Helsinki Hub: November Gathering

Text by Giorgos Riskas and Roope Sorvo, photo by Casimir Kuusela

The November IGDA gathering at the Helsinki Hub was a non-commercial celebration. There wasn’t a specific agenda for the evening so developers had time to meet with friends and relax while discussing their plans for the year that is rapidly reaching its conclusion.

With no sponsors or presenters, the most visible banner of the night belonged to the documentary The Name of the Game. The film tells the story of Nex Machina, the collaboration between the legendary arcade game designer Eugene Jarvis, and the Finnish game developer Housemarque. The movie was shot over the course of three years in five different countries, resulting in 200 hours of footage detailing the creation process of the game. “However, it is more about the characters and their journey than a straight up documentary about the game’s development,” emphasized Heikki Kareranta, co-writer and producer of the film. “We wanted to make a good story rather than just a documentary.”

When asked about how much the subject will resonate with general audiences, Kareranta replied, “People in Finland are especially interested in video games on a large scale, but the average Joe has little idea about their creation process. This gives them a sort of a peek behind the curtain.”

The first press screening was arranged earlier in the day prior to the IGDA Gathering.

The Name of the Game premiered on November 23.

In addition to the Hollywood bigwigs, a wig of another kind also graced the event with their presence: IGDA Women In Gaming (WIG) was among the attendees joining the gathering, as they have done many times in the past. Its main goal is to build a support network for women in the industry and the group recently reached the milestone of 1000 members in Finland.

Two developers presented their games in this month’s demo corner:

Stone is a story driven ‘stoner noir’ game developed by Convict Games. The player assumes the role of a hungover koala detective in a colourful society of anthropomorphic Australian fauna. The game draws inspiration from pieces of media of the same genre such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Big Lebowski.

The game was in development for about a year and is now available for purchase on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/907770/

Chopball is a competitive multiplayer party sports game, currently in development by a studio that is tentatively calling itself Kanto Games. The gameplay combines elements of soccer and pinball while introducing a few interesting twists, such as breakable defenses in front of the goals. The game has been in development for a couple of months and aims for release in late 2019 as the studio’s first title.

See you in December!

23rd of November - Premiere of the movie THE NAME OF THE GAME in theaters across Finland!

The Name of the Game is a feature-length documentary about the team up between the legendary arcade game designer, Eugene Jarvis, and the Finnish game developer, Housemarque. The end result of the collaboration was the critically acclaimed PS4/PC title Nex Machina. The film gives the audience an unprecedented access to the unpredictable and plain crazy world of making a video game - uncensored.

The film hits theaters on November 23rd, and we urge everybody to go and see the film on the premiere weekend!

Next Gen Leaders at GDC 2019 Applications Open!

The Next Gen Leaders Program focuses on increasing the inclusivity of the game industry by supporting the retention of under-represented minorities who would otherwise be at risk of leaving the industry. The program is book-ended by two consecutive opportunities to attend the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, including a travel stipend, career-focused workshops, individual mentorship, extensive networking opportunities, and post-GDC discussions.

Applications are open to game developers around the world with 2-8 years of professional experience who identify as a member of an under-represented group and demonstrate a passion for game development.

Please help spread the word and apply today for a chance to join our 2019 cohort at GDC! Applications close on 30 November.

Get -10% off or even -15% off! #XmasJKL - The Game Industry Business Seminar 14th of Nov 2018

#XmasJKL - The Game Industry Business Seminar 14th of Nov 2018

#XmasJKL – The Game Industry and Business Seminar is the annual game business seminar in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. And it is already 4th time already!

Seminar speakers, networking and business in an open, relaxed event.

Learn, share, co-operate!

Organized by Expa Game Business Co-Operative
- Let’s make awesome game business!

Top lineup of spekeakers again with various topics from industry experts like Global Business, Game Development, Human Resources, Adaptive Music Design, Taking over the world with YouTube etc:

Opening words:
The opening words by Suvi Vuojolainen, Business and Marketing Manager, Business Jyväskylä, City of Jyväskylä

Lineup:
- Mika Rahko, Co-Founder, Futureplay
- Lauri Vuohensilta, Hydraulic Press Channel
- Adam Sporka, Adaptive Music Designer, Kingdom Come Deliverance
- Mirella Keto, Head of Organizational Development, Ubisoft RedLynx
- Jussi Immonen, COO, Nitro Games
- Timo Soininen, CEO, Small Giant Games

The event is K18

Check tickest and more event info at the website:
www.xmasjkl.com

Join to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/321368438598749/

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IGDA members USE THE CODE get -10% off: IGDAGOESXMAS

Get even -15% with Group Deal sent email for more details: sales@expa.fi

Source:: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/xmasjkl-the-game-industry-seminar-2018-tickets-50903992211

Helsinki Hub: October Gathering with Next Games

Text by Giorgos Riskas and Roope Sorvo, photos by Jesse Eloranta

October is the time of the year when the evenings get darker, leaves fall and the spirit of Halloween rises with undead horrors.

The October gathering was appropriately sponsored by Next Games, celebrating the release of their recent title, The Walking Dead: Our World, an AR title where the player takes on the zombie hordes on the streets of the real world. For the past five years, Next Games has been working hard to elevate the reputation of games using licensed intellectual property (IP), and they are currently working on three new games based on popular entertainment franchises.

Sulka Haro, lead designer of The Walking Dead: Our World, opened the seminar with his presentation “In Search for Location-based Mechanics - The Walking Dead: Our World Design Retrospective.” He went through the game’s creation process from their three core design pillars (“Play everywhere, Support couch play, and Be true to The Walking Dead) to aspects of the game’s core loop and the concept of shared reality. The presentation also delved into a brief history of AR games, listing influences and lessons learned from each spiritual predecessor of Our World.

The second speaker was Matias Ärje, director of technology at Next Games. His presentation “Earth, My Game Level - How the Planet-Wide Gameplay in The Walking Dead: Our World Came to Be” explained the methodology and language of the impressive mapping technology used in Our World. The presentation went into detail about the process of mapping, use of art, troubleshooting gameplay elements, and offhandedly explained compatibility issues between Google Earth and Google Maps.

The third and final presentation of the night was “How We Gather, Use and Lose Data - On Data Architecture, Selected Results, and Data Retention” by Jörkki Hyvönen and Vesa Palonen, the self-described “Matti & Teppo of the Game Industry”. Both worked with analytics on Our World; with Hyvönen as the Head of Analytics, while Palonen described himself as a ‘happy generalist’. The duo went through how data collection works at Next Games, and how applying analytics to that data affected the creation of Our World, from visibility and prediction to modelling and automation.

In addition to the presenters, we talked with Susanna Aittokoski, the communications manager at Next Games. According to her, the company’s success in the industry and good reputation on work ethic are thanks to the company’s culture, based on values of Caring, Courage and Curiosity.

“We give our employees the amount of responsibility they ask for themselves,” Aittokoski said. “Nobody is handed more to bite than they can chew.”

These values also extend to their partners, which has allowed a tighter relationship with the licence holders. Currently Next Games is the official, exclusive developer of The Walking Dead games. The close working relationship has enabled Next Games to have their games closely integrated with the series. For example, events of the series are reflected in The Walking Dead: Our World a day after the episode airs.

“Things like that are just plain cool to do,” Aittokoski said with excitement.

Alongside the seminars IGDA Finland presented their new project IGDA Future, an upcoming series of events aimed at kids and young people, created in collaboration with the libraries of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Digitalents. The aim is to create an equivalent of IGDA gatherings for younger audiences, with less stress on networking and more emphasis on activities.

See you in November!