Rocket Rainbow & Team 17 release Hay Ewe on iOS

Another big day for #IrishGameDev, as ex-Popcap Rocket Rainbow Studios, based in Galway, have gotten their game, Hay Ewe, published via Team 17 indie publishing program (yes, those of Worms fame). You can pick up the game over at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hay-ewe/id895730729?ls=1&mt=8 and show your support for this great looking game.

Press release is below!

PRESS RELEASE
hay-ewe-logo

Hay Ewe out now for iOS!

16th October 2014, UK – Independent publisher Team17 and indie dev Rocket Rainbow are excited to announce that Hay Ewe is now available to download for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch via the App Store.

Hay Ewe is a ewe-nique puzzle game developed by Rocket Rainbow, an independent games studio founded by experienced game developers who grew up in the mobile space. Rocket Rainbow staff include ex-PopCap Games team members, who have been credited with Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies and the 2012 BAFTA award winning Peggle, all games that defined smartphones as a gaming platform.

Centring on the adventures of Matilda the sheep, Hay Ewe is an endearing and unorthodox, fast-paced puzzle game set in a world full of characters and colour. Matilda is a natural born leader with the unfortunate task of rounding up the ever-mischievous lambs. Navigate challenging puzzles and avoid treacherous obstacles with your chain of lambs to deliver them to safety.

This amazing game features:

  • Conquer 60 fun puzzles across Adventure mode
  • Create your own levels and share them with friends
  • Challenge yourself through multiple mini-games
  • Collect unique items to help give you a boost on your journey
  • Explore an enchanting world full of characters and colour
  • Compete with friends on the leaderboards and beat their own puzzles!

Hay Ewe is now available to download for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch via the App Store for just £2.99, $4.99/4,49 €.

Review codes are available upon request.

Assets are available to download from:http://download.team17.com/public/HayEwe_PressPack.zip

To keep up to date with all the information on Hay Ewe please like us on Facebookand follow us on Twitter.

For more information, please contact
Bethany Aston at Team17
Email: bethany.aston@team17.com

About Hay Ewe
Hay Ewe. Developed by Rocket Rainbow Studios. © 2014. Published by Team17. Team17 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Team17 Digital Limited. All other trademarks, copyrights and logos are property of their respective owners.

About Team17 Digital Ltd
Founded in 1990, Team17 Digital Limited is a leading independent developer and digital publisher headquartered in West Yorkshire (UK). Team17 publishes games for PC, console, mobile and handheld devices and other digital platforms. Visit www.team17.com for more info.

About Rocket Rainbow Studios
Founded in 2012 Rocket Rainbow is an indie developer based in Galway. Rocket Rainbow develops games for mobiles. Visit http://www.rocketrainbow.net for more info.

The Bridge 2014 review

PrintThe Bridge programme was set up to run short training courses to address or ‘Bridge’ the skills gap evident in the Games, Animation and VFX sectors between what education currently provides and emerging trends in the corresponding industry demands. As part of the programme, participants get to work in-house on live professional projects including short films, TV pilots, trailers for pitches and video games. They receive expert knowledge from industry leaders and focused mentoring from Dublin BIC.

Since ‘The Bridge’ started last year, the programme has delivered 22 industry ready specialists with on-the-job experience and an understanding of the specific requirements of the animation, gaming and VFX industries.  Results from ‘The Bridge’ 2013 have been very positive with one company formed by participants and 75% of students remaining active in the industry – whether through direct employment or continuing education.

The initiative was first conceived by Dublin BIC board member and former CEO of Havok, David O’Meara, in response to a skills shortage in the animation industry – with 44% of companies citing recruitment and staffing as their main business concern.  Demand for talent is now outweighing the supply, with many companies having to hire specialists outside of Ireland to support their work.

‘The Bridge’ programme is a collaboration between Animation Skillnet, the Guinness Enterprise Centre, Dublin Business Innovation Centre (Dublin BIC) and creative industry players such as Treehouse Republic, Windmill Lane and Piranha Bar.  It is funded and supported by Animation Skillnet, Dublin BIC, Screen Training Ireland and the Irish Film Board.

