IGDA Melbourne
Public Lecture and Industry Night @ IE2007 |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Friday, November 30, 2007 |
A Box of Chocolates: Designing for the Wii
Speaker: Robin Hunicke, Lead Game Designer, Electronic Arts
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) – Melbourne, the Fourth Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment (IE2007) and The Department of Information Systems, The University of Melbourne are please to invite you to a Public Lecture and IGDA chapter meeting
Robin Hunicke is the Lead Game Designer at Electronic Arts, within the Sims Division. She is working on a new game built exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. An active member of the International Game Developer's Association, she participates in several of its community efforts. Through public speaking, industry and academic work, she seeks to evangelize fresh perspectives and cross-disciplinary thinking. This includes promoting student, female, independent, and international developers, as well as facilitating collaborations between the games industry and academia. Her research interests are in Artificial Intelligence and Video Games and she is currently completing a PhD in Computer Science at Northwestern University.
When: 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 5th of December 2007
Where: Theatre 1 (ground floor) ICT Building, 111 Barry Street, South Carlton
This event is proudly supported by The Department of Information Systems, The University of Melbourne.
Entry is free as per usual.
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Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment - IE2007 |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Friday, November 30, 2007 |
The Schools of Creative Media and Computer Science at RMIT University are pleased to announce that the Interactive Entertainment 2007 conference (IE2007) will be held next week, on the 3rd to the 5th of December 2007 in Melbourne, Victoria.
IE 2007 will focus on the idea of convergence and cross-platforming and its impact on the past, present and future of gaming and digital industries. This conference will provide professionals, researchers, and developers an opportunity to discuss some of the critical and hypothetical frameworks for emerging modes and models of interactive entertainment.
Delegates in the areas of digital games, media and content in Australia and internationally will be invited to attend IE 2007. This is a strategic event at which professionals and researchers can present their exciting innovations and latest works. IE 2007 will also act as a forum to facilitate international collaboration in research and development in these fast emerging areas.
Program is available here: http://www.ie.rmit.edu.au/IE2007_Program.pdf
Details on Keynote speakers can be found here: http://www.ie.rmit.edu.au/invitedspeakers.htm
Note: The first keynote speaker, Robin Hunicke is the Lead Game Designer at Electronic Arts, within the Sims Division and will be speaking on the Monday (3rd) morning. The second planned keynote, Katie Salens, co-author of “Rules of Play” will be unable to attend due to health reasons. Working on a last minute replacement.
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IGDA Melbourne @ Free Play and more |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 |
I know we have been a little quiet lately, but I assure you we have been busy working away behind the scenes. Unfortunately the Canada Hotel has now closed its doors for good and we have been looking for a new home since. We've almost established our new venue, but we need sponsors and speakers for future events.
Free Play
If you haven't already bought your ticket for Free Play this Saturday and were waiting for one more reason before you booked, then this announcement for you.
The social networking event at 7:30 will be brought to you by yours truly, the IGDA Melbourne chapter! Thanks to our sponsors IR Gurus, developer of the award winning Heros of the Pacific, and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, 2006 ACT training organisation of the year finalist, we will be giving away some free drinks while you chat to your new found friends.
Tickets to Free Play are $20 for full or $15 for concessions and are available from the ACMI box office. Checkout the blog at www.nextwavefreeplay.blogspot.com for more information
And now a quick plug for our gracious sponsors.
IR Gurus is an Australian Game Developer Company, specialising in Sports and Action Games. IR Gurus has developed many games, including: Heatseeker for the PlayStation2, Wii, and PSP, Heroes of the Pacific for the PlayStation2, Xbox, and PC, the AFL Premiership series of games for the PlayStation2.
For information on IR Gurus, please visit www.irgurus.com.
Since its establishment in 1996, the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) has earned much recognition as Australia’s leading educator for the Computer Game Development and 3D Digital industries. AIE has grown significantly in the past 10 years and now has campuses in Melbourne and Canberra.
For information on the AIE and their courses, please visit www.aie.edu.au.
Women In Games
Nicole Kidman recently launched the promotion of Nintendo in the US giving a further boost to encouraging the participation of women in games development.
Currently women make up only around 6% of Australian professional game development teams, but this is changing as game development companies and training and education providers work together to attract more women into 3D animation and programming.
