IGDA Scotland Chapter launch
On Thursday the 19th of May 2011 SquareGo was proud to be invited to, and attend, the inaugural meeting of the International Games Developers Association (IGDA): Scotland Chapter.
Although the chapter had existed previously, this re-launch was well overdue and provided many of Scotland’s game talents the chance to meet and speak about games, development, futures and possibilities as well as the opportunity to make new friends and contacts throughout the industry.
The re-launch was lead by Hazel McKendrick who had done tireless work, with her team, to bring the event together, and it is to their credit that the event was such a great success as over eighty people crammed into the function room of the Braes in Dundee. Hazel explained the remit of the chapter and that meetings would circulate between Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh to provide all across Scotland with a forum for interesting debate and chat.
Other speakers included Elaine Russell, from Dare to be Digital, who spoke about the opportunities Dare provided to students across the world and that the Dare Protoplay event would be held in Dundee this year, showcasing the games that had been made.
Paul Farley, Tag Games, spoke about the value of the IGDA Scotland Chapter, the shift in the market towards social media and mobile games and about the work and opportunities at Tag. Tag Games also provided free drinks as part of their sponsorship which were widely appreciated.
Other academic luminaries speaking were Jon Sykes, [Scottish Game Jam] from Glasgow Caledonian University, talking about the opportunities of the eMotion labs and the student led Project Ludus which SquareGo are visiting and reporting on soon; Grant Clarke, from University of Abertay, who gave an overview of the existing games courses and upcoming opportunities, which make Dundee one of the leading areas in the field, and Daniel Livingstone, from the University of the West of Scotland, who also talked about the degree courses available and students who would be ultimately seeking jobs.
Representatives from many of the companies spoke too. Brian McNicoll [Dynamo Games] spoke about the company’s origins and the value of home grown talent from the variety of sources in Scotland. Jessica Sage and David Morrison [Play2Improve] talked about the imminent release of FPS Trainer and the Dundee Games Jam taking place this coming weekend and Darren Jamieson [TPLD] talked about the growing market for work based games and the launch of his new site www.ukgamedev.com which, he admitted, is a little rough round the edges at this time but will be improved quickly. Finally, Stuart Gray [Whisky Biscuit] used the opportunity to simply say, “Hi”, and make people aware of his first game and what he has already achieved. I also had some words to say about using the media and PR.
The atmosphere was friendly and cordial, the speeches well balanced and entertaining and the whole event simply felt right.
SquareGo welcomes the IGDA Scotland Chapter with open arms and is looking forward to the first Glasgow event, next month, where we will be reporting and quite possibly inputting on events and helping the strong start continue.
