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The start of something big	by Pavel Barter
With the announcement of a new GamesSpace initiative in Dublin, indie start-ups may find it easier to source office space. In this feature, Pavel Barter explores the steps you can take to obtain funding and grow a fledgling Irish games company. [More...]

The Games Industry in Ireland 2012	by Jamie McCormick
This feature summarises the results of the Irish Games Industry Survey 2012, an independent study by Jamie McCormick, Marketing Systems Manager with Dublin based GALA Networks Europe, with input from by Dr. Aphra Kerr of NUI Maynooth and Phil Bourke of LIT Thurles. [More...]

What's the score?	by Pavel Barter
This month sees the launch of Games Music Ireland, a new body to represent and promote networking between composers and game developers. In this feature Pavel Barter speaks to Mick Kiely, founder of Games Music Ireland, and developers Alan Duggan from Tribal City Interactive, and Jim Pipe from StoryToys, about the importance of music in games. [More...]

GDC2012	by Hugh McAtamney
It has been an exciting 12 months in the Irish Games Industry, what with the Forfás report and action plan, the rise of the Indie Developer and lots of networking events so it was with great enthusiasm that I made my annual trip to GDC 2012 in sunny San Francisco. [More...]

Was 2011 the breakout year for the Irish Games Industry?	by Jamie McCormick
While much of the economy is in a flux these days, the Irish Games Industry is one of the few sectors that has shown measurable growth. This article will look some of the things that have allowed Ireland to become one of the hubs for the games industry in Europe. [More...]

The Irish games industry levels up	by Pavel Barter
More attention is being poured into the Irish games industry than ever before. Pavel Barter talks to Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe, and Barry O'Neill, of the recently formed Interactive Games Association of Ireland, about new incentives and support for Irish studios. [More...]

Start of Something Special	by Pavel Barter
Enterprise Ireland's Competitive Start Fund, which is currently seeking applications, offers a €50,000 investment to budding game developers hoping to take their business to the next level. How can a business secure the investment? What are Enterprise Ireland looking for? And how are participating businesses faring? Pavel Barter looks for answers. [More...]

No Quarter Spared	by John O'Kane
Terry Cavanagh is an independent game designer and programmer. Hailing from Monaghan and a graduate of TCD he is now based in Cambridge in the UK. His first commercial game, VVVVVV, was released in January 2010 and since then he has been making waves on the indie scene. [More...]

Gamification, IPads and Havok – My GDC 2011 Report	by Hugh McAtamney
After last years inconveniently scheduled and very cramped affair, GDC 2011 got back on track with a Monday to Friday schedule and utilized the full resources of the Moscone Conference Centre. Hugh McAtamney brings us this report of the event. [More...]

Ahead of the Game	by Pavel Barter
Havok has gone from a Trinity College start-up to an international Intel-owned middleware company, creating industry standard products such as Havok Physics. Pavel Barter talks to Managing Director David Coghlan about recruitment, Havok's expanding portfolio, and putting gravity and gravitas into the world's biggest games. [More...]

Open Emotion launch	by Aphra Kerr
November 2010 saw the 'official' launch of another new game development company in Ireland, Open Emotion studios in Limerick city. Not ones for doing things low key, the company invited Anamanaguchi, the band responsible for the Scott Pilgrim videogame soundtrack, to play in Dolans in Limerick and then took them on a national tour. [More...]

Social Climbing	by Pavel Barter
Casual, free-to-play, and online games are shaking up the market and offering new opportunities for Irish developers. Pavel Barter talks to Dylan Collins (Jolt Online Gaming), David Bishop (PopCap Games) and John Owens (Wee Man Studios) about rewriting the rulebook for game development. [More...]

Experiencing GDC 2010	by Hugh McAtamney
Hugh McAtamney from the Dublin Institute of Technology visited the recent GDC in San Francisco and brings us this report. [More...]

The Games Industry in Ireland 2009	by Aphra Kerr
This feature reports on a survey conducted by Aphra Kerr, based at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, and Anthony Cawley, University of Limerick, over the summer of 2009. It explores the demographics and functions of game companies on the island of Ireland and traces their geographical spread. [More...]