A leading Melbourne based initiative proactively promoting game development as a viable career path for women is www.womeningames.org.au. If you are interested in joining a newly formed Women In Games advisory panel or would simply just like to be kept informed about other Women In Games initiatives and events please contact Eve Penford-Dennis via email evep at aie.vic.edu.au.
Fourth Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment
The fourth Australasian conference on interactive entertainment will be held on from the 3rd to the 5th of December at RMIT University. The conference will feature leading international and local researchers on gaming and interactive entertainment and is keen to explore innovative emerging areas such as mobile gaming, pervasive (location aware) mobile technologies, the rise of social software and networks such as MySpace and YouTube.
For more information, visit the website at www.ie.rmit.edu.au
Facebook
To those that have a facebook account, why not join the IGDA Melbourne group and start chatting to other members.
Become a Speaker!
Got something to say, well why not say it in front of an audience! Drop me an email at mike737_300 at hotmail.com.
Become a Sponsor!
Sponsor one of our events and get your name splashed all over our marketing materials and mentioned with great thanks at the event. Sponsors are of course able to provide brochures/samples/inserts for audience members.
If you wish to provide a prize, whether your own product or someone else's, we are certainly happy to accept and shout your goodness to all who will listen. Drop me an email at mike737_300 at hotmail.com.
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IGDA Melbourne Chapter Relaunch Event Report |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Saturday, April 28, 2007 |
After a bit of a quiet period and a change of leadership, it was hard to predict whether a new format, a list of interesting talks and the lure of a free bar and food would be enough to reinvigorate the punters and usher in a new phase for the chapter.
Well, after worrying we'd only get twenty, and hoping for fifty, the Canada Hotel was swamped with a hundred and sixty Melbourne developers and students. The poor bar staff were run ragged and had to draft pub regulars to pull the pints, while Autodesk and StormFX nearly doubled their already generous sponsorship to keep everyone oiled.
After an introductory message from slightly stunned chapter coordinators Michael Lyons and Ben Board we cracked on with the busy schedule, first noting the biggest fubar of the night, the lack of a microphone: a serious error that we won't make again.
First up was a GDC report. Nathan Thomas (Lead Artist, IR Gurus), David Hewitt (Creative Director, Tantalus, and retiring coordinator of the chapter) and Rob Walkley (Lead Programmer, IR Gurus) had all visited the conference in March and each outlined what they'd learned. Rather than summarise their summaries here, contact us to get hold of their notes, but all agreed that it was an excellent conference at a very interesting time for the industry as we move into the complexities of next-gen.
Second, Katharine Neil talked about Manifesto Games, Greg Costikyan's excellent initiative to provide independent game makers a framework in which to publish their work. Katharine has a deep interest in indie games, having initiated the Free Play conference in Melbourne in 2004, and described the mechanics of Manifesto with great enthusiasm and pictures of Britney Spears. Again, contact us for the notes.
Finally Swinburne University lecturer Damian Scott stepped up to the spot in which the mic should have been, to give his talk with the eye-widening title 'The Psycho-Sexual Aesthetics of Gaming': a controversial and fascinating analysis of the psychological strings upon which games play, including more classical references than a room full of increasingly unsteady developers deserved. Based on his forthcoming PhD thesis, it was a rich, wide-ranging and, in accordance with his day job, expertly delivered lecture that we would love to have him give again later in the year.
Following closing remarks from Michael, Ben, and the chaps from Autodesk and StormFX, the audience retreated to the bar and any unscoffed dim sims to share their impressions of the evening, make some new connections, and leaf through the free copies of Game Developer Magazine kindly supplied by CMP. We hope the student contingent (we guessed about half the attendees) were able to ask some questions and get some names -- it's a great opportunity for them to have a one-on-one with a mildly inebriated studio head.
Thanks to the sponsors, speakers, and everyone who came and made it such a great success.
Lessons learned:
- Microphone!
- Batteries for the Wii remotes!
- Three talks was great for a big event like this, but too much for a regular event.
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IGDA Melbourne Relaunch - We need your feedback |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Thursday, April 19, 2007 |
Thank you to all those who attended our Relaunch event last night, to our guest speakers; the GDC panel, Katharine Neil and Damien Scott. Last but not least a big thank you goes out to our sponsors Storm FX and Autodesk.
I know one of our biggest hiccups was the microphone equipment was nowhere to be seen, the venue used to have it! We will make sure we have a backup for next time.
