IGDA Future at Assembly 2023

As previous year, we are delighted to welcome you to the workshops and seminars at Assembly 2023, organized by IGDA Future program of IGDA Finland!


To sign up for the workshops, feel free to use this form, but also ad hoc attendance is possible.

Check full program of Assembly Creative Zone and welcome to the party of the year!

Voting for the Global Board of Directors Has Started

The 2022 IGDA Global Board of Directors Election is now open! Your vote is important in determining the direction of the organization. This year, there are nine candidates running for one open seat. Current members of IGDA Finland should have received their ballots and links to the candidate statements via e-mail, so be sure to check your spam folders. Voting ends on 25 February 2022 at 11:59 PM PST.

Finnish Games Career Day – job fair for Games industry professionals on 28 October is now open for applications

Capture.PNG

Have you been thinking about changing your job or exploring new opportunities abroad in the games industry? Then, Finnish Games Career Day is the place to be! It’s an online and interactive event where you can meet some of the leading Finnish games studios, explore multiple open positions, get advice on how to get into the Finnish games industry and make your job search easier, and chances of scoring an interview for your next career step. Even if you are not ready to change your job now, you can use this opportunity to get to know the companies better, try out their games and network with gaming professionals from all over the world! 

 

All you have to do is to submit an application and wait for an invitation to join Finnish Games Career Day. 

 

So what else does Finnish Games Career Day have to offer? You will get to meet participating companies like - Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games, Seriously Entertainment, Fingersoft, Redhill Games, Critical Force, Nitro Games, DoDreams, Panzerdog, Mainframe Industries and many, many more! Apart from studios’ presentations, we will share information about relocating to Finland and the support you and your family members will get if you decide to accept an opportunity in Finland. You will also hear from participants from past events, who already live and work in Helsinki, about their experiences and they will also answer any questions that you may have.

The event will be online and interactive:

 

  • In the main event, participating companies will present themselves, new projects they are working on, talk about company culture, recruitment process and open positions.

  • At the expo area, attendees will be able to visit interactive company stands and engage in live sessions with studio representatives.

  • On the Career Wall, we will advertise multiple open vacancies from recruiting Finnish studios. 

  • You will be able find representatives of any company by associated tags and chat with them or book an online call.

  • You can even have a ‘virtual cup of coffee’ with recruiters in the lobby of the event and discuss open opportunities directly with them

Last year, we organized similar job fairs in Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Kyiv and helped 25 professionals to start a new page in their careers in Helsinki. This year, there are over 300 open positions in Finland at the games studios. And one of them could be yours! 

 

Why come to Finland for a career in the gaming industry?

Firstly, Finland has consistently been rated as the ‘happiest country’ to live in the world. This is based on world-leading education and healthcare systems, safe and clean environment for family living, many social and recreational options and a beautiful landscape that promises over a thousand lakes.

Secondly, “Finland is one of the leading gaming hubs in Europe and has some of the fastest growing game studios in the world.” says Oleg Paliy, CEO of Games Factory Talents. With an annual turnover of 2.5 billion euros per year. This industry employs about 3,500 professionals and about 35% of them are foreigners. Furthermore, with English being the official language in the industry, this presents some exciting opportunities for industry professionals from all over the world. 

There are about 240 game companies in Finland: from small startups to world-famous names like, Supercell, Remedy Entertainment, Rovio, Electronic Arts, Zynga, Ubisoft, Housemarque, Next Games and many others. So, if you have been thinking about gaining international experience and developing yourself in the games industry, then Finland is the right place to do it!

 

How can you join Finnish Games Career Day?

If you are now intrigued and want to join Finnish Games Career Day, then take a couple of minutes to fill out a simple registration form. You can also find the registration link and much more information on the Finnish Games Career Day website. While filling your registration, please indicate your specialization and skills, attach your resume and a link to your LinkedIn profile, portfolio or GitHub profile. We will assess your experience and match you with relevant job opportunities before the event itself. We will accordingly contact you, before the event, about any matching role(s) and invite you to an online interview with our talent specialist at the event. 

