IGDA Finland Seminars + December Gathering with InMobi: The Aftermath

This year was wrapped up in our December gathering last week. Not only did we have traditional Christmas caps for everyone, provided by our sponsor InMobi, but a seminar to kick off the evening and a demo corner featuring local devs as well. What a night! The first presentation was by Jami Laes, CEO and co-founder of Futureplay Games. Instead of the traditional free-to-play monetization model with IAP, his company has opted for a different approach: view-to-play. Laes showed us why video ads are a more profitable option – with few companies using this opportunity right now.

Continuing the theme, Mitchell Smallman from Next Games gave us some insight as to why ads have monetized remarkably well with Compass Point West. He listed some key points they had learned from other successful games on the market as well as the things they had done differently.

Seminar slides available for download here:

• Jami Laes / Futureplay Games
• Mitchell Smallman / Next Games
• Sohan Maheshwar / InMobi

After the seminar it was time to gear up for the party. The revival of demo corner was a huge success, with eleven teams and developers showing off their games to peers.

Thank you for another great gathering – happy holidays and see you in January!

Photos by Daniel Schildt.

IGDA Finland Turku Hub November Gathering with LudiCreations

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This November the Turku Hub went analog with Iraklis from LudiCreations, who gave the developers of digital games a glimpse to a slightly different world: that of board game development and publishing. When Finnish people think of board games, the first one that probably pops to the mind is Afrikan Tähti, whereas in the English-speaking world the stereotypical board game might be Monopoly.

Board gaming has come a long way in the last couple of decades. “You might be surprised to hear this, but Monopoly is a horrible game”, told Iraklis. “Four people start the game, but after a while two of them drop out and just sit and watch the two chase each other around the board.” The renaissance of board games started in 1995 with the publication of Settlers of Catan. According to Iraklis modern board games aim to give players agency, interesting choices and interesting experiences around the table, not just luck-based die rolling like in Chutes and Ladders – an old game from India that was originally designed to teach the players about the inevitability of fate. Instead of competing with each other, in many modern games the players co-operate, either by trying to overcome a common obstacle, or building something together.

According to Iraklis the latest big thing in board games is a so-called Legacy phenomenon, where the actual game will change permanently according to how it is played. This can mean that the players are supposed to tear apart a card when the rules tell them so, write on the game board or add stickers there, or change the rules of the game in some way. The end result is a game board and state which can be unique from other groups. The problem with Legacy games is to find a stable group to play them with.

Some things in designing and publishing board games sound familiar to people working in the digital games, such as the role of licenced games and the problems around them. There is a history with licensed board games that are badly slapped together. License holders can be very protective of their IP, and they are more concerned with the look and feel of the game instead of the mechanics. As a result there is a certain amount of preconception with licensed board games being bad, which is familiar from video games.

Ideally creating and publishing a board game is not a solitary job, but like video games it requires a talented team – a publisher, a game designer, an illustrator and a graphic designer, rule designers, proof readers, production manager and a team of playtesters. A board game should go through at least a hundred blind playtests, which means a test where the publisher or designer is not present.

Unlike in video games, where the unfortunate norm is to publish a buggy game and patch it post release, board games should be thoroughly tested. Are half-baked games published in the board games business? “More than I’d like to admit”, was Iraklis’ reply. The games are becoming more visual and the players pay more attention to art than the mechanics. A certain amount of “we’ll fix it in the expansion” attitude is creeping in.

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Although board gaming is living a new heyday, Iraklis still describes it as a minuscule business compared to digital games, and Finland as a minor business area. Most of the big business comes from Germany and United States, which also applies to the designers. Iraklis describes the designer and publisher community as a small and tightly knit one, where everybody knows each other, what they have published and done. There is perhaps ten people in the world who make their living off designing board games. As a company LudiCreations has published ten games, three of which have had a Finnish designer. The minimum print of a game is 1000 copies, and one that sells more than 5000 is a hit. This doesn’t mean that board games are just a curiosity, since for example in Germany there are board game reviews in newspapers next to movie reviews, and according to Iraklis there are weekly events where 100-200 people gather to play.

