Category Archives: Glasgow

March 2016 Glasgow Meetup Recap

Posted on 04/04/2016 by | Comments Off on March 2016 Glasgow Meetup Recap

The first meetup in our calendar of monthly events for 2016 was held at MEGAbytes cafe in Glasgow on the 30th March.

We kicked things off in a relaxed style with our usual “Announcements” open mic session, where anyone attending can get up and plug their current project, event or interest. And what a response we had, with a whopping nine things talked about! In case you missed them (or if you were unable to attend) they were:

Wow, what a productive community we’ve got. With all those announcements, was there even time to fit in the meetup’s Post-GDC roundup panel? Well of course there was!

The panel was Caitlin Goodale, Andrew Reid, Jon McKellan, and David Farrell discussing their various experiences of GDC from the perspectives of academics, students, and developers. They talked about what they had hoped to get out of the conference, what they actually spent their time doing, how to organise meetings with publishers, networking (and which parties to avoid!) and finally how they paid for their trips and how you the avid audience-member might receive some funding towards attending GDC yourself next year.

We hope to have a recording of the panel available soon.

The evening was rounded off with socialising until venue close.

We’d once again like to thank our panellists, MEGAbytes for hosting us, and our ever-useful volunteers.

The next meetup will be at Codebase in Edinburgh on Tuesday 19th of April, see you there!

Comments Off on March 2016 Glasgow Meetup Recap

Posted in GDC, Glasgow, IGDA Scotland, Meetings

Tagged , ,

IGDA Scotland March Meetup: GDC Round up!

Posted on 28/03/2016 by | Comments Off on IGDA Scotland March Meetup: GDC Round up!

Now that the dust has settled and jet lag is fading away, IGDA Scotland is happy to announce that we’re hosting our annual GDC Roundup at MEGABytes in Glasgow on Wednesday 30th of March from 7pm. We’ll be having a roundtable of students, academics and professionals discuss their experiences and takeaways from the biggest game developers event of the year, so if you’re interested in GDC at all then come hear about it from the horses’ mouths!

 

 

As always, we will have an open floor for announcements before the panel kicks off. So if you have any news you’d like to share then feel free to come down and do so! We’ll also be opening up to general networking after the panels.

Don’t miss your chance by registering your free ticket on Eventbrite or by using the handy registration box below. Our meetings are open to all, even if you’re not a member of the IGDA. Non-students must be registered ahead of the event in order to be guaranteed entry to the venue.

Comments Off on IGDA Scotland March Meetup: GDC Round up!

Posted in Glasgow, IGDA Scotland, Meetings

Tagged , , , ,

Boyd Multerer Masterclass at GCU

Posted on 05/05/2015 by | Comments Off on Boyd Multerer Masterclass at GCU

Boyd Multerer Banner

Join us for a masterclass with Boyd Multerer (@BoydMulterer), the man responsible for Xbox Live, the gaming and entertainment service now used by more than 46 million people worldwide on 12th May 2015 from 6pm at Glasgow Caledonian University. He will share with us lessons learned from Xbox and his predictions for the future of gaming. He will focus on the importance of anticipating changes in technology and culture, and forecasting how they will change in future years.

Eventbrite button

While working at Microsoft, he was also behind the XNA C# game development framework, which allows independent developers and creators to produce games for the Xbox 360 console for the first time. Since then, he founded and led the team that worked on the Xbox One’s operating system, which went on to win a Technical Emmy and a Microsoft Technical Achievement Award. After almost 20 years at Microsoft, Boyd left in December 2014 and is now working on an as yet unannounced project.

The masterclass is free and open to the public, but IGDA members can book reserved tickets for themselves by contacting us at [email protected] (while stocks last). Light refreshments will be served afterwards in the Garden Café in the Govan Mbeki Building.

Eventbrite button

Comments Off on Boyd Multerer Masterclass at GCU

Posted in Glasgow, Special Events

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Introducing our 2014 Election Candidates and Opening of Voting

Posted on 14/11/2014 by | Comments Off on Introducing our 2014 Election Candidates and Opening of Voting

We’re extremely proud to announce that the nominations for this year’s Board of Directors election are in, with a total of 7 candidates running for 4 open seats and the opportunity to directly shape the chapter’s future. These new directors will serve for up to 2 years, and join existing board members Andrew Macdonald and Brian McDonald.

2014 Election Candidates

This also means that the voting phase of the election process has begun, where IGDA members (with voting rights) can have their say on how the chapter is led, and the chance to decide who best represents their interests. This is a remarkable improvement over our very first election last year, which was more of a formality with no real contest. The results of the election will be announced at the Annual General Meeting and Social on 19th November from 19:30 at The Admiral Bar in Glasgow, which you are welcome to attend! It will be a great chance to meet the new board members and celebrate how far the chapter has come over the last year. We are still seeking a sponsor for the AGM! If you can help, please contact [email protected].

Eventbrite - IGDA Scotland Annual General Meeting 2014
Even if you can’t vote, we encourage you to read the candidate statements to get an idea of where things might be going in the future. The candidates running (pictured above) are in alphabetical order by surname as follows:

You can learn more about our election process by reading our 2014 Election Procedures Policy. If you’re an IGDA member with voting rights (i.e. not a student member), you should have been emailed about how to cast your vote. If you think you’re eligible to vote, but haven’t been sent voting instructions, please contact [email protected].

