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As mentioned elsewhere (http://www.gamedevelopers.ie/community/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1177) there are two big events mooted in different parts of the country late in the year (October & November) this year, so the organising committee felt that having Awakenings at the same time – given the necessarily long lead time of such an event, it would have to be around then – wouldn’t benefit anyone. So early next year (Feb or Mar) has been mooted instead. A final decision has yet to be made on this, and will necessarily be influenced by who on the committee has time to take this undertaking on and when we can line financing up, etc.
Some on the committee feel that we should move Awakenings to the South for its second year (Dublin being the most popular choice), although the reasons behind this are not uniform.
One school of thought is that we will get more people coming and find it easier to attract good speakers if we have it in Dublin
The other school of thought feels that we better represent the whole island if the venue – for what has the potential to become, in the medium to long term at least, a relatively singificant event in this part of Europe – alternates between North & South
So why question for you guys is: what are your thoughts on the issue?
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My two cents on the location.
I like the idea of alternating the venue from North to South year by year(or event by event).
Also I think if it is held in Dublin it would definitely attract more visitors and also probably more media attention too, thus raising its profile. -
The whole north one year, south the next is probably better imo, breaking the divide down and all that.
If you build it…
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I’d prefer if it alternated each year (not just cause its in Dublin this year)
I will make it this time around- if it goes ahead :)
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One thing is that Dublin is certainly easier to get too. I tried to do a bit of last minute travel organisation to go last year but couldn’t manage it.
I’d prefer to see it stay in the one spot. It would then become known as the event in Derry/Dublin/wherever rather than the event in Ireland. Organisation will be easier if kept in the same place year to year.
I’ll definitelly try make the next one either way…
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Good point on the organisational side of things Omen.
If you keep it to the same venue for every event it would be easier to organise because you have the local contacts for logistics, media etc. Would make it much easier to run, and run smoothly, then if you have to sort everything out again each year with new venues, people etc. -
The event might miss out on that sweet Northern Ireland cash if it stays down in the ‘dark south’
(?)
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if it stays down in the ‘dark south'[/quote:71d2a4dc60]
What is this? Lord of the Rings? Look, I just spotted an Oliphaunt strolling down O’Connell St!!
:p
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I fully support the idea of alternating between NI and the Republic. If you’re lucky you may even land some of that European Union Cross-Boarder Initiative funding.
If it’s to switch between the North and South of Ireland then it’s important to think about candidate cities that used be used over the next few years. Don’t quote me on this as I’m not all that up to date on the geography down there. Surely the major cities to have it would be Dublin, Cork, Carlow and Galway. In the North you have L/Derry and Belfast. As disappointed as I am to admit it I don’t see Belfast as a realistic option right now. L/Derry has always been the centre of NI games development. So obviously having it there makes sense, just like it did last year. Lisburn is a big enough city, but there’s no business interest there yet.
So when it comes down to it, what does a NI/RoI rotation system really mean?
2006 – Dublin
2007 – Derry
2008 – Cork
2009 – Derry
2010 – Galway
2011 – Derry
2012 – Carlow
2013 – DerryOkay, by that time Belfast will most likely have found enough success to attract the event. Even still though, I think rotation may cause a problem.
Would make it much easier to run, and run smoothly[/quote:354cfc7ce8]
Bah, where is the fun in that?? ;) -
Dublin remains the only equally accessible location from all parts of the country aswell as the hub of international transport. Idealistic rotations apart, this does make it the most suitable location for to hold the event. Other factors obviously include where the money is coming from, and where the majority of the committee work/have influence/can actually do stuff, but all things being equal, Dublin provides the best location for the event for the vast majority of people.
Dave
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Hmmm,
In the interests of (self)promotion, let me direct you to this pagehttp://www.midasinitiative.com/region.asp
to offer another potenital location for consideration.
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I think the venue should really either stick with Derry as its maiden voyage was there and perhaps it should stay there for life or until it gets to big, or it should be in the city that has the greatest number of game companies, which I assume at present times is probably Dublin.
