Table of Contents


  1. The Nordic Game Industry gathers in Malmö
  2. Invitation to the Game Convention 2006 in Leipzig!
  3. Nordic Game Program Developer Support
  4. Women in Games Conference
  5. The Develop Conference & Expo in Brighton
  6. Nordic Playground
  7. Game Design & Technology Workshop
  8. Strömbäck new CEO of MDTS
  9. Game Developer Library Update
  10. The Games Game
Game Studio Hamar
The Nordic Game Industry gathers in Malmö
For the third year in a row, the Nordic game industry is gathering in Malmö, Sweden. On the 19-20 September, the Nordic Game 2006 conference will open for an expected 600 participants. With 70 seminars and workshops this is by far the largest event of its kind in the Nordic Region.

Several internationally renown names are among the scheduled speakers:

  • Julian Dibbell, contributing editor to Wired magazine and author of the upcoming book exploring virtual worlds, Play Money
  • Ben Sawyer, CEO of Digitalmill and expert in ‘serious games’ - games developed for non-entertainment sectors such as education and health
  • Patrice Chazerand, general secretary of the Interactive Software Federation Europe, responsible for the rating system PEGI
  • John Dennis and Martyn Brown, lead developers from Team 17, the company behind the world famous Worms series

The speakers’ list is growing daily; the latest announcements and program additions can be found on the official Nordic Game 2006 website www.nordicgame.com

Invitation to the Game Convention 2006 in Leipzig!
Nordic Game Program invites all nordic game developers to join forces at GC in Leipzig (http://www.gc-germany.com) the 23.-27. August.

Become part of a 40 sq.m nordic stand, book meetingrooms and take part in Europes largest game exposition.

But HURRY: Deadline for applications is 10. july 2006!

http://nordicgameprogram.org/

Nordic Game Program Developer Support
Nordic Game Companies Line Up for Game Developer Support

With 2 million Danish crowns now available for the first time to Nordic game developers, no less than 55 Nordic game companies have applied to the Nordic Game Program for development funding.

- We knew that a number of Nordic companies were planning to apply, but 55 applications nonetheless far exceeds our hopes, Erik Robertson, leader of Nordic Game Program, comments. - It proves that there is indeed a great need for developer support, and it’s also a positive indication of the fast growth of the gaming industry in the Nordic Region.

The developer support program is directed at Nordic game companies and aims to improve the availability of computer games with a strong Nordic component for children and young people in the Nordic region. Thus a number of requirements must be met to be granted support: applicants must be incorporated, independent and Nordic-owned, and the game to be funded must be released in at least one of the Nordic languages.

www.nordicgameprogram.org

Women in Games Conference
Although this conference is concerned with women and games please note that men are also very welcome to attend this conference! The industry needs a meaningful dialogue between the sexes as it moves forward.

Location: University of Teessidez
Date: 10th and 11th July 2006

http://www.womeningames.com/

The Develop Conference & Expo in Brighton
The Develop Conference & Expo in Brighton is bringing together some of the world's most creative and talented individuals from every sector of games development.

Location: Brighton Metropole
Date: 11th - 13th July 2006

http://www.developconference.com/

Nordic Playground
Financed through the Nordic Innovation Centre, Nordic Playground will be presenting its final report and recommendations in September.
The Nordic project on the game and interactive edutainment industry has been running for 2 years and is coordinated by Maria Åresund at the Interactive Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Partners to the project are:

  • Hypermedia Laboratory at the University of Tampere (Finland)
  • Impra (Iceland)
  • Kunnskapsparken Hedmark (Hedmark Innovation Centre, Norway)
  • Learning Lab (Denmark)
  • Neogames (Finland)
  • Spelplan-ASGD (Sweden)
  • Danish Producers Association (Denmark)

For more information: www.nordicplayground.net

Game Design & Technology Workshop
The School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University proudly presents the fourth annual international conference in computer games technology which aims at bringing students, academics and developers in the computer games industry closer together.
This year again the conference is extended to two days to include tutorial, exhibition and academic research presentation sessions in addition to the usual high quality lectures from several great names in the industry.

Location: FACT Centre, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1
Date: 15th - 16th November 2006

http://www.cms.livjm.ac.uk/GDTW/GDTW2006/

Strömbäck new CEO of MDTS
Per Strömbäck replaces Maria Tjärnlund as CEO of MDTS.

- My focus will be working with the image computer gameing has in the general pupulus, and keep developing MDTS' information- and eventmanagement, Per Strömbäck comments.

MDTS consist of eleven members:
Activision, Atari, Bergsala, Electronic Arts, K.E Media, Konami, Microsoft, Nokia, Nordisk Film interactive, Pan Vision, Ubisoft samt Vivendi Universal games.

http://www.mdts.se/

Game Developer Library Update
Beginning Java 5 Game Programming (Paperback)
This hands-on guide for beginners allows you to increase your skill level along the way as you create a game full of cool artwork and intricate details. This book's step-by-step instructions will help you acquire all the skills you need to create a professional-quality, sprite-based game.

Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Game Development (Paperback)
This book teaches techniques for producing fast 3D effects that can be used with "cheat" techniques to produce powerful, high-performance results. In this new edition, all of the latest features of Flash Professional 8 are covered, including the new sound channels, bitmap caching, and texture pages.

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames (Paperback)
This book is an essential read for anyone wishing to get into this exciting field, particularly for new game writers wanting to hone their skills, and film and TV scriptwriters who want to learn how to transfer their skills to the games industry.

The Games Game
Applied to a lot of jobs in the games industry, but had no such luck? Then this article written by Tom Sloper is for you:

http://www.igda.org/(...)/amesgame_Jun06.php

Credits
This newsletter is published by Kunnskapsparken Hedmark (Norge)

Project Manager: Elisabeth Frydenlund
Editor: Alexander Fornæss

Comments and suggestions to the newsletter can be sent to igda@biometricgames.com.

To remove yourself from the newsletter please send mail to post@k-h.no with "Remove IGDAHamar" as subject.

About Game Studio Hamar

From the year 2002 there has been multiple efforts to create a cluster for games and interactive entertainment in Hamar, Norway. Kunnskapsparken Hedmark has been a central driver and coordinator, joined by Hedmark College.

An important result of this work is two new game related Bachelor degrees at Hedmark College:

  • Bachelor in Computer Game Programming
  • Bachelor in the Interactive Industries

Kunnskapsparken Hedmark joined IGDA as a local chapter in the fall of 2003, and started a "Game Incubator" (business incubation for game companies). 2005 saw the birth of the annual game competition "Hamar Game Challenge". Kunnskapsparken Hedmark has gathered all the local efforts under the name Game Studio Hamar.

Game Studio Hamar Elisabeth Frydenlund

Kunnskapsparken Hedmark
Brugata 50
NO-2321 Hamar
Norge

www.k-h.no

Tlf. +47-62 54 01 03
E-post: Elisabeth@k-h.no