Industry and Education

well i hope so ... im from brisbane

there is a brisbane chapter?... where can i get info

quote:Originally posted by Souri

Does anyone else feel that Brisbane Game development is *really* taking off at the moment?

It does appear that way... although it could just be that they are noisier and the Melbournians are too busy working [:D]

[url="http://fullspectrumwarrior.com"]Full Spectrun Warrior[/url]? I think you mean [url="http://www.destroyallhumansgame.com"]Destroy All Humans![/url], which is listed in the [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/sdevelopersprofile.asp?developer=25"]developer section[/url].

Yep, that too! [:)]

Yay Brisbane!

Full Spectrum Warrior was partly developed by the aussie studio. Did the aussie studio do any work on star wars battlefront?
Although, a small technicality, iirc most of these studios operate out of the gold coast, as opposed to Brisbane itself. But yes, QLD development certainly has a head of steam, maybe still not quite as much support from the government as Vic though.
Perhaps though it is somewhat of a small pity that (as far as i'm aware) only one of those companies is not owned by/part of an overseas company, that being Krome.
CYer, Blitz

The Australian office of Pandemic Studios does their own seperate work. Which at the moment is Destroy All Humans! And Brisbane rocks for game dev!

quote:Originally posted by X5.

well i hope so ... im from brisbane

there is a brisbane chapter?... where can i get info

http://igda.blogspot.com - The webpage/blog
http://www.igda.org/Forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=196 - The forum

I just saw the Destroy All Humans! E3 2004 trailer. That game is looking fantastic! Very polished title, and the game itself looks like a lot of fun as well.

I went to a Krome conference in the city 2 months or so back, and was impressed to hear about how much their team had been gorwing in the last few years, and how much the scene in Brissy is escelating. King Arthur looked good, and TY 2 looked, well, alright. Ish.

We also got told that the top 3% of students finishing a course MIGHT if they are lucky MAYBE land a job in the games industry. Thats not in brisbane with Krome, thats with anyone anywhere.

Also heard that a develpoers conference will be held at QUT next year, but thats just off the grapevine.

Hope it takes off a whole lot more between now and when I finish my course ;).

quote:Originally posted by Blitz

Although, a small technicality, iirc most of these studios operate out of the gold coast, as opposed to Brisbane itself.

Pretty much all of the major developers in Brisbane are about a 15 minute walk to the city center.

Maybe you mean Gold Coast for the smaller companies?

Blitz: Jacanas right, all the major companies like Krome, THQ, Creative Assembly, Pandemic and Auran are in the Brisbane CBD or Fortitude Valley, most of them are in the Valley.

We are probably moving to the Gold Coast [:D] ( Benowa Waters area )

Ahh, my mistake. I was under the impression most of those companies operated near the gold coast, shows how good my geographical skills are :) (I thought fortitude valley was near the gold coast :P).
CYer, Blitz

Qantm sure is producing a lot of students.

This year's end of year exhibition will be great.
Look out for your Slipstream invites.

I've never been to Brisbane. Maybe the AGDC can be held there for one year. (Melbourne has the AGDC for another 3 years [:D])

It'd be nice if the AGDC was held in Brisbane... (or even a little further north on the Sunshine Coast :)) I don't have the numbers, but I would think that the number of people employed in game dev in Queensland would be similar to Victoria... a heck of a lot of Victorian's have migrated north.

Last time I checked, the Victorian Government had made various deals to secure the AGDC in Melbourne for the forseeable future.

quote:Originally posted by Souri

Has anyone tried the Tribes: Vengeance beta yet? What did you think of it?

I haven't been sent my serial number via email yet [:(]

I played it on and off over the weekend, and apart from a few annoying beta-specific things (that I ranted on in my blog) it looks like it's going to be a winner.
Not that I can actually shoot anyone of course :-)
and nobody online seems to be doing much teamwork at this time (just a steady stream of dots flying back and forth to the flags)

Once the teamwork/defence/repair stuff starts getting better understood there will be some great fun to be had.

Zaph

That's the problem with games over large areas.. you just end up fighting dots.

Still haven't received my serial key :(.. Will be giving it another try shortly.

Finally got my serial key, and had a quick go last night... I'll admit first off that I hadn't look into how to play Tribes at all, so I was very clueless on what to do (although the capture the flag cave map seemed pretty straight forward). I agree with you totally on the changing the name problem, Zaph. It took me ages to find out how to change my name. However, when I join a new game, it's not using it [?]

The water effects are nice, and the game models are very nice too (got a great retro feel to them). The vehicle I jumped into didn't handle as well as I'm used to though - it seems to turn sharp at the slightest nudge and have a mind of it's own sometimes? The other small gripe I had was the menus are a bit unresponsive. There's a noticable pause going into the menu from the game or even selecting other areas of the menu.

I'm finding it hard to hit anyone being such a newbie, but everyone's been saying how much they're enjoying the game, so I'll be trying to do SOME reading into how to exactly play the game [:D]

beta was fun for the little i got to play
the learning curve for tribes is huge souri, dont get discouraged tho, the possabilities are almost endless once youve gotten over the initial pains

I haven?t played Vengeance yet (still waiting for my hardware upgrade [:(]), but I was a huge fan of the originals, and I?d love to know what the actions like in Vengeance. For me the action was the best thing about Tribes (as opposed to the tactics or any other aspect). The aerial combat rocks. It?s a difficult thing to learn, but once you?ve mastered the jetpack and the skiing technique, the game offers a unique action experience like no other. I?m looking forward to playing Vengeance and finding out how close the aerial combat matches the original games.

So has anyone extensively played Vengeance yet? How close is the game play to the original games? And how well does Tribes translate into a single player game?

i would love to come but as it is on a thurs im at school :(

quote:Originally posted by MoonUnit

i would love to come but as it is on a thurs im at school :(

Hey MoonUnit,

We posted out info on the open day to lots of schools - perhaps you can get a media studies/art/IT teacher to arrange it? We'd be glad to talk to them about it, if they want to call us for more info.
Failing that, the open day is on till 6.30...

EVE

Did you post it in the South - Eastern Schools?

quote:Originally posted by codyalday

Did you post it in the South - Eastern Schools?

We posted it all over the place - if you didn't get one, we can fax the details to your school, or your teacher can call our admissions officer on 9820 8201 for more info.

EVE

Aight, if you want to know, Eumemmerring Secondary College Gleneagles Campus
thankaz for that.

I got the Form today, thankaz for that. Just wondering if it will cost anything, and can I go by MySelf?

quote:Originally posted by codyalday


I got the Form today, thankaz for that. Just wondering if it will cost anything, and can I go by MySelf?

You can come by yourself or in a group and it is free. We're open from 12 noon to 6.30pm and you can ask both the cert IV adn the diploma students what they think of the course, talk to the tutors abotu where your interests are, adn generally see if you like the look of the place [:)]

EVE

my school didnt receive any and by now im assuming its too late but for future reference i go to Caulfield Grammar Caulfield campus

quote:Originally posted by MoonUnit

my school didnt receive any and by now im assuming its too late but for future reference i go to Caulfield Grammar Caulfield campus

Hi Moon Unit,

I checked and the information was sent to your school, it was sent to the careers advisor. Perhaps the best thing now would be to talk to your careers advisor, to see if they received the info okay, or if you send us a fax number, we can fax the info out.