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2013 – Rome \ Tokyo – depending how successful we all get
Dundalk sounds like a good venue, tbh I dont know the benefits of having up North too but there obviously are some, so I say let those who are better informed make the choice :p
Dublin is good and I’d be happy if they took place there, however lets broaden our horizons a bit.
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Surely the major cities to have it would be Dublin, Cork, Carlow and Galway[/quote:49e040f6ac]
Carlow is hardly a major city! ;)
However, it does have a college with games related courses, so that is a plus point. Equally, the same can be said for Dundalk. -
However, it does have a college with games related courses, so that is a plus point. Equally, the same can be said for Dundalk[/quote:412485c4f3]
I wouldn’t be worried about having the event where colleges are, its about where the companies are. -
I wasn’t saying that it should be held in places where colleges with games dev courses are located, I was saying that it is a plus point if it is held in such towns/cities. I also don’t think it is vital for it to be held in towns where games companies are…..but again, it’s a plus point.
The most important things for me are that the location should be easily accessible and also have the facilities. I don’t see why a priority should be made for places which have games companies, what differance does it make?
If anything it should be held in places where there is less awareness for the industry, so that it can help open peoples minds to the possibilties for investment, jobs etc. -
2006 – Dublin
2007 – Derry
2008 – Cork
2009 – Derry
2010 – Galway
2011 – Derry
2012 – Carlow
2013 – Derry
[/quote:11ab19a3c2]I can’t realistically see Awakenings being held in Carlow or Galway, as they are simply too far from the major airports and catchment areas.
Whether we like it or not, there are few viable candidates outside of Dublin, Cork, Belfast or Derry. And while I’m not wholly convinced by Mick’s argument for Dundalk, it IS quicker to get to Dundalk from Dublin airport then it is to get into Dublin City Centre which does lend it some credence as a venue
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Dublin remains the only equally accessible location from all parts of the country as well as the hub of international transport. Idealistic rotations apart, this does make it the most suitable location for to hold the event.
Other factors obviously include where the money is coming from, and where the majority of the committee work/have influence/can actually do stuff
[/quote:4aa5c0d7f7] all very good points IMO and hard to argue with -
Ah just think how much faster it’ll be when the Luas is in place though….*snigger*
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I am in favour of it moving between Dublin and L/Derry…certainly there is financial support up north for the event and we have proved it can be run there successfully. Also I think it is important that companies and students in the Northern end of the country have access to events….they may not be always able to travel to Britain or the south…and both IGDA Ireland and gd.ie try to be inclusive of all on the island…
then again Dublin is the hub of the industry at present and that can’t be ignored…also it is a pretty easy place to persuade international speakers to come to/get to…that has to be figured into the equation..
I think it is also worth thinking about having the event every two years…if only because the IGDA committee is voluntary and the event is a lot of work unless you have the money to hire professional conference organisers…let us not be under any illusion that such an event is easy to organise…
Aphra. .
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I think that the AWAKENINGS should take place in RELEVANT venues each year. For example this year, LYIT is opening its MSc and BSc in Computer Games Development, so I think they should host the conference.
Firstly, so the rest of the country can travel to Letterkenny (nice enough place) and check out their facilities, course structure, etc.
Secondly, it would help promote the course and raise public awareness.
I think AWAKENINGS did alot for Robbie Hegartys ICE & CREAM courses last year, with it making it onto BBC or UTV.
I think AWAKENINGS should symbolise good-will and support for new ventures.
However, I accept that this is a bit idealistic, and the Kings & Queens of Logistics will say complain about travel methods. My reply would be to say that Donegal, Derry, Dublin, Sligo, Knock & Cork all have airports so with flights costing about 80 Euro a pop, is flying domestically really unrealistic?
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I think that the AWAKENINGS should take place in RELEVANT venues each year.[/quote:efdf0615f0]
While Letterkenny might like to think it is the capital of the irish games development world for a short period of time, it is but one of a large number of courses that have started over the last 2 years.As I am sure has been stated above, the 2 main aspects of any decision relating to awakenings are:
1) funding/sponsorship
2) accessibility.To the best of my knowledge, Letterkenny is neither easily accessible to the vast majority of people, nor is likely to fund such an event.
