What: Ballarat GiG: Get Into Games
Where: Mining Exchange, Ballarat, Victoria. Australia
When: 17th and 18th May
Ballarat GIG: Get Into Games
Shining a light on real opportunities in computer games
Melbourne, May 9th , 2013 — Australia’s largest regional computer games career expo, Ballarat GiG: Get into Games, returns on the 17th and 18th of May and will showcase the industry with two days of demonstrations, the latest games to play, competitions and talks from local industry leaders.
Ballarat GiG is a free event that is open to the public and offers rare access to working professionals from leading Australian studios.
Friday the 17th is a student open day aimed at encouraging secondary school students to look into further education that can help them get into what may be their dream job in the Technology sector. It focuses on talks about entering the industry and the opportunities available.
The Saturday is an open day focused on the theme of Welcome to the World of Apps, as well as offering unstructured time with the developers, a hands-on approach to games with new Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC titles available for the public to play, and a variety of competitions offering big prizes to test visitors' sense of fun and skills.
The Saturday is also a great way for parents which children interested in the games industry to understand more of the career options and pathways available.
The speakers at this year's event include:
- Game Developer Association of Australia CEO Tony Reed, who is one of the leading experts on the Australian industry and a key lobbyist representing the games industry to government
- Representatives from Ballarat University and TAFE who are on hand to deliver an overview of the industry and the academic courses on offer
- The entire team from rising Melbourne developer Many Monkeys, including one of our local guns, Matt Ditton (ex-Krome and Pandemic)
- Matt Hall from KlickTock games. Matt has recently relocated to Ballarat and is an excellent example of what we believe the regional cities will see as a true business opportunity as the NBN connection offers business the ability to relocate without compromising their required services
Welcome to the World of Apps will give the public the opportunity to learn more about this growing sector of the industry from our expert speakers and game developers. App development (generally, smaller programs aimed at mobile devices) offers local developers the chance to compete in the global market without having to be a large studio with a big budget. Whether you have an idea for a game or need some assistance getting your plan in action, come down to GiG on Saturday to learn more.
The video game development industry has now been recognised, at the Commonwealth level, with the establishment of a $20 million development fund, thanks in part to the work of one of our speakers, Tony Reed of the GDAA, which further signals the growing importance and opportunities of the sector in Australia.
So, if you are a teacher and would like your students to have a great and motivational day out check out our Friday program. If you want to play games, learn about a career in video games or learn about the ever growing world of apps head down to Ballarat GiG : Get into Games on Saturday 18th May. There will be prizes and give-aways as well, so come visit Ballarat GiG.
Website: www.ballaratgig.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BallaratGIG