Tallaght Game Dev Community...Interested?

Bluebeard2

Hi game devs (board and digital) in Tallaght and surrounding areas. Would you be interested in getting a local game dev community going? Yes? Well great, because a new one is starting tomorrow...

First Meet-up
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The first meeting is tomorrow (yes, check the date below).

We'll have a proper venue once we have the numbers, but the first meeting will be informal, relaxed and over a cup of coffee, see below:

DATE, TIME, LOCATION
> Inaugural Meeting: Chat tomorrow (16 Dec 2014)
> Location: Starbucks, The Square Tallaght
> Time: 6pm

Who Should Attend?
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* Coders
* Artists (2D and 3D)
* Designers
* Producers
* People who would like to develop their skills in any areas mentioned above
* You and your friends
* Do you have to be studying or working in game dev? No. You just need an interest and intent to get stuck in.

It would be great to have a mix of board game, and digital game makers (or enthusiasts who are ready to finally build the game of their dreams). Mix of age groups, genders and em...species?

A Place To Call Home
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I have secured a excellent 'proper' venue right beside the Luas Line when this takes off, just need a 'critical mass' in members first.

How Often?
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Probably bi-weekly, though some people would consider weekly meet-ups.

What We Do Is Up To You!
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The format of the meet-ups is undecided, that's what the first meeting is for.

I'd hope it will involve playing and discussing games, sharing knowledge and experience, maybe some of us will team up and build/publish games too. Got your own ideas? Let's hear them.

The Rallying Call (Braveheart Speech)
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We need YOU to start a vibrant community of game devs in Tallaght. If you're like me, you think this could be the start of something good, so why not steal a few hours for yourself tomorrow evening, and come along? The worst thing that could happen is you burn your tongue on a hot chocolate, or have to make an excuse to leave early.

But if you come along tomorrow, and take one chance, 'just one chance' on this community, you'll be able to say you were there from the start, and you'll finally have something to tell 'the grandchilder' about.

How You Can Spot Me...
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I'll be sipping an frappuccino or deluxe hot chocolate (haven't decided yet...), and will have a book in front of me that will leave no doubt in your mind. My name is Peter, just come up and say 'game on', or 'Hi', is also fine.

Thanks!

Bluebeard2

Well the first meeting was tonight (I decided to go for the frappuccino with cream). One guy turned up which was great (cheers Philip). We discussed our interests and background in games, and decided to try double the numbers for the next meet-up in January (date to be decided).

In fairness, that's not a bad start. Things like this take time, particularly where nothing similar previously existed in the local area.

More Focus...Maybe?
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I probably need to tighten the focus of the group a bit more. For example, besides being keen on growing my 3D game art skills, I'm also interested in publishing 3 to 4 mobile games next year (2015). Some might disagree, but I believe getting a first version of a game to the apps stores, and then iterating to improve quality and game play is a good approach (for me anyway). "Publish Early". What better way to improve skills than to go through the complete process a few times?

Other game dev communities are focused on play testing, or game jams, so maybe this one would focus on everyone getting their games to the app stores. I guess publishing games is what all devs want, but it's not always the main focus of groups.

Near Future Goals
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* Raise Awareness - Double the numbers (at least). I'll have to find better ways to reach local game devs, spread the word.
* Find a better temporary venue. Starbucks has nice coffee, but it's not going to be suitable for our requirements.
* Seek advice. I'm not the first person to walk this road, I'll gratefully accept advice from those who have done this before.

So I'm Asking You...
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This thread has had a some visitors. If you're reading this, and have any advice that might help me achieve the goals above, please post a reply.

Thanks.

satchmo

The only thing I'd say is give more notice next time, to give people a chance to plan for it. Someone on the IrishGameDev FB group is putting together an event calendar (I saw your post there so you probably already know), be sure to get on it with plenty of time.

Otherwise, nice one for organising! Keep at it, the more gamedev events the better.

Bluebeard2

Good advice. Yes, notice was too short for sure. The fb calendar sounds perfect, I'll look into that tomorrow. Thanks!

Kyotokid

Maybe post here too: gamedevelopers.ie/irishgamedev-forums/