Below is a short video from the Dublin BIC/Animation Skillnet closing presentation by participants on ‘The Bridge 2014′ programme 2nd October 2014 in the Guinness Enterprise Centre. You will see a few familiar faces.

We will let you know here on gd.ie about future courses and the next recruitment for the Bridge.

GameJam Trailer by Endlife Studios

In 2013 Geoff Newman (aka krudd) of EndLife Studios produced a number of podcasts interviewing people in #Irishgamedev including Jamie McCormick from gd.ie, Diarmuid Murphy from Microsoft, a Dare to be Digital Special with James Sadlier and Alan Boyce from NeverMind Games and Andrea Magnorsky from BatCat Games. In fact he has a nice history of his podcasting online.

His new project is creating a video documentary on gamejams. Wondering what a gamejam is?

When we asked him about his new project he said:

‘With the the film I’m really just trying to capture the fun, joy, and sometimes stress of partaking in a game jam. It’s such an extremely shortened game dev cycle that it can be more changeable than a typical day in Ireland. I have been part of so many game jams and never really had a game I felt I could show off but it still was fun and enjoyable time. You go in with ideas and in the end you come out with something. I am still filming future game jams such as London GameCraft and Global Game Jam but also looking for people that made a game at a jam and went on to really flesh out the idea to build a commercial game.’

See the trailer below.

Get in touch with him –
twitter: @john_geoffrey
web: johngeoffrey.com

Check out our calendar for more gamejams and gamecraft it events.

 

 

 

Cross media focus group, 23rd Oct.

Sponge It has received some great input to date for their research into the digital content sector in Ireland.

They are organising a discussion evening on the Digital Content Sector in Ireland in Dublin 4, this week, on Thursday the 23rd of this month at 7pm and a few places remain.

They are bringing together CEOs, MDs and directors from some of the key players in digital across multiple sectors including; Film/Television, Animation, Games, Music and Digital Media.

Discussion will center on the current state of the industry and where thought leaders see the future going. dri-info

This event will be quite informal and food and drinks will be provided.

There will be a gift for each attendee to show their appreciation.

Attendance is by invitation only but if you are interested in attending this event, please e-mail conor.crean@gmail.com with your name, company, current position and contact details.

Rovio VP Games to speak at Animation Skillnet & Creative Europe event

“It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman” The erosion of the lines between books, apps, games and tv shows.

 

 

The lines between conventional media sectors have eroded
and the definition of a book, a game and a TV show are
no longer clear and dry. There are many different ways to
develop your story and get it out to an audience globally.creative-europe-230x180

Creative Europe Media Desk Ireland in association with
Animation Skillnet, have brought together four guest
speakers, each of them international experts in their fields,
to present their take on what is happening now in this
challenging and exciting space and where things might go
in the future.

The line up includes Miika Tams VP Games at Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

 

Registration

 

This invitation is brought to you by Creative
Europe Media Desk in association with Animation Skillnet. animationskillnetlogo

Please register for the event here:

See this link for more. 

Tickets on Sale for Dublin Game Music Festival

We have had Games Live music events before in the city and this week tickets went on sale for the Dublin International Game Music Festival, 2-4th April, 2015.

This is a Three Day Celebration of Video Game Music Including:

  • Video Games Live Concert: April 4th 8:00pm
  • A “Red Carpet” costume contestlogo
  • Multiple Round Table Composer Discussions and Lectures
  • A “Video Game Music Technology” Demonstration
  • A Vocal Contest to Appear in the Video Games Live Show
  • A Guitar Hero Contest
  • A One-of-a-Kind “Cosball”
  • A Traditional Irish Pub Night – With a VG Music Twist
  • “Club Night” Featuring New “Dance Remixes” of your Favorite VG Themes
  • An Expo of Irish Game Development Educational and The Irish Video Game Industry
  • The debut performance of Eimear Noone’s own arrangement of Themes from “The Legend of Zelda” franchise – performed as never seen before
  • And many more to be announced.

Headlining April 4th, 2015 Tommy Tallarico featuring the National Irish Youth Orchestra with special guests: Jason Hayes (World of WarCraft Legend), Austin Wintory (Journey and The Banner Saga), Russell Brower (World of WarCraft  & Blizzard Legend), Neal Acree (StarCraft and World of WarCraft Legend) and Eimear Noone (Principal Conductor).

For more and for tickets

ONE TICKET: THREE DAYS OF EVENTS

Tier 1 €155 (€135 for the first 500)

  • Best Seats for Video Games Live
  • Priority access to all events and after parties (Go to the front of the line)
  • Priority access to meet and greets (Go to the front of the line)
  • Priority access to the CosBall (Go to the front of the line)
  • Two Video Games Live Downloads (Even after the first 500)

Tier 2 €125 (€105 for the first 500)

  • Best Seats for Video Games Live
  • Priority access to “After Parties”  (Go to the front of the line)
  • General admission to all other events
  • General admission to “Meet and Greets”
  • General admission to the “CosBall”
  • Two Video Games Live Downloads (Even after the first 500)

Tier 3 €105 (€85 for the first 500)

  • General Admission, House Seats for Video Games Live
  • General admission to all events
  • General admission to “Meet and Greets”
  • General admission to the “CosBall”
  • Two Video Games Live Downloads (For the first 500)

Tier 4 €85 (€65 for the first 500)

  • General Admission, Back of House/ Balcony Seats for Video Games Live
  • General admission to all events
  • General admission to “Meet and Greets”
  • General admission to the “CosBall”
  • Two Video Games Live Downloads (For the first 500)

On Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/events/348521398656946/

For Video Games Live Ultimate Gamer V.I.P. Backstage Experience Package, Please Visit: http://wl.flavorus.com/event/VGL-VIP-Dublin-Ireland/270860?afflky=videogameslive

For other Video Games  Live Events.

 

An Post Game Icons Stamp set

An Post issues video game icons stamp set

An Post announced the release of a brand new stamp set on the 16th of October, and Mario, Pac Man, Sonic and Space Invaders will be going around the world on snail mail letters.

You can buy the stamps (minimum purchase €5.00) at http://www.irishstamps.ie/shop/c-190-game-icons.aspx, from major post offices or if you’re around Dublin, the stamp shop from the GPO. and as they’re limited edition, use your opportunity to get them while they’re still around! Press release is below.

16/10/2014

Dublin 16/10/2014 Did you hear the one about the moustachioed superstar, the hedgehog, the yellow dot and the space invader? Well stand by, because this week An Post has issued a four-stamp set celebrating the great video game icons.

Nintendo’s Mario, SEGA’ s Sonic the Hedgehog, BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc’s PAC-MAN  and Taito Corp’s Space InvadersNintendo’s Mario, SEGA’ s Sonic the Hedgehog, BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc’s PAC-MAN  and Taito Corp’s Space Invaders will feature on the colourful four stamp set that looks likely to prove a huge hit with gamers of all ages. The set marks the iconic status of the games and the transition of gaming from novelty to global industry.

The stamps were designed by Zinc Design Consultants, the Dublin-based, award-winning graphic design studio. The stamps and a beautiful first day cover (FDC) are available from main post offices, at the stamp shop in Dublin’s GPO or online at www.irishstamps.ie.

The four constitute probably the most iconic images of popular culture since the 1970s and lie at the heart of a multibillion dollar global industry. Mario was created by Nintendo in 1981 and wears his distinctive red cap and blue overalls, beginning one of the biggest video game franchises of all time with Mario appearing in more than 100 video games to date with more than 307 million units sold worldwide. The distinctive blue Sonic the Hedgehog first appeared in 1991 and has been blazing a trail for SEGA ever since. Sonic lies at the heart of some 70 games and has grossed over €5 billion in sales. PAC-MAN first appeared in 1980 and saw players steering a yellow dot around levels of maze, eating Pac-Dots and fruit, and avoiding ghosts . Two years earlier in 1978 Space Invaders was born, originally manufactured and sold by Taito of Japan and one of the forerunners of modern video gaming.

In the early years, games were mostly aimed at children but very quickly became the stuff of everyday life for people of all ages and all walks of life. An Post’s new stamps will be eagerly sought by gamers past and present and by anyone with an interest in popular culture.

