, visit www.freeplay.net.au (http://www NULL.freeplay NULL.net NULL.au/)
Film Victoria Funding tips: Tuesday March 20 6-9pm NEW VENUE
14
Mar
If you are looking for funding your next game project, Film Victoria (http://www NULL.film NULL.vic NULL.gov NULL.au) has some great funding options, and applications close mid-April.
At The Boat Builders Yard (http://theboatbuildersyard NULL.com/cms-contact) from 6pm – 9pm (talks starting at 6:30) in South Wharf we are pleased to give you some inside info on what it takes to secure funding from people who have been there and done that.
Ben Britten: As part of Tin Man Games (http://tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au/), Ben has written successful funding applications and is now one of the assessors for the fund (yes, he’s one of the people you’ll have to impress)
Chris Wright: The Chief Surprise Architect from Surprise Attack (http://surpriseattack NULL.com NULL.au/) has been involved in three successful funding applications in collaboration with his indie clients, and can give tips on this too, as well as what it takes to be able to access even bigger pots of money.
Chris Watts: Chris’ company, Play Bit Entertainment (http://www NULL.playbitent NULL.com/), has also been on the receiving end of Film Victoria funding for his recently released Facebook game, Puzzle Treasure (http://apps NULL.facebook NULL.com/puzzletreasure/?ref=ts)
And of course, Film Victoria’s own Brad Giblin will also be there to answer your questions.
As we are limited for space, this event is for those looking to secure funding in the next round of applications or the near future. We will be looking into holding a more general ‘How to Secure Funding’ event later in the year to cover not only Film Victoria, but also Screen Australia and any other relevant funding bodies.
Please be sure to RSVP via the facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/284818771586451/).
If you have any queries, email giselle@igdamelbourne.org
March meet: It’s not whom you know, but who knows you
25
Feb
Thanks to everyone for pulling together to make the Play Party such a success. We will look to a better floor plan in the future so more people can play more games.
And huge thanks for your kindness and generosity which now means I’m a lost for words lifetime IGDA member.
Thousand Pound Bend is once again unable to accommodate us in March, but The Order of Melbourne is happy to have us again, and this time the rooftop will be ours too.
So…
If you’re not stateside for GDC we have a ripper discussion with Chris Wright, Chief Surprise Architect at Surprise Attack (http://surpriseattack NULL.com NULL.au/), the indie games marketing specialists and Dan Golding, video games blogger at Crikey.com (http://blogs NULL.crikey NULL.com NULL.au/game-on/) about how to market yourselves, your games and how to liaise with media to obtain the best possible outcomes. We may have another games journalist dropping in to join the discussion, but that depends on when
When: Tuesday 13 March 6:30, talks start at 7:30pm
Where: The Order of Melbourne (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com NULL.au/maps?q=the+order+of+melbourne&hl=en&ll=-37 NULL.80875,144 NULL.963291&spn=0 NULL.010019,0 NULL.01929&fb=1&gl=au&hq=the+order+of&hnear=0x6ad642af0f11fd81:0x5045675218ce7e0,Melbourne+VIC&cid=0,0,13260682760810499361&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A)
RSVP via Facebook (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/220873738009588/)
So if you want to know the tricks to marketing your game, writing media releases and communicating with journo’s insights, don’t miss out.
If you have any queries email giselle / at/ igdamelbourne dot org
Play the games made at Melbourne game jam: Tuesday 21 February
03
Feb
A selection of newly conserved games from the Melbourne Global Game Jam (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/sites/2012/igda-melbourne-la-trobe) will be available for your sampling pleasure at the next IGDAM meet up. Please note the unusual date (didn’t want to cramp Valentine’s plans) and venue (the bend was already booked).
When: Tuesday 21 February from 6pm
Where: The Order of Melbourne (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com NULL.au/maps?q=the+order+of+melbourne&ll=-37 NULL.80875,144 NULL.963291&spn=0 NULL.010019,0 NULL.01929&fb=1&gl=au&hq=the+order+of&hnear=0x6ad642af0f11fd81:0x5045675218ce7e0,Melbourne+VIC&cid=0,0,13260682760810499361&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A) (think Freeplay afterparty venue and you’re set)
Some of the games for your tasting pleasure include:
Omelette Boris (http://www NULL.kumobius NULL.com/omeletteboris/), Purgatory (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2012/purgatory), Circle of Snake (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2012/circle-snake), Faia (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2012/faia), Harmonize (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2012/harmonize), Hairy Cat Holocaust (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2012/hairy-cat-holocaust) (please play on mute), Deep (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2012/deep)and many, many more….