After filling the registration, you will get an email and a link to the online PINE platform and you can use that link to join the event on 28th October.

 

To help you get comfortable with the online PINE platform and prepare you to get the most out of the event, we will organize a preparatory WarmUp webinar on October 14th. You will get tips on how to fill up the attendee card and attract the attention of recruiting companies, get an overview of the capabilities of the online platform for the event and get answers to any of your questions.

We hope to see you on October 28th at 9.00 am (East European Time) for Finnish Games Career Day! Do not forget to sign up via the registration form before the event!

PGC Helsinki Digital - Special offer for Finnish Devs!

PGC-HSKD20-GetFinnsFree-1200x600 (1).jpg

Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital is getting closer! And although it will be global and 100% online, we still very much want to celebrate the best of Finland like we always do in September. So we have created a special offer for Finnish developers to make it easy for them to attend.

Exclusively for Finnish developers: if you buy 3 tickets together, you get the third one free. It’s a special ticket type that goes live tomorrow.

The code FinnFree makes the 3-for-2 ticket appear!

Join Pocket Gamer Connects Careers Week!

PGCD2-CareersWeek-Jun8-12-600x600.jpg

The games industry is always in a state of flux. New opportunities and companies spring up as old projects scale down. Many of the normal channels have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, as well as other companies having to make difficult decisions with layoffs.

To support jobseekers during this difficult time,welcome to the first Pocket Gamer Connects Careers Week, to run during Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2.

What it entails:

  • Digital jobs board listing on the main event channel

  • A mail-out of key vacancies to all attendees

  • A virtual jobs fair (match-making event where we connect jobseekers with recruiters)

  • Focused talks, panels and round-table discussions regarding recruitment

  • Supporting editorial coverage on PocketGamer.biz

As part of this initiative, a number of jobseeker tickets will be available free to people currently out of work and looking for a new role. This will not only give you access to the specific recruitment opportunities but also all other aspects of the Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 event (five days, ten tracks, 200+ speakers, access to MeetToMatch platform, Discord chat and more).

If you’d like to get involved and find the next step in your career, sign up here.

Recruiters can also get involved and share their vacancies by using this form to register interest or contacting chris@steelmedia.co.uk

CORONA AID: Digi & Game Center Needs Your Support! - Help us to reach 15K goal at Mesenaatti.me! #savedgc

DGC - Mesenaatti items

The idea of ​​a digital and gaming community was born in 2012, when the Expa Game Business Co-operative was founded. Since that year, studies, surveys and opportunities have been sought to make such a community a reality. That moment came on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, when the Digi & Game Center (DGC) opened on Matarankatu in Jyväskylä. Now, DGC’s operations are at stake due to a coronavirus that has had a significant impact on the revenue streams of the DGC that manages DGC’s Expa. Expa is responsible for e.g. rents for public premises totaling € 15,000 over a three-month period. In order to keep this long-dreamed community in Central Finland, we invite you to fight against the corona!

Digi & Game Center, where all the IGDA Finland Jyväskylä Magic happens!

Digi & Game Center, where all the IGDA Finland Jyväskylä Magic happens!

What is Digi & Game Center?

The Expa Game Business Co-operative , together with the Central Finnish gaming and digital community, has established the Digi & Game Center (DGC) in Jyväskylä. DGC is a community and ecosystem that brings together Central Finnish gaming and digital experts under one brand and creates a framework for high-quality and diverse production of gaming and digital services and cooperation between companies and educational institutions in Central Finland and internationally. DGC's offices were sold off immediately and the operation has got off to a very good start. DGC has provided 16 entrepreneurs and companies with office space in a resource-wise and cost-effective way, facilities for Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JAMK) game developer training for Demo Lab, GamePit space for JAMK's youth game coaching, cost-effective mobile workstations and meeting rooms. for various lectures, trainings, workshops and gamers, as well as facilities for a modern XR-AR-VR studio that can also be used for recordings. By the end of February 2020, DGC will e.g. was attended by more than 1,000 visitors, the first Finnish Game Jams were held, the gaming networking event Game Business Booster, as well as several lectures and massive openings. Now this start has been significantly jeopardized by a coronavirus pandemic. In particular, activities that are important for (Peliosuuskunta Expa) Expa Game Business Co-operative's business, such as organizing events and trainings, and renting premises, are not currently possible. Because Expa operates the space, it corresponds to e.g. rents for public premises, which means EUR 15 000 for a period of three months. In addition, many service production projects have been suspended due to the situation and their continuation is currently uncertain. That is why we call on you to support the DGC and fight the effects of the corona!

