Ye Hub of Games Bristole 2015 Newsletter for all Things New!!

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Bristol Games Hub Newsletter

Below is news from the hub, news from Bristol & SW developers, jobs, opportunities & events.

Bristol Games Hub is a non-profit space for games and play. We run this news letter, host events and also rent desk space at a cost price with no strings attached so you can get on and create amazing games. Contact geoff at aurochdigital.com for more information or with news items for the next newsletter and let us know news for the next one by 15th February please!

SW Freelancer/Company Dev Directory
If you’re looking for people to help on a project, or you are available for work – put your details in. Please only list info you’re happy to have your information in the public domain: http://bit.ly/bghdirectory

SW Game Dev Jobs Facebook page – Find roles and post new openings here…

Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 29th January, 7.30pm

This month we’ve got:

Jack the Ripper: Shadow Over Whitechapel – An Anatomy of our Crowdfunding Campaign so far..

Auroch Digital and their GameTheNews.net project are about to launch their crowd-funding campaign for the playable documentary title on the Jack the Ripper murders. Auroch’s community manager @AurochJake & designer @TomasRawlings will give a tour through the extensive prep work that has gone into the campaign and the particular challenges with launching a campaign based on real events.

So join us on the 29th January at 7.30pm – we’ve got a buzzer! The entrance is off Thomas Street, just up from the junction of Thomas St/Stokes Croft, above what was DHS Heating.

Plus – if people are good, there will be a special post-social bit of gaming (shhh)…

Unity Developers Group

The first Unity meetup of the year is to take place on 28th January 7.30pm. A new year awaits and with Unity 5 looming in the horizon it is going to be an exiting one. The meetup will follow the traditional format with us gathering at the Games Hub, showcases of what people have made or a chance to ask for questions to the problems the members are facing in their current development. Signup for the meetup can be found here: http://www.meetup.com/Bristol-Unity-Game-Developers-Meetup/events/219916255/

We hope to see a lot of cool prototypes since the meetup lies after the Global Game Jam. As always we will be heading to a nearby pub at around 10pm after we finish..

Dev Scene News

On 24th February, 2015, Opposable Games will host the SouthWest VR Conference at the At-Bristol Science Centre

SouthWest VR Conference is a one-day event with a focus on narrative and storytelling within virtual reality. The format will consist of quick-fire talks from significant industry-leading figures with plenty of time to network and try out the hardware, software and 360 degree movies on show.

Taking place at the At-Bristol Science Centre in Bristol on February 24, the conference has already attracted big-name official guests such as Oculus, the developer of the Oculus Rift virtual reality head-mounted display, Aardman, Pinewood, The Imaginarium and Yogscast, with quick-fire talks by Atlantic Productions’ Alchemy VR, Unity 3D, nDreams and Innerspace lined up. Other high profile speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.  We’ll touch upon the challenges and lessons learnt telling stories and making games, experiences and films for virtual reality devices, but don’t plan to be too hung up on the technical side of things in the main track. For those that would like to talk tech however, a second track will feature demos and talks on VR input, gesture, facial recognition and more from some of the smartest minds in the business.

SouthWest VR, which is to be hosted by renowned games journalist Will Freeman, will also provide delegates with a chance to try out the latest in virtual reality technology including the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 and Samsung’s Gear VR Innovator Edition, powered by Oculus along with a few special surprises. The line-up of speakers and guests at SouthWest VR includes: Callum Underwood, European developer relations manager at Oculus; Phil Harper, creative director at Atlantic Productions’ Alchemy VR; Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO of virtual reality-focused games studio nDreams; and Nick Pittom, director of critically acclaimed VR studio Fire Panda.

SouthWest VR will be fundraising for UK charity GamesAid, which will be running a GamesAid Tenner collection. Attendees are asked to bring £10 with them to donate to GamesAid.

The conference is supported by Invest Bristol & Bath, Creative Skillset, the Digital Cultures Research Centre, Webstart Bristol, the Centre for Digital Entertainment, the BMT Group and Unity 3D.  For more information, tickets and links to our social media visit www.southwestvr.com

Skills empowerment workshop for women working in the games industry – 3rd Fed 10am-5pm in Bristol

Following on from the UK Gender Balanced Workforce Survey last month, which had an overwhelming response of over 300, this series of workshops across the UK supported by renowned industry speakers is set to empower women involved in the games industry by focusing on the skill areas women identified as wanting to advance in more… Sign up to take part here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skills-empowerment-workshop-for-women-working-in-the-games-industry-bristol-tickets-15251731339

Global Games Jam 2015

We’ve had this at the Watershed, Creative England and Bristol Games Hub. This year UWE is hosting the event and it’s FREE to enter! – UWE is hosting GGJ15 Bristol! Registrations are now open! The Global Game Jam 2015 is taking place around the world on the 23rd January with UWE as a registered site. Doors open from 4pm at Frenchay Campus. It is a chance to come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games. Be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression, after a 48-hour development cycle you will have taken part in the world’s largest game creation event. Many participants have gone on to release their titles, but taking part is also an excellent way to expand your portfolio of work. We encourage people with all kinds of backgrounds in game development and creativity so if you are interested please register at the UWE Global Game Jam Site with your team details at the following link: http://globalgamejam.org/2015/jam-sites/gamestech-university-west-england

Auroch Digital

First off we’d like to say congratulations to our Director of Operations (and hub director) Debbie Rawlings as she’s been listed in the Top 100 Women in Games! Also we’re gearing up to launch our first Kickstarter in Feb – our project on the Jack the Ripper murders. You can get a flavor of it here. We’re also giving a talk about the project at the next anti-social to share our planning process.

Pretty Digital

Have been awarded support by Creative England after successfully meeting the crowdfunding targets in the Queen of Code competition. Work on their first game has begun! http://www.prettydigital.co.uk/

Jobs & Opportunities

Aardman Opportunities

Aardman Digital are looking for talented Flash Animators and HTML5 Developers to work on a number of exciting new projects looking to kick off around early February! If this sounds like your cup of tea, and you’re interested in joining the best team EVER, please contact digital at aardman.com for more information.

Game Jam Co-ordinator

As part of the GamesLab South West programme, Creative England are looking for a delivery partner to organise a 2-day Game Hack for indie devs in the region. If you are interested in applying to run the jams, please email ella.waving atcreativeengland.co.uk for more info. Do so quick as the final deadline for completed applications is 30th Jan.

PlayWest/UWE

Our Game Simulation Post for Bloodhound SSC is now live, and has a closing date of19th January, so if this is of interest, act quickly. £24k / 1 year fixed term with possibility of extension. Looking for experience of making things pretty and go FAST in Unity. Click through to Computer Science & Creative Technology. See here: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AKH006/games-technologist-vehicle-educational-simulator-project/

Events Diary

23rd Jan, 4pm+ GGJ15

Global Games Jam! It’s at UWE – see above.

28th Jan, 7.30pm Unity Developer Group

At the hub – see above.

29th Jan, 7.30pm – Games Hub Anti-Social:

Auroch Digital will give a tour though the extensive prep work that has gone into their new crowdfunding campaign – see above.

30th Jan, 1pm: Syncself 2 – How Tech can enhance the Storytelling Experience (PM Studio)

Friday, 30 January 2015 13:00 to 14:00: Karen Palmer will introduce us to SYNCSELF 2, a Transmedia Parkour Neurogame, an immersive storytelling experience in which the obstacles that the freerunners face within a film are determined by the user’s mental focus. http://www.watershed.co.uk/pmstudio/events/fri-30012015-100pm

24th Feb – SouthWest VR Conference

Full info is above!

Quick Links

Thanks all!

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