If you could let us know if you’re coming via the facebook event (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/155828627866033/) it’d be much appreciated.
Jammers, please register your game for display (https://docs NULL.google NULL.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dFhDVzlMVEo4ejM3U25wZTh6S3ZHTXc6MQ#gid=0) so we can save you a space and have someone set up by 6pm at The Order.
The jam was a massive success with over 100 jammers creating 28 games in just 48 hours. We couldn’t have achieved this without the generous support of our sponsors….We owe enormous thanks in particular to our Platinum Sponsor La Trobe University (http://latrobe NULL.edu NULL.au)for allowing us to use their campus grounds to host all of the jammers. They were generous in providing us with five computer labs and a workstation for every jammer, as well as internet access and use of their amenities. The Game Jam would not have been possible without this venue.All of the jammers were delighted to hear from Myles who explained Gold Sponsor Microsoft’s Imagine Cup (http://www NULL.imaginecup NULL.com/), which is certainly of interest to all of these jammers. The generous financial support given by Microsoft also provided a solid meal and snacks that fueled the creative minds.
We also owe significant thanks to our other Gold Sponsors the Academy (http://aie NULL.edu NULL.au)of Interactive Entertainment (http://aie NULL.edu NULL.au) and Immersive Technologies (http://www NULL.immersivetechnologies NULL.com/)for their generous financial assistance. Their support allowed us to provide meals and some fun distractions to relieve the jammers from 48 hours of relentless development. The game jam would not have been possible without their early support.
We also owe significant thanks to our other Gold Sponsors the Academy (http://aie NULL.edu NULL.au)of Interactive Entertainment (http://aie NULL.edu NULL.au) and Immersive Technologies (http://www NULL.immersivetechnologies NULL.com/)for their generous financial assistance. Their support allowed us to provide meals and some fun distractions to relieve the jammers from 48 hours of relentless development. The game jam would not have been possible without their early support.
All the jammers also owe many thanks to our Prize Sponsors EA Aus (http://www NULL.ea NULL.com/au)
tralia (http://www NULL.ea NULL.com/au),Stephan Shutze’s Sound Librarian (http://www NULL.stephanschutze NULL.com/sound-library NULL.html), Surprise Attack (http://surpriseattack NULL.com NULL.au/) amd StormFX (http://www NULL.stormfx NULL.com NULL.au/) for their generous donation of prizes including a copy of the Stephan’s sound library, valued at $2000 for the best game audio, a half day branding and marketing workshop for the most surprising game, as well as JB giftcards and a terrific selection of EA games and merchandise.
Finally, cheers to our Indie Sponsors Tin Man Games (http://tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au/), The League of Geeks (http://www NULL.leagueofgeeks NULL.com/), and The Voxel Agents (http://www NULL.thevoxelagents NULL.com/) who provided some financial support and who were also incredibly generous with their time in helping organise, run, and judge the jam. Particular thanks are also due to Ben Britten-Smith of Tin Man Games who provided valuable mentorship to the jammers.
Melbourne’s 2012 Global Game Jam was a phenomenal success. It was one of the largest jam sites in the world. We received significant coverage in games and industry media and would like to thank everyone who contributed to what was an amazing weekend of community game creation.
Hope to see you at The OrderCheers,
Giselle
giselle@igdamelbourne.org
Tasters are polishing their spoons: Game Jam starts this Friday!
23
Jan
The Global Game Jam is primarily (http://globalgamejam NULL.org)collaborative, not competitive. The focus of the weekend is for everyone to make great games. However we’re game makers, so we can’t resist the urge to spice things up by making it a bit competitive and so in the interests of fun and of recognising excellence we do award prizes for several categories.
To reflect more accurately the role of the judging panel, we’ll be looking at them as a tasting panel after a long weekend in the game making kitchen.
Our “Jam Tasters” are
Simon Joslin, Creative Director at The Voxel Agents (http://thevoxelagents NULL.com), and veteran 48 Hour jammer.
Ben Britten, Technical Director at Tin Man Games (http://tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au) and international man of mystery.
Trent Kusters, ‘Creative Director’ at Divisive Media (http://www NULL.wetroads NULL.com/dm/) and ‘Founder & Director’ at League of Geeks (http://www NULL.leagueofgeeks NULL.com/) who always smells nice.
