May Gathering: Tuesday 5th

World Premiere of Tower Bloxx Deluxe and surprises on May at the next IGDA Finland gathering! "Experience the ridiculously addictive smash-hit that's already played by millions across the globe! Create swaying, tipping and tumbling towers sky-high in this action-puzzler. Get the full HD experience exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade and challenge yourself with 6 massive game modes, revolutionary social scoring, Xbox Live avatar integration, power-ups, and even party multiplayer. How high can you go?"

Vappu will be nothing compared to the blast provided by Digital Chocolate on May the 5th, and their smash hit Tower Bloxx -- played by millions across the globe -- will be just an appetizer! The world premiere of Tower Bloxx Deluxe for Xbox live Arcade will be at the IGDA Finland gathering on May. Digital Chocolate will also give a taste of other projects they have been working on.

This is your change to meet the developers and see what will soon come out from Digital Chocolate!

IGDA FINLAND MAY GATHERING Place: Cuba Café, Erottajankatu 4, 00120 Helsinki (map) Time: Tuesday, 5th of May, doors open at 19:00

Sonja at the Women In Games SIG advisory board

IGDA Women in Games (WIG) SIG has a brand new Advisory Board. WIG SIG was formed to create a positive impact on the game industry with respect to gender balance in the workplace and the marketplace. WIG SIG also just lauched GameMentor system to support new talent to join the industry. As a member of the Advisory Board I hope to encourage talented girls to seek for job opportunities in games business. It has a lot to offer! Come to talk to me at the IGDA Gatherings or send an e-mail (name.surname[at]igda.fi) if there is something I can help you with! Here's the line-up of WIG SIG Advisory Board :

• Rayna Anderson, Game Designer, Gameloft – Montreal; Advisory Board, IGDA Montreal
• Phaedra Boinodiris, Product Manager, Serious Games, IBM Software Group; Founder, WomenGamers.Com
• Amber Dalton, PMS Clan Leader
• Torrie Dorrell, SVP, Global Sales & Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment
• Tracy Fullerton, Associate Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media Division; Director, Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab
• Megan Gaiser, President & CEO, Her Interactive Inc.
• Susan Gold, Director, Program Review; Chairperson, IGDA Education SIG
• Gano Haine, President, ONAG Consulting
• Michelle Hinn, Instructor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Chair, IGDA Game Accessibility SIG; Co-Chair, IGDA Diversity Committee; Executive Director, AbleGamers.com
• Sonja Kangas, Game Director, GuppyLife MMO at GuppyWorks: IGDA Finland Coordinator; Advisory Board Member, Nordic Game Program
• Dina N. Lewallen, Diversity Specialist, Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft Corporation
• Jen MacLean, Senior Vice President of Business Development, 38 Studios
• Jane Pinckard, Business Development Analyst at Foundation 9 Entertainment; Founder at GameGirlAdvance
• Sheri (Pocilujko) Rubin, CEO/President of Design, Direct, Deliver, Chair, IGDA Quality Assurance SIG
• Mary Margaret Walker, CEO, Mary-Margaret Network

Neogames Salary Survey

We'd like to urge you to answer Neogames' current anonymous survey collecting national salary information. It literally takes mere seconds to complete and benefits our industry as a whole, so pretty please go visit the survey and nudge your friends to do the same! The results can only be considered reliable if enough people contribute, so now we lean on you, the community, to join the cause!

Mission Statement for the IGDA Finland

For a while now we have received feedback that our 'About Us' - page doesn't really tell much about who we are or what we do and why. Sure, it has been useful to those who are already familiar with IGDA and IGDA Finland. But for those that aren't, there has been all kinds of confusion, e.g. people have urged us to start a labor union for Finnish game developers (no, we're not going to do that), have confused us with the newly formed Suomen Pelinkehittäjät Ry, etc. So we have finally decided to do something that we should have done a long time ago: we have written down our mission statement and published it on our website! This mission statement is something that has been guiding our actions for years now, but we have only talked about it amongst the volunteers. Now we are sharing it with everybody.

At the same time, we have taken the opportunity to flesh out and update the 'About Us' - page in other ways as well. Go check it out! As always, feedback and questions are more than welcome! You can send them to: jranki at igda dot fi.

Jay - Lead Chapter Coordinator

September Gathering & Presentation - Tuesday 11th

Greetings! It's time for IGDA Gathering yet again! The fall is settling in and weather is getting colder, but worry not IGDA Gatherings is here to bring light in your fall! The same usual premise, except this time we are starting the IGDA Finland Presentation Series!

* IGDA FINLAND PRESENTATION * Place: Pääposti Auditorium (Postikuja, C), follow the IGDA signs Date: Tuesday 11th September Starts: 17.30 Ends: 19.00 -- the chat will continue at the System Rock!

* IGDA FINLAND AUGUST GATHERING * Place: System Rock, Keskuskatu 4, 00100 Helsinki (map: http://igda.fi/?page_id=5) Time: Tuesday 11th September, doors open at 19.00

The first ever IGDA Finland Presentations (sponsored by Remedy) session will focus on money. We will give you tips how to get a share of 300 000 €'s for your game! You'll also learn how the others have done it.

Erik Robertson from Nordic Game Programs will give you last minute hints how to get funds from the Nordic Game Program and beat the rest of applicants from other Nordic countries!

The second speaker is Ilari Kuittinen from Housemarque. He will talk about their experiences and future visions of downloadable console titles. The last presentation of the evening will be held by Timo Vuorensola. Rautataivas crew would like to share their thoughts about Rautataivas game and find out possibilities for cooperation!

The IGDA Finland Presentations will be held in Pääposti Auditorium just 5 minutes away from System Rock.

NOTE: The IGDA Finland presentations are an addition to the gathering and is not in any way mandatory in relation to IGDA Finland Gatherings.

Cya there!

Best, Miikka Luotio & Sonja Kangas IGDA Finland Coordinators