EVE

i just had a check and it appears shes left for today. I may be able to contact you with a different fax number this-evening but my chances are slim.

quote:Originally posted by MoonUnit

i just had a check and it appears shes left for today. I may be able to contact you with a different fax number this-evening but my chances are slim.

I'll fax the info to the school with info on the open day.

EVE

unfortunatly it wont come to me and even if you put my name on it (Benjamin Murphy 11Ku) i doubt ill get it this-evening, try writing on it to get it to Mrs Murphy. Shes my mother and she works here and then we might have a chance

sending now. fingers crossed.

EVE

received! :)
i thought it was a letter of application or something, but its just details. I should be there tommorow but nothing is quite concrete yet. thanks for sending that out though, i had to run around the entire school to find it :P

Most likely I will go, just not sure how I am going to get there, maybe Bus, Train, and Tram.

Well, hope to catch up with both of you tomorrow then! Bring lists of questions... :-)

EVE

Still unsure how to get there, where I get of, Train Station? Flinders Street? Then Where After That, as I am not the most Confident Person To Go By Public TransPort.

Train to flinders stree is best, then catch the 3, 6, 16, 64, 67, or 72 tram down st kilda road away from the city. Three stops after Domain interchange get off at Arthur Street. Cross the road into arthur street and you'll see a little cross roads, with a bit white apartment building on the corner. Take a right at the apartment building and we're in the brown building next to that. It says Atari outside. Go inside and take the lift to level 8.

there is the artists and exhibition section here. Im afraid i dont really know of other local forums though

http://forums.australianinfront.com.au/Default.aspx

thank you, but why? i think there should be one. and the australian infront is not so comprehansive

im sorry i dont quite understand what you mean, why what?

i mean i think that australia is supposed to have her own computer graphic web site and forum that cover most aspect in this area. and should be known by most people. the link provided by inglis is good itself but lack of 3d element.....:(

then make one....

I dont see why you cant just stick with an American based graphic design forum, unless it is for something very specific. I often find that overseas based forums are just as comprehensive and friendly as most forums i visit [:)].

If it is a big deal though, do what inglis said, make one [:p]. Dont just shoot down other forums because they arent Australian based, you could even ask on those forums for help etc... be multicultural and dont be afraid! [:p]

"Computer graphic" is a term that covers absolutely everything that could be made on a computer screen - all kinds of areas like digital 2d painting, 3d graphics, modelling, pixel art, clip/icon art, graphic design (vector art, photoshop).. etc. Each of these categories could be/are websites on their own, but to think of one large website that ecompasses all this - well, it's a bit too much to ask for really. Requires a lot of work for content, and heck, I'm not sure if it would be even successful when you're diluting the focus and trying to cover everything.

There is cgtalk, which is quite good (has downloads) but not based in Australia. Still a good resource though.

quote:Originally posted by Souri

"Computer graphic" is a term that covers absolutely everything that could be made on a computer screen - all kinds of areas like digital 2d painting, 3d graphics, modelling, pixel art, clip/icon art, graphic design (vector art, photoshop).. etc. Each of these categories could be/are websites on their own, but to think of one large website that ecompasses all this - well, it's a bit too much to ask for really. Requires a lot of work for content, and heck, I'm not sure if it would be even successful when you're diluting the focus and trying to cover everything.

thanks for reply
ok, i know there are quite some great web site around the world with friendly people pleased to help each other. but i think the creative industry in every country should got something unique. for instance the art style combined with culture, or the educational system, or things about local animation festeval. you cannont force a foreigner to answer such questions. at the same time, if you want to creat a team making animation or short film in australia, your message is useless for most users of the (for example) CG_TALK and will be quickly overwhelmed by other messages.
i believe an local conprehensive forum can let people doing different work in the same industry to ask their question more easily. and i think american can't solve everything in australia.
or i'm wrong.....^_^

quote:Originally posted by eyeball

i believe an local conprehensive forum can let people doing different work in the same industry to ask their question more easily.

ehhhh thats kinda what sumea is isnt it?

quote:There is cgtalk, which is quite good (has downloads) but not based in Australia. Still a good resource though.

as far as i am aware, its owned by ballistic media which is in South Australia, [url]http://www.cgnetworks.com/about/contact.php[/url]
i would personally say that cgtalk is your best bet, it is true that you can get lost in threads because of the size but it is a very proffesional forum where you will get good critique on your work (the game art threads arent great but you have sumea for that). If you want a longer amount of time at the front of a thread perhaps try posting your work in the application specific forums.

sumea.au is local, what yu guys talking about? i mean isn't sumea exactly what yur looking for? huh?

Eyeball, go here and sign up, but be aware that it's e-mail based and if you're not regularly reading them your inbox can end up with hundreds of unread e-mails in a week.

[url]http://www.dlf.org.au[/url]

Highly recommend it though, they have job postings, events etc.

sumea is mainly game based, it has pretty much the same amount of programming and art content, and the art is based around games. i think what he wants is a forum which focuses on the other aspects of 3d and 2d, for example the highpoly and animation work used for commercial movies or ads etc. isn't quite applicable here. discussions about Compositing software and less mainstream 3d programs are not likely to be found in the threads at sumea. just my thoughts

quote:Originally posted by eyeball

but i think the creative industry in every country should got something unique. for instance the art style combined with culture, or the educational system, or things about local animation festeval. you cannont force a foreigner to answer such questions. at the same time, if you want to creat a team making animation or short film in australia, your message is useless for most users of the (for example) CG_TALK and will be quickly overwhelmed by other messages.

Local animation festivals and short film are like an entirely different beast to game development. Perhaps one day they will converge in the future as desktop computers get more powerful, but in the meantime, there are plenty of places where you can find that kind of information. [url="http://www.dmw.com.au/"]Digital Media World[/url] would be one place I can name atm.

Actually, Digital Media World is a fine example of a magazine (and website) that tries to cover absolutely everything under the sun on "Digital Media". From video editing, post production, CGI, animation, special effects, shortfilm, game development, software, and lots more.. If you were into the whole gamut of digial media, sure, you'll appreciate it what they do. However, if you were, say, only interested in a specific area of digital media, such as game development, you'd find their coverage on it pretty lacking (this is the point I was trying to say in my point earlier.)

We could try and cover everything under the term "digital media" or "computer graphic", but then we'd lose our focus on covering the local games industry, which is what makes Sumea unique...

Hi there, I have enrolled to the Certificate III in Screen and absolutely love it.

I'm a full time Computer Administrator and the modules and tutorials are such that you can work through them easily on your own. That said there are also a number of different ways that you can get help if you do get stuck.

I'm registered on a 12 month course plan so I can study at my own pace and the people I have been in touch with have been GREAT.