How about tips for an aspiring board game designer? “Look, if you really love board gaming, my advice is not to do this, seriously”, said Iraklis with a smile. “Every year I’ve been publishing is I’ve been playing less and less. One reason I’m not developing is that I’d have to play the same game again an again, and it gets very boring. Why to do it? When everything else is gone, 300 years in the future everyone is still enjoying your game. It’s a creative pursuit with so many facets - how the game is created, distributed, and so forth. I love board games and bringing them to people. I’m surrounded by very, very talented people who help me bring the games to the people and see them enjoy them. It’s definitely not the money, but then again board games are a low risk, low reward pursuit.”

What other learnings are there to take home from board games to the digital side of the fence? “There’s the saying that if you can design a good board game, you can design a good digital game, and that’s absolutely true. The effort that goes into balancing and designing a single board game is incomparable to designing an average digital game.”

After Iraklis’ excellent presentation the 30-odd people enjoying the evening at Hunter’s Inn had the chance to try out a selection of new and old board games.

Re-introducing Demo Corner in IGDA Finland Gatherings

With new locations come new possibilities: as the gatherings are moving to Maxine, we thought this is a good time to bring the demo corner back. It has been way too long since they have been organized, and as the IGDA Finland community is all about sharing what better way to foster that ideal than showcase the talent in that community. The demo corner is a place for developers to show off their games and get some feedback. We're aiming for this area to be a space for everyone: from people working on commercial AAA games to enthusiasts making indie projects in their spare time. So don't worry about your studio being too famous or your personal project being too insignificant – we want everyone to have a chance at giving and getting feedback and sharing ideas.

If you have a game you're working on that you want to share with fellow devs, head to December Demo Corner sign-up page right away!

IGDA Finland Seminars + December Gathering with InMobi

It’s pre-Christmas party season, folks! And we know it wouldn’t be the same without IGDA Finland December gathering, so worry not: ‘tis the time to get festive, end the fall season in style and prepare for a well-earned rest over the holidays.

This year’s pre-Christmas celebration is sponsored by InMobi, a global mobile advertising platform that reaches over 1 billion mobile devices every month. InMobi recently launched Miip, their user first discovery platform. Because users come first to them and they obsess about delivering the right user experience, we’re confident you’ll not be disappointed by the special treats and speeches they have prepared for the event. And not only are you in for epic fun times, there is also a seminar before the party.

The seminar this time is all about strategies for monetizing with ads and how to implement ads in a non-intrusive way. Our speakers come from Futureplay and Next Games, both studios that have succeeded in pulling off this “impossible” feat.

After all the special events this season and hopping all over Helsinki we’re also finally ready to announce our new gathering venue: IGDA Finland will be settling in at Maxine. Judging by the general feedback after our last invasion to this venue, we think quite many of you will approve of this.

Besides the seminar and party goodies, we have yet another special little something planned for the event: devs will have a chance to showcase their games during the evening. Read more here and sign up if you want your chance in the spotlight!

So prepare your party gear and join us on Dec 8 – it’ll be a blast!

IGDA Finland Seminars presents: Ad Monetization Strategies, Sponsored by InMobi
Time: 8.12.2015 at 17:30 – 18:30
Place: Maxine, Urho Kekkosen katu 1 A, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki

- Jami Laes (Futureplay): View To Play Games - The Next $100B Market - Mitchell Smallman (Next Games): Rewarded Video Ads in Midcore Mobile: Blazing Trails Where We Were Told Not To Tread

IGDA Finland December Gathering with InMobi
Time: 8.12.2015 at 19:00
Place: Maxine, Urho Kekkosen katu 1 A, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki

Please note that you need to be at least 18 years old to attend. The cloakroom service is offered free of charge.

Seminar agenda

Jami Laes was previously in charge of Angry Birds and everything else in games as the Executive Vice-President of Games at Rovio Entertainment. He has been leading global game studios at EA, Playfish and Digital Chocolate over the past 10 years. Laes first started in mobile games in 2000 as a game designer at Riot-E and his first games he developed on his Amiga 500 in 1988. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of Futureplay Games.

View To Play Games - The Next $100B Market The mobile ads market is estimated to top $100B in 2016. And no developers are focused on it. While everyone is still staring at the TOP-grossing chart, Futureplay Games is building a new generation of View-to-Play games. Jami will talk about Free-to-Play & View-to-Play and how in their debut game Farm Away! they have successfully leveraged ads in a rewarding, fun and non-intrusive way that make our games more fun, faster and cheaper for the players to play and the players love it.

