September Gathering: Farewell System Rock

[singlepic=337,120,90,,right] Media has been full of news about global economical recession. Unfortunately game industry is not free of its impact even though the editor in chief of Pelit-lehti said that the economic slump is always good for the game industry because people tend to stick indoors playing games during the insecure times instead of spending their money elsewhere ;)

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Luckily the worries didn't show in attendance to the September IGDA Gathering which attracted nearly 100 visitors. The casual chat went from challenges in the gaming industry and global economics to funding, networking and interesting game releases. For example Little Big Planet is around the corner. Also Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was one of the releases people were eagerly waiting for. There are number of things happening in Finland as well but we have still some way to go until large domestic productions such a Alan Wake will be finalized.

Thank you all who joined the Gathering in September and be sure to join the party again on 7th October. October Gathering will be the "housewarming party" at Cuba bar sponsored by Lapland Studio.

IGDA together with its partners has also been planning exciting program for November and December Gatherings. Mark the coming Gatherings to your calendar and follow the IGDA forum and web site to keep track with the news.

October Gathering - Tuesday 7th

¡BIENVENIDO A CUBA! IGDA Finland goes to Cuba on 7th October. System Rock will soon be closed due to the Makkaratalo renovation. But no worries, from now on IGDA gatherings will be held at Cuba Café at Erottaja. Its going to be a lot of arriba! arriba! and couple of mojitos, por favor!

The Cuba housewarming party will have special program as well as sponsored drinks by Lapland Studio.

Remember to put next IGDA Gathering to your calendar and join us for the fiesta!

*IGDA FINLAND OCTOBER GATHERING* Time: Tuesday 7th October, doors open at 19.00 Place: Cuba Café, Erottajankatu 4, 00120 Helsinki (map)

Housemarque's Multiplayer Madness gave a kick start to IGDA fall season 2008

IGDA fall season 2008 got a kick start last Tuesday when Housemarque brought out the fruits of their labor. Housemarque released Golf: Tee it up! and SuperStardust HD Team Expansion in June. SSD HD is one of top ranked best-sellers at PSN and team expansion truly was something people were really in for.

Housemarque also introduced drink ticket mingle. IGDA visitors got two basic drink tickets and one cocktail ticket. With two types of drink tickets the idea was to encourage people to trade their tickets and chat with new people. Drink ticket mingle was a solid success and will be carried out in the future as well!

There was a constant flow of people throughout the night. The total number of visitors went up to 174. Even if the total number wasn't IGDA Finland's record the number of first timers certainly was impressive – there were 45 new visitors! Housemarque Multiplayer Madness was just a start. IGDA fall season 2008 will be full of novelties and interesting action. Check out igda.fi for news!

Housemarque would also like to thank you all for joining the party:

"Many thanks for all of you attending "Multiplayer Madness" evening on behalf of Housemarque. If you didn't attend, we are sorry we didn't notice that at all as we were all so busy having fun! Our first sponsored IGDA evening turned out to be a great success and people enjoyed playing round after round of our multiplayer games - "Super Stardust HD" and "Golf: Tee it Up!". The introduction of "happy-hour booze" drink tickets seemed to elevate the feeling even further.

As a company, we continue on developing new and exciting downloadable console games. We are in the process of adding new team members in the near future. If you think you are up to the task of working with some of the best developers in this industry and would like to create some of the coolest games on this planet, do let us know. Whether it's reinvigorating some of the most beloved genres, thinking of a new kind of puzzle game or creating head exploding action, we are on our way to do this and much, much more!

Best, Ilari - CEO of Housemarque"

Last but not least: IGDA would like to give special thanks to Samsung for smooth collaboration! Samsung screens were well on display together with the games.

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