It IS a cheap way of getting into the area of 3D design, you can purchase a copy of 3D Studio Max 6 on an academic 7 mth lisence for about $100.00 using STORMFX. (The staff there are terrific)
I definately recommend the course and can't say enough about the AIE

GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glen

Well I tried to start a small Game Dev club thing at Adelaide University last year, but that didn't go so well. Probably partly due to my crappy organisation of it, but also partly that after the first meeting and a bit we've discussed everything that there was and had not much to say. But if you're willing to give it a go then go for it. Though probably for the first few meetings and such I would advise not to charge, if we were to meet at a cafe just casually then everyone could just buy what they wanted.

yeah i agree, sorry for the confusion, the monatary question was so that we could gauge what kind of place we would go to ie the hyatt or macdonalds , not meant to be a charge for going to the meeting,
just a general how much are people willing to pay for there meals.

and i understand the conversational lull after talking about stuff, i know of ways to get around it , ie give weekly topic headers, talk about something other than games, induce alcahol drinking etc. get everyone to something like the ZONE Zygon or any of the other gaming cafe's to play games,( and i know that gamedev's arent big game players, but its always good to get refreshed on such matters, or even to watch other players play and observe there playing habits,)

I'd say probably go to some restaurant/cafe on rundle street, that would be best. Unless you have a better idea of where to go?

But I guess that depends on how many people want to go.

the CBD is definatly the place being central to people, atm its just you an me :O)
cafe scuzzi is nice, they have great pizza's
or where i work at fasta pasta- tis good for this type of thing,

im sure more people will suggest there fav places.

im sure that simon and maitrek would probably come if ti doesnt conflict with anything like uni

Hi,

We have been trying to get people to go to gamedev meetups for last couple of months - sadly the first meeting has been the only successful one.

http://gamedev.meetup.com/

And because of the too few numbers for tomorrow night, thats been cancelled too. To get something like this going, we really need _alot_ of advertising - it seems there are alot of interested people in Adelaide for this sort of thing, but getting them together is the problem.

Hopefully something can be organised in the future - at the moment I am snowed under, and just cannot afford the spare time. I hope, soon that should change.

Cheers,

thats awesome grover i had a suspicion that something like this had a formal avenue that people were trying to use.

im surprised that i hadnt recieved an email about it seeing as that you were trying to get people,

although after reading the website that you have linked to im not surprised it hasnt worked.
the generic feel of that site completly puts me off. i would still go tho, =P

so Onward with my own Idea's for an SA meetup.

and grover is into this kind of thing so thats another, plus he said we, so thats a few more,..[:o)]

Onward and Upward peoples!!!

Just name a time and a place, and I'll be there.

sweet[:D]

i just got back from work, and the night is young.

i will come to a conclusion by the weekend i believe, that gives people enough time to either see whats going on or want to be at the next one.

and i really dont care what happens at the meetups frankly i would love to have an SA sumea LAN party one day or a SA Sumea warhammer battle day, or or!! i love being exited its been so long[;)]

hey Grover, when this happens can we count you in on being there as you dont have to organise anything just show up?

that goes for everyone else who is viewing but not replying!!!

I'll attempt to make it, but I'm usually about as reliable as a Ford. So expect that I'll have all the intention of going, only to get f***ed by my f***ing f***er of a boss.

ok, been thinking about it last night and asking a few friends questions, and i feel that next sat or sun would be a good time

thanks for the email Tykeil, I am certainly keen on regular meets for show'n'tell/networking/gossiping-professional of course;) and general shooting the breeze with others.

My preference would be to a weeknight, although I could imaging a saturday dinner (or lunch or arvo coffees) as potentially okay too. at a central cafe sounds good, most will cater for all budgets I think.

I couldnt manage every week, but once a month would probably be achievable.

It's awesome to have someone bring together Adelaide's game-devvers. I've been tentatively trying for some time to get something going but succeeded only in making the Meetup i attended a few people bigger.

As proof we're here to stay, in support of Adelaide Game Developer's, I've set up ADELINDIE at http://www.grit.net.au/adelindie/forum (this forum is great.. but don't let's get Adelaide's community lost in the noise.)
I've also got a sourceforge account for any possible project(s) we might like to begin... and web-space to help Adelaidian's promote a developer community.

Hop on board, tooOOt! Founder's unite! Let's get game.

thats great axon! the sourceforge idea is cool,(although i dotn know what we can use it for). and i want to keep the forum use to the sumea site, incase visiting friends and dignitaries drop in they can see us easily through this portal.!!

awesome, sorry for the lack of feedback yesterday i havent been home, ive gotten a few more emails regarding the meetup's and it seems that there is alot of support if its a well administered thing, as in i run around gathering people up each month and working the meetup around them, which im sure willing to do

i have the first venue suggestion in mind, well i have a couple and one of them is bias as i work there.
Fasta pasta is the bias one where i work(sorry no discount)

or the place's i found the other day in rundle are either, cafe frappe on rundle st pretty close to east terrace, very friendly light atmosphere with a nice outside area away from the hustle of rundle st itself,

the belguim beer bar is also good, nice quality est, but i recon more of a afternoon to night thing and people will be difnalty drinking beer :O) i dont see much talking happening there after dark only shouting for more ale ;o)

i have yet to scout gouger st. please if anyone has any support to these venues speak up, or suggest your own. we can compile a list of places we'd like to visit and have a hat draw at the end of each meetup to determine the next venue :O)

//=========================================================================================================

i have also emailed the game developers from the sumea profiles, ie and one of them has emailed back with support for talks etc. which is good for us.

im not sure what direction we all want this to head so we'll leave it free to evolve try not to put too much expectation on things.

//=======================================================================================================

ok time and dates and stuff: I was thinking, to not let our enthusiasm go stale, next saturday. any objections? i know JohnN would prefer a weeknight but he did say sat is alright and i havent gotten any feedback in any other dir yet!!(remember this is a suggestion).

i like afternoon or lunch,

enjoy the evening people, i will continue to drum up support over the next week from my personal friends and icq buddies, i hope everyone is doing the same and we can get more ppl along :O).

ooh ooh, also if its a small gathering, the places i went into with couches i asked and most of them said we can reorganise there furniture to meet our needs

Samuel Nicholas!!!

Woah..

We need an agenda.
It's great to meet.. but let's get organised and leverage the enthusiasm into something that can grow.

Can everyone visit http://www.grit.net.au/adelindie/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2 and suggest what to do at the meetings.. and in particular, the first meeting.

are you trying to hijack my idea there axon? :O), i would prefer all of the traffic about this to be kept to this forum topic for now, there's no need to make people join another forum just for this! and its not strictly an indie thing. the need is not great so lets keep it simple for now! growth comes with time not by force(leverage)./end yoda_styles.

ok, i have had people have misgivings for sat,ie maitrek(even tho he's aparrently given up dreams of games, and another friend who sais there's a uni lan on that weekend)

hows the immidiate following weekdays for everyone? ive got a casual job so i can take any day off to make room!

and from talks with a good friend a couple of ideas struck for promotional purposes! Large Lan's ie wonderlan and valhalla i must start going to and getting announcements over the megaphone and a http server with details on.

and uni, im sure there are uni messageboards oh and tafe aswell! there are a few game dev cources happening possibly we can get a meetup slotted in there somehow!

these are just idea's people, implementation takes alot more than just thinking it takes doing and since im the do'er here i will get back to you on how these idea's have panned out!.

Sorry! brfbrt.

Maybe _that's_ what's made it difficult to get a Game Dev meetup going.

Yes, I am trying to hijack the forum- coz I rekon we need more than just this thread to cover everthing we're trying to do.

Adelaide's biggest Game Developer Community (Not just Indie's):
www.grit.net.au/adelindie/forum
TyKeil, Adelindie wants you! (not just Uncle Sam)

Glory to the people!

Belgium BBar very expensive :( and loud and crowded at night. their are a plethora of dead bars/pubs on Fri/Sat nights in the south of the city, pub venue may exluded some of the younger folk though? is this applicable to anyone interested?

Week days during the day 100% no good for me to attend :(

Can I suggest for the first 'meeting' to have no formal agenda- just a meet 'n' greet.

quote:Originally posted by axon
Yes, I am trying to hijack the forum- coz I rekon we need more than just this thread to cover everthing we're trying to do.

ok, i was planning what john has just said "no formal agenda" just a meet and greet- nothing spectacular, i'm not going to support a move to a new forum untill we out-grow this one, and i don't beleive that has happened yet. and btw my name is Samuel for my sisters children i am literally Uncle Sam.

and i also agree with the no pubs, because of the underage thing.

i have support from around 4 people so far that are definates, if the time is right that everyone can attend. and am going to set a date a time and a location by sunday afternoon whether it bombs or not.

[^] it begins![;)]

ok i have decided, any objections to between 3 and 6pm next sunday arvo?

sunday 29th august between 3 and 6 pm

oops i forgot where!, cafe frappe i will have to get the number of the building its very close to the stag hotel.

and in the cafe you will find us down the back of the place possibly outside if the weather is good. more details to come!

i dont like the idea of making the time for the next one a whole month in advance, keep the times subjext to changeie for people's convenience.

although i do like the idea of getting more idea's for where(not necessarily in town) to have the next meeting.

and as for what people want for meetings, i would like them to completly informal, exept for an occasional formal one when someone gets a guest speaker to come along. even then an informal meeting with a guest speaker is better than formal.

i dont want nor would attend a formal gamedev meetup unless everytime they happened we had something akin to the IDGC(Independant Game Developers Conference) like the one i attended in melbourn.
with guest speakers and panels of discussion, professionals to talk to etc. but thats not likely to be free .

if at the informal gatherings, someone decides to ask a question to the whole group i dont mind partaking, but setting it up formally just doesnt feel good.

i will post again tomorrow with consecrated details for the location.

Hi all.. I would have posted back.. but I have been cranking up the bs machine over at Adelindie. Tykiel why not chuck yer thread up there.. I am sure axon is just trying to get people together.. I actually suggested he post some news about it.. get ppl interested and keen.. to me its not just meeting.. its the actual learning/helping/and all other community aspects of a user group like this. I used to be involved in running a C64 users group back in 1985.. hehe ahhhhh the good ol days.. but even then organisation, and just advertising/notifications were a big thing. Just to get people to know you are there is difficult. And also please understand that Adelindie isnt mine.. or axons forum.. its Adelaides... thats the goal anyway.. we dont want people to be concerned about blasting their stuff up on it.. the more the merrier..
Cheers..

ok definate plans have been made

sunday august 29th
cafe frappe 281 rundle ph.8223 2055
from 3 till 6 pm.

show up between them times and i will be there sitting out the back, possibly outside, with a black folder and a navy blue jacket

Make a news submission and I'll push it on the main page for you!

Sounds good!

I'll probably get there a little early, so look for the guy with the blue Sumea T-Shirt (knew it was good for something), sitting next to the guy with the folder & navy blue jacket [:)]

hey keep us informed how it goes, i cant make it due to prior arrangments and i just found out today.

sure thing gibbz, i will do a write up and im sure others will post there opinions here, just keep an eye out for changed in this thread after sunday,

only 3 days till sunday!! looking forward to see you all there!

Rize from your grave!!! http://oc.ormgas.com/ocmain.php

Success: now for the right up..

Hey Guys,.., Bannister Here.. turned out to be a decent meet n greet, Looks like some people I'll be seeing around the computer industry over the coming years, I'm sorta glad it was informal.. even through those quiet moments.. but obviously next time.. some subject to discuss

If anyones interested in "checking out my cool site" (in joke)

dungeon.ebart.net

The test account, password test.. remember 2 months old.. very alpha.. dont expect too much..

ok i have no idea how to write a report so this will be random thoughts.(as my memory isnt good and cannot piece the different events into a kind of story).

i thoroughly enjoyed myself(although i am bias).
thanks to everyone who turned up, ad thanks to people who tried or wanted to but didnt end up making it.

8 people showed making for even numbers which was very pleasant, conversation shifted through one group of 8 to 2 groups of 4 to 4 groups of two and back again

the cafe was nice, although the music was a little loud,, and after we moved out of the back smoking section things were greatly improved

even though the weather from yesterday didnt hold it made little difference we sat inside and had a great time..

i did recieve some strange looks at my plunger tea of apple and blackberry(go the tea!!)

in the begninning there was jarred, then TyKeiL and BaneStar arrived and there was much rejoicing,, not before long soul appeard and again there was much rejoicing and shaking of hands! and there was 4

along the way we picked up axon, JohnN deamin and Aaron and again there was much rejoicing and shaking of hands, and there was 8.

the meetup had recieved all the people that going to arrive and there was much conversation and laughter!( well a little laughter and smiles were plentiful)

we had no formal agenda so alot of topics were covered from what games people liked to what they do for a living anything and everything someone wanted to talk about really, we all got along pretty well and i would guess that most people were interested in what eevryone else had to say.

The location of the next one hasnt been set yet nor the time, i will get onto working that out this week. We were thinking bi monthly meetups one on weekends and one on weekdays to cater for as many people as possible.

I shall find a new location each meetup, give the computer crowd some culture :O).
apart from this forum i shall send people e-mails to keep th meetup alive.

see you all around the forums, irc chat #sumea @ irc.uq.edu.au and at the next meetup's

Good to see so many new faces!

Full write-up at: [url]http://www.grit.net.au/adelindie/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2[/url]

coming to australia to study any kind of course is going to be pricey for a foreign student... it's usually twice the price for anyone out of town.. I'm not sure about how New Zealand works.. but it's possible its similar to the system here in Oz... None of them are really gonna let you break into the industry.. that still is up to the individual to make the effort... the industry here is slowly starting to line itself with the education system.. so more and more courses will be offering somekind of job placement / work experience in the near future ( I hope so )

I'm not actually working in a games company (yet - Grrrr), although I've heard / I would imagine that they'd need some pretty powerful machines for the artists, however for programmers they wouldn't require the latest machines since if you're writing code for the PS2 or other consoles you just write on the PC, but you'd test on a dedicated console machine.

