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IGDA Victoria

Jan 24
0

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Jam (But Were Afraid To Ask)

By | Events, Local News | No Comments

This is what happens to the human body when deprived of Jam. Frightening!

With the Global Game Jam rapidly approaching (this Friday, people!) I thought that I would share a couple things that you might find useful. First up is this slick trailer for the event itself:

 

Next we have a couple articles with useful tips from independent game studio Convict Interactive all the way from Wollongong, Australia:

Tips for a game jam pt 1 – Before you arrive.

Tips for a game jam pt 2 – The first day

And check out this game for an example of what cool stuff can come out of Game Jams: Justin Smith’s Realistic Summer Sports Simulator. It was initially developed during OrcaJam 2011 right here in Victoria not 4 months ago.

If you haven’t already, you can register at the official Victoria site page of the Global Game Jam website. And sign up on the Global Game Jam 2012 / UVic GameDev presents… Minecraft! Facebook event page for up to the minute news.

See you all there!

Jan 17
0

Are Video Games Art? The Smithsonian Thinks So.

By | General, News | No Comments

Sure video games are pretty, but they aren't no "Dude, Where's My Car?"

There was a bit of a kerfuffle a short while ago when Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times declared that video games can never be art. Now, Roger Ebert makes an intelligent and well-thought out argument to support his views, but ultimately arguing whether or not something is art is a futile endeavour. The art world gave up on the idea ages ago. In light of the works of Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol and their kin, everyone has pretty much agreed that if an artist declares their work to be art, then so be it. A urinal installed in a gallery? Sure. A stack of Brillo boxes? Okay. Video games? Why not?

With this premise in mind,  a cool new exhibition opens this Spring at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. Running from March 16th – September 30, The Art of Video Games examines video games as an artistic medium through it’s forty year history. 80 games spanning the entire history of video games will be featured and were chosen with the help of the public from a list of hundreds. The exhibition includes all sorts of fun events including talks with industry legends Ken Levine and Nolan Bushnell, and performances by ComputeHer, 8 Bit Weapon, Triforce Quartet, and University of Maryland’s Gamer Symphony Orchestra. And the best thing? It’s travelling to the EMP Museum in Seattle next spring, so we’ll be able to check it out here from the comfort of the West-coast.

Jan 04
0

This Game Jam Just Got Global

By | Events, General, Local News | No Comments

It's a choose your own adventure where every choice is a winner!

You may recall some recent posts here extolling the virtues of Game Jams. Perhaps you heard about Orca Jam 2011 happening here in Victoria but it was too late – you’d already signed up your cat for Yoga classes and couldn’t make it out. Now here’s your chance to redeem yourself. Sign up for the Global Game Jam and participate in a worldwide jamtastic phenomena from right here in cozy little Victoria!

Three points of interest from the official site:

  • The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world’s largest game jam event, so if you were waiting for the biggest wait no longer.
  • GGJ brings together thousands of game enthusiasts participating through many local jams around the world which makes for excellent networking opportunities.
  • GGJ is an official project of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) which means that I am contractually obligated to be enthusiastic about it.

Now that you’re stoked to participate, you should head over to the local jam site page (this year it’s being held at UVic) and register. More information will be released as the time gets closer, so keep an eye out here for updates. And remember, if you don’t want to participate in the GGJ, you can always show up for the Minecraft LAN Party instead. Or you could remain home, eat corn chips, and dream of what might have been.

Dec 22
0

GameHouse Canada Steps Up Its Hiring Game

By | Careers, General, Local News, News | No Comments

Alex Mendelev, general manager of GameHouse Canada, takes a moment to reflect on one of his games. Photograph by: Darren Stone, timescolonist.com

You may have already seen the article in the Victoria Time Colonist or read their press release, but in a follow-up to the story I posted earlier in the month, it appears that GameHouse Canada is looking to hire even more people than originally mentioned. Now they’re talking about doubling their workforce by adding at least 20-25 employees. Along with Microsoft Studio Victoria’s goal of bringing on 50-60 people, we’re now looking at potentially over 80 new jobs for game creators in Victoria. Wow. Things are definitely looking up for the local game development community. At this rate, we may have to start holding IGDA Victoria meetings at the Memorial Arena.

Dec 16
0

Gaslamp Game Makes Top 10 on Gamasutra

By | General, Local News, News | No Comments

The secret of their success? It's all in the eyebrows, kids!

As an early Christmas gift for local indie developer Gaslamp Games, Gamasutra ranked their funny and entertaining dungeon crawler Dungeons of Dredmor #6 in Gamasutra’s Best Of 2011: Top 10 Indie Games. They’re in good company. The list includes many excellent indie games such as Atom Zombie Smasher and Frozen Synapse as well as fellow Canadian developers Capybara Games with their stylish release Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. Congratulations Gaslamp!