Mitchell Smallman is a Senior Product Manager at Next Games. A six year Free to Play veteran (yes, including MySpace) has worked as Story Writer, Game Designer, Consultant, Pro Wrestling Referee and Product Manager throughout his career. He is a passionate advocate of free to play and casual gaming.

Rewarded Video Ads in Midcore Mobile: Blazing Trails Where We Were Told Not To Tread Rewarded ads have not been widely used as a central feature in mid-core titles due to fears of effecting IAP conversion and audience engagement. Mitchell will share lessons learned from Next Games' mid-core title Compass Point: West, along with practical examples from other developers. He will include how to tie rewarded ads into your core gameplay mechanic in a meaningful way, how rewarded ads can be regarded as a feature instead of an interruption, A/B testing to get the right value for advertisers vs IAP spending, balancing a game economy with heavy ad value, and analyzing player behavior to understand ad watching players.

IGDA Finland November Gathering with Omniata, Redlynx and Slush: The Aftermath

For November's gathering IGDA Finland hooked up with customer data platform specialist Omniata and Redlynx, one of the oldest and finest Finnish game companies, not to mention that the entire event was held at Slush in Messukeskus in Helsinki as one of the official after parties. In the Slush setting with dimmed lights, fog and lasers piercing the ceiling we enjoyed futuristic music, entertaining presentations and hot food! The evening started with delicious Korean food from Kimchi Wagon: sesame hot pot or the veggie with root vegetables, ricenoodles and mushrooms. The event continued with opening words from IGDA Finland Chairman Jyri Partanen, followed by Omniata's presentation on their company. The most memorable message from Omniata's Alex was that the Finnish sauna is the best. In other words, it tells that companies or employees coming from abroad face cultural integration at work and outside the office. One solution or at least a factor in integration is having fun while creating. This viewpoint was highlighted in the RedLynx presentation. Various RedLynx founders gave speeches, but the final words from Antti Ilvessuo summarized their working culture: fun to the extreme.

The event continued with music from Flashback Future DJs and a gig by the dark and futuristic electronic music producing Finnish duo Blastromen.

A perfect way to end day one of this year's Slush and kick off the second!

Photos by Sasha Paleeva.

IGDA Finland ry:n syyskokous 2015 / IGDA Finland ry Fall meeting 2015

Nykyiset ja tulevat IGDA Finland ry:n jäsenet, tervetuloa yhdistyksen sääntömääräiseen syyskokoukseen.

Aika: 25.11.2015
Kellonaika: 16:00-19:00
Paikka: Femman, Eerikinkatu 2, 00100 Helsinki

Tarjolla myös pientä purtavaa ja juotavaa. Tarjoilujen vuoksi pyydämme ystävällisesti ilmoittautumaan etukäteen 20.11.2015 mennessä suvi.latva@igda.fi

ESITYSLISTA

1. kokouksen avaus
2. valitaan kokouksen puheenjohtaja, sihteeri, kaksi pöytäkirjantarkastajaa ja tarvittaessa kaksi ääntenlaskijaa
3. todetaan kokouksen laillisuus ja päätösvaltaisuus
4. hyväksytään kokouksen työjärjestys
5. vahvistetaan toimintasuunnitelma, tulo- ja menoarvio sekä liittymis- ja jäsenmaksujen suuruudet seuraavalle kalenterivuodelle
6. valitaan hallituksen jäsenet erovuoroisten tilalle.
7. käsitellään muut kokouskutsussa mainitut asiat.

HUOM: Mikäli yhdistyksen jäsen haluaa saada jonkin asian IGDA Finland ry:n syyskokouksen käsiteltäväksi, on hänen ilmoitettava siitä kirjallisesti hallitukselle osoitteella igdafi-hallitus@igda.fi, jotta asia voidaan sisällyttää esityslistaan.

All current and new members, welcome to the statutory fall meeting of IGDA Finland association.

Date: 25.11.2015
Time: 16:00-19:00
Place: Femman, Eerikinkatu 2, 00100 Helsinki

There will be snacks and beverages available. To ensure catering is sufficient, please RSVP by 20.11.2015 to suvi.latva@igda.fi.

AGENDA

1. opening the meeting
2. appointing a chairman, a secretary, two minutes inspectors and, if necessary, two tellers
3. verifying the meeting is legal and decisions made are valid
4. confirming meeting agenda
5. confirming plan of operations, revenue estimate and budget as well as joining and membership fees for the next calendar year
6. appointing new board members to replace retiring members of the board
7. addressing other matters listed in the invite.