Values ​​guiding the operation of Digi & Game Center:

  • Strengthening the awareness of the local (Central Finland) gaming and digital industry both domestically and internationally

  • Employment of gaming and digital professionals locally - Increasing the attractiveness of Jyväskylä among experts in the field

  • Close and networked cooperation between different companies, experts, developers and educational institutions

  • Sustainable development and internationalization

Expolore the Digi & Game Center in 3D:
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=tGEm1yhqJ6t

Website of Digi & Game Center:
www.digigamecenter.org

Where does the money from the Mesenaatti campaign go?

An excellent question with a simple answer: the money is used to cover the rental costs incurred by the DGC for the Expa Game Business Co-operative and other expenses such as accounting and salaries. Expa operates the DGC and is responsible for rents for the center’s shared facilities, which will accrue around € 15,000 over three months.

One of DGC’s companies, W1llou Agency, has also been employed in the campaign, and product rewards will be made in Finland. At the same time, we support Finnish companies as well as the buyers of the campaign.

We are not talking about a large number of buyers, so the goals are very achievable!

For example, to achieve our minimum goal – € 15,000 – we need

300 buyers of Collect All! product package
OR
120 #XmasJKL ticket buyers
OR
10 buyers of the DGC Loves U visibility package
OR
2 namings of the Stage reward buyers + 2 namings of the meeting rooms

After deducting the taxes and other expenses such as ordering the product rewards, DGC will have € 9,000 left. With this, we can cover about two months of rent.

For example, to achieve our maximum goal – € 50,000 – we need

1000 Collect All! buyers of the product package
OR
34 buyers of the DGC Loves U visibility package
OR
20 buyers of the Gamification and Game Industry lecture
OR
10 buyers of the Collision of Worlds workshop

After deducting the taxes and other expenses such as ordering the product rewards, DGC will have approximately € 25,000 left. With this, we can cover about five months of rent, which already helps a lot.

What is Game Business Co-operative Expa?

The operator of Digi & Game Center is Game Business Co-operative Expa (Peliosuuskunta Expa), which is a community open to everyone, e.g. for game creators, researchers, students, teachers, events or other persons and entities operating in the field in Jyväskylä or in the territory of Central Finland. The purpose of Expa is to promote the success of the gaming industry in the Jyväskylä region and Central Finland. Expa was founded in 2012 and has been an active advocate for game developers in Central Finland ever since. The cooperative has 116 members and a separate 2-year board. The current chairman is Tuomas Roininen, he is also IGDA Finland and Neogames Boars member.

Expa Game Business Co-operative (Peliosuuskunta Expa), is also IGDA Finland Jyväskylä Hub one of the very first IGDA Finland hubs since 2013.

Website of Game Business Co-operative Expa: www.expa.fi

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Homeschooling initiative for parents/gamedevs!

igda_homeschooling.png

Dear gamedevs and parents,

As you are aware, COVID-19 has made lots of schools close their doors and parents are homeschooling their children.

Since this is all new to most of us, it creates lots of challenges for teachers, parents and most importantly - children!

But you, me, we all, can make a difference!

You may have been making games before, or maybe you are only starting. Regardless, let's unite together and make simple games (think of it as a edu-game-jam) from school tasks and this way help with the situation.