Craig Duturbure, Creative Director at Grapple Gun Games (http://www NULL.grapplegungames NULL.com/) and an indie designer who looks for everlasting fun in games (but will settle for a satisfying shotgun effect)
Conor O’Kane, Game Development Lecturer at RMIT and jammer from last year about to release the jammed Last Flight of the Bumblebee (http://globalgamejam NULL.org/2011/last-flight-bumblebee)for iPad on the App Store.
Katie Williams, freelance writer, Kotaku Australia (http://kotaku NULL.com NULL.au), Hyper and PCPP and lover of inflatable strawberries.
Sam Mayo, Community Manager at Firemint (http://firemint NULL.com/) and ace lemon jouster.
Unforunately Mark Serrels can’t stay for the whole jam but will be coming along. (I couldn’t resist his bio), Editor of Kotaku Australia. He is a multi award-winning journalist and the inventor of the Serrels’ Stare ™ (http://www NULL.kotaku NULL.com NULL.au/2011/05/yet-another-reason-why-kotaku-has-the-best-community-ever/). He has previously edited publications such as The Official Nintendo Magazine, The Official PlayStation Magazine, Australian 360 and PSM3. He once got 191,000 on Doodle Jump and totally has a man crush on Ryan Gosling. And, yes, he is painfully aware that he closely resembles Simon Pegg.
Awards Categories and Prizes
Tasters’ Toast: A $500 JB Voucher courtesy of Immersive Technologies
Jammers’ Jam de Jam: A $100 JB voucher
Tarty Art (best graphics): EA swag
Farty Art (best sound): the complete Sound Librarian (http://www NULL.stephanschutze NULL.com/)
Appealing Banana Jam-Packed with Fun (most fun): a popcorn machine we’ll be testing over the weekend from Storm FX (http://www NULL.stormfx NULL.com NULL.au/)
Smoothest Jam (best teamwork): More swag from EA Australia (http://www NULL.ea NULL.com/au) along with $100 JB Voucher
Most Surprising Spread :
Which game most took the judges by surprise? Which was the most original, most unique and most unexpected? Which combined seemingly incompatible flavours yet came out surprisingly tasty? Which game or team produced the biggest surprise of the jam?
The winners of this category score a half day branding and positioning workshop with the team at Surprise Attack (http://surpriseattack NULL.com NULL.au/) a marketing agency focused on supporting independent developers. The workshop will help to define a unique and compelling brand for your studio or your next game and is worth around $750 (or about 63kg of jam).
We <3 our growing list of sponsors for all the brilliant support and prizes.
Tasters will reconvene with the jam makers, media and guests, over a bbq and a beer at La Trobe’s Eagle Bar at about 6pm on Sunday 29 January where they will discuss their tasting notes.
Games sector and media are encouraged to email giselle@igdamelbourne.org for an invite to Sunday afternoon display, awards and BBQ. If you miss out this time there will be information about a game jam expo soon <crosses fingers the plan comes together.>
We’ll try to keep you posted with updates, but if you have any questions, start at the facebook #igdamjam page (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/groups/186036814823342/)and take it from there.
Bean’s Quest Launch Party – you’re invited
20
Jan
On Thursday 2 Feb 2012 Kumobius (http://www NULL.kumobius NULL.com/)will release a major update that completes the Bean’s Quest game for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The free update almost doubles the content of the critically acclaimed platformer and introduces a final boss battle.
They will be holding a launch party to celebrate the completion of the game at our warehouse office:
- Thursday 2 Feb 2012, 5:30pm – 8:30pm
- 9 Little Oxford Street, Collingwood 3066, VIC
There will be free drinks, food and games to play, including; Super Street Fighter 4, Tetris The Grand Master and of course: Bean’s Quest. If you’re interested please join via the Facebook event so they know how many people are coming:
https://www.facebook.com/events/316296651741750/ (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/316296651741750/)
Kumobius is an indie game studio based in Melbourne. Bean’s Quest was first released in late July 2011 to much critical acclaim; the game was featured in the “New and Noteworthy” section on the App Store and received numerous favourable reviews. Since then, the game has been regularly updated with more content, culminating in the final update on 2 Feb 2012
Making Jam: The Melbourne Method
15
Jan
Ingredients:
101 juicey jammers
One secret theme ingredient
101 computers* see below for pre-made recipe
2 jamming labs
1 sleeping lab – be sure to overchill
5 special guest panelists
1 smattering of media
Taste testers, creativity, pizza, curry, caffeine,toast, cereal, caffeine, drinks, caffeine, bbq, more caffeine…then finally alcohol
Method
Friday
Apply 101 juicey jammers to register at the Beth Gleeson Building, Science Drive, La Trobe University (http://maps NULL.google NULL.com NULL.au/maps?q=la+trobe+university,+bundoora&hl=en&ll=-37 NULL.721476,145 NULL.049787&spn=0 NULL.020062,0 NULL.038581&sll=-25 NULL.335448,135 NULL.745076&sspn=45 NULL.958389,79 NULL.013672&vpsrc=6&hq=la+trobe+university,&hnear=Bundoora+Victoria&t=h&fll=-37 NULL.72089,145 NULL.048714&fspn=0 NULL.005016,0 NULL.009645&z=15&layer=t) between 2pm and 3.30pm on Friday 27 January.