NOTE: If a member of the association wants to have an issue included in the agenda of IGDA Finland fall meeting, this needs to be communicated to the board in writing by email igdafi-hallitus@igda.fi.

IGDA Finland November Gathering with Omniata, Redlynx and Slush

IMPORTANT: Slush passes are NOT valid for entry, nor is one required to register to this party. To ensure a faster sign-in at the door, please either print your ticket or have it ready on your mobile device.

One of the biggest events of the year is approaching fast: Slush 2015 is almost here. For those not in the loop, Slush is a 2-day conference bringing together tech startups, investors and media. Last year there were over 14 000 attendees so you can expect quite a crowd!

IGDA Finland will be organizing the official game industry party – which doubles as our November gathering – on Wednesday, November 11, sponsored by Omniata and RedLynx. You can expect food, drinks and live music as well as something special on the side…

Note that registration is required for this event, so head on over to the event sign-up and secure your access right away to our biggest event yet!

IGDA Finland November Gathering with Omniata, Redlynx and Slush
Time: 11.11.2015 at 19:00
Place: Messukeskus, Messuaukio 1, 00521 Helsinki (Yellow Area in Slush)

Please note that you need to be at least 18 years old to attend. The cloakroom service is offered free of charge.

Northern Game Summit 1.-2.10.

This week we’ll see the return of Northern Game Summit, which is held now for the 4th time already. The action takes place in Bio Rex, Kajaani, on 1.-2.10. – only two days from now! The event will feature speakers from Finland and around the world, representing designers, producers, programmers, artists and more. Some of the speakers, like Colossal Order’s Karoliina Korppoo and Housemarque’s Ilari Kuittinen, definitely need no further introductions, but the foreign talent is not to be dismissed either: Hunter Grant (US) is an industry veteran currently working as Lead Cinematics Animator at Blizzard, Marek Rosa (CZ) and his team at Keen Software House are responsible for the hit sandbox game Space Engineers – and this is just the start of the impressive speaker list.

Besides talks, there will be partying, mingling and a game showcase on Thursday evening: the party, titled Bonus Stage, is hosted by Fingersoft and there will be an opportunity for companies and local students to show their games and meet other people in the industry.

Friday will be concluded in a panel discussion, “Everything there is to come”. The panel is hosted by Ste Curran and the panelists are Antti Seppänen, Mehdi Benkirane, Luke Savage and Tuija Lindén.

What makes this year’s event special is the NGS Mixer on Wednesday which is a chance for people in the games and film industries to get together and find opportunities for co-operation. The makers of Rendel, a Finnish action film to be released next year, will be attending. They will also take part in a panel discussion, “Games & Movies, Brothers & Sisters”, which is hosted by Kimmo Kari and other panelists including KP Hiltunen, Niklas Saari and representatives from Apollo Music.

You can get your tickets to the event from the NGS website.

IGDA Finland October Gathering with Remedy

October is almost upon us and you know what that means: it’s gathering time! Mark October 6th on your calendars and prepare yourself for a night of awesome: the gathering is sponsored by Remedy, taking a (well-deserved) break from developing Quantum Break and equipping their party hats to have a good time with fellow devs.

We’ve hopped places a lot during the past couple of months, and this time is no different: our venue for the event will be Virgin Oil Co. – so make sure not to default to our usual spot! Little birds have also sang their sweet songs of swag to be handed out…

See you all there!

IGDA Finland October Gathering with Remedy
Time: 06.10.2015 at 19:00
Place: Virgil Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5, 00100 Helsinki

Please note that you need to be at least 18 years old to attend. The cloakroom service is offered free of charge.

We are also organizing something special in addition to the gathering: IGDA Finland is proud to take part in Pelit kiertoon, a campaign to donate games and gaming devices to charity. The games and consoles will find their way into such places as hospitals, sheltered homes, women's shelters and refugee centers.

October gathering will have a designated drop-off table where you can bring your unneeded games for any platform (board and card games are fine, too!) and any old consoles you want to pass on. All donations delivered to us will be forwarded to Hope ry, an association supporting poor and struggling families, giving the children and youth in these homes a chance to have hobbies.