Interested? Sign up in following form and we will send more details about the initiative!

https://forms.gle/4B5q4H1mMZwRkAMH9

Behind this fantastic initiative is Samuli Holopainen and we at IGDA Finland wish to support it - join us!

IGDA Finland Meetups POSTPONED!

Dearest community,

With the spread of COVID-19, the IGDA recommends that you listen to the advice of local government and health organizations especially keeping your teams and their loved ones as safe as possible.

The Board of IGDA Finland has decided together with Hub-Leads that our meetups will be postponed until further notice. Safety and well-being of our community has always been IGDA's main priority.

We also want to highlight the IGDA Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/igda ) which runs regularly webinars and hosts IGDA Chapter and SIG streams - enjoy them from the safety of your home!

Stay safe everyone <3

IGDA Future is here!

igda future banner.png

IGDA Future is an initiative of IGDA Finland to empower the younger generations (18 years of age and younger) to join our amazing community and learn all about the opportunities that game development education and gaming industry have to offer. We wish to build a bridge between youth and the industry professionals with series of events, following the vision and mission of IGDA.

Events and activities will be free of charge, easy to access and aimed to give the participants tools and aid in becoming independent, confident and skilled adults. We want to create an environment where it is safe to experiment, find friends and learn without fear of failure. It is our mission to encourage youth during times of strife and reward them for participation and volunteering.

We are welcoming all enthusiasts, volunteers and industry partners to join us in our mission to shape the future of our industry into even bigger success!

Feel free to follow our Facebook page and of course hub activities for more info.

IGDA Finland Appoints New Chairperson and Board!

On behalf of IGDA Finland, I am proud to accept the position of Chairperson and delighted to announce the new elected Members of the Board of IGDA Finland - big congrats to Vesa Raudasoja, Oskari Tamminen, Tuomas Roininen and Joni Finne!

A big THANK YOU goes to Juha Vainio, Jussi Loukiainen and Daniel Fischer for incredible work in the Board for past two years!

New adventures await, and we are preparing incredible events across Finland for our beloved community of game developers, cheers!

Yours,

Natasha Trygg

20181210_190926.jpg


Turku Hub - Report from February Gathering With NAPCON

napcon.jpg

”To err is human. To improve is NAPCON” says the slogan. NAPCON brought a whole team of people to their presentation at the IGDA Turku Hub February Gathering.

What is NAPCON? It is a company that is part of Neste, and they make games to teach operators how to operate different complex industrial plants.

It takes years to learn to operate these systems, and previously teaching was done with normal classroom and textbook studies. Newbies got mentoring from senior operators as they learned how to run the operator systems. The idea of NAPCON is that educational games could make this process much more effective, and fun. Speaking of fun: David Hasselhoff promotes the company’s games in a series of commercials.

Learning how to run petrochemical plants and biorefineries is very complicated. It takes a lot of skill to control a plant. The systems are more complex than passenger air planes. It takes years to learn all the dynamics, says NAPCON production manager Tuomo. With the game the operators can learn the basic principles and controls. So far there have not been many good tools to train the operators.

At the same time the simulations need to be innovative. The games have to be accurate representations of the real thing. At the gathering the audience had a chance to see the game in action.

The development team consists of people with different skill sets, but most have a background in chemical engineering. The team wants to make customer oriented educational games. The operators need to learn the right things. That is why the team has close contact to the industrial customers, visiting the plants and so on. Pedagogical skills are of course also important in developing educational games. NAPCON is a tiny unit, and that means they can be flexible like a startup, and make fast changes.

The learning process has also been gamified by company wide operator competitions: the operator world cup. This way the operators can also show off their skills. And like the Hoff says: it is important to stay zen and keep cool in stressful situations. This is certainly tested in the operator world cup.

Q & A with the audience:

Q: Is the UI same as the real refinery?

A: The UI is a simplification, it kind of looks similar but not quite. We wanted to make it more pleasant, beautiful and more illustrative. So you get an idea of what is happening in there. We replicate the information and the numbers, and let them learn step by step

Q: Can anyone play?

