IGDA Finland May Gathering at Cuba w/ Uplause!

Kick the Summer off right, join us on May 3rd for a truly jam-packed set of events. Before the IGDA Finland May Gathering, IGDA Finland Presentations brings you "The Different Faces of Change" a program done in association with the University of Tampere about change in the game industry.

Here is a short preview of presentation:

"The only thing that is stable is change itself." This phrase goes hand in hand with game developers. There are at least five different levels of turbulence that people have to deal with when innovating games. Researcher Annakaisa Kultima, from the University of Tampere will open up these thoughts as the overarching theme within the findings of two game research projects: GaIn and GIIP."

The presentation will feature industry fellows that will elaborate the topic further in the following speeches: * Ilari Kuittinen, Housemarque: "Same Same, But Different" * Teemu Vilén, Turmoil Games: "(Re)emergence of Adventure Games" * Ari Nykänen, Kuuasema: "Turning to Indie: Postmortem of Supersonic" * A Guest Appearance of Jason Della Rocca, Perimeter Partners: "Sex with Daphnia"

Following this event we will HOP :D on over to Cuba bar where Uplause will be showing off the World premiere of massively multiplayer audience games "pub edition." Also a taste of Housemarque's Outland with free drinks for those who arrive early. :)

So mark the date and make sure you join us for this fantastic Summer kick-off!

IGDA FINLAND PRESENTATIONS Place: Sulake auditorium, Korkeavuorenkatu 35, 00130 Helsinki Time: Tuesday, 3rd of May, from 17:00-19:00 Sign up to the event at Facebook or by email sonja kangas igda fi

IGDA FINLAND MAY GATHERING Place: Cuba Bar, Erottajankatu 4, 00120 Helsinki (map: http://igda.fi/?page_id=5) Time: Tuesday, 3rd of May, doors open at 19:00

March Gathering: Remedy, Death Rally and Alan Wake

March Gathering was a double treat. Remedy's CTO Markus Mäki and LeadProgrammer Olli Tervo gave their GDC 2011 tech track presentation on "Alan Wake, the writer who made us rewrite our engine". Sulake auditorium was completely packed with over 100 attendees and for those who couldn't attend, IGDA volunteer Reina Magica kindly wrote a summary of the presentation.

More photos from the Gathering.

After the presentation the evening continued at the Cuba bar. Remedy together with Mountain Sheep presented the iPad version of Death Rally and provided drinks for the cheerful crowd. This was another IGDA Finland Gathering in a row where there was over 200 attendees (224 to be exact!). WOW! Mad crazy! Networking is all good and great to see people interested in sharing and learning within Finnish game industry.

Besides the great gathering there is certainly a lot to buzz about Death Rally, a month ago Bugbear announced they are doing Ridge Racer Unbounded! Also recently more information on Rochard (Recoil) and Outland (Housemarque) have been made available and Get Outta my Galaxy (Ookoohko) was released - so lots of things are happening.

Next time we'll experience something new at the IGDA Finland Gathering. Finnish game startup Uplause will bring their massively multiplayer audience game to Cuba. The invitation is coming out shortly! Stay tuned and save the date: April the 5th!

IGDA Presentations and Gathering Recap

If you happened to miss last week's events, don't worry! Here is a recap to keep you in the loop. With several companies presenting their cases on what they look for in investments and 85 audience members IGDA Finland Presentations: Funding and Investments was by all means a highly informative and engaging event. Among other topics discussed, all the companies shared some common insight on what they look for in an investment case:  a talented, diverse and committed team, and a strong, scalable business plan.

Notably there was also mention of how initial funding provides a way for companies to move forward quickly on projects, for example spending on R&D and outsourcing, and keeping the local team focused on what they are best at doing.  On top of that it was also suggested that an outside board member could bring expertise from the financial and IP realm that would add value to the company.