I would also imagine that the engine developers would have the beefiest hardware to develop on, especially if they were making an engine for the PC.

MoonUnit, you'd probably be supprised that many studios use quite modest systems, even for the artists. As you could imagine the cost in keeping up with the latest and greatest hardware isn't viable, in fact many artists I know have faster systems at home.

For instance you don't see a lot of dedicated workstation graphics cards being used since consumer level cards are almost as fast and cost a fraction of the price.

This system is pretty average: Athlon 2500, 1GB dual-channel DDR400, 80GB HDD and 128MB Radeon 9600. It seems to be the standard config for all the new machines that have been rolled out this year. Compiles run fast on this (lots of RAM helps) so it's all good. I have the same setup at home, except that I have a bigger HDD. You don't really need a more powerful video card because the capabilities and power exceed those of the consoles for which you're developing for.

im way out of my depth commenting on a subject like this: the only link i see between faster hardware and making art is the time spent on clicking buttons, as far as i could tell it doesnt affect the overall quality of the art, just the time it takes to make it. so it would be a simple weighing of the costs of employment of a person for a particular amount of time and the cost of a new computer.

2c

quote:Originally posted by Daemin

I would imagine that they'd need some pretty powerful machines for the artists, however for programmers they wouldn't require the latest machines since if you're writing code for the PS2 or other consoles you just write on the PC, but you'd test on a dedicated console machine.

For PS2 development a grunty PC is still a good thing.
Transformers, for a full rebuild, took between 6 minutes and 20 minutes depending on hardware configuration. Thats a large amount of time to be waiting if you've got a slower machine. Even though you tend not to do full builds the time does add up - you can really see it when someone like me (a Producer) starts forcing the programmers to test their code changes in both Debug and Retail every time they check in - which causes some friction, as you can imagine :-) Those people with the slower machines can actually find themselves unable to be as productive as those with faster machines.

Artists need fast/fat machines when working on large worlds - it's pretty easy to build a 3d world that chugs your 3d package down below an workable speed.

quote: Red5 said:
For instance you don't see a lot of dedicated workstation graphics cards being used since consumer level cards are almost as fast and cost a fraction of the price.

Actually, that depends on the software being used. We use SoftImage XSI and we find that the consumer cards don't quite work properly - it's fine for some users of XSI but we often end up going with the much more expensive cards that are designed for that kind of app because they are invariably more stable (may just be drivers, but it still makes a difference)

and to answer Moonunits original questions:
quote:
What kinda beasts do you have at work?

Most of our developers currently range from Athlon 1800's up to Pentium 3Ghz machines - depends on where you are in the upgrade loop (it takes some time to update everyones machine and what your requirements are, and there are a lot of machines!)

quote:
does the company pay for the upgrades?

Yes, but the company owns the machine and you dont get to take it home!

quote:
do you need to complain a lot to get them? (the upgrades)

Yes :-) complaining is important.
We try hard to make sure everyone has what they need to do their job. Having more HD space for MP3's doesn't appear high on the priority list. Having a graphics card capable of showing Doom3 at its best is important if you are working on that kind of thing.

quote:
are you held responsible for your own rig?

Yep. sorta... it's your responsibility to let the right people know when there is a problem, but it's not *your* rig, it's the companies. We have an IT department who rush in to fix flaming power supplies, toasted network cards, etc - so you're not opening the box and fiddling around with it.

Oh, and for the record, my machine at home is better than my machine at work about half the time - the two seem to get upgraded in opposing cycles :-) right now the PC at work is winning the fight, so it must be time to upgrade the home PC!

Zaph

I see the importance of using high end gear (I'm a Softimage user myself), but I would say the majority of game dev studios, even those using xsi (providing they use NVidia and not ATI) have their artists work with consumer level cards.

I suppose you can rationalise, why not pay 1/4 of the price for something that works 80-90% as good as the dedicated workstation card.

quote:Originally posted by Red 5

I see the importance of using high end gear (I'm a Softimage user myself), but I would say the majority of game dev studios, even those using xsi (providing they use NVidia and not ATI) have their artists work with consumer level cards.

I suppose you can rationalise, why not pay 1/4 of the price for something that works 80-90% as good as the dedicated workstation card.

I couldn't agree more, except that in our experience the 10% difference shows itself in crashes... and that can completely halt any progress the artists make.
(and the price difference is actually closer to 1/5 these days - sob!)

thanks for all the replies guys :)

Theres a link at the top of the page - labelled 'Developers'.

That pretty much sums them up [:D]

quote:Ideally I am looking for someone who thinks the classification laws are fine and people should be able to play these games just as they can chose to watch a violent film.

No offence, but the cynic in me thinks that the stories your program runs are usually geared towards the negative on this kind of issue. Your ?reports? could only in the most rare of circumstances be classified as unbiased. Given that for the most part they are targeted at the knee-jerk, ill-informed and scapegoat blaming demographic I find it hard to believe that your report would show this industry and these games in an unbiased light.
You are specifically targeting games like ?Hitman, Manhunt? because they are in the media at the moment and for some reason I don?t think your program will show an in-depth analysis of the psychological studies that indicate predisposition of action guided by media rather then media instigating action.
As such will be receiving no assistance from me.

Pantmonger

I agree with Pants, to often a time have i seen society blames its ills and imperfections on the violence contained in entertainment mediums. I have also think you will have extremely biased views. I might help but only if you can somehow proove that it will be a fair... it will take a hell of a lot of convincing.

It seems more like you're after someone to fill a role for a script. I'm sorry if this is not the case, but this is the way it reads to me.

I support games being able to allow the player to express themselves, but I don't support games that force the player to be violent for the sake of violence. There doesn't seem to be much room in what you're looking for for a view like this... There's some great stuff out there - why not compare and contrast some different types of games? Most of your viewers will have already made up their minds on stuff like Manhunt. I really don't see there being any value behind rehashing the same old arguments again and again.

I played manhunt on my Xbox for about an hour. I found it quite distasteful and rather boring too. I can't help but wonder if you are using Hitman and Manhunt simply because of their titles?

I would assume they are using Manhunt, because it was recently "linked" to a murder in the UK, and Hitman because it received bad press from Victims of Crime organisation (or something along those lines).
Although i highly doubt that Lucie will return to read this thread...
I will be extremely surprised if you manage to find someone who's is of the opinion that those two games are not violent. Hitman, it is generally impossible to finish a mission without making the "hit" (killing your target), and although i've never played Manhunt, it is my belief that it is not entirely possible (and probably quite dull) to complete the levels on stealth alone, and when stealth fails, you are up with a violent confrontation.
It may also be difficult to find someone who thinks the classification laws are fine and also actually gives a damn about the classification laws. I would think most people either would be wanting an R rating introduced, or would be morons who would rather games be banned altogether due to their corrupting influence...
If one good thing could actually come out of this story, perhaps it might be that parents would pay more attention to their kids, and what their kids are doing/playing. Take some of the responsibility of bringing their kids up instead of letting TV/Movies/Games do it for them, and then blaming them for doing "a bad job".
Hey, you never know, maybe they can fit in this story how stupid the lack of an R rating is! :P
CYer, Blitz

This is the definitely dumbest request I've ever seen...I can see where a comment like this would come up in the middle of the report and I doubt anyone here is stupid enough to put themselves in that position.