GDC 09 Diary	by Hugh McAtamney
GDC is the ultimate industry event for the games industry but academics also play an important part and by all accounts get a lot out of the event too. Hugh McAtamney, lecturer in games at DIT, attended this year’s event and wrote the following report for gd.ie. [More...]

Atari and Ireland	by Jamie McCormick
The country has a longer history in the video games industry than most believe, and this feature highlights one of the country’s biggest success stories. It does not take place in Dublin, but in 1970's rural Tipperary. [More...]

A Perfect Pitch	by Pavel Barter
Tailteann Games combined a passion for Gaelic games with a carefully structured business and development approach in order to create 2007’s unlikely homegrown hit, Bainisteoir – Hurling [More...]

Review 2007 – More Ups than Downs	by Aphra Kerr
As always our best journalists are the people on the forums who post links, news items and gossip way before we get to officially post it on gd.ie – but I guess that is what you get on a properly functioning website! This is my annual review of the news that is "fit to print" publicly and that I can confirm. [More...]

Local Heroes	by Pavel Barter
International game companies are involved in localising top game titles in Ireland and offer Irish graduates a useful entry point into the games industry. Pavel Barter talks to Peter Fitzpatrick, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft Game Studios (Ireland) and Gus Hur from Gala Networks Europe. [More...]

The future inside the box	by Michael Maguire
Clevercelt went to MIPTV 07 back in April and in this feature he muses on the games/TV/mobile/web convergence debate. [More...]

A game of two halves	by Pavel Barter
How a small start-up studio, located over a tattoo parlour in Dublin, went from being one of Ireland’s brightest game development hopes to another casualty of a ruthless industry. Pavel Barter reunites Dave Stafford, Shane Whelan, Gearoid Coughlan, and Ger Lawlor, of Kapooki Games. [More...]

Games Education in Ireland II – The Academic Perspective	by Dave Bustard, Darryl Charles and Emmett Kilbride
In our last feature Tony Kelly outlined some of the industry concerns about the current crop of games education courses on offer in Ireland. In this article we offer two responses from those working in some of those courses. [More...]

The Problems with Game Development Education in Ireland	by Tony Kelly
There are now approximately fifteen courses at third level on the island of Ireland, and a few more at second level, claiming to teach game development. Tony Kelly discusses some of the pitfalls to be wary of when considering these courses. [More...]

Relying on Instinct	by Pavel Barter
The artists previously known as Torc are on the brink of releasing their impressive Instinct Studio toolset. Pavel Barter talks to Instinct’s much-respected Business Development Director, Mike Gamble, whose career has run the gamut from board games to atomic research. [More...]

Nephin Games	by Aphra Kerr
Just over a year ago Nephin games picked up a Digital Media Award for their first game, a kickboxing game in association with WKN. Their second game, a National Lampoon’s license will be published in the USA shortly. Recently I traveled west to find out from CEO Alan Duggan what has been going on. [More...]

Games in Education: BETT 2006	by John Molloy
January saw Kensington Olympia open its doors for the 2006 BETT exhibition. BETT is the British Education, Training and Technology exhibition and it is held annually in London. This year’s exhibition was the biggest yet with over 28,000 attendees coming to see 100 seminars and over 650 exhibitors. [More...]

Replay 2005	by Aphra Kerr & Tony Kelly
It is time to look back before we make those resolutions and plans for 2006. These reflections are based on the features and news carried on gd.ie and gossip I happen to come into contact with in various public houses around the country! [More...]

Ware it well	by Pavel Barter
The age of multiplayer is upon us. Broadband has created a global living-room where bigger and badder multiplayer games like Halo 2 and Burnout are enhancing online experiences. At the heart of this interactive revolution is DemonWare, the devil in disguise behind wireless networking. [More...]

Pooka Games & the GAA game	by Noel Corrigan
This month we explore the story of Pooka games, an Irish company who existed from 1998-2002/3 and who had hoped to develop a game based on the GAA licence. As we all know it isn’t an easy thing to set up a games company – Noel Corrigan reflects on their experiences. [More...]

