IGDA Scotland

With GDC fast approaching, we’ve dedicated this week to all representation from Scotland attending the conference thanks to IGDA Foundation programs. To round up our celebration of scholars, we have an interview with Llaura Ash McGee. Llaura is one of the inaugural recipients of the Next Gen Leaders Program.

What do you do?

I make games! I run an independent studio in Dublin, DREAMFEEL, and we’re known for games like ‘CURTAIN’, which follows the unhealthy relationship between two women in a Glasgow punk band, our upcoming game ‘If Found, Please Return’, in which you erase the universe, and art installations like ‘Fluc’ that let participants relax inside a rainy tent and warp the rain to create visual art. You can find my work at http://dreamfeel.org and I’m on twitter @dreamfeelx. I also run events in Ireland, help people make games and lecture in the Dublin Institute of Technology. My interests lie in experimental and expressive video games.

Where are you from/what is your connection to Scotland?

I’m from Donegal on the North West coast of Ireland, but I lived and worked in Scotland for a number of years. I studied at Abertay in Dundee on the MProf Masters programme in 2011 and 2012 while I worked on my own indie games, and then I worked in a startup games company Secret Lunch on the game PS4/PC game Shu for almost a year. After these experiences I returned and based myself in Ireland, but I have a lot of connections to indie folks and friends in Scotland and it holds a special place for me.

Why did you choose to apply to IGDA Scholarships specifically?

I got two student scholarships in 2012, which brought me to America and help me meet the wider game development community. I was very grateful for the experience and since 2014 I’ve helped by judging student entries for them. This year they started a new program called ‘Next Gen Leaders’ for folks from minority and marginalized backgrounds who have been working in the industry for a few years. I was really excited for this initiative, and the chance to meet and learn from a really diverse and interesting group of people.

What are you most looking forward to at GDC?

I’m looking forward to exploring the Alternate Controller section of the expo floor, and the narrative summit in the talks. However, most of all I’m exiting to meet and talk with new people and to see old friends again!

Is there a specific goal you’re hoping to achieve at GDC?

I’m taking my latest game ‘If Found, Please Return’ and showing it to publishers and planning for the future of DREAMFEEL. Most of all my goal is to learn and come back even more excited to make mind blowing games.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Create the art and the video games you want to see in the world. Make weird, personal and interesting work, then support those who do. And try to look after yourself in the present as well! <3

With GDC fast approaching, we’ve dedicated this week to all representation from Scotland attending the conference thanks to IGDA Foundation programs. Kirsty Keatch is our next featured scholar! Kirsty has been selected as one of 2017s Women In Games Ambassadors.

What do you do?

My speciality is implementing mobile game audio but I have a few other tricks up my sleeve. People are used to associating sounds with places, events, actions, so my work explores interactions around all the different things sound and music can be, whether playing with intersections between art, sound and digital technologies or blurring boundaries between artist, player and performer.

I’m currently working with assistive music technology company Skoogmusic, a recipient of the UK Games Fund, to develop a music game using the Skoog as controller. I’m still researching a lot of ideas as I’ve just finished university. I have a sound installation which has been commissioned by Edinburgh International Science Festival, so I’m still excited to discover where my personal professional development might take me next.

Where are you from/what is your connection to Scotland?

I’m Scottish, all my family are from Dundee and I went to the University of Edinburgh to do Music Technology and then a Masters in Sound Design by research. I spent a lot of time out of Scotland as a child and as a result I feel very European. What I like about Scotland is that it has such a close knit creative community that nurtures and supports creative talent.

Why did you choose to apply to IGDA Scholarships specifically?

I chose to apply for an IGDA scholarship because I was inspired by the stories of other students who had gone over from Scotland in the past few years and how they benefitted from the experience, thanks to the support of the IGDA. Had it not been for these local success stories, I wouldn’t have believed I would be able to cut through on a global scale.

What are you most looking forward to at GDC?

I’m going to GDC like a tiny fish that wants to see what else is going on in the ocean.
I’m going armed with an enormous sense of curiosity because it is such a unique opportunity to find out about games and what else they can be. There aren’t many people researching game audio in Scotland and we rely a lot on online communities so I’m looking forward to actually meeting some of those people in real life. At the same time, I think I might be so inspired by other things I’m likely to come away with an entire change of career direction in mind.

Anything else you’d like to add?

A couple of years ago I don’t think I would have had enough experience and understanding of games to get the most out the conference. I’ve read the blogs of girls who have gone before me and I think that’s helped to prepare me. It’s a huge honour to be chosen as a Women in Games Ambassador and I won’t take a moment for granted!