Get 10% Off Game Access in Brno

Are you ready to discover Brno? Game Access '19, the largest annual game development conference in the Czech Republic, will take place from May 24-25, 2019, in the Brno Exhibition Centre. Get ready for talks by well-known game industry professionals from Eidos, Tekla Inc, Isomniac Games, Exit Plan, Ubisoft, Redhill, King, EA, Virtuos, Housemarque, Amanita Design, Seriously, and Geewa. There will also be also dozens of new games, unforgettable networking parties, and two amazing musical performances based on games “Mafia” and “Witcher” (tickets sold separately). All of this and more is waiting for you in the heart of Europe.

IGDA Members get 10% off a conference pass when using promo code: GA19IGDA10

For more information visit the conference website: https://game-access.com

Helsinki Hub: March gathering with Ubisoft RedLynx

Text By Giorgos Riskas and Roope Sorvo

With the winter snow finally starting to melt away, the IGDA Helsinki community came together for the March gathering at Maxine. The March gathering was sponsored by Ubisoft RedLynx, who was celebrating the release of their latest addition to the Trials franchise, Trials Rising. Trials Rising is a physics-based racing platformer with a tongue-in-cheek attitude and over-the-top action. Guests were invited to try out the game in the demo corner and there was a quiz whose winner received a grand prize. When leaving, all of the attendees were treated with a goodie bag.

The gathering was kicked off with a short seminar. Julius Fondem, an Associate Producer at Ubisoft RedLynx, started things off with his presentation Building ‘Trials Rising’ Together with the Community, Julius went through the history of the series, from its browser game roots all the way to the release of Trials Rising, which he describes as a “decided return to the series’ roots.” While the few previous titles had had more fantastical themes that were less grounded in reality, the development team of Trials Rising wanted to focus more on the three pillars at the series’ core: community, competition, and creativity.

Julius Fondem talking about the creation of Trials Rising. Photo by Jesse Eloranta.

Community has always been at the heart of the series. Ubisoft RedLynx has a history of collaborating with the series’ fans, be it through hiring top builders of custom levels, inviting groups of experienced players to the studio for workshops and actively listening to the community’s feedback through a myriad of social media channels. When asked if this kind of collaboration with the community is something any developer could include in their games, Julius’ answered a resounding ‘Yes’. “However, it depends heavily on the type of game being developed,” Julius elaborated. “Each genre and format creates its own type of challenges and limitations.”

The second presentation was hosted by Roland Kindermann, Technical Director, Mobile at Ubisoft RedLynx. His seminar Bringing South Park to the Small Screen delved into the challenges met during development of the mobile collectible card game South Park: Phone Destroyer. This included the process of replicating the world of South Park in a way that that supports the gameplay and works within the limits of a mobile platform, and the processes necessary to produce live content with an incredibly low lead time.

Gathering visitors playing Trials Rising. Photo by Casimir Kuusela.

See you in April!

Volunteers' help needed for Finnish Game Awards event!

Etsitään viittä tai kuutta vapaaehtoista, tehtävinä tapahtuman esivalmistelut tapahtumapäivänä (rollupien ym. laittelua, plaseerauskorttien laittelua), osallistujien sisäänkirjaaminen ja ohjaaminen tilassa, palkintojenjaossa avustaminen, rollupien ym. materiaalien purku tilaisuuden päätteeksi ja muut tapahtuman aikana mahdollisesti ilmenevät, vastaavanlaiset juoksevat tehtävät. Oma-aloitteisuus ehdottomasti plussaa.

The Finnish Game Awards tapahtuu torstaina 25.4. Ravintola Bankissa. Vapaaehtoisten olisi mieluusti päästävä paikalle jo n. klo 14. Itse tilaisuus alkaa klo 18, ja päättyy viimeistään klo 01:00. Tyylikäs, siisti pukeutuminen (puku). Vapaaehtoiset ruokitaan, ja heille järjestetään todennäköisesti jälkikäteen myös oma pieni karonkka.

PÄIVITYS 26.3.2019: Vapaaehtoiset tapahtumaan ovat löytyneet, kiitos kaikille mielenkiinnosta!
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Looking for five or six volunteers to help in the preparations of The Finnish Game Awards on the day of the gala, to help set up rollups etc., to check in guests and answer their questions, to assist in the awards ceremony and finally help take down our materials and clear the space once the event is over.