A Glimpse into the Future at Wired’s NextFest	by John Lynch
With a great cloud of humidity smothering the city streets and temperatures soaring to record heights, Chicago’s Navy Pier opened it’s doors to reveal the vast, air conditioned expanses of Wired magazines’ NextFest technology festival. [More...]

Another generation at E3	by Cian Ginty
When half of the US film industry is on the other side of the world, the games industry invades Los Angeles for their own version of the Cannes Film Festival, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3. According to the organizers, over 70,000 people attended this year’s expo. [More...]

Dublin’s new Flame	by Pavel Barter
For five years, DC Studios have created over sixty different projects across all formats yet have charted a relatively un-hyped and underexposed business trajectory. Reputed for delivering work on time and within budget, DC Studios are about to move into their next phase of expansion: Ireland. [More...]

Future Visions - GDC ‘05	by Ian Hannigan
San Francisco’s Moscone Centre hosted the 19th annual Game Developers Conference from the 7th to the 11th of March last. Ian Hannigan was there and compiled this report for GameDevelopers.ie. [More...]

Clevercelt Visits Imagina 05	by Clevercelt
Back in February Peter Mee from Meedja, Mark Mearns from streekmonkey.tv and clevercelt joyously jetted their way to the Monte Carlo Sun for Imagina2005, well ‘easy jetted’ on the cheap from Belfast to be precise. Clevercelt took a few snaps and scribbled the following for gd.ie during the 3 hour wait for connecting flights back via Stansted… [More...]

IGDA Irish Chapter First Birthday	by Tony Kelly
Last month the Irish chapter of the IGDA was one year old. It has been a busy year and we asked Tony Kelly, chairman of the Irish chapter, to reflect back on the year that was, give us some insights into how the committee works, and give us some hints about what we can expect in 2005. Read on... [More...]

Replay 2004

by Aphra Kerr

Looking back on 2004 one could argue that it was the year that games became formally recognised and institutionalised in Ireland. We had policy reports, the establishment of an Irish chapter of the IGDA, the launch of Ireland’s first degree in Computer Game Development and of course Awakenings. Gd.ie celebrated its first birthday, the shindigs continued, Talk Digital on Games in the Digital Hub, new companies established. It was not all positive though…. [More...]

Fun Anyone?	by Pavel Barter
Funcom Dublin was not fantastically prolific during its six year tenure, but the few games it produced still stand the test of time. In this feature Pavel Barter investigates the life and times of Ireland’s most successful console development house from the 1990s. [More...]

Another way to do business

by Wesley Yin-Poole

Outsourcing is defined as - the externalisation of any of your processes to any third party - by Rick Gibson of MBA. Untrustworthy to some, an essential deadline saving resource for others – outsourcing was the topic for discussion at TIGA’s 2004 keynote conference, held at the end of October in chilly Leeds’ plush Park Plaza Hotel, and attended by the association’s most high profile members. Wesley Yin-Poole attended on behalf of gd.ie. [More...]

Korean Awakening	by Aphra Kerr
While most Irish games companies were in Derry two weeks ago at Awakenings, an unfortunate clash saw five Irish game companies alongside representatives from Enterprise Ireland (EI), Forfás and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) visit Seoul in South Korea for a trade mission and to coincide with the Korean Games Conference. [More...]

Awakenings 2004

by Julian Kücklich

Almost 200 students, educators and members of the industry gathered at the Awakenings 2004 conference at the Northwest Institute for Further and Higher Education (NWIFHE) in Derry on October 15, 2004 to discuss the future of digital games in Ireland. Speakers included Jason Della Rocca of IGDA, game designer Graeme Devine (Ensemble), Chris Van Der Kuyl (Vis Entertainment), Marcus Mäki (Remedy) and Robbie Hegarty of the NWIFHE. [More...]