You might as well have said this -

'Hi I'm looking to produce some propaganda that is designed to incite a fear and hatred of a group of people so that viewers of the program feel they have to watch this program again and again every night to make sure that they are ever vigilant and aware of all the crazies out there in the world, otherwise they may one day get attacked by a bunch of malicious computer game playing kiwi-apple wielding islams that are infected by a human form of the calici virus'

Pfft, go perpetuate this crap misuse of an information medium elsewhere.

I can see where this is going. You will probably end up with something like "calling for a tougher restriction (or even banning) on this type of games".

OWN3D!

quote:Originally posted by bullet21

I agree with Pants, to often a time have i seen society blames its ills and imperfections on the violence contained in entertainment mediums. I have also think you will have extremely biased views. I might help but only if you can somehow proove that it will be a fair... it will take a hell of a lot of convincing.

Understood. I I would still be interested in anyone who has an opinion on thse games whatever it might be. We have no view at all, we don't play thse games nor do we pretend we know anything about them. That's why we were hoping you guys could tell us what you think.

I have to agree with Pantmonger as well. The people on this forum are Game Developers. As developers, we are often frustrated at the way the media (mis)represents our art form. I have a strong opinion on this matter but I will not give it to you because I cannot trust the nature of your story.

I don't mean any offence, I just feel that perhaps this is not the best place to find your interviewee.

Ahhh - I think I got up on the wrong side of bed this morning...

quote:I would still be interested in anyone who has an opinion on thse games whatever it might be. We have no view at all, we don't play thse games nor do we pretend we know anything about them. That's why we were hoping you guys could tell us what you think.
I don't know if alot of people here have played those games either unfortunately...maybe people have played Hitman moreso than Manhunt (Hitman was actually interesting in regards to it's game design and execution, whereas manhunt is not). Pantmonger would be leading you in the right direction - talk to some psychologists and look at some reports and research, there was a major australian study into this kind of gaming released a few years back - I can get the title and publisher/author etc for you if you like. Getting a proper educated perspective is a far better way of communicating with your viewers - especially given the sensitivity in this subject area at the moment that would naturally give rise to overly biased and unresearched perspectives (due to recent headline grabbing events related to the games you are focussing on).

The [url="http://www.gdaa.asn.au/"]Game Developers Association of Australia[/url] would be a good place to start. They have lobbied for changes to the classification system.

You also shouldn't really be looking for a 'kid' to interview either, as these are games aimed at a mature/adult audience. Although I guess that depends upon whether or not you think that someone 15 or older or a baby goat is a kid. =]

Oh, I'd just like to add one more point:

quote:We have no view at all, we don't play thse games nor do we pretend we know anything about them

Don't you think a good way to start working on this story would be to play the games? How could you possibly write an unbiased story about a game you know nothing about?

The oddest thing is, that when this report is aired, I can just see the 'reporter' saying, "We made an attempt at contacting people in the game development industry but they where ALL unavailable for comment"

Its interesting that Manhunt was the first to blame for that killing in the UK. No one has really mentioned how this guys mother was killed in a car accident when he was very young so he went to live with his father who is a long distance lorry driver. He was heavy on drugs and lured the 14 year old victim to a park to steal his money to pay for a drug fix. Being 17, he couldnt get a gun, so he murdered the 14 year old by hitting him over the head with a hammer and then stabbing him.

So of course, the evidence is clear, the game Manhunt caused him to do that - gimme a break.

Mick

Guess what? Manhunt had nothing to do with it. Fresh from the press:

quote:New Twist In Manhunt Murder Row
New details have emerged concerning the murder of Briton Stefan Pakeerah, which the British tabloid press have blamed on the influence of Rockstar title Manhunt ? leading to many chain stores removing the title from shop shelves and calls for all violent games to be banned.

It now transpires that the 17 year old murderer did not own a copy of the game, which should not be sold to those below the age of 18, but that 14 year old Stefan did.

Ironically it is primarily the victim?s family that blames the game for influencing the murderer and they have indicated that they are ?saddened and disappointed? that the game has almost sold out across the UK, in the wake of the controversy.

Investigating police though are satisfied that the game has nothing to do with the murder, with a spokesman commenting that, ?We haven?t connected the game with the murder and we?ve already made that statement, but some sections of the media chose to ignore it? the motive was robbery.?

Well, would you look at that.

Game Developers win again.

Get off our backs and raise your own kids

quote:We have no view at all, we don't play thse games nor do we pretend we know anything about them.
I do actually believe you when you say you have an unbiased view towards games.

Unfortunately you, the media, have a strongly biased view towards ratings and as such I can't see the report being overly friendly towards our industry and its views.

Given the reaction (ratings) negative press for the games industry gets its going to be hard to find someone from this site eager enough to be attacked, mis represented or blamed.

I do however wish you good luck, I truly hope you take the hard way out and prepare a well researched, informed and engaging report, one worthy of the title "journalism".

Whoot! I think the media is responsible for violence in society.. they're the ones determined to show the worst of humanity on prime time TV.. right when the kiddies need to see that crap.. and guess what? Man hunt sold out after the Tabloids reported it.. dosent take much to figure out whose responsible for promoting violence..

still journalism is commercially driven spawn of satan that deserves nothing more than to be spat on for its hipocritical, ill informed, puss ridden, irresponsible and, wait for it, idoitic statements....

Oh yeah I should leave the ABC and SBS out of this.. cause theyre the only ones who still practice respectable journalism..

hahahahahahaha.. suck it hard commercial tv

Many people mentioned that perhaps the media itself is to blaim for showcasing violent acts on television, something which should be even more acessible to children then games (as games have rating and thus are supposed to only be obtained by people in the right demographic). The interesting fact is whilst games narrate a fictional violence, showing the real thing on afternoon television is considered acceptable. If "the following scenes may offend some viewers" satisfies the media, then ratings satisfy me.

good luck with your report but im afriad youll probaly end up with someone who'd rather be on tv and yell "hi mum" then provide you with a proper argument.

i have a strong disgust for media programs, news, current affairs so i will spare you all and stop now.

quote:Oh yeah I should leave the ABC and SBS out of this.. cause theyre the only ones who still practice respectable journalism.

Certainly hoping you're not including the 7:30 Report in this...

Hell i'll be interviewed (I've played Manhunt enough to know its crap) aslong as i can promote products that have nothing related to the story... or if i can have a brown paper bag over my head, or have it blurred or something and whinge that gamers and games arent responsible for violence.

***Barrys freshly squeezed goat juice, its the other kind of milk!***

Actually, why not do an article on how much gamers are negative towards the press. For example, check the above posts. Thats some pretty funny stuff.

