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)