IGDA Finland Tampere Hub March gathering with TEKES and Next Games

Once again game developers and game industry enthusiasts in the Tampere region gathered in Jack the Rooster on the 25th of March for another IGDA Finland Tampere Hub gathering. The event was also the after party for a Tekes event held earlier that day. We were also glad to get Next Games, which had just raised $6 million in its initial investment round with two games in development, to sponsor the event. Next Games provided attendees with drinking tickets and the opportunity to learn more about the company and its projects, including a game about the popular TV series The Walking Dead.

The event was a success yet again with around 80-100 attendees. It was kicked off by a presentation by Jay Ranki, the Head of Studio at Next Games. After a short introduction to the company, people once again went into networking mode.

Until next time, IGDA Finland Tampere Hub volunteers

Kicking off IGDA Finland Tampere Hub

It finally happened. With the first IGDA Finland Tampere Hub gathering held at 29.10.2013 now behind us, the whole organizing team can let out a sigh of relief. After months of planning we can say with utmost certainty that the team did a marvelous job at putting it all together. But it would not have been without all you folks taking part in the gathering and making it a night to remember. We would also like to express our gratitude towards our sponsor Fragment, a game development studio situated in Tampere. Thank you!

The event took place in Jack the Rooster, a local rock bar situated near the city center in Tampere. The doors opened at around 6 pm allowing the long queue of people to finally trickle inside and enjoy their first cool beverage courtesy of Fragment.

Once we had all the early arrivals inside, the program could commence. The official program consisted of an introduction to IGDA Finland by Tatu Laine followed by speeches from our sponsor Fragment.

Starting something new does not usually come without obstacles. First of all, due to the high turnout of people, we were having some issues with getting people inside as fast as possible. One of the biggest problems, however, was that people believed the kitchen to be open during the event. This was not the case and we will try to remedy this in the future.

Jack the Rooster proved a wonderful choice of venue. It really had that rock’n’roll feeling that we experience in the game development industry here in Finland. We were also able to negotiate great pricing for IGDA Finland members as well as our sponsors.

On a personal note, I would like to thank the whole organizing team for all the hard work they have put into making this happen! Tampere really has the spirit that becoming a great international game development hub requires.

Until next time, IGDA Finland Tampere Hub volunteers Timo Heinäpurola Annakaisa Kultima Minna Eloranta Arto Koistinen Mika Kuusisto Mikko Karsisto Jukka Mikkonen Jukka Kauppinen

Game industry events on mobile gaming & game metrics!

Check out these game industry happenings in Tampere and Lappeenranta!_______________________________________________________________ GAME METRICS EVENT IN TAMPERE, MARCH 20TH

Sign up to the event! FREE bus from Helsinki and back, sign up to the bus! Cancelled. The schedule for High Score TechTalk: 18:00 – Doors open 18:15 – 19:00 Joakim Achrén, Game Design through Key Metrics 19:15 – 20:00 Jouni Mannonen, Bike Baron Post Mortem 20:00 –> Jack the Rooster 22:00 Bus back to Helsinki

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POCKET GAMER MOBILE MIXER IN TAMPERE, MARCH 26TH Sign up! March 26th in New Factory starting at 5pm. Think. Drink. Connect. Welcome to the very first ever Pocket Gamer Mobile Mixer in Finland. Created in association with Manse Games and Support from Papaya Mobile and Rovio, the event offers a vibrant mix of industry insight, heated debate and the chance to knock back some complimentary beers with the cream of the Finnish games industry.

The main event Battle Panel: Casual VS Core; Which makes the best social game? Also on the agenda:

• Introduction to Mobile social gaming from Papaya Mobile (Oscar Clark)
• Rovio reveal the latest on the Angry Bird's Space Program (Ville Heijari)
• The latest figures from the analytics expert at Flurry (Richard Firminger)
• Symbio ask develop for Windos Phone? Vision + gives short glance of their new; revenue share based investment model without dilution

Sign Up at: http://pocketgamertampere.eventbrite.com/ The event kicks off at New Factory from 5:00pm at New Factory (Väinö Linnan Aukio 15, third floor) and continues behind the corner at 7pm at Jack The Roosters (Satakunnankatu 13).

