April 28, 2006
Meeting Report: April 27th 2006
Howdy ho!
Thanks to everyone who turned out for our meeting last night. It wasn't the largest meeting we've ever had, but I think it was one of the best ever!
1. Brett welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming.
2. Brett informed everyone that he would be stepping down from any official IGDA capacity soon, as this would give him more time to work more directly with individuals and help them more. It is high time for fresh leadership and all interested parties should contact Brett for more information about getting involved.
3. Stephen Tang from TAR and Loh Khai Yann stepped up and volunteered to be academic representivies to the IGDA. They will make sure academic matters are heard by the IGDA and coordinate with everyone to help build the industry here.
4. Johan from MDV discussed strageties MDV is using to attract international game developers to Malaysia. He said that there was a lot of interest in Malaysia, and that they were getting quite far along the process with at least one developer. He also asked about the certification discussions and said that the certification idea was very interesting and worthwhile to pursue, at least in the short term, in that he felt it would be helpful in attracting international developers to the area.
5. Bazil Akmal Bin Bidin, Muhamad Fadli Ishak, and Mohd Rizal Mohd Taib gave a demo of a work in progress. They brought along some nice design documentation and artwork too. They are currently evaluating technology to build the game with. Kevin from GameBrains gave some advice on art styles. Keep it up guys! You can get more info on the team here: www.notathing.net
The team includes:
Bazil Akmal Bin Bidin (leader and programmer)
Muhamad Fadli Ishak (lead programmer)
Mohd Rizal Mohd Taib (game and graphic designer)
William Ban Kar Weng (GUI Programmer)
Muhammad Hazrat Muslimen (Network Programmer)
Razzizul Azmi Talikop (2D and 3D artist)
Ahmad Fikri (2D and 3D artist)
Chan Swee Min (3D artist)
Ahmad Ajwad (3D artist)
Fairuz Abu Bakar (Sound artist)
6. Stephen Tang demo'ed a game he did for Tiger beer that was a flsh soccer game. Was really cool! Nice job!
7. Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib from MDC discussed the upcoming incubator and how it basically works. There was a lot of interest in this potential.
8. Mayling and others pointed out that it would be nice to meet other colleauges in the industry at the meetings.
9. There was lively discussion on funding and jobs. We learned that MDV has a minimum investment amount of RM2 million which makes it difficult for them to fund small startups with smaller contracts. There was some mention that MAVCAP may have some programs in the works that address startup needs. John and his development team are looking for small jobs that can help sustain them. Brett said he would meet with John and see if he could introduce him to people with projects. In the end, everybody agreed that there was a gap in the low end of the market, and it was hard to bootstrap a company. Several meetings were scheduled within the next week to try and come up with some specific ideas and plans to address this.
10. There was much rejoicing!
All in all, I think everybody who attended had a good experience.
Brett
Posted by BrettBibby at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2006
Meeting: February 16th 2006
There will be an IGDA Malaysian Chapter meeting on Thursday, February 16th 2006 starting at 8 pm at Souled Out Cafe in Desa Sri Hartamas, address below. The meeting is upstairs in the back corner ("Red Corner"). Hope to see everyone there!
I will be there from 7:30 pm onwards to grab a bite to eat first, anybody who wants to come earlier please drop by and makan with me!
Souled Out Cafe
No 20, Jalan 30/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel 603.2300.1955 / 603.2300.1929
The agenda is:
1. Introductions to new members
2. Open floor for discussion
3. Form IGDA plans for 2006
4. Working group meetings
5. Networking
See you there!
Brett
Posted by BrettBibby at 06:48 PM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2005
Meeting Report: October 27th 2005
Thanks everybody who was able to attend the meeting before Hari Raya at Souled Out. There weren't as many people as usual, but the qulaity of the discussions was high given the smaller, relaxed atmosphere.
A big Thank You to Hilmy from MMU for taking notes and send them to me! This post represent his work more than mine!
Academic Working Group Report
The next academic's meeting will be held on either December or January at MMU. Hilmy will arrange.
The boot camp for game developers was discussed. Need more details on who the participants will be, who the teachers will be and what material will be taught.
Yann indicates there'll be a lecturer in HELP that will give talks focusing on math and sciences.
Brett suggested an education-based forum under MGDA's control, tied in with a way to provide content for teaching game design & development. The content will be based on the IGDA game design course syllabus. IGDA Malaysia will begin development of this site and let the work help flesh out the syllabus.
Brett is willing to host; he already has the domain mgda.org.my for it. Brett prefers ASP.NET for development. Yann suggested that open source is good, however Brett cautions the use of open
source, because open source apps tend to be released before it's ready. Brett is worried that the requirement to release the code may restrict what we're trying to do. Investigation is needed.
Brett wishes that MGDA (Malaysian Game Developers Association) will be the certifying body for the accreditation project.
Brett will look into funding for this project.
Stephen will contact the .NET people within Microsoft to determine available support.
Yann will look into the course requirements for the content of this project.
IGDA Meeting Report
Thanks to Terence for AGDS.
AGDS post mortem: More than 100 ppl attended. Hasnul and the press were happy. Only ATI were possibly unhappy.
There will be a next AGDS, however the question now is where to run it: Malaysia or Singapore. Terence will provide guidelines on how to host the next AGDS, and a formal submission process for those wishing to organize AGDS (along with cut-off date).
There are hundreds of IGDA memers in Malaysia, but only a handful of paid members. This implies that we have to improve IGDA paid memberships. Terence suggests that people don't get the value of paying to join IGDA, thus somehow those values must be identified and communicated. IGDA cards and rebates were discussed.
For future meetings, Brett wishes that they will be more organized by making an agenda ready before a meeting.
Venue: need to identify other possible venues besides Souled Out. Yann and Stephen suggested their own campus locations: Yann at HELP and Stephen at TARC near Wisma MCA. Those attending suggested Souled Out is a good social gathering place, but a bad place for doing formal events like meetings and presentations. Sound tend to get drowned out.
Hilmy suggested that potential places be scouted out. Brett indicated it's a great idea, but without the follow-up of people doing the scouting, nothing will happen. Anybody who has specific ideas should table them as they would be very welcome!
Brett suggested an X'mas dinner party to bring people together, including the unpaid IGDA account. Josh will talk with the British Camber of Commerce to help cosponsor the X'Mas party. Yann says he can help organize the X'mas party.
Afterwards, there was much merry-making and discussion. Thanks again everybody!
I'm not sure what to do about the December meeting as it coincides with Christmas. If we don't have the Christmas party, an informal meeting may be a viable alternative.
Posted by BrettBibby at 01:28 PM | Comments (0)