Swinburne students, I apologise for making you guys listen to Damiens thesis for about the 4th time. We plan to possibly do it to you a fifth time in future.
So jump on the forums and post away, we need your feedback whether it be the good, the bad and the down right ugly!
http://www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?s=35f6f99b78f5775f32fc22e032cdd357&threadid=26985
And for those of you out there interested in joining the mailing list, sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/igda_melbourne/join |
Relaunch tonight! |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 |
Just a quick reminder to everyone out there that the IGDA Melbourne relaunch event is on tonight. The Plough and Harrow / The Canada Hotel
596 Swanston St, cnr. Swanston and Pelham Streets
7pm-11pm
All developers/students etc. welcome.
IGDA Membership not necessary.
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IGDA Melbourne Chapter Relaunch Event! Wednesday 18th April, 7pm-11pm |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Wednesday, April 04, 2007 |
The IGDA Melbourne chapter has had a makeover for 2007. Come along, hang with your Melbourne dev homies, have a few gratis drinks and nibbles, hear some interesting talks, and grab some freebies.
Event lineup includes:
Various lucky GDC-attendees with a GDC Post-Mortem
Damian Scott on "The Psycho-Sexual Aesthetics of Gaming"
Katharine Neil on Manifesto, the independent games initiative
Four-player Wii Sports on the big screen
and so forth!
FREE BAR!
FREE FOOD!
FREE GAME DEVELOPER MAGAZINE!
FREE T-SHIRTS!
(Some) FREE BOOKS and GAMES!
FREE DAVID HICKS!*
* Please allow nine months for delivery.
To be held at
The Plough and Harrow
a.k.a. The Canada Hotel
a.k.a. O'Hara's Irish Bar
a.k.a. at least six other things (don't ask me why)
a.k.a. the usual place,
596 Swanston St,
cnr. Swanston and Pelham Streets
Wednesday 18th April, 7pm-11pm
All developers/students etc. welcome.
IGDA Membership not necessary.
________________________________________
Generously Sponsored By:
STORMFX
Autodesk
Peachpit
CMP
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Help Wanted |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Friday, December 01, 2006 |
Apologies that the promised late-year meeting seems to have slipped off the schedule. I'm afraid that we (the organising committee) have struggled a bit during a particularly busy end-of-year patch.
On that note, we're actively looking for new, enthusiastic organisers, to help re-inject some energy and vitality into IGDA Melbourne, and perhaps steer it in a new direction. If you'd like to get involved, please get in touch with me at: dhewitt@gmail.com
I'm personally looking to step down from my role as chapter coordinator in the next little while. I'm still enthusiastic about the cause and more than happy to help out, and I'm proud of what we've achieved with the chapter so far, but I'm spread a little bit thin at the moment, and don't have the bandwidth to commit as fully as the chapter deserves.
I'm not necessarily the best person to lead it forward to the next stage, in other words, and I don't want to see the chapter neglected.
If you're interested in taking the reins, please do get in touch - the chapter would really benefit from a fresh dose of energy and enthusiasm. This isn't a crisis - just a natural and healthy part of the chapter's evolution.
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Chapter Meeting Tuesday, September 26th: featuring Robert Murray, CEO and founder of Firemint. |
Posted by David Hewitt on Friday, September 22, 2006 |
After a fairly quiet middle of the year on the IGDA Melbourne front,
it's that time again... the next chapter meeting is going to be held
on Tuesday, September 26th. Yep, that's next Tuesday night!
This meeting will be centred around a presentation by industry
luminary Robert Murray, the founder and CEO of Melbourne success story
Firemint:
"Robert is the CEO and founder of Firemint, a world class mobile games studio
formed right here in Melbourne. Firemint was founded in 1999 and has grown
to a studio of close to 20 staff working on big brand titles including
Madden and Need For Speed Most Wanted. Robert will share some of his
experiences from growing and managing the company, as well as his own
perspective on the future industry here in Melbourne."
Sounds good!
Following Robert's presentation there will be a Q&A session, which
should segue fairly seamlessly into the social portion of the meeting,
in which you can drink beer and argue with your peers. This should be
a thoroughly entertaining and informative session - please do come
along, and bring someone from your studio, university or lounge room
along with you. The event is free of charge, and open to all.