If you haven't watched the archived footage of the presentation here is a brief summary of how the 4 funding companies provide assistance to growing companies : Mediatonic provides funding to game companies that allows them to keep their intellectual property rights;  TEKES supports R&D and innovation; Veraventure is a seed fund company; and Nexit is a venture capital company focusing on mobile technology.

After the presentations IGDA Finland had another stellar Gathering at Cuba. 128 people showed up to beat out the typical chilly rain-soaked Finnish outdoors. The feelings were high and the party was kickin.

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So if you are looking to make connections in the industry or would just like to have a chat with a fellow colleague in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, don't worry our next Gathering is only weeks away.

News Flash! IGDA Finland's annual Pikujoulu (Christmas Party) is currently being organized. Make sure you stop back later for updates as this is sure to be another exceptional IGDA Finland event.

IGDA Finland Presentations! Funding and Investments

After such a great October Gathering it would only be fitting for us to follow up with an event even greater. For that reason we are pleased to announce IGDA Finland Presentations: Funding and Investments in the Video Game Industry. THE EVENT IS FULL! LIVE VIDEO STREAM WILL BE AVAILABLE! Taking place at Sulake Auditorium (click for map) the presentation focuses on the industry's funding instruments, valuation, connections between product volume vs. hit products, new avenues for success outside of the video game industry and why certain companies receive funding and others do not. Each speaker will have a case study highlighting one of these areas.

This event is sure to be extremely informational for anyone involved in the gaming industry so quick book your seat through the IGDA Finland Facebook page as there are only 100 places available. If you don't use Facebook, send an email to sonja [.] kangas [@] igda [.] fi if you want to join the event. We will close the registration when we have 100 names on the list. Maybe list at the Facebook doesn't count.

We will have the pleasure of hearing presentations from:

Marko Tulonen of Mediatonic. Case: Nitro Games

Mari Isbom of Tekes. Case: Digital Chocolate

Hannu Jungman of Veraventure. Case: Ironstar Helsinki

Atturi Tarjanne of Nexit. Case: Hybrid Graphics

The event is presented by the IGDA in association with Sulake, Pelikehittäjät ry and Neogames and will be moderated by Koopee Hiltunen of Neogames.

Oh and do not forget! After the presentation there will be our November Gathering at Cuba Bar (click for map) where the doors open at 19:00 and cold weather never keeps the party from heating up.

See you there!

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IGDA FINLAND PRESENTATIONS: FUNDING AND INVESTMENT Place: Sulake auditorium, Korkeavuorenkatu 35, 00130 Helsinki Time: Tuesday, 9th of November, 17:00-19:00 IGDA FINLAND PRESENTATIONS: FUNDING AND INVESTMENT EVENT IS FULL! WE CANNOT ACCEPT ANY MORE REGISTRATIONS!

We will be streaming the presentations, the stream can be found here at igda.fi site.

IGDA FINLAND NOVEMBER GATHERING Place: Cuba Bar, Erottajankatu 4, 00120 Helsinki(map: http://igda.fi/?page_id=5) Time: Tuesday, 9th of November, doors open at 19:00

October Gathering Rocked!

With coldness in the air things got a whole lot warmer at IGDA’s gathering last Tuesday (Oct. 3) at Cuba. As always the gathering was full of action with 101 friends and colleagues networking and enjoying rich conversation and in the back Retro games ruled with players rocking out with Contra and Super Mario Bros. [singlepic id=711 w=320 h=240 float=] See the Gallery here.

We are also please to congratulate EveryPlay’s Amplifier for winning Mindtrek’s Launch Pad. Applifier helps social game and app publishers of all size to grow their social applications through cross promotion. Over 100 apps use Applifier to promote their application to over 55 million monthly active users on Facebook. Congrats EveryPlay!

Also cool news, TAIK (Aalto University School of Art and Design) started a Game Design and Production Master of Arts program. It is a 2-year degree program that provides unique possibility for building game design skills while building theoretical and conceptual understanding on games. More Info.

Well that's it from here. Our next gathering will be Nov. 9th so keep your eyes open for more information.