A: It starts easy… *Natasha tries the game, and fails miserably after few minutes :D* If you know nothing you might have to read something about processes.

Q: Do you have levels where there are no right answers?

A: We considered it, but situations where you cant do anything are not so educational.

Q: Will the player see what went wrong?

A: There is a ”game over”. When something went wrong, something was not allowed. In most situations there is feedback for how you can do better etc.

Q: You don’t have a game designer in your team, how do actually get your player on board the game? Where is the game designer?

A: I would not say we don’t have game designers. Most of us are multidiscipline people that have connections to game development, but we also use outsourcing. We don’t have graphic designers, that is also outsourced. We are bit by bit expanding knowledge in game design, and we do have some serious hard core gamers in the team. FYI we have an office in Turku.

Q: The best learning comes from fun. How do you make it fun? Who is responsible for making the fun? And the team that won the world cup, did they get more money?

A: We don’t know what the Hungarians got :D Some companies do connect the salary level to the education that operators have.

On the fun side, it’s hard to make educational games fun. We have to take the aspect of the game being closely tied to the real environment, and then adding a layer of gamification around something that is complex.

Q: You said you have done this to biochemical companies, what other fields?

A: Customers in bioindustry. But with the generic games, like distillation games, it doesn’t matter what industry teaches the fundamentals. Then we make tailor made games for specific customers related to their industry. These are not as fun…

Q: The score: what are the criteria for the first level and the process score? Could these be used for cruise ships?

A: Scores are tied to what we want to teach. Yes, why not for cruise ships!

Head to Vienna for the ReVersed Festival

The ReVersed Festival is a free and open gaming event for everyone of all ages, but of particular interest for game developers, enthusiasts, jammers and journalists. 

Organized in part by our friends at IGDA Austria, the event will take place from July 6-9th at the MuseumsQuarters in Vienna, Austria and will feature an indie showcases, a four-day game jam, and plenty of opportunities for networking. 

The event is entirely free for everyone, and is run on the blood, sweat and effort of their volunteer force. That said, they are looking for anyone interested in sponsoring the event. 

For more information visit: http://www.reversed.at

Are You the Next UA Superstar?

The Games Growth Hacker program aims to train new UA and mobile marketing talent for the Finnish gaming industry. 

During the program, trainees will work full time for 6 months at gaming companies and go through an 18-day training program held by industry professionals from companies such as Google, Rovio, Yousician, and Seriously.

No previous experience in UA, mobile marketing, or growth hacking is required. This program will train the participants, however applicants must be Finnish and unemployed to qualify. This is a good opportunity for unemployed members because past experience in the games industry, demonstrating a passion for games, and a positive attitude will help during the selection process. 

For more information visit: http://www.digitalexcellenceacademy.fi/koulutustrackit/games-growth-hacker/ 

Application deadline: June 4th

Wargaming Party 2017 and Bus Transportation Registration

Wargaming will be sponsoring bus transportation to the Parola Tank Museum from IGDA Finland Hubs. The buses are being coordinated by your local IGDA hubs.

In order to ensure a spot on a bus please do the following:

  1. Register for the Wargaming 2017 Party on Eventbrite (registration is now closed)
  2. Once you have a ticket to the event, register for bus transportation via one of the forms below.
  3. Bus registrations are individual, you cannot reserve bus seats for multiple people.
  4. Only register if you know for sure you can attend.

Bus transportation registration is now closed.

Bus transportation is free of charge, however a small fee of 5 euros will be collected from participants in Parola and donated to the Parola Tank Museum.

More info about the Wargaming Party 2017 here: https://www.igda.fi/new-events/2017/wargaming-party-2017

Finnish Game Awards 2017 - summary

Last evening at incredible Finnish Game Awards gala, "IGDA Finland Volunteer of the Year 2016" award went to - one and only - Minna Eloranta!!!