Applifier and Audiodraft are sponsoring the bus transportation from Helsinki to Tampere and back to Helsinki. The bus leaves from Helsinki next to Kiasma at 3pm. Sign up for the bus.

This event is sponsored by; Rovio, Nokia, Visio+, Symbio, Audiodraft, Applifier, Img Systems _______________________________________________________________

SKINNARILA GAME SUMMIT IN LAPPEENRANTA APRIL 18TH A game industry event and seminar series will launch 18.04.2012 at Lappeenranta! In the first seminar of the series, name of the game is: "Combining passion, learning and business in mobile game development: How to start your business in super-fierce industry and still be able to gather butter on top of your bread?". During this first seminar, our objective is to gather viewpoints from industry professionals and the audience on how they have approached the challenges faced by start-up in mobile gaming industry. Detailed topics include, but are not limited to: agile learning, gaining visibility and mixing game design and monetization. Speakers and registration dates of seminar will be published during March 2012.

Uutiskirje 11/2011: ManseGames nostaa Tamperetta pelialan kartalle

Peliala on Suomessa kovassa kasvussa, ja Tampereella kasvua vauhdittaa vuoden 2010 lopulla perustettu ManseGames-hanke. Laaja-alaisesti pelialan toimijoita tukeva ManseGames onkin esimerkki siitä, miten uutta alaa kehitetään järjestelmällisesti.

ManseGamesin projektipäällikkö on Suvi Latva, joka hankki pelialan kannuksensa Oulun vuosina 2005–2007 toimineessa ELVI-projektissa. Tampereella toimii myös pelialaa kansallisella tasolla tukeva NeoGames, jonka kanssa ManseGames on luonnollisesti tiiviissä yhteistyössä. NeoGamesin johtajana toimii KooPee Hiltunen.

ManseGamesin perustamisaikaan olosuhteet Tampereella olivat hankkeelle suotuisat: alueen peliala kehittyi ja taustavoimia löytyi Hermiasta ja NeoGamesista. ManseGamesin voikin katsoa täydentävän pelialan kansallisia ja kansainvälisiä (kuten Nordic Game ja EGDF) toimia.

"Tampereen pelialalla oli potentiaalia ja varsinkin Universomo oli hyvässä vauhdissa jo vuonna 2007. Universomo sulki ovensa keväällä 2010, jolloin Tampereen alueelle vapautui 40 alan tekijää. Kehittämishanketta puolsivat myös alan toimintaympäristön, jakelukanavien ja ansaintamallien muutokset. Ajattelimme, että kohdennetuilla tukitoimilla voisimme merkittävästi avustaa Tampereen pelialaa", Latva muistelee.

ManseGames on myös osa Hermian Uusi Tehdas -kokonaisuutta ja akateemisen maailmankin kanssa tehdään yhteistyötä ja vaihdetaan tietoa – tästä esimerkkinä Tampereen yliopiston Games as Service -projekti. Byrokratian osalta ManseGames on Hermian hallinnoima ja Pirkanmaan liiton, Tampereen kaupungin ja Hermian yhdessä rahoittama Euroopan aluekehitysrahoituksen projekti.

"ManseGames edistää Tampereen kehitystä pelialalle suotuisana kasvuympäristönä. Tuemme osaajien verkostoitumista, teemme aluetta tunnetuksi ja jaamme tietoa yrittäjille ja yrittäjiksi aikoville", Latva kertoo. "Pelitoimiala on voimakkaassa murroksessa, ja se tekee bisneksestä kiinnostavaa mutta myös haastavaa."

Yksi haasteista on ollut luottamuksen hankkiminen: hanke ei ollut tuttu pelialan yrityksille tai alan sidosryhmille. Rahoitusjärjestelytkin asettivat tiettyjä reunaehtoja, mutta ManseGames on ollut menestys kaikilla mittareilla. "Vuonna 2011 Tampereelle on perustettu seitsemän uutta peliyritystä, ja kaiken kaikkiaan yrityksiä on täällä nyt 21", Latva kertoo tyytyväisenä.

