IGDA Finland Seminars + January Gathering with Metropolia

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Happy New Year! January means the beginning of our spring season, starting with a gathering sponsored by Metropolia, a university of applied sciences. Media, IT and business are some of the Bachelor's Degree programmes available, with some of the studies being directly related to games. Want to know more? Don't fret, Metropolia folks will be there to tell us how they can help out the industry.

There will also be a different sort of demo corner this time: Metropolia students are going to showcase some of their games. It will be exciting to see what the new talents have cooked up!

The icing on top of this already fancy cake: we managed to piece together a seminar with some very interesting speakers at the last minute! Adam Mayes from Uppsala University will speak about narratives and how to do them right, and Mika JD Sorvari from Rival Games gives us insight on how the episodic model works for story-driven games without an established IP. These gentlemen will surely have quite the stories to tell.

Join us next week for fun and games to kickstart 2016!

IGDA Finland Seminars presents: Once Upon A Time... Narrative in Video Games
Time:
12.01.2016 at 17:30 – 18:30
Place: Maxine, Urho Kekkosen katu 1 A, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki

- Adam Mayes (Uppsala University): Narratives. We're really doing it wrong. - Mika JD Sorvari (Rival Games): The Devil in the Detail – Developing a Story-Driven Game in the 2010's

IGDA Finland January Gathering with Metropolia
Time: 
12.01.2016 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

"My name is Adam Mayes, and I am a game designer." Adam is part writer, part designer, and wholly embarrassed about speaking in the third person about himself. In a previous life he wrote short stories, comics and plays. He likes to think he has an understanding of narrative that makes him frustrating to watch movies with. How working at Uppsala University, he spends his days coaching the intentionally creative, his evenings developing stuff for money (who is he kidding, grading and planning courses), and his weekends planning the build of a residential taker in preparation for the inevitable rise of the Idiocracy.

Narratives. We're really doing it wrong. (Part of me wants to leave this section blank and tell you that it's an emergent presentation, but that would be as lazy as that style of narrative design.) In a curmudgeonly presentation Adam will go back to basics and look at how narratives are put together, before killing your puppy and telling you that you're letting our vibrant medium down. He'll then go on to talk about systematizing narratives, making better characters and, how to author truly interactive narrative experiences. All in 30 minutes.

Mika JD Sorvari is the Lead Writer at Rival Games in Turku. Having previously occupied himself as a games journalist, freelance writer and a hearse driver's assistant, he now works on finishing the first season of the neo-noir crime adventure The Detail. He believes in the potential of games to serve as a powerful medium for telling thought-provoking stories.

The Devil in the Detail – Developing a Story-Driven Game in the 2010's Episodic story-driven games are all the rage today mostly thanks to Telltale and their numerous successess. With only a few competitors, it looks like a great field for new IPs, but how is it to actually develop one in 2016, and how does the episodic model fare on the online marketplace without an established brand?

Spring season 2016 gathering dates

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a relaxing holiday break and a wonderful start to 2016. I've got some news to kick off the new year: the gathering dates for spring season 2016.

  • January 12
  • February 9
  • March 8
  • April 5
  • May 17

That means the next gathering is only a week away! More info will follow early this week so stay tuned.

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

Games for Health Finland and IGDA Finland Turku Hub Gathering in Sparkup Turku 10.12.2015

On Thursday 10 December researchers and professionals from the gaming industry and health care sector gathered in the ICT-building in Turku. The seminar was organized by Turku Science Park and keynotes were held on topics like the serious game market in China, exercise games for the elderly and emerging trends in health games.

The seminar guests could also try health games themselves in an exhibition outside of the seminar room. There were virtual reality exercise bikes, health care robots and different physical games to play.

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Making healthcare fun

Some reflections on the seminar: a lot of people seem unhappy with the concept of “serious games” and other suggestions popped up during the day, like ”applied games”. The word “serious” makes you think if something that is not primarily fun, and the point of gamifying health care is to make it more fun. Health games have a track record of not being very “good games”, so this is an area that needs development. If gamification is to actually work, the games have to be good and as engaging and addictive as mainstream games.

The atmosphere was optimistic. We are still only in the beginning of developing health games as a business, even though the idea of health games is not new anymore. But there is much potential for growth, and Finland is in a leading position. The problem right now is the lack of actual finished and good products. Health care researchers brought up the various challenges in creating health games: are they supposed to be actual medical devices with all the extensive and time-consuming testing and research that is needed for certification? Validation and testing processes in health care are very slow.

As an answer to this there is a research project in Turku University where commercial games are being tested on people with brain injuries. Could already existing and engaging games help in rehabilitating these people? As part of this project, player preferences are also being researched. If health games are to be effective at all, we also need to understand what kind of games different kinds of people like to play. A good finishing point for the seminar was the statement that creating good and effective health games, requires focusing on: 1. Entertainment, 2. Mechanics, 3. Player preferences, 4. Business model.

IGDA gathering and after party

In the evening IGDA took over and hosted an after party for everyone. The gathering was held in the newly opened Sparkup facilities, where Boost Turku, Creve and Turku Science Park are giving the local start up scene a cool new home.

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There were presentations by NordicEdu, Morrow games, Ikoniac, Boost, Turku Game Lab and Quadro Delta.

Tatu Laine’s post mortem of NordicEdu’s math game Tile Tales was very insightful. Tile Tale is math, puzzle game with beautiful graphics and music that was aimed at a core audience of casual, social gamers and puzzle lovers. Developing it took two years, and it was first launched as F2P on the Windows phone. And this autumn it was launched on Appstore as a premium game, and it was featured in several countries, still it did not make it to become a big hit, even though reviews were largely positive. Tatu’s message to us all was that they had to eat a lot of humble pie, but “it’s a good pie”.