The Emerald Isle

by Pavel Barter

Thought that the games development industry in Ireland was a fairly new concept? Think again. In the late 1980’s, an Irish company called Emerald Software produced a string of 8-16 bit classics like Moonwalker and The Running Man. The young Waterford-based team worked long hours and battled with technical limitations, but soldiered on nevertheless. Pavel Barter looks back at the brief life of Emerald and chats with former coders Fran Heeran and Bobby Healy. [More...]

Edinburgh Games Festival

by Wesley Yin-Poole

Edinburgh – August - festival time. Last month, Ricky Gervais, Christian Slater, various oddball street performers and masses of tourists descended on the beautifully historic Scottish city for it's annual fringe. Watched over by the castle, and poured on by unrelenting rain, those below had more entertainment choices than they could shake a washed up comedian at - the Comedy Store, the Fringe, the theatre and, for the second year, the Edinburgh International Games Festival. [More...]

Learning by playing

by Padraig Murphy

There is still some scepticism towards computer games in education as they are often seen as part of a wider 'dumbing down' trend in contemporary entertainment. However, there are many education researchers, game developers and media specialists out there who beg to differ. Padraig Murphy looks at the uneasy relationship between games and education and what it means for Irish e-learning and games companies. [More...]

Carlow IT to launch degree in Computer Games Development

by Aphra Kerr

Since we started gamedevelopers.ie there have been rumours about this IT and that IT planning to launch a degree in computer games. Well it looks like we have a winner. This week the Institute of Technology in Carlow will present a new BSc. in Computer Games Development to the Department of Education for approval, having already gone through a rigorous accreditation stage. If it is approved Carlow will run this degree from Sept. 04. Yes, this Sept. [More...]

California Dreaming

by Pavel Barter

If America likes its business big, then 2004’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles brought a grin to the jaded face of Uncle Sam –here was the Everest of interactive entertainment. This year saw Ireland’s games industry coming together like never before, as shindigs in Santa Monica and the Sunset Strip brought a little bit of Irish soul to California’s sun-kissed shores. [More...]

Overview of Games Industry in Ireland

by Declan Delaney, Aphra Kerr and Seamus Gallagher

A version of this article can currently be found in the Irish Engineer's Journal, May 2004. We felt it would be useful to reproduce it here to give people an overview of the industry in Ireland as we see it and to generate some discussion as to what are the main issues facing Irish companies. If you disagree with what we have identified, or want to add more issues, use the forums to let us know what you think. [More...]

Introducing the team behind Red Ruckus

by Julian Kücklich

A Dublin-based team last week won the Irish heat of the Dare to be Digital competition with their concept for a third-person adventure game Red Ruckus. The team will now go to Abertay to develop their concept into a working prototype and at the end of the summer they will represent Ireland in the international Dare to be Digital competition. Julian Kücklich spoke with the team, consisting of Brian Murray, Angus Lynn, James Murphy, all DLIADT, and Andy Rohan, Shane Culliton, both DCU. [More...]

It's a long way to.. GDC '04

by Tony Kelly

Despite nestling at the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose is a surprisingly quiet city for fifty-one weeks of the year. But for one week near the end of March you would be hard-pressed to find a hotel room for less than $1,500 a night. Per person. Excluding taxes. The reason? The annual Game Developers Conference... (Tony Kelly must have persuaded someone to pay the hotel bill cause he made it over and wrote us this report! Ed.) [More...]

The Right Connections	by Pavel Barter
As co-operative multiplayer gaming comes to the fore in the PC, console and mobile markets, so developers and publishers are starting to prioritise advanced network solutions. Pavel Barter explores the contribution that demonWare, Speirtech and Stadeon, all companies based in Ireland, are making to the technology underpinning gaming’s global community. [More...]

Louth’s creative cluster	by Pavel Barter
Dundalk is actively seeking to become a hub for game development and creative media. Singing siblings the Corrs may soon have to step aside and allow other hometown talents to take center stage, writes Pavel Barter. [More...]

