Gamescom Meet Up

As there are a group of local companies going across to Gamescom with Enterprise Ireland this year, some companies exhibiting and a few people going solo, I think it’s time to inaugurate the first Ceol agus Craic @ Gamescom 2013 for the Irish Games Industry.

I have spoken to the owner of The Corkonian in Cologne, not far from the Cathedral. He is willing to let us organise a meetup from 6.30pm after the first day of Gamescom. A map to the location is available on their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Corkonian-Irish-Pub/146280922908?id=146280922908&sk=page_map

The pub does not serve food, as there are ample restaurants in the area, so if you want to check in, have a pint, go off for food, then come back after, you are welcome. Also, if you have friends who have worked in Ireland in different companies at Gamescom, feel free to bring them too. If you have a particularly good meeting during the day, you can invite them for a follow up later, and also network with a wide variety of people across the industry, who are outside Ireland too.

There will be music up until 10.30, and the pub is open late after that. It has wifi, and while I suggest you dump your stuff back at your hotel before coming out, but if someone in your party has a bag, the owners can store a limited number away from the main floor. The pub has wifi, but don’t expect it to be quick with the amount of connected devices.

There are no tickets, and the pub has a decent indoor and outdoor area, so if you’re in Cologne, please stop by, or make it your home for the night. # for the night is #ceolaguscraic

Game Design Workshops

Owen of BitSmith is running a series of workshops on game design in Dublin this August. If you don’t know him, he is also behind DubLudo and of course their first game Ku was released earlier this year.

The focus of these design workshops will be experiential – you will learn by actually making games every day!

The curriculum will cover all game design fundamentals and is aimed at various levels; from people just starting out, to those needing a refresher, to those who just want to be immersed in play – anyone who wants to make a game.

Who?

Owen Harris is the studio head and lead game designer at bitSmith Games and is a leading figure in the emerging Irish games industry. He teaches Game Design and Production from diploma to masters level at DIT and Pulse College, speaks extensively at national and international conferences, and advises the Irish Government on the growth and direction of the burgeoning games sector.

He LOVES playing games and helping folk make their own.

When?

August 6th, 12th, 19th, 26th

How much?

Students can attend all four days (€200) or pick and mix the days that interest them most (€60 per day).

What do I need?

A deep love of games and play of all sorts
– Pen and paper
– A Gameplay Journal (fancy notebook)
– No special technical knowledge or experience is required to enjoy this course
Want more information?

Just send a quick line to gamedesigncamp (at) gmail.com and we’ll be right back to you!

There are only 15 spaces available for each day so sign up now!

See http://owenllharris.com/events

More info on the gd.ie forums too.

Culturetech In Derry

This coming September from the 9th-15th, there are a number of games related events taking place in Derry/Londonderry as part of the CultureTech event.

The irrepressible Vicky is of course involved in some of the games events including:

1) “Super Fun Happy Games Bar” – £3 at the door
http://culturetech.co/event/2013-09-13/super-fun-happy-games-bar

The invite is still open for indies who want to show their games that evening. PM her on gd.ie or email herat whykay@gmail.com.

2) “GameCraft @ CultureTECH”
http://dublingamecraft.com/events/derry-gamecraft/

Culture Tech will feature over separate 100 events and sessions, at the crossroads of arts, culture and technology. Remember it is the UK City of Culture so there is a lot of other stuff going on too.

Check out their programme – http://culturetech.co/prog and tickets at http://ct2013.eventbrite.com/

Pip On Kickstarter

You will recognise this project from previous events in Ireland but Galvanic have their Pip device up on Kickstarter with just 63 hours to go they have over $80,000 raised with a goal of $100,000.

See http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/484175508/the-pip-a-biosensor-that-helps-you-relax-through-p

Facebook: facebook.com/RelaxWithPip
Twitter: @relaxwithpip
Web: www.galvanic.ie

Best of luck to them.

Havok & Project Anarchy

In the past two weeks or so Havok, the well known Irish based middleware company, has released Project Anarchy, Havok’s complete end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine.

Games developed using Project Anarchy technology can be deployed for free on iOS, Android and Tizen mobile platforms without commercial restrictions on company size or revenue.

Project Anarchy includes Havok’s Vision Engine together with access to Havok’s suite of Physics, Animation and AI tools as used in franchises such as Skyrim™, Halo, Assassin’s Creed®, Uncharted and Skylanders.

With features like an extensible C++ architecture, a flexible asset management system, advanced Lua debugging and customizable game samples and tutorials, Project Anarchy offers game developers the ability to quickly iterate on their ideas and create incredible gaming experiences.

“Project Anarchy liberates game developers to freely explore gameplay ideas on mobile platforms using the same award-winning tools that console and PC developers have used for years,” said Ross O’Dwyer, Head of Developer Relations at Havok. “This complete set of tools lends powerful graphics, physics and animation capabilities to mobile game development teams for free regardless of team and project size.”

As part of this release Havok revealed a new online hub where developers can participate in Q&A, forums and benefit from community support.

Project Anarchy is available for download now at www.projectanarchy.com/download.

For more information on Project Anarchy visit: www.projectanarchy.com/about

For more information on Havok, visit: www.havok.com