Help us help others, and give your old gaming gear a new life! Any questions about the campaign can be sent to niina.pesonen@igda.fi (IGDA Finland) or mikko.merilainen@helsinki.fi (Pelit kiertoon, campaign coordinator).

Umbra Ignite & IGDA Finland September Gathering with Umbra

The September seminar and gathering were sponsored by Umbra, and what a day it was! We had an amazing seminar for the whole day with mind-blowing presentations about some of the latest ideas, trends, research and innovations in the industry. Here we want to share a few moments from that day with you:

It was morning and the seminar space was almost ready.

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Finally the doors were open!

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The seminar space was full and it was time for words of welcome from Umbra.

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The seminar started with a presentation by Rulon Raymond, Sr. Engine Programmer from Infinity Ward.

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Raymond talked about skinning and the evolution of the hardware of consoles, and how skinning should or should not be technically implemented. He identified problems in skinning such as “candy wrapper effect” (means that a joint is bending when animating) and "flat ass syndrome". Raymond then presented different technical solutions for the problem, such as GPU friendly Dual Quaternion Blend skinning. At the end Raymond reminded the audience that “Skinning is not a solved problem”.

Next on stage was Graham Wihlidal, Sr. Rendering Engineer from Frostbite.

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Wihlidal presented Frostbite engine and the challenges that different usage, platforms and genres produce and how the team found solutions. Wihlidal told that at Frostbite each team can decide what features will be implemented and how this customizability keeps the performance good because only important parts are kept. Frostbite’s solution is to have the engine close to the hardware which makes it easier to work with and increases the quality.

Next in the spotlight were Remy Chinchilla and Kevin Cerdà from Tequila Works.

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Chinchilla and Cerdà presented AAA production tips and solutions for indie studios. They talked about combining creativity with business. The freedom of creativity is the most important thing, but the producer has to be able to recognize the important features for the project and prioritize the implementation. Creative chaos in organization doesn’t make a game and Chinchilla and Cerdà told it’s important to move to production and to learn to close things. They talked also about how recognizing the abilities that each member of the team has and how letting them use their skills leads to a better working environment. And they reminded how a studio should always plan ahead their problems.

Then Jérémy Virga from Arkane Studios came on stage.

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Virga presented Dishonored 2 rendering and engine architecture. He told about their rendering pipeline and that they wanted to move towards multithreaded game logic and rendering. Virga explained how pipeline changes to multitasking makes the organizing of the data more difficult, but they found many benefits for the change. They split the render loop which saved duration time and gave good results and they still continue to evolve their engine.

Next up on stage were Thor Gunnarsson and S. Reynir Hardarson from Sólfar studios.

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Gunnarsson and Hardarson presented their virtual reality AAA game studio. They talked about VR challenges and their design principles for a good virtual reality game. Virtual reality performance requirements need resources that will easily lead to major compromises in implementation and that is when a strong artistic and technical knowledge are very necessary skills. Gunnarsson and Hardarson endorsed the future of small agile teams that have no room for egoism, but many responsibilities and strong participation which all creates greater work satisfaction.

Then it was time for the presentation by Balázs Török, Lead Engine Programmer from CDProjekt RED.

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Török talked about memory management in open world games and the challenges and what solutions they found while making Witcher 3. Török talked about GPU pool defragmenting and how they made three iterations to the engine. First they tested CPU memcopy but decided they can do better. The second iteration was a compute shader, but they still weren’t satisfied and made the third iteration: DMA engine.

The last presentation was by Alex Evans from Media Molecule.

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Evans talked about their journey and technical challenges when they were developing a new game engine for their new game Dreams on Sony PlayStation. Media Molecule presented Dreams engine at Siggraph this year. They made four versions that evolved from polygons to voxels and then to froxels and finally to splashes in cooperation with art director and artists to test and find the final visual style. Creative minds put together resulted in an amazing outcome.

After the mind-blowing seminar the attendees got some special treats and drinks before the doors were opened for the monthly gathering. Umbra sponsored also the gathering which continued until the late night...

Thank you Umbra for the exciting day! And thank you Circus for the good service! Stay cool and awesome and see You in October!

Photos by Janne Karvinen.

IGDA Finland September Gathering with Umbra

As most of the developer scene is undoubtedly aware tomorrow is a big day: at 11:30 we’ll be opening the doors at The Circus for Umbra Ignite. While the seminar, featuring speakers from renowned studios around the world, has long been sold out, everyone is welcome to the September gathering held at the same location from 19:00 onwards.

Umbra will be sponsoring the gathering as well, we have a special drink offer available and a small surprise for all attendees. So even if you missed the registration for the seminar, drop by and enjoy the after party!

IGDA Finland September Gathering with Umbra
Time: 01.09.2015 at 19:00
Place: The Circus, Salomoninkatu 1–3, 00100 Helsinki

Please note that you need to be at least 18 years old to attend. The cloakroom service is offered free of charge.

IGDA Finland at PGConnects

It's that time of the year again: Pocket Gamer Connects returns to Helsinki! If you work on mobile games, this is THE place to be: whether you want to stay on top of the latest trends and technology, meet investors and grow your professional network, or pitch your game - PGC has it all. Industry veterans will be sharing their knowledge and experiences on several aspects of mobile gaming, while the hottest indie devs get a chance to showcase their games at I Love Indie Showcase and The Very Big Indie Pitch, a pitching competition with awesome prizes and an excellent opportunity for exposure.

As if all this wasn't reason enough to join the conference there is also going to be an epic Pocket Gamer Party you don't want to miss.

IGDA Finland wants everyone to have a chance to take part in this event, no matter your location, and to make everything more accessible and convenient for our friends outside the Helsinki area we are organizing bus rides from hubs all around the country. The buses, provided by Pocket Gamer, are completely free of charge!

You can register to a bus near you on the EventBrite page we've set up for your convenience.Deadline for registration is on Friday, August 28 at 18:00.

The buses will take you to the conference on slots no deposit bonus Monday and leave back on Tuesday - you can choose whether you want to stay overnight or only Monday. (Note: You need to find your own accommodations for the night!)

Don't have a conference pass yet? IGDA members will get 40% off by using the discount code PG_IGDAFIN. Register here: http://www.pgconnects.com/helsinki/registration/

Developers who enter and are shortlisted for The Very Big Indie Pitch will get free tickets. Register here: http://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/61767/free-entry-to-pocket-gamer-connects-helsinki/

There are 20 free student tickets available for each hub. You can apply for a free ticket here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KL_l3raz-r8FWnW2prBRimH8jrRaR2RzH2V-euQMtLI/viewform

Recruiting volunteers!

IGDA Finland is run completely on volunteer basis, by people who commit their time and skills for the good of the game developer community in Finland. The organization consists of three groups: the board handles all the official functions and obligatory paper shuffling like legalities and finances; the coordinators act as the engineers of all operations, planning events and making sure everything runs smoothly; and the volunteers, who support the coordinators in various roles. We find ourselves in a dire need for more volunteers to fill a variety of roles in the Helsinki area:

Do you have a knack for writing? Social media? Photography? Graphic design? Join the newly founded Media Team.

Are you a master of all things tech? Whether you know your way around all sorts of devices or you write beautiful code, we want you.

Even if you feel like you don’t have any special skills, don’t be shy about contacting us – we need all hands on deck to keep this ship sailing smoothly.

Perks of the job include 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.

To join in on the fun simply drop an email to our Co-Volunteer Coordinator, Jori Hellstedt jori.hellstedt@igda.fi and tell us a bit about who you are, what you do and if there’s anything specific you can and/or want to do for us.

(Not from the Helsinki area? See if there's a hub near you that could use your help! http://igda.fi/hubs/)

IGDA Summer Party with Supercell – The Aftermath

What a night! We broke a visitor count record by reaching 556 sign-ins during the evening – and judging by the smiling faces in the crowd, people had a great time too. The weather was definitely appropriate for the occasion as well: a beautiful summery sunset was more than we could hope for in August. Thank you Supercell for sponsoring and helping us make this event happen!

Photos by Janne Karvinen.

IGDA Finland Hub coordinators meet in Joensuu Illusion

workshop

By tradition, IGDA Finland Hubs gather once a year to plan out the next season in Joensuu's Illusion game industry event. The usual challenges the IGDA Finland volunteers thrive to utilize is the continuing rise of the industry and the individuals with it.

Staying true to IGDA Finland's mission to promote and develop the recognition of the game developer community, volunteers around Finland do their best to make it happen. There are now over 40 IGDA Finland gatherings yearly in the whole country.

coordinators

IGDA Finland hub coordinators are a big bunch already. With 8 hubs volunteering around Finland, the reach is very good. We're looking forward to the next season and the exciting events it will entail!