Anyway, if it is to blame, shouldnt we be seeing kids running around on drugs, throwing pokeballs at each other whilst holding chainsaws and drinking each others blood while commanding aliens to invade earth and summon demons? Exactly, if your going to blame the video games industry, why not point our fingers at the movie industry while we are at it. Check out something like Lord of the Rings, there have been hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people killed with knives and swords, so therefore Lord of the Rings is to blame [:)].

Anyway, aslong as my face was blurred and i could whinge about how games are not responsible, i would be happily interviewed.

But then again, remember what happened to Homer Simpson? He was interveiwed trying to prove he was innocent, then the interview aired on TV showed Homer talking about her 'sweet can' and it proved him guilty. But then again, if i watch the simpsons i probably kill others just like itchy and scratchy... [:o)]

Which brings me to another point, itchy and scratchy. It contains quite a lot of violence, and im sure a few of the violent killing shown on that are similiar to some murders that have been committed. So i guess we should all go and sue Matt Groening...

Anyway, i've had my fun whinging [:)].

(NOTE: Im happy to be interviewed aslong as my guidelines are met, im not some idiot whos gonna get paid off or told to read a script, if so i will kick cast members severely... oh but wait i've been playing Manhunt, oh well looks like im guilty i go to jail and have to pay $50,000 in legal fees... Go straight to jail do not pass go, do not collect $200)

Although I agree with alot of you guys, I believe there can be some debatable points that can be raised on this topic.

for example:

- movies you merely watch violence whereas games you roleplay the violence - is this step too far? what about good old cowboys and indians? (at this point in time and with this current technology I personally think it's ok)

- just what are the limits to games? How far will we go? Will a game ever be allowed (not developed) on the shelf where you rape women/men? how does this compare to killing? is it just a friendly competition?

- roleplaying parents having babies with the glorious 'AI'?(Sims) & Barbie seperating from Ken.. WHAT THE!

I'm too tired to think about all the questions possible.

More curious on what else you guys could raise that has two sides...

I've never had a problem with violent games and if hitman and manhunt are found to encourage violence in society then does simcity encourage a person to be like Mr Trump? or how about jumping in sewer pipes to look for gold coins becuase Mario did it... If so then I say give out free strip poker games to women!!!

[|)]cas

Sorry Lucie, I doubt you'll find people here who want to fill in the things you want in your program (it sounds very suspicious given the games you have selected).
Most of us are of the opinion that we make a game for a target audience (same way as in the film industry), and games are rated accordingly.

If you're interested in making a more interesting story, it might be worthwhile trying to take a look from our perspective. Here's a few things you should think about if you're interested:
- We don't make violent games for "kids", we have ratings like the film industry
- How many parents would let their "kids" watch kill bill? Or House of a thousand corpses?
- Is it the film industry's fault if those children commit crimes afterwards.
- Is it right for people to say that "the game made him do it" when he's not even old enough to buy the game?

Probably not what you want,
but i can still hope.

Right on Kezza- most people wouldn't take their 9 year old brother/cousin/nephew to see "Kill Bill" but quite a few play or buy games for them that they shouldn't. Games are still regarded as being primarily for kids when the majority of publishers are actually aiming for the 15 - 35 market.

As a parent, you should know that there's bad stuff in the world (ie: volvo drivers, serial killers, nuclear weapons, george w. bush, the french, the sims) and it's up to you to make sure that your kids don't access it. You wouldn't tell your kids to play on the highway or play Manhunt. This is another case of people not being able to take responsibility for their own actions and blaming it on someone else.

I think if anything needs to be classified better it's the news. What with images from Abu Grabi(?) prison, violence in Sudan and Little Johnnies ugly mug - it's enough to seriously disturb any young mind.

Easy everyone, don't give her a hard time.

Shows like CA aren't really informative journalism, they're entertanment... but we (as an average demographic) aren't part of thier target audience.

For example, I personally enjoyed Farenheit 9/11 alot. As a rather cynical university student I'd say I was pretty close to exactly the kind of people Moore was aiming at as a target audience (except maybe for the american democrats party).
However it was in no way an unbaised account, nor was it at all hesitant to hint to or attempt to make links of corruption or conspiracy from material that could be entirely circumstancial. Moore certainly didn't do much in admitting anything good that bush has done (surely there's something, even if small).

All i'm saying is this, if we say Michael Moore is alowed to take a baised entertainment style potshot at bush... it would be hypocritical of us to say that we should be above getting the same treatment for someone else's entertainment.

quote:Actually, why not do an article on how much gamers are negative towards the press. For example, check the above posts. Thats some pretty funny stuff.Actually you should rephrase that to why 'game developers' are so negative towards the press. The fact of the matter is, I don't feel like the game developers owe any particular favours to gutter jourlism...all they have ever done for us is claim that we are making people kill other people; which, quite frankly, makes me sick.

I might as well get this off my chest because I'm hiding behind a keyboard and I won't feel so bad about being brutally honest. While it might be nice to think that a program like this may allow us 'to tell our side' or something like that - there are a few things I feel I have to point out.

First off, the program is only being run in the first place because there was some british tabloid BS about some kid who played manhunt getting killed by some drug addict. I don't think gaming should constantly be associated with murders in the public eye. It reminds me of my rally-driving as well, the only time rallying gets a mention is if someone dies (what a way to celebrate the sport)

Secondly there is no side of our story to tell, we just make games, there is not even the slightest statistical difference between the murders per 100,000 non-gaming population and murders per 100,000 gaming population.

Thirdly, perhaps you should do a story on what games are good for? Ever heard of a LAN that donates proceeds to charity? Probably not, because you haven't done your research nor does it seem you are a gamer.

Lastly, it doesn't matter what we say, in twenty years time gamers (and ex-gamers) will be in every corner of the journalistic profession, they will be running for parliament, we will have grown up and be filling the roles that are currently filled by a group of people who have had no exposure to gaming - furthermore there will be no difference in the ability of a gamer to fulfil these roles as an adult, and the whole issue will disappear off the radar.

THAT'S the end of the story.

Actually a friend of mine had a LAN at his church where all proceeds went to some refugee appeal thing. Although you can still say that no large LANS give to charity.

well, just cause i think i had a different point of view.

i dont particularly have anything against the medium of journalism or anything its just another activity people partake in to fill out there lives(in my opinion)

this is however a good oppertunity for someone, who is into games, and also into public relations, to get a word in or even mabe put on telly to show there worth.

promoting there own career in the (if hated, but needed) public relations side of he gaming industry. promoting there product or medium

there is the chance of coming off like homer, but without taking chances how is anyone to rise above the rest?

find the positive in things people.. oppertunity comes a knocking to promote , yourself, your fav medium, your product, and sumea. why give it the flick.

Good point - however I don't see how us saying stuff infront of a camera is going to represent our cause in a good way.

As I stated, a thorough well-researched and objective report would be far better than us encouraging some tit-for-tat 'debate' between two uncompromising and ill-informed parties who cannot see the logic that is loosely associated with both sides of the argument.