 

 

Highline Games – Unity Game Developer – iOS/Android (Remote Contract) [Filled]

Unity Game Developer – iOS/Android [Filled}
Type: Remote Contract Job
Highline Games – New York

Highline Games are a New York based mobile game developer best known for their hit iPad game W.E.L.D.E.R. Founded by two veterans of Rockstar New York who have worked on the Grand Theft Auto and Midnight Club series, among others, they are seeking to recruit a talented Unity Game Developer from #IrishGameDev to work on an upcoming project due to commence in November.

This is a great opportunity for the right candidate to work on a commercial game, and level up their skills. We are looking for a self-starter and a problem solver who can manage their own workflow, be punctual for online meetings and calls, comfortable working remotely, quickly able to integrate with the existing team and co-ordinator (in New York) and delivering assigned tasks to defined schedules and deadlines.

They must also be able to document their code, and troubleshoot and be able to act on their feet to deal with issues that arise during development.

Job outline

We are seeking a Unity Game Developer who is a coder first and foremost. We prefer to work with people who love to code more than anything else. You will be working with an experienced developer who will work with you to architect the project, periodically review your code and provide guidance where necessary, but you will be responsible for building a solid working game.

Job responsibilities

  • Implement game functionality as per design document and specification
  • Give regular feedback to project lead as to implementation issues and possible improvements to game design
  • Create tools for level design and tweaking of mechanics
  • Provide good estimates about how long a given task will take and stick to them
  • Check code into GitHub daily for review
  • Communicate with other team members to establish pipeline and integrate media assets
  • Produce technical documentation
  • Address bugs and other technical issues identified for subsequent release
  • Be available to work directly with the New York (GMT -5 hours) team for at least 2 hours a day

Minimum Requirements:

  • Excellent knowledge of Unity C# and OOP
  • Experience with iOS and Android platforms, including IAP and Gamecenter implementation
  • Experience using the 2D features of Unity
  • At least 1 complete game built with Unity
  • At least 3 years games programming experience
  • A passion for games, particularly of the puzzle genre
  • Enthusiasm, professionalism, a high standard of work and ability to multitask
  • Ability to communicate with a remotely distributed team
  • Ability to deliver required tasks on time and not miss deadlines

Reporting: You will report to our lead developer in New York

Hours of work: This role is a full time (40 hours a week) remote job. The expected duration of the contract is between 3 and 5 months.

Renumeration: Based on experience, and negotiable with the successful candidate

How to apply: This position is now filled, and no further applications are being taken.

Interview process: Shortlisted candidates who are called to interview will need to be available for a Skype interview, and the successful candidate needs to available to start in the first or second week of November through to approximately February.

Please note: Direct applicants only. We do not accept applications referred by recruitment agencies for this role.

World Record Server Test

Will_You_Join_Us

Abydos Entertainment is an independent game development/server tech studio. Our studio is based in Dublin at the GEC (Guinness Enterprise Centre).

Most independent developers want to create, either a world, character or mechanic that brings people together. The concepts from games span many other platforms and genres. And we love that, content breeds content, a win win situation.

But how is this relative to our goal at Abydos?

As I write this post there are hundreds if not millions of people playing online, we know that these worlds are now mostly always online.

We want to express our hope that this breakthrough in connectivity with our Nxtgen server tech will propagate new worlds. Imagine your favourite open world game, then put yourself in it with 9,999 others, all playing at the same time in the SAME SPACE, not broken up but all together interacting.

What can you do? 

Team Abydos needs your help, we’ve worked on a first person shooter that tests our server tech. We need your help to push it to the limits, join in on our testing, help push technology forward for gaming and developers.

Abydos’s World Record Event will take place at the web summit in Dublin, Ireland, 4-6th of November, 2014.

Sign up online. 

Share it, play it and if you can, break it (with numbers).

Team Abydos.

Animation Skillnet courses

animationskillnetlogo

Animation Skillnet is an industry led training network for the animation, games and VFX sectors in Ireland.

They run subsidised, high-end training courses delivered by industry specialists and organise professional networking events and conferences for member company employees and freelancers.

 

The following courses may be of interest to gd.ie readers.

 

1) Introduction to Toonboom Harmony (10 Thursday Evenings)

2) Storyboarding with Storyboard Pro (5 Friday Evenings) –

 

Also, there are still some places left on these two courses:

 

3) Animation Business Fundamentals (5 Tuesday Evenings)

4) 3D Animation Masterclass with renowned Animation Director Kyle Balda

 

The key contact person is Gareth Lee, Network Manager.