Free parking is available in the white bays only of car parks 1 and 2 (Car Park 2 is closest to the jamsite)
Gently agitate in a lecture theatre, then softly fold in a panel discussion at 4.00pm Agent Tom Killen (The Voxel Agents), Matt F Ditton (you name it), Trent Kusters (League of Geeks), Harry Lee (recent LudumDare Jam winner and all round amazing bloke), Tony Reed (Game Developers’ Association of Australia) about how to survive a game jam, and what makes a good game in a short time frame.
At 5:00 Friday add the secret theme ingredient. THIS INGREDIENT MUST BE KEPT SECRET UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!
Shake, stir and then separate into teams. Recommended size per team, 2-5 jammers.
It’s now it’s time to apply the heat.
Saturday
Blend teams with computers, food, friends and surprises until the games are simmering.
Add toast and cereal, juice, tea and coffee.
Combine with the rest of the world and register teams and games.
Add Subway and snacks.
Continue simmering throughout the night, slowly increasing the heat. Media may be added at any stage during the process.
Add Indian.
Add Red Bull
Add sleep – don’t forget this ingredient. Your game will not rise without it. Bring warm bedding, earplugs for the soft sleepers and snuggle down for a break, dreams make games, don’t ya know?
Sunday
Additional toast, cereal, juice tea and coffee to be liberally applied at this point
10:30-12:30 Add another secret ingredient – this adds to the local flavour of the global game jam
Make sure all games are in the oven by 3.00pm
3:30pm Tasting panel arrives
5:00pm Time to clean down all jam cooking areas
6:00pm Retire to The Eagle Bar for dinner and drinks to await the tasters’ verdicts.
6:30ish Final presentations and thanks and stuff, farewells, and more very well deserved drinks.
2012 will be just the second time this recipe is made with the Melbourne Method, and we’re looking forward to experiencing the cooking and tasting the jam
Computers
Computers will be precooked to include:
Hardware
Intel Core i7
4Gb of ram
Widescreen LCD 20” ish.
DVD usb etc
GTX 260
KB + Mouse
Software
Win 7 x64
Visual Studio 2010
XNA 4.0
Blender
MS Office
Firefox
IE
Chrome
Maya
3D Studio max
We’re still investigating licencing options for Photoshop
Add to that whatever you BYO that you have access to and permission for.
Remember:
“It is ok to use any freely available software with free versions like Unity, Shiva, Unreal, etc. We even go so far as to say that it is ok to use software that is easily accessible but not free; an example is the Source engine which is not free to download, but comes with any Valve game.
If someone has built their own engine it is best left up to the organizers’ discretion. Source code is not necessary, but you do need to provide headers and libraries, so that someone downloading the game can built it again from scratch.”
And of course, this recipe just wouldn’t be possible without a hearty dose of sponsorship, thanks again to La Trobe University (http://latrobe NULL.edu NULL.au) (Platinum Sponsor), AIE (http://aie NULL.edu NULL.au)(Gold Sponsor), Immersive Technologies (http://www NULL.immersivetechnologies NULL.com/) (Gold Sponsor), Microsoft Imagine Cup (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/australia/imaginecup/) (Gold Sponsor), Prize sponsors EA Australia (http://www NULL.ea NULL.com/au)and Sound Librarian (http://www NULL.stephanschutze NULL.com/sound-library NULL.html), and Indie sponsors The Voxel Agents, (http://www NULL.thevoxelagents NULL.com/) League of Geeks (http://www NULL.leagueofgeeks NULL.com/) and Tin Man Games (http://tinmangames NULL.com NULL.au/blog/).
All media and event enquiries can be emailed to giselle@igdamelbourne.org