If you haven’t already, give Dungeons of Dredmor a try – it’s a blast. And don’t forget their just released expansion: Realm of the Diggle Gods.

Dec 15
0

Mid-Month Non-Denominational Holiday Brewpub Social!

By | Events, General, Meetings | No Comments

It might be easier to play that game without gloves on, Santa. Just sayin...

I thought a reminder might be in order for the IGDA Victoria Mid-Month Brewpub Social coming this Saturday. This month it transforms into the Mid-Month Non-Denominational Holiday Brewpub Social (or MMNDHBPS for short). Come on out and share some holiday cheer with the rest of the Victoria Game development community and dream about all the new games you might be getting. Hope to see you there, if not have a happy holiday of whatever variety you subscribe to!

When:

Saturday, December 17, 2011, 2:30 PM

Where:

350-B Bay Street

Victoria, BC

Phone: 250 380 0706

Website: http://www.moonunderwater.ca

RSVP:

Level Up meetup event

Dec 12
0

GameHouse Canada Looking for a Few Good Geeks

By | Careers, General, Local News | No Comments

And maybe someday you'll rock as much as this guy!

I just got the word that GameHouse Canada is hiring. GameHouse is one of our largest local game companies and a Platinum Sponsor of the Level Up/IGDA Victoria group, so if anyone in Victoria is looking for a good place to move forward with your game career, or if anyone outside of Victoria is looking for a reason to move here, you should definitely check them out. The job postings are located here on their Facebook Page. Myke Allen, who works as a Game Artist at GameHouse and is an all around good guy, was kind enough to pass on this information, so if you decide to apply, please mention his name.

Dec 03
0

December Monthly Meeting featuring Chris Tihor's ICIDS 2011 Highlights

By | General, Meetings, Presentations | No Comments

The frog kissing is finished for another year...

This is a reminder of the monthly meeting for December taking place on this coming Monday evening. Continuing our Awesome Talks series, this month’s meeting features yours truly giving a presentation on the recently concluded International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS) 2011 in Vancouver. Specifically, I’ll be talking about the workshop I ran called Rummaging in the Geek Culture Toolbox, but I’ll also be open to any questions regarding the rest of the conference, and I’ll bring a printed copy of the proceedings for all to peruse. As always, everyone is welcome to bring any projects along that they’ve been working on to share with the rest of the group, and I’m sure that there will be lots of discussion about Microsoft’s recent announcement about Microsoft Studios Victoria.

See you there!

Details:

Monday, December 5th

The Collard Room – Swans Hotel and Brewpub

506 Pandora Avenue, Victoria, BC

Doors open at 4:30pm

RSVP via the Meetup event: Show & Tell @ Swans

Dec 02
0

Microsoft Brings the Game to Victoria

By | General, Local News, News | No Comments

The new home of Microsoft Studios Victoria. Nothing important was going on in there anyways.

As you may have already heard from various news sources, Microsoft is planning on opening a new game studio here in Victoria. Microsoft Studios Victoria will be opening in the new year and will be located in offices in the Dogwood building on the downtown waterfront. While some local game companies are wary of the new competition for local talent (Microsoft’s looking to hire 50-60 people), industry observers and post-secondary institutions are cheering the move, saying that it will mark Victoria as a viable location for other game companies to set up shop and lure new employees to the area from around the world. Regardless of which camp you belong, everyone has to agree that the Victoria game development industry is about to get a lot more interesting in the next year.

Nov 16
0

Virtual Expo, Real Job

By | Events, Meetings | No Comments

I'm hoping the other interviews go better than this one did.

If you’re based in Victoria and you’re looking for work in the Game industry, or if you’re based in Victoria and looking to hire for your Game company, or really, if you’re based anywhere that has internet access and looking to work/hire, than you could do worse than check out the new Virtual Career Expo. Hosted by Game Recruiter and partnered with the IGDA, ESA, Casual Connect, and a bunch of other organizations, the Virtual Career Expo is a job fair that you can attend from the comfort of your own home. As a job-seeker, this is an excellent opportunity to attend an interview in your pyjamas. As an employer, you can set up your own virtual booth, meet job candidates, and interview them all while wearing your pyjamas. It’s really a big games industry pyjama party that may get you the work you’re looking for without the hassle of a lot of travelling costs. It’s worth a look if only to avoid potentially troublesome pillow fights.

Oh yeah, check out the Facebook page for a contest you can enter to win a personal resume review with GameRecruiter CEO and Co-Founder Marc Mencher. I’ve seen a few talks featuring Marc and that guy knows his stuff.

Also, I’d like to remind everyone about the upcoming November Mid-Month Pub Social happening at the Moon Under Water pub this Saturday. It’s a chance to kick back and relax with your fellow game developers and enjoy some tasty beverages and good conversation. See you there!

Event Details:

Saturday, November 19, 2011, 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
The Moon Under Water Brewpub
350-B Bay Street, Victoria, BC

Meetup event