Relevancy of IGDA in Ireland

Dito, however the only long list at the moment is the debit side of my credit card statement. :?

Well I am a first year student to be, should I join before I go?

Anyone know where I can find out a local chapter? :?:

As a start, I think we could see about arranging "provincial" chapters, (Ulster,Munster,etc.)

There could be regular meetings (perhaps monthly, bi-monthly), gaming events, and perhaps workshops, etc.

Maybe even some kind of regular "show-and-tells."

This is asking a lot, as everyone is pretty busy, and logistically, this is a big ask.

I think Universities and IT’s could help out with this, as most student unions have funding, so they could sort the venue, PC’s, projectors, lecture halls, and the ham sambos (no mayo or cheese please), etc.

Getting more lectures involved as well could lead to R&D projects, as there is plenty of funding out there for the people with the momentum.

Throw in some sponsorship from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, GameStop, or whoever, and every member get’s an AWESOME polo shirt (which will help out when it comes to spotting people at the Shindigs).

That’s my 2 cents.

-Brendan.

IGDA is semi-irrelevant in the UK, I imagine its even less of use in Ireland. GD.ie is a better resource imo.

Agreed kyotokid

I do like the idea of student meetings though for brainstorming, networking etc. I find professionals and upcoming students tend to differ in their current issues. If only attendance wasn’t a pitfall.

Shindigs are great though…!

Shindigs have the same issue with location though, especially as they usually occur on a friday night, which would mean finishing work and grabbing a 2 hour+ bus up to Dublin. Doubt much can be done about that though, I imagine the vast majority of gd.ie members are based up in the capital.

Kentaree poses an interesting question:

Where is everyone? Would it be worth putting up a poll to find out?

Better include an ‘overseas’ section

Some people here may remember Awakenings which was held in Derry and got a great attendance.

However apart from one shindig which was held even farther North than Muff in Inishowen in Co.Donegal there have been no IGDA Ireland or gd.ie events outside dublin.

gd.ie has supported the Games Fleadh in Tipperary and other events in Carlow IT.

We have proposed other events….but at last in the early years before all the colleges got going with courses and it was hard to find people on the ground to organise a venue, speakers etc.

Also the IDGA chapter has been dormant effectively since 2007 because people moved on, moved out of the industry etc. It was also hard to get a quorum of members to meetings from all over the country. Maybe it is time for a new generation to kick start it again…

Aphra.

Well, speaking personally, (and for the guys here, and some of the students I know) getting down to Dublin on a Friday from Donegal can be a pain. Either it’s traffic and fun with parking, or fun with busses.

I’ll start a thread with a poll just out of curiousity.

After talking around a few people, the general feeling I get is that a body like IGDA, speaking for everyone in the industry here, would be a good thing for getting tax breaks, etc. Government types like to hear from and deal with a single body that represents an industry, not several companies that aren’t quite looking for the same thing.

With gd.ie I think that the usual role that the IGDA takes is pretty much taken up, i.e. as way for people to meet up through a common website / events. The IGDA doesn’t really do much for chapters anyway, so it has made no difference – and is cheaper overall for everyone.

As Kooki says, I imagine it can be useful to say that you are a part of an organisation for some occasions. I think Ireland in the past used the board membership a way of representing key active companies, a bit like TIGA does in the UK – so it saved the need to form, name and organise a collective for that purpose. I may be way off on this one though, Steve, Tony or Aphra can probably correct me.