I know QUT will have a brand new animation course up and running for next year... (thats brisbane thou) and it'll cover everything in maya.. modelling animating and integration (compositing). It looks really good on paper..

catchya

SAE seems to be the only one that has no other random stuff thrown in, I've decided I'll most likely end up there...

http://www.sae.edu/home/mainframe.php4?PHPSESSID=4cb6f850fe8dc217a02f69…

anyone been in SAE, and can tell me what it's like? anything would be great ^_^

Ive been there.

Im not going to recommend it to anyone.

Their staff isnt the best and arent very helpful.

The recieptionist's have got to be one of the worst ive seen.

The facilitys are way below average.

The staff take their time in getting back to you no matter if its important or not.

But thats sydney not sure bout anywhere else.

rly? I'm gona give it a go neway, maybe perth is better? who knows, and what kinda facilitys did they have btw? Do yu think if yu graduated yu'll have enough to take yu into the 3d industry cause they also offer a bachelors degree in their byron bay campus

i'm currently trying to choose between AIE and SAE... there is an SAE in Milton, Brisvegas, which is close... but no AIE [:(]
i must admit from what i have heard i am leaning towards the AIE course.

The same way you would apply for a job, send out some screenshots and press info etc, if they like what they see the will want to see a demo and talk to you. Things go from there. Or you could to a trade show like e3 and pimp your work there.

koolz thanx dude. also i was wondering, if u wanted to make like a sequal to an already licensed game say like another mario game or sumthing. Would u havta pay upfront for licensing fees and then create it? Or could u create it and then show it to them and if they liked it they could buy it or woteva?

Go check out the IGDA - they have tonnes of information on how to pitch to a publisher!

*sigh* I fly back to Brisbane tomorrow. @:-(

I'll be in for that Cheryl. Just let me know when and where. I'm easy :)

It would be a 3 hour drive for me... d[>.<]b
I think you had to register before hand? You might have to look that up.

No need to register afaik. It should just be a show up on their door stop.

I will be there for a few hours, mainly to see how people take to tribes. It would be cool a see a few of you which I haven't seen for sense my AIE days.

I might head out with a few friends, should i make a sign saying 'Sumeans here' and hold it up? [:p]

I just want to see how crazy some of the gamers are here in Canberra.

Looks like i killed this thread and several others [:p].

I guess i'll just go and hide in the corner... [;)]

Let us know how the festival is going [:)]

I didnt manage to go, it was raining and miserable outside so i stayed home eating soup [:)]. Did anyone manage to get out there?

Yeah. I headed out there. Met up with Joel and Cheryl. Also met Dan (Schlumppy) out there. It was better than what I thought t would have been. There weren't too many stands out there, but there were a few good ones (the mo-cap room :D). The LAN party was blinding (how many lights do you possibly need on a case?). It seemed well publicised. There was 104.7FM out there having comps on GT4, and Ten/Capital had ballons in the showbags. If they keep it going and add in more stalls, then it can only get better :)

It was worth going just to see the principal of the AIE (Ian), play on Eye Toy :D

I read that a four player Xbox version of Citizen Zero was available for play there. Anyone get a chance to have a look at that?

quote:Originally posted by Souri

I read that a four player Xbox version of Citizen Zero was available for play there. Anyone get a chance to have a look at that?

Yep I had a look, not a play. Kind of Blade Runner meets Zelda? Well thats not the best description but it looked alright. Co-op training missions were on show I think. Nice weapons and stuff.

i enjoyed it, im dabbling a bit into level design (in UnrealED) so it was somewhat insightfull :) after meeting rahnem personally at free play but missing his session i was happy to see something like this up.

i thought his name was familiar, i went to uni with the guy

It was a very cool interview. It's good to hear an aussie game dev doing so well :)

quote:Originally posted by shiva

i thought his name was familiar, i went to uni with the guy

You did!?

quote:Originally posted by Rahnem

quote:Originally posted by shiva

i thought his name was familiar, i went to uni with the guy

You did!?

i believe so, i was at cqu doing IT from 99 to 02

a very enjoyable read, well done to Rahnem...[:D]

Maybe Tim Richards, editor at www.gamenews.com.au can help you out... He's in Melbourne though, but it's worth a shot!

wowee, thats not half bad is it. Well done krome

That's great [:)]. I hope the stories in the cartoon series will be interesting and offer at least some moral or inspiring message to the kids these days, just like the 80's Astroboy cartoons did. And I don't mean by whacking a 5 second skit at the end where Ty says "Hey kids, recycle... TO THE EXTREME!" and then some sidekick trips over and everyone laughs. [:)]

I don't watch any childrens cartoons these days obviously, but the ones that I catch seem to be a power ranger kind of formulae story telling, where with each episode there's a new evil character, some stealing/shenaningans/throw away plot ensues, then a big fight at the end, and the credits roll up.. Pokemon etc seems to be like that.

Cartoons are a great way of impressioning the kids, and I can imagine in another 20 years or so, a generation of grown up cartoon viewers would be wanting to hunt down Steve and the Krome people about Ty. Who knows, maybe there'll be an animated CG feature if the cartoon really goes off! [:D] That would be great! I gotta say, I really love Ty's character design - I really think it has a lasting quality to it, very much like Astroboy's design. In 10, 20 years time, it'll never look outdated...

Souri, you really like Astroboy hey? [;)]

And I say well done to Krome as well, Ty rocks!

I'll watch it purely for Maurie if they grab the same voice actor. He's a damn rockin' character @:-D

quote:Originally posted by Kane

Souri, you really like Astroboy hey? [;)]
I want an Astroboy DVD boxset with the entire series [:(]

i cant tell you what there like but personally im going for a bachelor of multimedia design at swindburne so if all else fails ill still have a uni degree on my resumue, then ill do a focused course like AIE. Its good to have something to fall back on and with something like multimedia design being broad enough to allow me to branch off into all sorts of things (like film, web-design etc).

I think that swinburne course, the entrance is based of a folio and stuff. Whih i dont have, so how else can you get in? like are just sketches and 3d images enough to be considered a folio or do you need all that other stuff like photography and so on.

a folio is something anyone can build and if you are taking art subjects it is something you will build in year 12. All it is is a collection of your artworks presented (ta daaa) in a folio. So all you need to do is make a collection of artworks (i suppose multimedia related in this case) to present. Also note that a folio can encompass things like the WIPs before the completed project. As for how much? im not to sure.

That's the thing though i dont do an art subject, if i do graphics next year will that help build a folio.

most definetly, pretty much every art/design subject is based around folio building in year 12, but the fact is even if its not, your still going to be doing work in that subject that you can add to the folio.

Theres nothing pre-req about a folio itself, its just a collection of works.

hurray for Victoria :P
this just a specualted thing or are you moving down here for sure?

Very seriously considering it or Queensland. When I think of gaming, I think Victoria or Queensland, not NSW.

That's because Queensland is the best. I love Queensland... except for the hot weather.