The Finnish Game Awards takes place in Restaurant Bank on Thursday, 25th April. It would be great if the volunteers could arrive already around 14:00. The event itself begins at 18:00 and will finish by 1:00. Dress nicely (suit). Volunteers will be fed during the evening and will most likely have a little thank you get together arranged for them sometime after the gala.

UPDATE 26.3.2019: Volunteers have been found for the event, a huge thank you to everyone for your interest!

Helsinki Hub: 2019 Post Play Party

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

The February IGDA gathering at the Helsinki Hub was a non-commercial Post Play Party devoted to games and experiences created during the 2019 Global Game Jam. Four speakers of different professional backgrounds in the industry, united in their their passion for jamming, informed and amused the audience by sharing their knowledge and their personal stories.

The first to take the stage was Annakaisa Kultima, president of Finnish Game Jam and game studies scholar at Aalto University, shared her insight about game jamming or as she defined it: Improvisation of Game Development. According to Kultima’s seminar, Crazy Stunts and Awesome Numbers, Finland contributed to the global scene by producing 218 games in 26 locations by a total of 884 jammers in 2019. Unlike many other countries, a respectable amount of jammers are already working in the game industry while Finland also maintains one the highest ratios of games made to game jam participants.

Annakaisa Kultama addressing the audience

Minna Eloranta, a game artist at Secret Exit, spoke about her Game Jam experience in Haifa, Israel. Expecting more of a culture shock, Eloranta found jamming in Haifa far less different than anticipated. Tools and terminology remain largely same. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there were no differences: politics heavily affect the game development in Israel, preventing creation of larger networks and developer communities with nearby countries. On a lighter note, Israel actually is the first country to start the Global Game Jam due to Sabbat.

Superjammer Samuli Jääskeläinen told about his experiences jamming at a mall in Shenzhen, China. Jääskeläinen is a jamming veteran who for many years now has travelled to different countries to experience the Global Game Jam in a different environment each year. Jamming or not, Jääskeläinen has a goal of making a game every month, a streak currently on its seventh year. He manages this by strict prioritization: by day he works as a software engineer at Varjo Technologies, while at night he’s a superjammer, who keeps game development strictly as a hobby.

Speaking of prolific, the last seminar of the night was held by composer and sound designer Elie Abraham, probably better known among the regular jammers as “That Guy with the ‘I WANT 2 MAKE MUSIC 4 UR GAME’ Sign”. Abraham tries to partake in as many game jams as possible, and usually contributes music to over ten games per jam. During the 2019 Global Game Jam he participated in creation of 30 games! In addition to serial jamming, Abraham has held talks, key notes, and workshops at several other jams.

The Demo Corner showcased the fruits of the 2019 Global Game Jam. The full spectrum of interpretations on the theme ‘What Home Means to You’ was on display: many of the games focused on activities that you do at home:

A Vacuum-Cleaning Game and Meanwhile at Home simulate house cleaning; Dumpling Family was developed by the team of Samuli Jääskeläinen in Shenzhen, China and focuses on cooking; Party Pooper is a point-and-click game about navigating a house party.

Meanwhile other titles used ‘home’ in more abstract ways: Laika’s Super Sober Adventure in Space features the titular cosmonaut dog traversing space, waiting to return home; while in Human Rescue dogs try to find homes for stray humans.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Finnish Game Jam should visit their site: http://www.finnishgamejam.com

See you next month!

Get 20% off GameDev Days in Tallinn

Creative Mobile and IGDA Estonia invite you to visit Tallinn for the GameDev Days conference on April 11-12.

Founded in 2011, GameDev Days is an annual networking and knowledge sharing event, that attracts technology companies, global platforms, and game developers from the Baltics, Nordics and the rest of Eastern Europe.

Why you should consider attending? 

• Find new clients or strategic partnerships in the Baltic and Nordic regions. 

• Talk to platform representatives to find out about upcoming updates.

• Get inspired by fellow developers, learn about their innovations and technologies and share your experience. 

• Meet new talent to hire or find your dream job at the GameDev Days Careers fair. 

• Friendly atmosphere and cozy environment create pleasant experience for networking and obtaining new knowledge.

More than 70% of our audience are returning year after year, bringing friends and colleagues along. 

Companies who have already confirmed their participation include Google, Wargaming, Ubisoft, Glu Mobile, and Remedy. We guarantee a world-class speaker lineup and high quality of content and networking. 

Check out the conference website for a list of confirmed speakers and discounts on lodging and ferries.

Use promo code IGDAFIN when registering for 20% off of all tickets.