IGDA Finland Summer Party with Supercell

Greetings, developers! Finnish weather has been more about cold rain than hot beaches this year – lucky us for being gamers, knowing what to do when venturing into the outside world is not an option.

As hinted earlier when we announced the fall season gathering dates, we have a special surprise today: IGDA Finland has teamed up with Supercell to bring you THE summer party of the year! We all know it: winter is coming. You wouldn’t want to face it unprepared, so join us as we enjoy the last stretch of summer and make some more warm memories to get us through the long and cold darkness ahead of us. See you in August!

IGDA Finland Summer Party with Supercell
Time: 18.08.2015 at 19:00
Place: Maxine, Urho Kekkosen katu 1 A, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki

Please note that you need to be at least 18 years old to attend.

Fall season 2015 gathering dates

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far, whether you are spending it here in Finland or traveling around the world. If you haven't lost track of your calendars yet I have some dates for you to mark down: the gatherings for fall season 2015.

• September 1st
• October 6th
• November 10th
• December 8th

We also have a special event coming up next month, on August 18th, so stay tuned! Event details are to be announced later.

The list of gathering dates are also available on the gathering info page.

Housemarque 20th Anniversary Celebration

Even though the IGDA season is over, the game industry keeps on partying. Last Wednesday Housemarque celebrated its 20th anniversary, where more than 400 game developers and their friends gathered to congratulate one of the oldest game companies in Finland!

Housemarque prepared surprises for their guests: Consoles and PCs with studio's games were available for all guests, the various dishes offered were named after studio’s games. The CEO, Ilari Kuittinen welcomed everyone to the anniversary and started a party by showing recap videos of Housemarque games and company history (including the very special, previously unseen ones!). Finnish attendees were excited about the epic appearance of Apulanta (a Finnish rock band which was popular some years ago, as my Finnish friends told me). Marioke was the last surprise Housemarque prepared for the guests: Karaoke as usual, except that all the lyrics had been changed to game-related texts, for example "You are simply Tempest" or "Monkey Target".

If you didn’t get a chance to visit the celebration, you can check out photos and videos in various social media with the hashtag #hmq20. Also, here is a link to Facebook albums from the event: https://www.facebook.com/Housemarque/photos

Thanks Housemarque for a great evening!

Photos by Sami Välikangas.

IGDA Nordic UA Forum & June Gathering with TUNE

Before we would send everyone on their merry way to the summer break, it was time for the last IGDA Gathering of the spring season. This time we had an extra special treat for our guests in the form of The Nordic UA Forum sponsored by the mobile marketer extraordinaire, TUNE. With in depth presentations, panels and Q&A's about mobile user acquisition, The Nordic UA Forum has been touring all around the key Nordic capitals. It was not a surprise that the Forum was fully booked!

The presentations from Eric Seufert (Rovio) and Juha Matikainen (Seriously Entertainment) paved the way for the starstudded panel with Teemu Huuhtanen (NextGames), Olli Laesvirta (Boomlagoon) and Mika Kuusisto (Unity). Thank you again to all of the speakers, the wonderful host of the forum, Ilja Goossens (TUNE) and of course our sponsor TUNE for an insightful evening.

Guests from the forum did not have to leave empty handed since they got decked out for the summer with some cool new sunglasses and bluetooth speakers for the perfect picnic.

Now that the fun part was over it was time to have even more fun at the official IGDA June Gathering! The crowd was buzzing with interesting conversations about the previous presentations. "It was nice to hear from other companies how they have tackled the issue of user acquisition in the mobile market. It gave a new perspective on the whole topic", said one guest.

The night was drawing to a close but everyone still had some time to say their goodbyes to friends and colleagues before the summer break. Do not fret, because IGDA Finland will be back in September! Thank you to all of our guests and sponsors, it has been a busy spring and we will see you again in a few months!

IGDA Nordic UA Forum & June Gathering

Registration to the seminar is required. To RSVP book a ticket on the event's EventBrite page.

The evening will continue at 19:00 as IGDA Finland June Gathering, sponsored by TUNE.

Please note that this is the last gathering of the spring season, so make sure to stop by and say hello to your fellow devs before they disappear for the summer! The fall season starts in September when the gatherings will resume as well.