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IGDA Victoria

Sep 14
0

With Local Game Company, Charity Begins at Your Homepage.

By | General, Local News | No Comments
Wordraiser

A screen-shot of Wordraiser - no relation to classic SNES game ActRaiser.

Charities teaming up with video game companies are becoming less unusual these days. Child’s Play, Charitii and OneBigGame are some of the better known examples of this trend. A new game company based in Victoria has continued with this idea, bringing charitable gaming to the social media sphere. Donate2Play is the brainchild of three friends, Tomas Ernst, Kelly Pereira, and Adrian Pereira, who were looking to inject new life into the process of charity fund-raising. On September 8th of this year, Donate2Play launched their first game, Wordraiser. Released on Facebook as a fund-raising vehicle for the Ancient Forest Alliance, Wordraiser is a simple but addictive word finding game that raises money by prompting players for donations as they go up in levels. So far the response has been positive, and Donate2Play are looking forward to expand their partnerships to other non-profits on a global basis.

Sep 07
0

OrcaJam: Not Necessarily a Jar of Seafood Preserves

By | Chapter News, Local News, News | No Comments
OrcaJam 2011

Pajama Party! Okay, not really.

OrcaJam is fast approaching and excitement is growing in the game development community of sleepy Victoria, BC. It’s a popular game jam in the vein of the Global Game Jam and is quickly becoming an annual tradition. Created last year by local independent game creators Andy Moore and Fieran Mason-Blakley, OrcaJam 2010 was a great success – bringing together a diverse group of game developers for a 48 hour period of fun, comradery, and creativity. This year should be no different.

As of this writing there’s still room, so if you’re interested in signing up go to the official meetup page, register, and mark your calendar: OrcaJam is being held from Friday, September 16th (6pm) until Sunday September 18th (6pm). It’s only 50 bucks and includes some food and other treats. More details can be found at the official website: www.orcajam.com. Space is limited so sign up soon. See you there!

 

Sep 01
0

September Chapter Meeting

By | Chapter News, Meetings | No Comments
In partnership with Level Up! Victoria, we present the Victoria Chapter September monthly meeting. Pro, Indie, Hobbyist, Student, Programmer, Designer, Artist – all levels and disciplines are welcome.

We’ll at Swans Brewpub in the “Collard Room”, the private area near the kitchen/bathroom/ATM.

Let’s discuss the latest events in the industry, tales of going Indie, and game-play design, challenges, and solutions!

We have a private room with a projector, screen, and a ton of tables and chairs. Show off your current projects; do some playtesting; or just relax and enjoy the awesome local food and beer.

Because this is a private room, under-age individuals are allowed to come (with parent/guardian permission of course). Come one, come all. We’d love to see you.

Details:

Aug 24
0

New Study: Video Games Reduce Crime

By | General, News | No Comments
The Bat

Studies have shown that the Batman also reduces crime. What about Batman video games? Double whammy, right?

According to this article on GamePolitics.com, researchers have found that video games reduce crime by, if I understand it correctly, keeping potential criminals occupied with an acceptable substitute for the criminal acts that they might otherwise commit. It goes a bit deeper than that in the article, but the study also implies that if violent video games were banned by the government, the crime rates would actually go up as these potential criminals wouldn’t be getting their “violence fix” and would go looking for it elsewhere. Another feather in the cap of video games?

Aug 20
0

Local Studio Cedar Hill Games Releases Emissary of War

By | General, Local News | No Comments

Emissary of War TitleVictoria game developers Cedar Hill Games have just launched a new hack and slash dungeon crawling adventure called Emissary of War. Currently available for iOS platforms through the AppStore, and with an Android version in the offing sometime in the future, Emissary of War is the second game to come out of this young studio. To find out more about how Cedar Hill Games came to be, check out this two-part series written by founder Tobyn Manthorpe on Gamasutra: part one, part two.

It’s great to see new game companies making a start in Victoria and I hope that everyone in the community will join with me in welcoming Cedar Hill Games and supporting them in their latest project and for all projects to come. Congratulations Cedar Hill!

Aug 13
0

Hello Victoria!

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

Welcome to the new official home page for the Victoria Chapter of the IGDA. That’s Victoria, British Columbia, Canada for those who may be wondering. All news and updates will be posted here and also to our new Twitter account (@IGDAVictoria) and existing Facebook page. Feel free to subscribe to our email list via the right menu to get updates too. There are so many ways to stay informed, it’s downright silly.