The meeting will be held at the usual venue, which, for those of you
who don't know, is the Canada Hotel, Swanston St, Carlton. In addition
to beer, they do pub meals and also Chinese food, should you arrive
hungry. We'll be in the large room out the back, if you're unable to
find us - it's kind of a big pub, with several names and sections (if
you see any of "The Plow and Harrow", "O'Hara's Irish Bar" or "The
Canada Hotel", you're in the right place). Any Northbound Swanston St
tram will get you there - just get off at Pelham St (the one after
Queensberry St) and you're right outside.
The meeting will start at 7pm, and end whenever the arguments start to
die down, which usually seems to be around 10pm or so.
I hope to see you there!
Thanks,
-David. |
Meeting Report: DIGITAL MEDIA FUND PRESENTATION |
Posted by David Hewitt on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 |
IGDA Melbourne, 13th June 2006
Film Victoria's Digital Media Fund Presentation
By Murray Lorden
On Tuesday 13th June, IGDA Melbourne hosted an information night about Film Victoria’s Digital Media Fund, hosted by Amelia King, the manager of the Digital Media Fund (DMF).
http://www.film.vic.gov.au/dmf.shtml
The next submission date is July 7th, and Amelia hopes that her presentation inspires developers to consider putting together an application for the forthcoming round. Prospective applicants are encouraged to call Amelia or Jacqui and chat about their projects. You can contact them on (03) 9660-3200, or by email.
Jacqueline Barry (Digital Media Development Officer)
jacqui.barry@film.vic.gov.au
INVESTMENT BASED PROGRAMS:
Game Prototype Development
The objective of this Program is to assist independent Victorian based game developers to produce market driven game titles in which they own the Intellectual Property (or a percentage thereof) and build stable businesses. Applications from new and small scale developers are encouraged.
Innovative Digital Content
This Program has two strands, which support a diverse range of projects for digital platforms such as Internet, Broadband, DVD and wireless technologies. Strand A provides development funding to Victorian based producers and developers; Strand B provides production funding of up to $30,000 to Victorian based producers and developers.
Digital Animation
The Digital Animation Program aims to stimulate the creative development and economic growth of the animation industry by providing seed funding to Victorian based producers and animators to develop technical, innovative and creative animation concepts that are market driven.
Concepts utilising 2D & 3D animation software for project delivery across a range of digital media platforms such as Internet, Broadband, DVD, iTV, enhanced TV, wireless or hand-held technologies will be considered. Concepts developing interactive elements and cross-sector synergies will also be highly regarded.
INDUSTRY BASED PROGRAMS:
Digital Media Internship
Film Victoria has initiated the Digital Media Internship Program with the support of digital media companies based in Victoria. The objective of the program is to support individuals wishing to develop their digital media skills in key production companies under the supervision of skilled personnel. The program aims to develop career paths for individuals and increase opportunities for employment in the film, television and multimedia production industries in Victoria.
Digital Audience Development
The Digital Audience Development Program supports activity that promotes and enhances awareness of innovative digital media in Victoria. Strand A provides support for events and exhibitions and Strand B for organisations.
Industry Networks, Forums & Seminars Program
Digital Media Fund is facilitating industry networking, forums and discussions to arm traditional filmmakers and new media developers with information about international trends in content, technology, business and revenue models and to assist them to build cross platform creative teams facilitating convergence. To receive regular email updates from the Digital Media Fund, please complete the DMF Information Update form.
OTHER INFORMATION
DIGITAL SANDBOX Seminar Series:
Film Victoria is also running Digital Sandbox, a seminar series running from May to October 2006. The series focusses on the 3G Mobile Network and aims to address key business, practical and creative issues for rich media content creation. Anyone interested should head over to the website and register to attend (it’s free, but seating is limited).
http://www.film.vic.gov.au/ds/ |
June 13th Chapter Meeting: DIGITAL MEDIA FUND PRESENTATION |
Posted by David Hewitt on Tuesday, June 06, 2006 |
I'm thrilled to be able to announce the next meeting of the Melbourne
IGDA chapter: Amelia King and Jacqueline Barry from Film Victoria's
Digital Media Fund have been kind enough to offer to come and speak to
us, and to answer our questions. It should be a fun and informative
session. There will be a presentation, questions and answers, and then the usual time
for socialising, networking and so on.
The meeting is at the usual place (the Canada Hotel, Swanston St,
Carlton, on the corner of Pelham St), and will kick off at 7pm on
Tuesday the 13th of June. I know it usually doesn't matter, but please
do try to arrive on time for this one as there's actually some
interesting and useful content this time around, which we'll start
with so that we've all got plenty to talk about later on.
