IGDA Finland Oulu hub: Polar Bear Pitching – pre party!

People attended:170Sponsors: Fingersoft, IBM, LudoCraft, PAVA Ry. Place: Gloria Nightclub Time: 24.2.2015 klo 20:00-01:00 (Afterparty @ Fingersoft jacuzzi)

IGDA Finland Oulu hub combined their forces with Oulu Pitch fest to warm up the people heading for the icy waters. This turned out to be the biggest event by Oulu hub so far with 170 people. We had a lively demo corner, snacks and drinks. We even had a polar bear visiting us!

Demo Corner presented: Icesolation (Oulu Gamelab), Gerty, Gobblin’ Goblinz (Frozen Vision), Happy Circus racing ( Meizi Games),  End State (Henry Vuontisjärvi), Fast and Futurous (Viima games), 5 seconds to kill, Disposables (Teemu Väisänen & Jonne Väisänen), Renegade Rockets (Naapukka productions)

Related links

Fingersoft (http://www.fingersoft.net/)
IBM (http://www.ibm.com/fi/fi/)
Ludocraft (http://www.ludocraft.com/)
PAVA Ry. (http://www.pava.fi/)
Polar Bear Pitch (http://www.pitchfestoulu.com/polarbear/)

Game Spring Oulu 2014 & IGDA Finland Oulu Hub After Party

On the 1st of April 2014 the Game Spring Oulu game development seminar was held for the third time at the campus of the Oulu University of Applied Sciences. This time the seminar was divided into two tracks, dev and biz, which attracted roughly 200 visitors from near and far. The main theme of this year was the future of gaming, especially in indie games. The speakers included people like Jay Ranki (Next Games), Fredrik Wester (Paradox Interactive), Andrew Walker (GameFounders) and many others.

After the official seminar programme it was time for the After Party, which was held at the Business Kitchen premises and was sponsored by Playraven and Fingersoft. The evening was all about mingling, networking and just having fun with fellow developers. The place was literally packed to the max with developers!

As a surprise program number a game related quiz was arranged. The battle was fierce, but luckily only egos were harmed during the competition.

Teams pondering the correct answer for a question during the quiz

Hamsterscape developers enjoying the evening.

A big thanks for all the participants, partners and sponsors of both the Game Spring seminar and the After Party. See you again next year!

Cheers, IGDA Finland Oulu Hub

IGDA Finland Oulu Hub November Gathering

After a hugely successful October gathering we decided to play it a bit more conservative in November and arranged a classic pub night. This time we chose to occupy the restaurant Otto K instead of our usual place, just to explore possible future establishments for our gatherings. The place felt good and the staff was very supportive, so maybe we’ll give Otto K another chance some time during 2014.

The house was filled with around 20 local game developers who gathered around the tables to have more or less meaningful discussions with each other. The ice hockey game shown on the screen sparked some discussion about violence in games vs. violence in sports, but in general the tone of the conversations were quite casual.

At the moment we are working hard on planning and arranging the gatherings of 2014, so stay tuned and remember to play games!

- Antti Wilenius & the IGDA Finland Oulu Hub volunteers

IGDA Finland Oulu Hub Gathering

On the 17th of October IGDA Finland Oulu Hub arranged a gathering at the Business Kitchen premises, targeted primarily for students and game development hobbyists interested in getting a job or an internship position in a game development studio. The evening featured an array of speakers and presentations for those who arrived.

Tony Manninen (Ludocraft) took the floor first and provided the attendees with an inspiring presentation about the most important skills and traits required from a game developer

Second on the stage was Tero Takalo (Studio Outo) who shared his views on developing game graphics and what aspiring graphic artists should focus their skills on.

After the graphics presentation it was time to focus on programming, naturally. Niina Tampio (Ludocraft) told the audience what are the most important skills of a game programmer and how one should approach this highly demanding profession.

After our main presentations the floor was given for the representatives of Business Oulu, Business Kitchen, OuluSES, Oulu Game Lab and Stage, who all introduced their organizations and enlightened the attendees about how they can be of help for those interested in getting into the game industry.

The rest of the evening was dedicated for networking and socializing while having some drinks and snacks provided to us by our generous sponsors Ludocraft and OSAKO.

All in all the evening was a huge success in terms of both the number of attendees who participated and in the amount of positive feedback collected. In fact, we were so overwhelmed by the success, that we are most definitely looking into arranging a similar kind of evening during next year!

Stay gamified!

- Antti Wilenius & the IGDA Finland Oulu Hub volunteers

IGDA Finland Oulu Hub September Gathering

On 19th of September the local game developers of Oulu gathered once again for a relaxed night out at the restaurant 45 Special to embrace (or ward off) the closing autumn. This time there were no presentations or other official programme, but rather some laid-back socializing and casual conversation. Amongst the discussion one could hear longing for the “good old” games, listen to new game ideas being tossed around and participate in general game or game development related chat. All in all, a very warm and easy-going evening.

In October IGDA Finland Oulu Hub will arrange a “Interested in game industry” evening, targeted especially for students interested in applying for a job or an internship in a game development company. We will have a couple of presentations from professional game developers and after that we’ll spend the rest of the evening networking and having fun. And of course, you don’t have to be a student to join in; all are welcome!

For more information about our events and news concerning the Oulu game development scene, follow https://www.facebook.com/IGDA.Finland.Oulu.Hub

Antti Wilenius & IGDA Finland Oulu Hub coordinators