Thursday, July 01, 2004

start up meeting moments

and thank you all for coming to the greater brisbane IGDA start-up meeting!

it was just great to see so many people with so many ideas .. kept me warm in spite of the cold!

people:

matthew - chapter coordinator
truna
paul
mick
matthew
caleb
jake
kalin
jamie
handi
alastair
wesley
daniel
james
simon
chris
brett
christopher
andrew
vaselin

the meeting was mostly meeting and greeting. plans for the next meeting were discussed - the overall idea is still to hold a LAN event.

jake is on the case for a venue, paul did sensibly point out that we could also simply comandeer a lan cafe ...

we feel we might need an interim meeting about this so do scout out a further bar - cafe for this too! perhaps somewhere warm and cosy in the valley?

things to do

join the IGDA if you haven't already, they offer a range of memberships: free, student and full. the free membership gets you the email newsletter and access to the forums

IGDA: http://igda.org

check out the brisbane chapter forum

plans

the next meeting to be a LAN event - somewhere with access to pizza?
the third meeting to be a GALLERY event - members personal pieces and moments of pride and pleasure - this might be the one to invite the media to? after all, a gallery event demands very cheap wine ...!

Saturday, June 19, 2004

we exist!

from a message from jason:

>we haven't filled the form in yet

Well, no need to now really. That form is more for "unsolicited" proposals for chapters.

We should, however, get your igda.org web space/info set up as a well as a folder in our online forums, etc...

and a reminder too:

Ya, great to see all the notes. Very exciting. I would just warn to keep things relatively simple to start. Doing too much might prematurely burnout the volunteers and may overwhelm/confuse the community. Remember, this is
something you want to be able to do on a semi-regular basis (ie, every month, or every other month...).

And, I will reiterate that the focus should first be on bringing the pro community together. Once you've created an environment that is welcoming to
the pros, everyone else will be attracted - without risk of losing the pros. You don't want a situation where the pros show up at the first
meeting, say "this is a bunch of students, amateurs, teachers, gov folks and other folks" and then never show up again... It is a tough thing to
balance...

Thursday, June 17, 2004

new members welcome and start up

welcome to our new members - from fuzzy eyes, pandemic and auran!

our official start up meeting is proposed for:

time: 7.00 pm
date: wednesday june 30th
place: southbank - restuarant - cafe to be confirmed

spread the word ... it looks like we might have to find a restuarant with a room!

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

oops

it was paul cohen who had the anniversary ... sorry paul ...

and mick gordon had a long adventure and officially deserves a cold beer [and an escort?] when we meet him at southbank!

Monday, June 14, 2004

first meeting moments

the first meeting to organise the start up of the brisbane chapter of the IGDA happened in the sunshine of the valley mall on june 13

it was a delight to meet and greet, this is going to be a great chapter! some strong common themes have become apparent:

  • networking and community building for those involved in the games industry in brisbane
  • strengthening the local games industry and improving public appreciation of the industry
  • encouraging greater support from local government and institutions for the industry in brisbane
  • fostering the games life, art and design in brisbane


people

matthew from auran
caleb from fuzzy eyes
handi from fuzzy eyes
tongtong from fuzzy eyes
paul from fuzzy eyes
jake from krome studios
truna

peter from gridwerx had to cry off for an anniversary celebration

decisions

matthew to renew his membership of IGDA and BE the coordinator person [he was wearing the right hat!]
truna to tidy the proposal to send in to IGDA
jake to contact QANTM and CA in anticipation of the second meeting
caleb to ensure paul, handi and tongtong get the blog and yahoo address
paul to find us the perfect restuarant in southbank for .. the official start up meeting ..

matthew [with truna's assistance] to contact the other games companies by email to invite to start up

people to contact / invite to the official start up:

Pandemic
THQ
QANTM
Half-brick
SEQGRAPH

proposed date: June 30th @ 7.00 pm [to be confirmed]

agenda june 30:

website/blog/email setup
organise LAN party
Ideas for gallery meeting
IGDA principles/goals

this will be the official start up meeting.

we felt it was important to have this as a meeting of as many representatives of the games industry here in brisbane as possible, to make this so ...

ideas for the meeting after the start up were bigger:

invite other interested parties

OED
Creative Assembly
SEQGRAPH
AFTRS
NOKIA
ACID
Courier Mail and SUMEA

the ideas for the next meeting, once the chapter exists were really driven by the motives of networking and community building and the desire to encourage support for this industry. we would love to hold a kind of personal work show off opportunity - not company projects - but rather individual pieces and moments of pride. we even wondered about inviting up and coming work to be entered. brisbane is such a special city as it generates a great deal of creative life and we felt that this is the side that should be emphasisied. the gallery would give everyone a chance to network. as well as a gallery event, we would love to perhaps hold the whole affair somewhere [perhaps QANTM] where we could also enjoy the cameraderie of a LAN party - suggested game: WORMS. and, of course, essential social elements such as nibbles and beverages ... caleb is almost certainly going to organise a big guiness moment!

Friday, June 11, 2004

beginnings of a chapter proposal

[Very] Draft Proposal

What is an IGDA Chapter?
IGDA Chapters connect game developers in local communities around the world. Through regularly scheduled meetings, chapters provide an opportunity for professional game developers to interact with peers (and others interested in game development) on a local level.


Why have an IGDA chapter in Brisbane?

Brisbane, a city of 1,689.1 (2002 Aus Stats) occupies an enviable position on the east coast of Australia with a perfect sub tropical climate and comfortable living standards. This is, coupled with good communications and low costs compared to other major Australian cites, is attracting the creative and entertainment industries to the area. Brisbane is the major city for the whole of the Queensland area. The city is developing a major initiation in the Creative Industries having recently announced the prioritising of the Creative Industry sectors.

This provides an ideal background to the establishment of an IGDA chapter. A number of local and international games companies are already well established in the city and given the announced support of the Queensland government; it is likely that more will follow.

An IGDA chapter would be very timely. The games developers’ community in the city is growing with a number of independent groups focussing on this aspect of the Creative Industries and the local educational institutions developing courses aimed at this industry, both at secondary and tertiary level.

more on why choose brisbane from the Office of Economic Development

What are the benefits of an IGDA Chapter?

• Employees from separate companies get sense of larger community.
• Opportunity to learn and share ideas.
• Networking.
• Opportunity for industry outsiders to connect with professionals.
• Fun, social meetings.
• Learn about the IGDA and its activities.

possible roles to consider

Roles:

Coordinator
Meeting Reporter / Photographer
Liaison / Publicist
Website – Forum manager
Treasurer / Sponsorship

Others?

list of roles taken from the IGDA chaper reference document

Thursday, June 10, 2004

sunday meeting loose agenda

1. meet, greet, make contact
2. draft chapter proposal
3. make a start on potential chapter events appropriate to brizzy
4. see who else we know who might be considered essential to invite onto organising committee
5. share some organising responsibilities [eg creation of website, forum, networking stuff]

finding each other at ric's

i am the one with long messy hair who might have been mistaken for janis joplin a long time ago!

new yahoo group created

Group name: brisbaneIGDA
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brisbaneIGDA
Group email: brisbaneIGDA AT yahoogroups.com

i have followed jason's advice and set up a yahoo groups account for brisbane IGDA

the group is not public and membership by invite only at this stage so we can use it for the organisational stuff ..

PLEASE - if you wish to subscribe and especially if you are using a personal email address, do let us know WHO you are and WHERE you work when you fill in the 'request membership' form ...

primary organisational chapter meeting

sunday 13 june
12.00 midday
the valley