  • Tuesday 18th November
    • Deadline for votes
  • Wednesday 19th November

Eventbrite - IGDA Scotland Annual General Meeting 2014
Continue reading →

Comments Off on Introducing our 2014 Election Candidates and Opening of Voting

Posted in Glasgow, IGDA Scotland

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 2014: Annual General Meeting in Glasgow

Posted on 05/11/2014 by | Comments Off on November 2014: Annual General Meeting in Glasgow

Global Game Jam Play Party 2014 in Glasgow

As the year starts to wrap up for the holidays, and as as our ongoing chapter Board of Directors elections draw to a close, you’re invited to join us on 19th November from 19:30 at The Admiral Bar in Glasgow to reflect on what our community has accomplished over the course of the last year, and what the coming year may bring.

Just like any of our other events, the AGM is open to anybody interested in game development in Scotland. You’re a part of the wider community, whether you’re an IGDA member or not, so we heartily encourage you to come along, share your views and have an impact.

As the AGM is largely a social and celebratory occasion, we would love to offer free drinks to our attendees with the help of a generous sponsor. If you are interested in helping us out, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Global Game Jam Play Party 2014 in Glasgow

If you wish to vote or run in the upcoming elections, you must be an full IGDA member by 23:59 on 11th November, so be sure to join the IGDA if you would like to participate; those wishing to nominate themselves for election should also submit a candidate statement. Learn more about our election process here

Eventbrite - IGDA Scotland Annual General Meeting 2014

Comments Off on November 2014: Annual General Meeting in Glasgow

Posted in Glasgow, IGDA Scotland, Meetings

IGDA Scotland Mini Game Jam

Posted on 25/06/2014 by | Comments Off on IGDA Scotland Mini Game Jam

Mini Game Jam

Amanda Wilson talks about IGDA Scotland’s Mini Game Jam:

June 18th 2014 saw the first IGDA Scotland Mini Game Jam, which was held at Smithycroft Secondary School in Glasgow. Over 90 children from four schools came together to work in teams for the event. The children were from Primary 6 through to 2nd years, and came from Royston Primary School, Carntyne Primary School, Cranhill Primary School, and Smithycroft Secondary School.

The aim of the day was to let the children see that they are easily able to be creators of their own games rather than just being able to play them, and to have some fun while doing so. Given that the Commonwealth Games are happening soon, it seemed only appropriate that that should be the theme for the day. Each team consisted of 3 or 4 children, and to make it more interesting the teams consisted of children from different schools. The challenge was to then come up with a game based on the Commonwealth Games within a few hours using the programming language Scratch (whilst also getting to know your teammates too!).

The children quickly got into their stride, and before long the ideas were emerging and heading to the screen. Just watching them working together, and at some points coming up with compromises over colours in the game or who did what, was fantastic. By lunchtime a few teams were even starting to put final touches to their games.

After lunch it was all about tidying up what they had, and making sure things were working properly. To round off the day, the guys from Outplay Entertainment gave a demonstration of some of the games their company makes to the children while the games were being judged, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

Winners

While there were a lot of wonderful games in the end a hard decision had to be made, and the overall winner was Clydes Adventure, which was a game about getting the Commonwealth mascot Clyde through three different levels. It was chosen as the winner because it was very well designed, and also incorporated the theme of the Commonwealth Games. You can play Clydes Adventure online at http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/23796743/.

Runners-up

The runners up were Sports Day Scavenger Hunt, which showed some amazing teamwork as every member of the team was from a different school, so as well as getting to know each other in a short amount of time they also managed to come up with a great idea. Sports Day Scavenger Hunt can also be played online at http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/23796618/

I was also lucky enough to have a few volunteers who came along to help out: Mike Gormley and Luke Brown from Outplay Entertainment, Alice Rendall from Kobojo, and David Farrell from Glasgow Caledonian University, alongside five senior pupils from Smithycroft Seconday School, all of whom were invaluable throughout the day. I’d also like to thank Outplay Entertainment for their sponsorship of the Mini Game Jam, Smithycroft Secondary School for hosting, and of course all the children for coming along and making such brilliant games!

Comments Off on IGDA Scotland Mini Game Jam

Posted in Glasgow, Student

IGDA Scotland to hold first “Mini Game Jam” for primary school children

Posted on 21/05/2014 by | Comments Off on IGDA Scotland to hold first “Mini Game Jam” for primary school children

IGDA Logo
IGDA Scotland are delighted to announce that they will be holding their very first “Mini Game Jam”, sponsored by Outplay Entertainment. The jam is a one-day event which aims to inspire primary school children and teach them the basics of game design in a fun and compelling manner.

Event founder Amanda Wilson has worked for 3 years researching the use of the simple programming language Scratch with children. During her research she saw a great need for children to learn that games can be made, and not just played, and therefore decided to tackle this need on a wide scale with the Mini Game Jam.

Children from primary schools across the Greater Glasgow area will converge at Smithycroft Secondary School on 18th June, and together with the help of onsite volunteers will work in teams to develop games around a given theme.

Whilst the main focus of the day is to provide a fun activity for the attending children, it’s also really important to show them that they can create games for themselves.

We’re really proud to be supporting Amanda and the Mini Game Jam, and we can’t wait to see what games the children develop over the course of the day!

Comments Off on IGDA Scotland to hold first “Mini Game Jam” for primary school children

Posted in Glasgow, Student