"Haasteita toki riittää, sillä yritysten lähtökohdat ja tarpeet ovat kovin erilaisia: pelejä kehitetään eri alustoille, tuotekehitys on eri vaiheessa ja tietoa kaivataan eri osa-alueilta. Olemme pyrkineet valitsemaan useimmille yhteisiä aiheita, kuten uudistuneet bisnesmallit, DLC:n, freemiumit, laki-asiat ja vaikkapa pitchauksen", Latva kertoo.

ManseGames on tamperelainen hanke, mutta Suomen kaltaisen pienen maan on hyödynnettävä kaikki voimavarat, jotta peliala kasvaa ja kehittyy. "Ei ole varaa maan sisäiseen kilpailuun. Jälkikäteen naurattaa, että joskus Oulussa sanoin alueesta tulevan Suomen Piilaakso. Samaan tapaan Aalto-yliopistossa puhutaan, että tehdään Helsingistä Suomen Piilaakso. Itse ehdottaisin, että tehdään Suomesta Euroopan Piilaakso. Kaikki voivat tehdä yhteistyötä ja oppia toisiltaan. Suomen kokoisessa maassa alan kasvun tulee levitä myös pääkaupunkiseudun ulkopuolelle. Ovathan osaajatkin levittäytyneet ympäri Suomen, kuten Kajaanin huippuhyvä Supercell osoittaa", Latva päättää.

Rieti Ryysy

Summary in English

ManseGames is a regional development project supporting the games industry in the Tampere area. ManseGames operates in close cooperation with NeoGames, University of Tampere and other Tampere-based entities. It facilitates networking and supports and educates game developers in new business models, DLC, freemiums, legislation and pitching.

IGDA Finland Goes Tampere - the journey there and back

IGDA Finland went to Tampere and what can I say… It was a BLAST! GREAT! HECTIC! TASTY! FUN! Over 200 people joined the party at Jack the Rooster bar, IGDA Finland's home-away-from-home. We had a "Transfluent sponsored" bus full of people from Helsinki. Also all sorts of vehicles reached Tampere from the directions of Pori, Outokumpu and Jyväskylä on 4th of October. Tampere game development scene, Neogames and Uusi Tehdas welcomed us warmly. We had everything from free ice cream to Ernest Adams' talk, accompanied with spicy food, sponsored drinks and great company!

Tampere game development scene sure is growing. The following companies were sponsoring the evening: Imgsystems, Autodesk, Musta-Pekka, Colossal Order, Kyy Games, Traplight Games, InnoGiant, Prank Entertainment and 10Tons and Transfluent from Helsinki. Give these people a big hand!

For those who weren't there: here's is a quick introduction to Tampere game development scene. Better take a good look at these names to be sure you at least know what hit you!

10tons - founded in 2003. Develops casual quality games for several platforms. Next big thing is Azkend 2 to be released at the end of the year!

Tampere-based Innogiant is a small studio concentrating on game-porting and other contracting services. Innogiant is focusing fully on technological contracting services. Their latest project was the Windows Phone 7 version of the popular Angry Birds game by Finnish Rovio.

PRANK is an independent game developer of ambitious SPACE-MONKEYS sharing years of experience in the industry. The team of (house)trained primates has a long track record of games developed for world famous brands and globally leading publishers of the 21st century, but most importantly, they are passionate gamers.

Colossal Order Ltd is an independent game development studio located in Tampere, Finland. Founded in 2009 by experienced developers and serious fans of the genre, the company focuses on original IP strategy and simulation games for PC platform. Colossal Order released their first title Cities in Motion early 2011.

Kyy Games is a company specializing in iPhone/iPad and other mobile games and applications. We are located in Tampere, Finland.

Traplight Games focuses on iOS games and has released The Hero for iPhone.

Imgsystems is software and system expert for creative industry. The core activity is to deliver best possible software and platforms from artists to production environments.

Musta-Pekka

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software.

Helsinki based Transfluent offers fully-automated service of effortless, near real-time professional translation to social media feeds and websites. They just won MindTrek Grand Prix 2011!

All Tampere photos can be browsed here!

Thanks everyone for coming and see you on November the 8th!