September Gathering - Tuesday 16th

Greetings fellow developers! The next IGDA pub night will be already on 16th September. Join us to say farewell to System Rock and its great staff!

IGDA pub nights will move to Cuba starting October. Nope, not to the country but to the bar which is located at Erottaja. And who knows, we might also have some additional program for September gathering. We will keep you informed and hope to see you all at System Rock!

*IGDA FINLAND SEPTEMBER GATHERING* Place: System Rock, Keskuskatu 4, 00100 Helsinki (map: http://igda.fi/?page_id=5) Time: Tuesday 16th September, doors open at 19.00 See you there!

August Gathering - Tuesday 26th

Hello world! It’s time to go back to work. But don’t worry, IGDA Gatherings will smooth your return by offering hot topics for discussion, some kick-ass entertainment and good-old chat with fellow developers.

Housemarque themselves would like to invite you to the meeting:

Housemarque presents "Multiplayer Madness IGDA Evening". Housemarque's premium downloadable console games on PSN & XBLA offer enjoyable multiplayer gaming experience. You are welcomed to come and play intense four-player multiplayer matches of the "Team Expansion" pack of the PSN hit game "Super Stardust HD". Blasting your friend's spaceship into smithereens has never been so fun! If you prefer a bit slower pace, you can try a few holes of arcade golf. The first ever XBLA game developed by a Finnish game studio is also present and you are able to beat the competition and hit some birdies during a round multiplayer match of "Golf: Tee It Up!".

Hope to see you all there - Cheers, prost, kippis, skål!

*IGDA FINLAND AUGUST GATHERING* Place: System Rock, Keskuskatu 4, 00100 Helsinki (map: http://igda.fi/?page_id=5) Time: Tuesday 26th August, doors open at 19.00 Also just to remind you: here are the preliminary dates for IGDA Gatherings for season 2008-2009. Remember to add them to your calendar!

Fall 2008: August 26th September 16th October 7th November 11th December 9th

Spring 2009: January 6th February 10th March 10th April 7th May 5th June 9th

June Gathering: Playful interaction is the next trend in games!

Finnish casual game start-up Everyplay wanted to give a kick start to summer vacations on 10th of June when the last IGDA Gathering was held before the summer break.

IGDA June Gathering sponsored by Everyplay drew room full of developers to join the party. You could clearly notice the closeness of summer vacation because the chat went around summer plans more than work related stuff and industry news.

Jussi Laakkonen the CEO of Everyplay gave a short presentation of the company. For many Jussi was previously known as the Business Development Director of Bugbear. This time he talked convincingly about casual games and how the current games are just the tip of the iceberg. Everyplay believed tha games are for all and playful interaction is getting common outside game industry as well.

Everyplay is developing a platform which enables the creation of novel types of social games / web services. At the moment Everyplay is a team of five but they are looking for new talent to join the company. If you have what it takes and are willing to take the challenge, get in touch with Everyplay.

We will see you all again at the end of August with exciting news from the local game industry! IGDA team want to thank you all for a great season. Have a relaxing vacation and have fun!

June gathering - Tuesday 10th

Hello people! As the summer holiday season approaches fast and the temperature is on the rise, we offer you the last IGDA Finland Gathering before the holiday breaks!

Escape the hot summer sun at System Rock. Welcome drinks and conversation topics by Everyplay!

*IGDA FINLAND JUNE GATHERING* Place: System Rock, Keskuskatu 4, 00100 Helsinki (map: http://igda.fi/?page_id=5) Time: Tuesday 10th June, doors open at 19.00

So come and party with us!

May Gathering - an insight into board games

Last IGDA gathering held on 6th May had extra board gaming flavor thanks to Tactic. Kati Heljakka and Petter Ilander from Tactic's Product Development unit were visiting us. That time 85 game enthusiasts joined the party chatting about game development and board games in particular. For those who do not know, Tactic (Nelostuote Oy) got started in 1967 when they launched Kimble in Finland. Their current goal is to be the market leader in board games in Europe and they are evidently doing very well. Tactic is trying to expand board games into digital and mobile. Currently they have some board games with DVD additions available but they are also looking for new opportunities on mobile.

Kati and Petter gave a short presentation of Tactic and their future plans. Tactic is currently developing mobile version of word explaining game Alias. They are also very interested of transforming their other games into mobile and are currently looking for partners(!). If your company is interested in finding out more about their plans, please get in touch with Kati and Petter (firstname.surname@tactic.fi) .

Besides board gaming, the chat rolled around similarities and differences between board game and digital game development, GTA IV and the report Neogames put out in April. Neogames highlighted that Finnish game industry is lacking of around 200 techsavvy people. Recruitment definitely is a shared challenge for many!

With some drinks and a lot of talk, it was another fun night at System Rock! Next time (10th of June) will be the last gathering before the summer break. We hope to hear the latest news from Nordic Game Conference as well as see you all there!