More detailed information about the awards and event can be found at Neogames-pages:

http://www.neogames.fi/suomen-peliparhaimmisto-palkittiin-the-finnish-game-awards-gaalassa/

IGDA Finland is recruiting coordinators

IGDA Finland is entirely run by volunteer staff, which means all of our activities – most importantly gatherings and presentations – are brought to life by the talent and passion of a group of individuals willing to invest their time and effort for the good of the industry. There are no paychecks but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pay well: you get to meet awesome people, gain industry contacts and valuable experience. (Occasionally there will be fun and games too!) Right now we have a few open positions so if this sounds like something you’re interested in, don’t hesitate to email us!

Lead Coordinator

  • The Lead Coordinator of IGDA Finland Helsinki is an active and motivated leader. You get energy from the success of others. To succeed as a Lead Coordinator, you have already proved your leading skills, either in the industry or in other circumstances. Previous experience working with volunteer teams is a big plus. This role will get guidance from the IGDA Finland Board on a monthly basis.
  • Responsibility: Main responsibility of monthly gatherings in Helsinki including event production and sponsor communication, managing coordinators in Helsinki
  • Needed time: 5h-10h / week
  • Needed xp: team lead 2-5 years, knowledge of industry
  • Contact: Minna Eloranta, minna.eloranta@igda.fi

Event Coordinator

  • IGDA Finland Helsinki events are the biggest continuous game industry events in Finland. We are now searching for an exceptional individual, who can withstand the pressure of organizing events in a timely manner. This person has already experience in organizing multiple events and is self-driven. The Lead Coordinator will support and manage this role.
  • Responsibility: organize gatherings, communicate with sponsors
  • Needed time: 3-5h / week
  • Needed xp: organizing any events 1-2 years in major role
  • Contact: Jori Hellstedt, jori.hellstedt@igda.fi

We also want to thank our outgoing Lead- and Event Coordinators, Minna Eloranta and Jori Hellstedt for their hard work, positive spirit and hands-on input, and wish them all the best for their future adventures.

Introducing IGDA Finland Vaasa Hub

Vaasa game development scene is ready to take the next step. There has been a lot bubbling under in Ostrobothnia in recent years. One of the most visible parts being Vaasa Game Days, an annual event combining both consumer and professional sides in one enthralling game fair. And of course: there are plenty of people developing games!

Introducing IGDA Finland Satakunta Hub

In Satakunta there is plenty of know-­how in game development, gamification and related fields, but for a long time the companies and schools have worked mainly on their own. Well, that’s about to change right now: We are proud to introduce the brand new member of IGDA family – ­IGDA Finland Satakunta Hub! The first gathering for the students, professionals and enthusiasts was held in Pori in October 2015 under the name “Peliala Satakunta”. The organizers were expecting from 10­ to 20 people to participate, but the total number was almost 40! Lots of contacts and plans were made, and from the start it was clear that the gaming community in Satakunta wants to be part of a larger network: ­ IGDA.

Since then there has been a gathering every month and the network has expanded even more. Over 80 people have attended to the gatherings and other events and the hub´s Facebook group has well over 100 members. In the process of gathering the network, a local audiovisual development and production facility Villilä Studios has been a big help with the project “Cogas – ­Concepting Gaming Seriously”. The aim of the project is to gather a network in Game Development and Gamification and search for joint development ideas and new areas for business. Cogas is financed by The Regional Council of Satakunta.

But so far the enthusiasm of the game developers in the area has been in the biggest role in networking and boosting up the game industry in Satakunta; local game companies, education providers, development companies and all the great people sharing the passion for making games.

IGDA Finland Satakunta Hub warmly welcomes everybody to the gatherings and events in Satakunta. The first official gathering as IGDA Finland Satakunta Hub will be held in April. Join the group and find out about the upcoming events on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/igdasatakunta

Recruiting volunteers!

IGDA Finland is looking for more volunteers! Are you crafty with words and love social media? Or do you have some graphic design expertise? Our wonderful Media Team wants you!

We are currently looking for Social Media Managers and an Art Director in Helsinki area.