2003 Replay

by Aphra Kerr

As an observer of the games industry in Ireland I think I can safely say 2003 was a fairly active year. From the launch of gamedevelopers.ie last March, to the founding of an International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Irish chapter this month, game developers and wanna-be developers have begun networking and working to raise the profile of the industry in Ireland. This feature reflects on 12 important developments that appeared somewhere on the pages on gamedevelopers.ie in 2003 – no doubt people could add to this list. Feel free to comment as usual in the forums on this feature. [More...]

Hanging on the telephone	by Pavel Barter
Despite the growing popularity of mobile games, the industry remains fragmented with many operators slow to capitalise on content offerings. In this article Pavel Barter talks to Irish content developers and aggregators about how they make a living and investigates how business models vary between territories. [More...]

Reaching First Place - Sony in Ireland

by Jamie McCormick

In 1995 a man with a background in selling photocopying machines was hired by Sony to market and build awareness of Sony consoles and games in the Irish market. Eight years on we have the second highest penetration of Sony consoles in the world. Jamie McCormick talks to Niall O'Hanrahan about marketing consoles and games in the Irish market and how Sony could be of assistance to Irish game developers. [More...]

SIGGRAPH in San Diego, 2003.	by Hugh McCabe
Controversial 9/11 games, 'Finding Nemo' artists, and High Dynamic Range Displays- SIGGRAPH has all this and much more. Hugh McCabe took a trip to the ten-thousand strong conference in San Diego last July where movie giants like Pixar rubbed shoulders with animators, game researchers and leading industry practitioners. [More...]

Education Pioneers

by Aphra Kerr

With new game design and programming courses starting in Ballyfermot and NWIFHE, Derry this September and others proposed for Carlow and Dundalk ITs there is clearly a desire amongst educational institutions in Ireland to support the game development industry. Here we take a look at a pioneer in games education, the University of Abertay, Scotland and look at their research centre IC-CAVE and the innovative Dare to be Digital Competition. Can we learn for their experiences? [More...]

Advice from Beyond - Dave Perry	by Jamie McCormick
Back in May we noted that Havok software had been used in the film Matrix Reloaded. Here Jamie McCormick interviews Dave Perry, founder of the company who produced the game, Enter the Matrix. Originally from Belfast he moved to the UK and then to the US where he formed Shiny Entertainment. Here he offers some advice to wannabe developers and entrepreneurs. [More...]

Stolar speaks to Irish developers

by Gearóid Reidy

Bernie Stolar may not have the most consistent record in the games industry, but at least you can’t say he hasn’t been there, done that and sold the t-shirt. The former chief of Sega of America has done it all since he first opened an arcade in Santa Barbara, and he has seen all the peaks and valleys this industry has to offer, as both success story and failure. The success of the PlayStation and the launch of the Dreamcast rank in the ‘success’ column, while the Atari Lynx and disastrous spells at Mattel and BAM were decided failures. Gearóid Reidy went along to see what he had to say to Irish game developers in Dublin recently. [More...]

Celtic inspiration at E3

by Pavel Barter

E3 Expo – the mammoth games trade fair held in Los Angeles in May every year – is not for the faint hearted. Thousands of software titles, peripherals and hardware, are on show over 520,000 square feet of exhibit space and it takes a full-time, three-day commitment to see the lot. The West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Centre is big enough to make the Point Depot blush and an investigation of its E3 contents guarantees the visitor a blister or ten to remember the event by. Pavel Barter risked a few blisters however, and bumped into a few Irish and Scottish developers on the way. [More...]

Developments in Online Gaming	by Jamie McCormick
With both Eircom and Esat BT launching new broadband services in Ireland in the last month Jamie McCormick, a freelance writer, examines the potential opportunities for Irish game developers. [More...]

Causing Havok at GDC	by Paul Hayes
Havok 2, a new version of Havok's internationally renowned physics middleware application, was launched at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March 2003. Here Paul Hayes of Havok gives his account of GDC and how one of Ireland's most prominent companies in the games field left their mark this year. [More...]

Causing Havok at GDC	by Paul Hayes
Havok 2, a new version of Havok's internationally renowned physics middleware application, was launched at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March 2003. Here Paul Hayes of Havok gives his account of GDC and how one of Ireland's most prominent companies in the games field left their mark this year. [More...]