Remember that IGDA Melbourne events are free of charge and open to
everyone - so please do come, and feel free to bring a friend along,
and pass the word around at your studio/university or wherever you
happen to be. The more the merrier.
Here are the details of the presentation itself:
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Film Victoria's Digital Media Fund provides opportunities for
cross-platform development between traditional and new media
applications and supports industry development in niche markets such as
animation and electronic game development.
Digital Media Fund (DMF) programs had a total budget of $911,000 for
commitment to a range of industry-based or investment-structured
projects allocated for the 05/06 financial year. A recent state budget
announcement has confirmed an additional $4 million over two years for
the DMF programs to help it continue as a leader in digital content
creation.
DMF investment-supported projects can range from content creation for
digital platforms, to prototype development models for consoles such as
the XBox or Playstation generations, to attract third-party production
investment.
Funding program guidelines and closing dates are available online at
www.film.vic.gov.au/dmf/
A special opportunity for IGDA Melbourne chapter members will be
provided at an upcoming information session. This session is targeted at
fund applicants, typically business development mangers, producers and
business owners wanting to understand the Digital Media Fund process,
objectives and programs in detail.
Case studies of projects from past successful applicants for the Digital
Animation, Innovative Digital Content and Game Prototype Development
programs will be included in this session.
Speakers:
Film Victoria's Digital Media Fund:
Amelia King - Manager, Digital Media Fund
Jacqueline Barry - Digital Media Development Officer
The Digital Media Fund is managed through the Industry Development and
Investment business unit at Film Victoria. Please visit the Film
Victoria website http://www.film.vic.gov.au/ for application forms,
regular updates and for information on other Film Victoria programs.
The Digital Media Fund is currently funded by Multimedia Victoria as an
ICT industry development initiative aimed at bringing together
technology, creativity and talent for the benefit of all Victorians.
>From January 2007 the Digital Media Fund will be supported via Arts
Victoria.
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I hope to see you there!
Thanks,
-David. |
IGDA Melbourne LAN Wrap Up |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Sunday, April 23, 2006 |
Well it was over a long time ago and due to the work load we have
all been under, we just haven't had a chance to write about the IGDA
Melbourne LAN event.
Unfortunately I could only attend the LAN
for a short amount of time since I had to get back to the office. So
instead of me rambling on about my hotdog and can of coke I will direct
you to Michael Hewetts blog which talk about his adventures at the LAN. He also had the chance to span a few pictures from the event.
You can also check out the time capture video (XviD, 7.5MB) of the LAN thanks to Stephan Neofitou.
Thanks to Stephan, Romi, David and Michael for orgranising and hosting the event.
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Site up |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 |
The site is now up again.
The RSS feed links have been fixed so that feed items will now link correctly.
If anyone finds any issues with the site, please report these to cms@ittworx.com.
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Site Maintenance |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 |
| Site will be down for maintenance between 8:00pm and 11:00pm EST.
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Only a few days left till the IGDA Melbourne LAN |
Posted by Michael Lyons on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 |
There are only a few days left.
You must be a games developer or publisher (or guest) or student to be entitled to register.
The LAN will be held April 1st 2006 – April 2nd 2006 at Torus Games’ facilities in Mitcham.
For more information please visit http://lan.bludger.org/.
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Photos from March 8 Social and Planning Meeting |
Posted by David Hewitt on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 |
Select members of your hardworking Organising Committee (starting second from left: half of Ben Board, half of David Hewitt and the back of Ben Palmer's head) discuss matters of the gravest importance with the inimitable Joe Velikovsky, luminary of the game and film industry. Note how the image is carefully composed to hide the fact that Ben and David are holding two pints each.
Website guru Michael Lyons (standing and wearing a cap) mingles with the punters. Don't let 'em give you any flak, Mike!
A veritable galaxy of stars. What you see here, ladies and gentlemen, is the absolute cream of the crop of the Melbourne game development community - in many cases a few pints the worse for wear. This is when and where the truth comes out.
Thanks to all who attended - I had a whale of a time.
We'll have a proper meeting with a speaker and everything next time, honest! Stay tuned.
Oh, and extra-special thanks to Michael Lyons for hand-crafting our beautiful new website. Just look at it, will you. Marvellous stuff. Thanks Mike!
-David.
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