Dave
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im with dave..
awakenings will go where the money is, cover id imagine it wasent cheap the last time :)
be it cork\dublin\sligo\letterkenny\killarney\kildare\belfast
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If we were able to put together 2 events a year (at least), one being pretty major and the other not so much. We could alternate the major/minor events in an out of venues year by year.
That way awakenings still moves around until we happen on a single best location, and we maintain contacts in each of the areas we work with.
Minor events could be specialised bootcamps, showcases for students, product launches, even community projects.
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i def think as mentioned before that awakenings should stay in the one place. this may seem a bit biased as am from derry, but i think it makes more sense . awakenings was a big success last year, i think this can be even bigger each year whilst still keeping it in the same place.
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i def think as mentioned before that awakenings should stay in the one place. this may seem a bit biased as am from derry, but i think it makes more sense . awakenings was a big success last year, i think this can be even bigger each year whilst still keeping it in the same place.[/quote:0b6e31fbd1]
As has been mentioned, the reason the event will (or should) be in different locations is so that the entire island is represented. Keeping it in Northern Ireland every year is unfair to people living in the Republic. I believe alternating it between north and south would be best so that investors know they are supporting a fully-representative organisation that is not biased towards one or the other. Like it or not – politics is an aspect in every part of life.
Though with that said, I think it may be a good idea to have the event held in Dublin and then Galway the next time. The latter is doing really well lately. The reason for picking Dublin is obvious. At the end of the day it will probably come down to funding.
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Galway or Dublin :D
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Muff.
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We are planning on holding an event before Xmas this year too. No details as yet
And after Xmas, leading up to Awakenings ’06 (of which, I hope to have more details soon) we plan on doing a sort of Academic roadshow… In other words, myself and either another member of the Chapter organising committee
or a guest speaker, and hopefully one of the Dare to be Digital organisers, plan on visiting every college on the island currently offering games dev courses or games-related courses. The idea behind this is threefold:
(i) to inform the students about the industry in Ireland and abroad
(ii) to promote DTBD better this year, and to offer industry support & mentoring
(iii) to inform the colleges about the IGDA Curriculum and advise them to seek industry links in both designing and teaching their coursesA possible fourth reason to visit may be that we are considering starting course accreditation to weed out those courses who are just jumping on tthe bandwagon. (Those of you who have read this month’s Develop will know what I’m talking about)
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(Those of you who have read this month’s Develop will know what I’m talking about)[/quote:8c784d7a45]
i like it :)
Also might it be worth visiting colleges which dont have them so as to revolt the students into getting the departments up of their asses and changing the situation.. Just a thought.
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(Those of you who have read this month’s Develop will know what I’m talking about)[/quote:af5b582c7f]
i like it :)
Also might it be worth visiting colleges which dont have them so as to revolt the students into getting the departments up of their asses and changing the situation.. Just a thought.[/quote:af5b582c7f]ever the revolutionary, Peter!
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There might be a Galway conf event near the end of the year but only if there is enough support for one. What ye say?
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no much point in us all doing events and event fatigue setting in..
why don’t Galway/Dublin colleges work with IGDA on industry sponsored evening events to take place in Galway & Dublin and then we all come together to make the next Awakenings or whatever it will be called, bigger and better..
Aphra
(I didn’t take the turn out personally – the wine was nice!)
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best thing to do is drop Idora or myself a line with your event idea…we can bring it up at the next IGDA committee meeting and people can see what help/contacts etc. can be provided..also it will mean events won’t clash! A committee meeting is being planned for sometime in mid to late September so sending in your idea in the next week or two should be ok.
It doesn’t need approval obviously from the IGDA committee locally for you guys to go ahead but if we can help, can provide speakers and more advertising it might help a lot.
Aphra.
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Well thats what I had planned, albeit in a more BY Industry people FOR students kind of way, but with work and project planning I’ve just been abit behind on my mailing.
Its always good to get some official backing for an event and having the IDGA onboard would be a massive boost. It would also help getting some firm interest from other colleges around the country rather than the mediocre levels that usually accompany events organised by or for students. :roll:
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