124 minutes of State of Play Goodness (DIT)

Hugh, Bryan and Brian from DIT have been rendering the video from the State of Play 2014 September Special that happened last month. They have kindly provided it now at this link, or you can enjoy it right here on gamedevelopers.ie tv :)

The talks were to a packed house, and Owen Harris from bitSmith Games was MC for the night. Chanel Summers started the evening with a fascinating talk about her experiences in audio across many areas of the media industry, and how it’s important to be involved from the outset of a games development project. This was followed by a talk by Brenda Romero, who discussed a wide range of areas from the world of video game developments, and her experience with making her board game Train. After the talks, a Q&A chaired by Owen between members of the audience went on and the speakers were joined by Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake legend John Romero.

Twitter has plenty of photos of the evening after, and it was a great, informative evening and well done to DIT School of Media for running it. We all look forward to State of Play 2014 in November! If you’ve comments from the night, remember to pop by the relaunched forums. Follow the organisers @seriousgamesirl, and we hope that John and Brenda have had a fantastic time touring Ireland, and see the best that #IrishGameDev has to offer :)

 

[17-19 Oct.] Prototype play and interaction festival

PROTOTYPE is a brand new festival in Dublin 17-19 October 2014 – “A weekend of Playful Design and Novel Interactions.” run by Make and Do in the Project Arts Centre Temple Bar, Dublin.

Talks, workshops, events and familiar faces.

Prototype is a brand new festival of play and interaction. This is your chance to experience the world from a new perspective with removable camera eyes, to jostle and joust to a Bach soundtrack whilst trying to disarm an opponent, to throw shapes as you figure out who got an invite to the silent disco, to duel with foam pool noodles, and play chase in the dark with flashlights.

A unique festival that incites new types of social interaction, involving technology and the city, Prototype is a series of performances, workshops, talks, and a Playground games that spill across the city, alongside an adult playground in the heart of Temple Bar.

Play is for life, not just for Christmas!

All Events can be booked through Project Arts Centre.  Call Box Office: +353 1 8819 613 or visit www.projectartscentre.ie/

Fore more on the festival see their website for full details.

Complete a media industry survey and enter a draw to win €5,000 worth of research

spongeit,  a small Cork based research company, are carrying out a piece of research into the digital content sector in Ireland and they are looking for our help here at  gamedevelopers.ie to get in contact with game companies.

The research has been commissioned by Honeycomb creative works, which is a European Union INTERREG IV funded initiative. It is going to look at both those that produce digital content and those that buy digital content.

Digital does not recognise traditional geographic boundaries and neither does Honeycomb Creative Works. They are working hard between Northern Ireland and the Republic in an effort to develop a centre of excellence for all that is digital that spans across both regions. They want digital to become big and to achieve this they are working to help the little guy. When we say digital we mean games, animation, film and TV, music and interactive media.

This research will help Honeycomb to understand the needs of digital producers and also buyers of digital produce. With this information Honeycomb will be able to make more informed decisions about what help to provide in terms of technical training, business skills development, providing seed-funding or creating networks of collaboration, along with a host of other initiatives.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

We are looking for decision makers in existing digital companies to complete a really short survey where they can describe how their business fits into the digital this sector and what their needs might be. This information will paint the picture of what the digital sector looks like on our island.

The survey should take no longer than 7 minutes to complete.

If you are willing to help out the future of the digital content sector you can find the link to our survey on the first page of the research initiative’s website here; Please use reference JK007 when completing the survey at http://www.digitalresearchinstitute.eu/ so we know it’s from the community.

WHAT WE WILL DO

When our research is concluded and our findings reached we will be sharing a report with all those that completed the research. As well as that, gamedevelopers.ie will post an exclusive features which will present the headline findings of our study.

The companies that complete the research will also be in with a chance of winning a prize of €5,000 worth of quantitative market research. We will survey a nationally representative sample of consumers based in Northern Ireland and the Republic. You get to decide the questions to ask and we will find out the answers.

If you are a director or marketing manager in a company like this why don’t you join in our research project?