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The other talks were a bit shorter, but no less sweeter. Liisa from Morrow games presented their horror game Crowmire. Jaakko from the new game company Ikoniac presented their work on a sci fi, puzzle game with deep storytelling for mobile (and they are hiring!). Konsta from Boost told us some more about the coming Startup Journey 2016. Natasha from Turku Game Lab gave us some exciting news about new developments for next year (Turku Game Lab is entering the entertainment industry). And finally Vitali from Quadro Delta blew our minds with a new, almost finished game trailer.

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After the presentations the evening continued with drinks, snacks, networking and some gaming on Sparkup’s huge TV screen.

IGDA Finland Turku Hub wishes you a Merry X-mas and Happy New Year. Hope Santa brings you something nice!

White Nights Helsinki 2016

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On February 11-12, 2016 the White Nights Conference will be held in Helsinki for the very first time. White Nights Helsinki 2016 is a unique business platform for mobile and social games industry that will join gaming worlds of East and West. For the 9th time in a row the conference will gather leading companies from all over the world.

Besides, Helsinki is called one of the European IT capitals and you can kill two birds with one stone: attend the conference and visit offices of the greatest gaming companies.

Purchase a ticket at a the lowest price possible now as early bird rates are ending soon! Note that by using the promo code "IGDA-Finland" you get 20% off on all tickets.

Experts from leading companies will share their knowledge and secrets to success! Supercell, Rovio, Wooga, Playraven, Wargaming, Google, Amazon, Facebook, VK.com, Creative Mobile, Skolkovo and many more will be attending! Preliminary program will be available on the official conference website at the end of the year.

Developer Exhibition

Talented indie teams will get a chance to present their best project in order to find partners, investors, a publisher or to receive support from platforms.

Every team will get a super awesome mini-booth with their company name on it, as well as one free Premium ticket. To participate please apply here: (http://goo.gl/forms/QxQ15HK9hS)  Please note: the number of developer booths is limited!

Indie Game Cup

Indie Game Cup, a prestigious contest for game developers, will once again be held as a part of the White Nights. Games for various platforms are accepted to enter the competition. If your game is in alpha or higher and you wish to participate, please apply here: (http://goo.gl/forms/CdPfnjKyji)

A panel of judges will select one winner for each category: The Best Art, The Best Game Design, The Best Story-Telling and The Grand Prix.

Applications will be accepted until January 15, 2016. Participation is free of charge. Please note: you have to have a valid conference ticket to be able to participate in the contest.

White Nights Game Industry Awards 2015

The White Nights Game Industry Awards will be held as a part of the conference for the third time. Companies that achieved the most in the year 2015 will receive awards in 5 categories. The nominees will be announced next week. Don’t forget to cast your vote on the White Nights website. The fate of the nominees is up to you!  

See you in Helsinki!

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Gamedu 2016 connects devs and educators in January

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January has an interesting opportunity for everyone interested in games and education: Gamedu 2016 is a seminar focused on gamification and interactive cooperation between game-related businesses and schools. The two-day event is organized by Kouvola Region Vocational College, KSAO. The goal is to enhance game industry education by connecting educators and industry talent, and reinforcing the dialogue between different operators.

IGDA members will get 10% off of the seminar price. To claim your price reduction state your membership status in the billing information section of the registration form.

Note that the main language of the seminar is Finnish.

Programme

Thursday 9:30 – 16:00

9:30

Coffee & registration

10:00

Opening words – principal Timo Olli (KSAO)

10:20

Building successful game education – game industry veteran and pedagog Juha Huhtakallio (Metropolia)

Break

11:20

Case KSAO/Keuda: BioSampo game – lecturer Jukka Harju (KSAO)

11:40

Business-Akatemia – team leader Tiia Lappalainen (KSAO)

12:00

Lunch

13:00

Game development education in Leeds and in the UK – Abu Berat (Leeds City College)

13:40

Coffee break

14:15

Peliteollisuuden tulevaisuuden osaamistarpeet – education councillor Ulla Taipale-Lehto (Opetushallitus)

14:45

Workshops

16:00

Wrapping up the first day

18:00

Evening programme starts

Friday 9:00 – 14:00

9:00

Helping start-ups – teacher Patricia Toledo (Oulu Game Lab/OAMK)

9:40

Pelialan koulutus yritysten näkökulmasta – CEO Jussi Tähtinen (Nitro Games Ltd)

10:20

Coffee break

10:40

Oppimisen pelillistämisen tarpeet – game pedagog Mauri Laakso (Meillä on leikki kesken)

11:20

Pelit opetuksessa – learning developer Mikael Uusi-Mäkelä (TeacherGaming)

12:00

Wrapping up and closing the seminar

Lunch

There will also be an open forum and pitching workshop, for entrepreneurs and talent to meet.

Event details

Date: 14.-15.1.2016
Venue: KSAO Liiketalous / auditorium, Salpausselänkatu 57, 45100 Kouvola
Price: 45 € (incl. 24% VAT), includes seminar and catering for both days

RSVP by 31.12.2015 at https://bit.ly/gamedu2016

More info: Susanna Rintala, KSAO Aikuisopisto, 020 61 56290, susanna.rintala@ksao.fi

Seminar attendees have a room quota reserved at two local hotels, Cumulus Kouvola and Sokos Hotel Vaakuna. Mention “GAMEDU” while making your reservations.

Vaakuna:

Cumulus: