Category Archives: Student

Film Student looking for game devs and academics to interview

Jack Hunter, a student at Glasgow University, is looking for Scottish game developers and academics to interview as part of his final Masters project.

He is producing a documentary on the question of “Are Games Art?”, and seeking input from:

  • Gamers
  • Developers
  • Academics; specialists in Video Game studies and History of Art

He is currently in the research stage and looking for input from developers at this time, specifically regarding:

  • what do video games mean to you personally?
  • what do they mean to you as a creator?
  • what are your opinions on the ongoing debate as to whether or not video games should be considered an art form?

If you are interested in taking part, and comfortable being on film, please contact Jack at: [email protected]

Congratulations to our GDC Europe/Gamescom Scholar!

We are happy to announce that once again Scotland is being represented in the next crop of IGDA Scholarships!

This year sees Kirsty Keatch head out to Germany for both GDC Europe and Gamescom with an All-Access Pass, mentorship from an industry professional, and an unforgettable IGDA-organized itinerary.

kirstykeatch

Kirsty is a Scottish game developer, creative programmer and sound designer based in Edinburgh. She’s interested in the role of mobile dynamic audio and the design of new mechanics for touch screen devices. She graduated with a First Class Honours in Music Technology BMus at Edinburgh University and is currently in her final semester of a Masters by research in Sound Design, developing a portfolio of games, that raided the toy box for inspiration, to present Katakata – a kinetic sound sculpture, Freq and Hedra – one touch games with a twist!

Congratulations Kirsty!


To find out more about the IGDA Scholarships programme or see the full list of Scholars, visit the website.

IGDA Scotland Presents: Ed Fries Recap

Last Tuesday, IGDA Scotland hosted our 2nd ever special event at Abertay University, Dundee. Ed Fries, the “father of the Xbox” privileged our 200 or so audience with a candid talk describing his amazing industry experience from programmer beginnings at Microsoft to what he is best known for, co-founding the Xbox project. After one or two glasses of wine in the reception party we all settled in to the university’s Main Lecture Theatre ready to absorb the wisdom and inner stories that this industry giant would tell us.

Ed Fries responds to an audience question

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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!

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!

IGDA Scotland to support Radio 1’s Academy Gaming Expo

BBC Radio 1 Academy
We’re thrilled to announce that we will be supporting the BBC Radio 1’s Academy Gaming Expo next Friday, 16th May, in the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow.

The expo will present students with the chance to play some of the latest games and apps, and meet the people who make them. As part of the expo visitors will be able to get one-to-one advice about how to start a career in the interactive industries, find out how to become a games journalist, and discover just what it takes to create the latest games.

Scottish developers 4J Studios and Ruffian Games will be delivering Q&A sessions, which will provide some insight into the games industry and how to become a part of it. If you would like to attend either of these sessions you will need to pick up a ticket, which are available all week for free from the Queen Margaret Union from 12:00pm each day.

The expo starts at 11:00am on 16th May, and is taking place at the Queen Margaret Union, 22 University Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8QN.

The schedule is:
11:00am – Expo opens – No ticket needed
12:00pm – Q&A: 4J Studios, Developers of Console Version of Minecraft – Pick up a free ticket from the QMU
12:30pm – Q&A: Getting into the Games Industry with Ruffian Games – Pick up a free ticket from the QMU
14:30 – How to Become a Games Writer – No ticket needed
15:00 – Expo ends

Priority entrance to the expo will be given to 16-24 year olds.

For more information on the Academy, click here: http://bit.ly/r1academy

You can also search for what people are saying about the Academy on Twitter here: #takeiton

Upcoming Meeting: April 2014 – GDC Roundup

Now that everybody has had the chance to recover, it’s time for our 2nd GDC Roundup meeting! Join us in the world’s oldest student union, the Teviot Row House on Wednesday 16th April from 19:30 for an evening of talks, followed by a panel, revolving around all the exciting news from San Francisco’s annual game development extravaganza.

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.

Following up on last month’s excellent microtalks from the community, we’re on the hunt for speakers interested in sharing some of their experiences from GDC. If you were exhibiting your game, spoke at a session, or even there as an attendee, that means you! We want to hear your thrilling tales, so we urge you to fill out our online form and volunteer to speak.

Edinburgh GameDevSoc

This year’s GDC Roundup is being hosted in association with the University of Edinburgh Game Development Society, who have graciously organised the Teviot Dining Hall in EUSA’s Teviot Row House for us. If you want to stay up to date on their activites, go ahead and check out their website, or contact them at [email protected].

Eventbrite - April Meeting: GDC Roundup