Happy New Year! I hope everyone has had a relaxing holiday break and a wonderful start to 2016. I've got some news to kick off the new year: the gathering dates for spring season 2016.
That means the next gathering is only a week away! More info will follow early this week so stay tuned.
The list of gathering dates are also available on the gathering info page.
On February 11-12, 2016 the White Nights Conference will be held in Helsinki for the very first time. White Nights Helsinki 2016 is a unique business platform for mobile and social games industry that will join gaming worlds of East and West. For the 9th time in a row the conference will gather leading companies from all over the world.
Besides, Helsinki is called one of the European IT capitals and you can kill two birds with one stone: attend the conference and visit offices of the greatest gaming companies.
Purchase a ticket at a the lowest price possible now as early bird rates are ending soon! Note that by using the promo code "IGDA-Finland" you get 20% off on all tickets.
Experts from leading companies will share their knowledge and secrets to success! Supercell, Rovio, Wooga, Playraven, Wargaming, Google, Amazon, Facebook, VK.com, Creative Mobile, Skolkovo and many more will be attending! Preliminary program will be available on the official conference website at the end of the year.
Talented indie teams will get a chance to present their best project in order to find partners, investors, a publisher or to receive support from platforms.
Every team will get a super awesome mini-booth with their company name on it, as well as one free Premium ticket. To participate please apply here: (http://goo.gl/forms/QxQ15HK9hS) Please note: the number of developer booths is limited!
Indie Game Cup, a prestigious contest for game developers, will once again be held as a part of the White Nights. Games for various platforms are accepted to enter the competition. If your game is in alpha or higher and you wish to participate, please apply here: (http://goo.gl/forms/CdPfnjKyji)
A panel of judges will select one winner for each category: The Best Art, The Best Game Design, The Best Story-Telling and The Grand Prix.
Applications will be accepted until January 15, 2016. Participation is free of charge. Please note: you have to have a valid conference ticket to be able to participate in the contest.
The White Nights Game Industry Awards will be held as a part of the conference for the third time. Companies that achieved the most in the year 2015 will receive awards in 5 categories. The nominees will be announced next week. Don’t forget to cast your vote on the White Nights website. The fate of the nominees is up to you!
See you in Helsinki!
January has an interesting opportunity for everyone interested in games and education: Gamedu 2016 is a seminar focused on gamification and interactive cooperation between game-related businesses and schools. The two-day event is organized by Kouvola Region Vocational College, KSAO. The goal is to enhance game industry education by connecting educators and industry talent, and reinforcing the dialogue between different operators.
IGDA members will get 10% off of the seminar price. To claim your price reduction state your membership status in the billing information section of the registration form.
Note that the main language of the seminar is Finnish.
Thursday 9:30 – 16:00
9:30
Coffee & registration
10:00
Opening words – principal Timo Olli (KSAO)
10:20
Building successful game education – game industry veteran and pedagog Juha Huhtakallio (Metropolia)
Break
11:20
Case KSAO/Keuda: BioSampo game – lecturer Jukka Harju (KSAO)
11:40
Business-Akatemia – team leader Tiia Lappalainen (KSAO)
12:00
Lunch
13:00
Game development education in Leeds and in the UK – Abu Berat (Leeds City College)
13:40
Coffee break
14:15
Peliteollisuuden tulevaisuuden osaamistarpeet – education councillor Ulla Taipale-Lehto (Opetushallitus)
14:45
Workshops
16:00
Wrapping up the first day
18:00
Evening programme starts
Friday 9:00 – 14:00
9:00
Helping start-ups – teacher Patricia Toledo (Oulu Game Lab/OAMK)
9:40
Pelialan koulutus yritysten näkökulmasta – CEO Jussi Tähtinen (Nitro Games Ltd)
10:20
Coffee break
10:40
Oppimisen pelillistämisen tarpeet – game pedagog Mauri Laakso (Meillä on leikki kesken)
11:20
Pelit opetuksessa – learning developer Mikael Uusi-Mäkelä (TeacherGaming)
12:00
Wrapping up and closing the seminar
Lunch
There will also be an open forum and pitching workshop, for entrepreneurs and talent to meet.
Date: 14.-15.1.2016
Venue: KSAO Liiketalous / auditorium, Salpausselänkatu 57, 45100 Kouvola
Price: 45 € (incl. 24% VAT), includes seminar and catering for both days
RSVP by 31.12.2015 at https://bit.ly/gamedu2016
More info: Susanna Rintala, KSAO Aikuisopisto, 020 61 56290, susanna.rintala@ksao.fi
Seminar attendees have a room quota reserved at two local hotels, Cumulus Kouvola and Sokos Hotel Vaakuna. Mention “GAMEDU” while making your reservations.
Vaakuna:
Cumulus:
This year was wrapped up in our December gathering last week. Not only did we have traditional Christmas caps for everyone, provided by our sponsor InMobi, but a seminar to kick off the evening and a demo corner featuring local devs as well. What a night! The first presentation was by Jami Laes, CEO and co-founder of Futureplay Games. Instead of the traditional free-to-play monetization model with IAP, his company has opted for a different approach: view-to-play. Laes showed us why video ads are a more profitable option – with few companies using this opportunity right now.
Continuing the theme, Mitchell Smallman from Next Games gave us some insight as to why ads have monetized remarkably well with Compass Point West. He listed some key points they had learned from other successful games on the market as well as the things they had done differently.
Seminar slides available for download here:
After the seminar it was time to gear up for the party. The revival of demo corner was a huge success, with eleven teams and developers showing off their games to peers.
Thank you for another great gathering – happy holidays and see you in January!
Photos by Daniel Schildt.
With new locations come new possibilities: as the gatherings are moving to Maxine, we thought this is a good time to bring the demo corner back. It has been way too long since they have been organized, and as the IGDA Finland community is all about sharing what better way to foster that ideal than showcase the talent in that community. The demo corner is a place for developers to show off their games and get some feedback. We're aiming for this area to be a space for everyone: from people working on commercial AAA games to enthusiasts making indie projects in their spare time. So don't worry about your studio being too famous or your personal project being too insignificant – we want everyone to have a chance at giving and getting feedback and sharing ideas.
If you have a game you're working on that you want to share with fellow devs, head to December Demo Corner sign-up page right away!
The Finnish chapter of International Game Developers Association.
IGDA Finland Linktree
IGDA Finland Billing Information: billing@igda.fi, Turku
Created with love and understanding by IGDA Finland volunteers.