Social Media Managers - produce quality content on our social media channels (Twitter + Facebook), including live coverage of our monthly gatherings

We appreciate solid skills on Twitter and Facebook, understanding on the principles of different social media channels, excellent English skills. A more technical background will be considered a plus.

Sounds like you? Super! Contact our Social Media Coordinator Noemi Cugudda: noemi.cugudda@igda.fi

As an Art Director you will - take care of the look and feel of our visual content - oversee and organise the work of our photographers and graphic designers - plan and coordinate various graphics projects

We appreciate experience in project management, diverse graphic design skills, photography skills and a sharp visual eye.

Interested? Great! Drop an email to our Media Team Lead Niina Pesonen: niina.pesonen@igda.fi

As well as a fun team with fantastic people we offer exclusive studio visits and the chance to meet all the cool people in the industry – not to mention the warm and fuzzy feeling inside you when you get to make the world a better place.

Not from the Helsinki area? Contact your local hub to volunteer! Everyone is welcome to contribute, no matter their skills and background.http://igda.fi/hubs/

Vesa Raudasoja nominated for IGDA Board of Directors / Vesa Raudasoja ehdolla IGDA:n hallitukseen

A long time active IGDA Finland member and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Vesa Raudasoja has been nominated for International Game Developer's Association's (IGDA) Board of Directors. Raudasoja has been involved with IGDA Finland since the beginning, and is the first Finnish person nominated for the Board. Previously the Board of Directors has mainly consisted of members from North America.

A game developer himself, and having closely followed the growth of Finnish game industry, Raudasoja finds IGDA's role very important for game developer communities and wants to get European and Scandinavian voices heard more in the community.

"I'm sure that many game studios in Finland and internationally have started because of IGDA's activities. Without an organization like this the game industry in Finland, for example, would probably be much smaller. Game developer communities are very important and IGDA has been creating these for years all around the world.”

All full members of IGDA are eligible to vote on the election until the end of February. There are four candidates in total of which two will be elected.

Raudasoja will be saying a few words on his nomination at the February gathering on 9.2.

More information on the election: http://www.igda.org/?page=elections2016

Vesa's Campaign Page: https://www.facebook.com/voteforvesa

IGDA Finlandin pitkäaikainen aktiivi, Lifetime Achievement Awardilla palkittu Vesa Raudasoja on ehdolla International Game Developer's Association (IGDA):n hallitukseen. Raudasoja on ollut mukana IGDA Finlandin toiminnassa sen perustamisesta lähtien ja on ensimmäisenä suomalaisena ehdolla hallitukseen, jonka paikat ovat aiemmin jakautuneet enimmäkseen pohjois-amerikkalaisten toimijoiden kesken.

Raudasoja on itsekin pelinkehittäjä, ja on ollut seuraamassa Suomen peliteollisuuden kasvua pienistä indie-studioista satojen pelialan yritysten maaksi. Hän pitää IGDA:n roolia erittäin tärkeänä peliteollisuudelle, ja haluaa saada yhteisössä kuuluviin erityisesti pohjoismaista ja eurooppalaista ääntä.

“Olen varma, että monikin pelialan yritys niin Suomessa kuin ulkomaillakin on saanut alkunsa IGDA:n ansiosta. Ilman tällaista toimijaa peliteollisuus etenkin Suomessa olisi varmasti pienempi. Yhteisöt ovat erittäin tärkeitä ja IGDA on luonut näitä vuosien ajan ympäri maailman.”

Kaikki IGDA:n täysivaltaiset jäsenet voivat äänestää vaaleissa aina helmikuun loppuun asti. Neljästä nimetystä ehdokkaasta kaksi valitaan hallitukseen.

Raudasoja on paikalla helmikuun tapaamisessa 9.2. ja pitää puheenvuoron ehdokkuudestaan.

More information on the election: http://www.igda.org/?page=elections2016

Vesa's Campaign Page: https://www.facebook.com/voteforvesa