Our next event will be next Friday and this time it isn’t purely a social affair!
Details:
Time/Date: 5:30pm – 7:30pm / Friday June 4, 2010
Location: eCentral (TAFE), 140 Royal St, East Perth
Description: Short talks on Python and Game Development
We’ve invited local game developers Simon Wittber and Chris McCormick to present short versions of talks that they are preparing for PyCon AU 2010 over in Sydney.
Here’s the flyer (click image for a print-ready version):
In keeping with the “Py” theme, there will be pie. Or is that a lie? Is this going to be some sort of pie-con? (Our sincere apologies for that pun.)
Note: We’re experimenting with more technical events based on community feedback. If this goes well (good turnout and responses), we may seek to run more. Do you have something interesting to present? Or something that you would like to see a presentation on? Let us know!
Thanks to everyone who has responded to our surveys thus far. It’s great to receive feedback on events and to see all these submissions for developer profiles and a game directory listings.
Just a reminder that we are currently running three surveys:
Community (Scene): For everyone involved in games in Perth!
Developer: Former and current game developers, submit a profile!
Game: Provide us with information on games that you have worked on!
We hope that prolific local game developers will take some time to submit multiple responses to the developer and game surveys (assuming that they have worked at various companies and on various games, even if those companies are no longer around).
So how are the surveys going? Our estimates place the current response levels at:
All those responses and we still want more!
If you have yet to respond, please consider the following:
If you previously experienced some technical issues (the dreaded “you have already completed this survey” bug), please give it another go. We’ve patched the server software and everything should be peachy now.
Maybe you have worked on a game, but figure that someone else who worked on it will submit a profile (so you don’t have to). Well, they may be thinking the same thing! If we get multiple submissions for the same game, we will merge the results (resulting in an ever BETTER profile!)
Maybe you feel that your game was: made a long time ago, not that great, unworthy of a listing… who cares anyway… sigh. Well, WE CARE! We want to know all about it and when you are a rich and famous game developer you’ll want to relive the old times!
By simply responding, you could join the ranks of these great local developers:
Codename – Edmonster (gosh, top secret project with no link!)
In summary: Every response we get helps us paint a more complete picture of game development here in Perth. Our past, present, and future becomes more clear with everyone bit of information you submit! So please, keep those responses coming!
If you are involved in any way with the games development community of Perth, please take a few minutes to answer the community survey. Collected information will be used to produce a report like this one from last year (only better!)
We’re also asking developers (individuals and organisations) to invest a bit more time (answering some more in-depth questions) to let us know all about themselves and their games. We’re keen to produce a community and industry directory and to also document the history of games development in Perth.
For all of this we need your help!, as evidenced by this poster:
More information is available on the survey website, but please feel free to reply here or contact us if you have any questions.
Update: Some people are reporting problems submitting multiple responses to the surveys (eg. one developer submitting responses for multiple games). If you encounter this problem, please try using a different browser or clearing your browser cache of cookies for the domain survey.letsmakegames.org.
Thanks to everyone who reported this issue. We will be patching the server within the next few days, but there should be no interruption in availability of the survey. So please don’t hold out on responding!
As the sun sets on a significant period for the Perth game development community, Let’s Make Games has decided to run a sundowner so that everyone can catch up over a drink and a BBQ.
Details:
Time/Date: 4pm-8pm, Saturday 27 February 2010
Location: BBQ area at Matilda Bay (meet at the Gazebo)
We apologise for the late notice compared to our previous events (a number of us have been distracted by recent matters), but we hope to see you there!
The second ever Global Game Jam is on this weekend and everyone here at Let’s Make Games would like to wish all participants the very best of luck.
For those of you who don’t know about the phenomenon that is Global Game Jam, here’s a quick summary: 48 hours of unadulterated creative energy poured into collective game development at breakneck speeds by teams all over the world!
Here in Perth, the local site is being hosted at the Joondalup Business Centre. Setup begins at 5pm tonight and submissions must be in by 3pm on Sunday (the event officially ends at 6pm on Sunday – leaving some time to actually play the games!).
Thanks to the efforts of Simon Wittber (aka. Different Methods), Perth is very well represented as a regional centre for game jamming. Perth was the only Australian location for the first Global Game Jam (at which point Simon had already organised two previous local game jams). This year, the Perth site is also being supported by local game developers Rockethands and Subversive Games.
Star Hammer has really been shaping up over the last 12 months and we’re looking forward to see what happens with the (new) franchise in 2010.
Here are the press release and gallery of new screenshots:
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – January 6, 2010 – Black Lab Games is pleased to announce a new game in the Star Hammer series, Star Hammer Tactics, is in development and slated for release in early 2010 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Indie Games.
Star Hammer Tactics is a fast-paced turn-based game of tactical space battles that anyone can learn to play in minutes. In the single-player campaign mode, players will assume the role of a naval strike group commander as they defend the planet Novus from the marauding alien menace known as the Nautilids. Alternately, challenge a friend to a duel to the death in the local multiplayer mode – customize your fleet, then compete for glory and bragging rights!
Featuring a rule set that is deliberately simple whilst still allowing for maximum strategic depth, Star Hammer Tactics is sure to engage and entertain gamers of all persuasions. Achieve victory by outwitting your opponents, and then blasting them to little pieces!
More details, including the latest screenshots and video are available from the Star Hammer web site by visiting www.starhammer.com
About Black Lab Games
Black Lab Games is a boutique game development studio specializing in modern downloadable games with a hint of nostalgic flavor. Headquartered in the city of Perth, Western Australia, the company was established in 2008, and began active development of it’s first title, the episodic Star Hammer action series, in early 2009. For more information about Black Lab Games, please visit www.blacklabgames.com.au
The Perth Game Jam blog recently posted news that registrations for the next Global Game Jam (January 29-31, 2010) are now open. Check-out the blog post for instructions on how to sign-up to participate in Perth. There’s also a page where you can see all the currently registered Jammers.
Game Jams are short-term collaborative game making events. They are great opportunities to meet other (practising or aspiring) game developers with different skill sets (programming, art, music), and to experiment with novel gameplay concepts. The Global Game Jam is a 48-hour event run simultaneously at numerous locations worldwide.
This will be the second Global Game Jam and the fifth Game Jam run in Perth. Simon Wittber is the organiser and driving force behind these local events. This makes him a beacon for the respect and admiration of local game developers.
Here at Let’s Make Games, we would like to commend Simon for his commitment to bringing Game Jams to Perth!
Game developers can sign-up to the Fizzy GDN (Game Developer Network) to have Fizzy.com distribute their titles, earning them a share of advertising revenue and sales. Like similar sites, game developers retain their own intellectual property and the agreement is non-exclusive (games can be posted elsewhere as well).
The Fizzy Biggest Game of 2010 competition is a year-long competition based on revenue earned through the Fizzy GDN. In a nutshell, the game developer that makes the most money from a game through the Fizzy GDN (between January 1 and December 31 2010), will be awarded an additional $50,000 first prize at the end of the year.
It sounds like an interesting promotion to provide some additional incentive for developers to distribute their flash games via Fizzy.com (and to increase their catalogue of titles). Are any local developers already on Fizzy.com? Or planning to sign up in the near future?
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