This year the format of the evening will be somewhat different.

The event will start around 6.30 and people will have a chance to chat over a glass of wine, tea/coffee etc..

Following an introduction, Eddie Dowse, from 02 will talk briefly about how 02 is working with Irish developers.

Next three new Irish games companies will have an opportunity to introduce their company and their plans to the gd.ie crowd. Full details of speakers have yet to be confirmed but they will cover different game sectors from mobile to console.

This will be followed by an ‘unveiling’ of the new gd.ie design – an initiative which has been undertaken by a team of volunteers over the past six months.

Finally, there will be the presentation of awards which will recognize the outstanding contribution made by individuals to building both the Irish games industry and the wider community. The award categories are currently being discussed on the forums on gd.ie and voting will also take place through the forums.

All are welcome and especially our contributors from overseas.

E-mail invitations will be sent out in the next week. Registration is free but people are encouraged to e-mail the address given on the invitations in advance so we know how many to expect.

Note:

For newcomers it might be interesting to note the award winners and categories from last year. Forum nickname and full name are given.

1. Stamina award
The person who signed up to the forums near the launch and just stayed posting…
Winner: Pete/ Peter McNally – artistic lead working for Torc Interactive in Muff, Co. Donegal.

2. Sprint award
The person who has most recently registered but is furiously posting and rapidly moving up the posting ladder –
Winner: Kyotokid/ Ivan McCloskey – level designer in Visual Science, Dundee, Scotland.

3. Humour award
The funniest post on the boards…
Winner: Ian Hannigan – interaction designer working for eSpatial in Dublin and a finalist in the N-Gage Challenge.

4. Salmon of knowledge..
The most informative/useful post ..
Winner: Mike/Michael Griffin – CEO of Kapooki Games in Dublin City.

5. ‘GD’ of the year….
The most significant, useful, funny presence on the boards and at the shindigs over the past year
Winner: Idora/Tony Kelly – senior producer, elearning research & innovation group, Intel, Co. Kildare.

More detail on the 2004 gds LINK>community/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=219&highlight=game+developers+first+birthdayhere