This is the first time a Games category has been included in the distinguished screen sector awards ceremony. Any project that completed production between 01/01/2011 and 31/03/2013 is eligible.

For more details about the awards and submission requirements, visit the WASA webpage.

When: Wednesday 22nd May, 6:30pm (first presentation starts at 7pm)
Where: QANTM, SAE College, 3-5 Bennet Street, East Perth
Entry: Free!
Tickets: At Eventbrite.
Facebook?: Facebook!

And also, here’s our speaker line-up, ready to give their talks on their current game projects:

Set 1 (7pm)

Aranda Morrison, Gnomic Studios
Jayeson Lee-Steere, Titanium Studios
Jon Hayward, Game Pride
Paul Turbett, Black Lab Games

Set 2 (7:50pm)

Brad Power, RocketHands
Wesley Lamont
Jetha Chan
Andrew Hawkins, DrewFX

Only 14 tickets to the Forum are left, so make sure you get yours at Eventbrite soon!

Following on from their successful workshop last year, Business Foundations have two new FREE workshops for game developers in Perth.

A Business Planning & Strategy workshop is being held on Friday 24th May, between 8:30am and 12:00pm, and the Marketing workshop is on Wednesday June 12th, from 1:30pm to 5:00pm. Both workshops are being hosted at Spacecubed on St George’s Terrace, and more details and booking links can be found below. Seats are limited, so book early!

Business Planning & Strategy
Cost: FREE
Date: Friday 24th May
Time: 8:30am-12noon
Venue: Spacecubed, Ground Floor, 45 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000
Booking: Bookings can be made via this website.

Presenters:
Jane Garrett
Jane Garrett is a seasoned business professional with many years’ experience in technology company management. She has a degree in Physics and spent many years as an employee learning the ‘ropes’ before embarking on developing her own Internet software business which she floated on London’s AIM in July 2000.

Greg Riebe
Greg is a senior executive with 30-plus years of experience and the CEO of an Investment Management business focussed on emerging technology-based business incorporating investment identification, deal structuring, business development and exit management. The dominant theme in Greg’s career to-date has been ‘bridging the gap’ between technology and other ‘enabling’ practices from marketing, organisational change, human resources and financial disciplines.

Marketing Workshop
Cost: FREE
Date: Wednesday 12th June
Time: 1:30pm-5pm
Venue: Spacecubed, Ground Floor, 45 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000
Booking: Bookings can be made via this website.

Presenter:
Justin Davies
Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors, NIES National Enterprise Workshop, B Bus Marketing and Communications Justin Davies is the Managing Director of Emergination – a consultancy focussed on applying emerging technologies and ideas, coupled with imagination to create value for businesses. He currently works with a range of private sector clients in growth industries.

The party is on Sunday 21st July, starts at 7pm, and is being hosted at the fancy-lookin’ Transit Lounge in the Melbourne CBD. If you’re looking to meet and chat with fellow game developers from around the country, this is the event to do it!

Tickets to the event are available here. The organisers are also looking for a logo for the event – if you’re looking for a three-day pass to the expo, check out details on the IGDAM blog here.

This is a great addition to WASA, and we’re very pleased to hear of the inclusion for games and interactive content in WA’s premier screen sector awards night.

Deadline for entry is 20th May, and an entry fee does apply. Eligible productions must have been completed between 1st January 2011 and 31st March 2013. For more details, visit the WASA FAQ, and we hope to see your games in the nominations list next month!

It’s that special time of year, where we announce our May event!

The Games In Progress Forum

It’s time to talk games! Specifically, let’s talk about the games we’re working on; the problems that have us stumped, and the discoveries that have made us leap from our workstations. There will be two keynote presentations from Brad Power (RocketHands) and Aranda Morrison (Gnomic Studios) about their works in progress, plus we’ll be looking for more mini-presentations from the community! For more information, see details below.

Due to the limited seats at the venue, this event is ticketed (but still free). Please make sure to register at Eventbrite to secure your position!

When: Wednesday 22nd May, 6:30pm (first presentation starts at 7pm)
Where: QANTM, SAE College, 3-5 Bennet Street, East Perth
Entry: Free!
Tickets: At Eventbrite.
Facebook?: Facebook!

So get your ticket, bring your games in progress, and come see what other Perth game developers are working on.

Looking for speakers

We’ve got six five-minute slots for developers to give a quick demonstration and/or presentation of their current works in progress. We’re looking for demos from all levels of experiences, from students to professional. If you have something you’ve been working on that you’d like to show off, please send an email to Anthony with details about your project.

Networking and problem solving

Part of this event’s purpose is to help developers find other collaborators to help fill the holes in their game project. To this end, we’ll have some networking games and job boards available to help you find that perfect artist, coder, designer or audio engineer for your game. If your looking for like-minded collaborators to work with, or projects to bring your specialised skills to, this will be the place to find them.

Tickets available for pervasive games workshop

Registration is currently open for an exciting workshop by Dr. Kate Raynes-Goldie from Atmosphere Industries on pervasive and urban games at Spacecubed.

The two day workshop is aimed at non-profits, community groups, educators and anyone else wanting to make social change, and will teach the participants how to design and implement community games that utilise physical public spaces.

For more details and ticket registration, you can visit the event registration page.

Games education survey

PIGMI community member Jon Hayward is currently running a survey about online game development education. For people interested in taking the survey, you can find it here.

Freedom Fall Beta released on Desura

This morning, the paid beta for Freedom Fall was released on Desura.

Stirfire Studios has had the game in development for over a year, and they’re nearing full-feature release of the game soon.

Freedom Fall is also currently on Steam Greenlight, the popular crowd-sourced voting platform.

Perth-made Fallout fan film at PAX Australia

Fallout: Lanius, the Perth-made fan film of the popular post-apocalyptic game franchise, Fallout, will be premiering at PAX Australia later this year. If you’re going to be at the convention, you might be interested in these details from the press release from yesterday’s announcement:

The screening will take place on the 20 ^th of July at the Dropbear Theatre at 9pm. Director Wade K. Savage and Producer Stuart Mackenzie will then hold a Q&A about the film.

Congratulations to Wade and the team, we’re looking forward to seeing the film!