Pocket Gamer Connects: London 16 Discount Tickets

Posted on January 18, 2016

Pocket Gamer Connects is the leading dedicated mobile games industry event in Europe expected to attract around 1,500 attendees from across the global mobile games ecosystem to the Brewery, London on 18-19th January 2016.

Run by the creators of the industry’s leading mobile games media (including Pocket Gamer, 148Apps, AppSpy and PG.Biz) the event brings together a cross-section of the leading players in the global mobile games industry from indie devs, media and tool-makers through to triple A publishers, investors and monetisation specialists.

They have 170 speakers lined up including reps from King, Supercell, Kabam, Wargaming, Tencent, Netease, Google, Amazon, Fox Interactive, Wizards of the Coast, Bossa, EA, Frogmind, Ustwo, London Venture Partners, Natural Motion, Space Ape and many more across our 7 conference tracks. With 4 pitch events, 2 expo spaces and a whole host of networking opportunities including the PG Party this promises to be the essential mobile games show of the year.

Visit their Eventbrite page for the latest discounts to tickets.

6 reasons to attend:

1 – The Best Networking in the Mobile Games Industry – dedicated free pitch and match meeting tool, 4 pitch events, after hours networking, 2 expo areas and ample meeting space

2 – Pitch your game to media, publishers, investors and platforms – In our dedicated Big Indie Pitch events and 2020 SpeedMatch!

3 – Meet the biggest mobile publishers and platforms –  Rovio, EA, Chillingo, Wargaming, Scopely, Tilting Point, Sega, Wooga and many more. Plus rhe biggest platforms will be in attendance to with Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Apple.

4 – Indie Apocalypse – How to survive and thrive in the modern mobile ecosystem

5 – Future Visions VR – Exploring the next generation of mobile (and PC/console) gaming through the lens of VR.

6 – Best of British – Celebrating the UK’s talent and why it’s a great place to make games

Visit www.pgconnects.com/london for full programme details.

Happy New Year – 1st Newsletter of 2016!

Posted on January 18, 2016

All the latest updates 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 newsletter, host events, and also rent desk space at cost price with no strings attached so you can get on with creating amazing games. Contact Nina at aurochdigital.com for more information.

Nina can also be contacted regarding including news items in the next newsletter, the deadline for which is 10th February.

Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 28th January, 7.30pm

As this month’s Anti-Social falls on the evening before Global Game Jam, we are running a How To Jam Special! Featuring two great talks from:

Tomas Rawlings: Top Tips For Jam Success 

As a past judge for Global Game Jam (& other jams), Tom will be giving his Top Tips for having a fun and successful Jam.

Selection of Past Participates: Jamming At It’s Best

We have organised a couple of past Jammers (some award winning ones at that!) to come and talk about the best bits of jamming and what to look forward to.

So join us then…we’ve got a buzzer! We’re at 77 Stokes Croft on the 3rd Floor. The entrance is off Thomas Street, just up from the junction of Thomas St/Stokes Croft, above Meat Liquor.

Games Hub News:

Global Game Jam 

With only 1 ticket remaining on release of this newsletter, this year’s Global Game Jam is set to be a sell out. We are very excited about teaming up with PM Studios and The Watershed to bring back this much loved event.

Jamming will kick off at 5pm on Friday 29th Jan with the global theme being announced at 6pm. Opening times and more info can be found on our site page. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you there!

Pocket Gamer Connects BGH Speakers

Pocket Gamer Connects London will be taking place this month on the 18th and 19th January, bringing together people and companies from the world’s global games industry community.

Bristol Games Hub is going to be well represented as we send one of our Directors, James Parker over there to talk about Great British Game Hubs. He will also be joined by two more of our residents from Opposable Group, Alex Briskham and Dan Page, talking about developing for VR.

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 in the public domain: http://bit.ly/bghdirectory

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

Dev Scene News

 Auroch Digital Update

Aside from taking a much-deserved Christmas break, the Auroch team has been extremely busy working on current projects. We recently launched the first closed beta for our Last Days of Old Earth title, and have been working closely with our community to ensure their feedback is heard, even before our Early Access Steam release in February.

We’re also going to be launching a Kickstarter for a very special newsgame, sign up to the mailing list for our newsgame initiative, GameTheNews, to be the first to know!

Opposable Games

We are currently riding the wave of VR publicity this month, showing our virtual reality kit to a raft of companies from across the UK.

This is all happening alongside on of busiest periods to date; the dev team is working incredibly hard to complete a selection of very important projects (all of which have to be kept secret for now, darn it!). Plus, one of our recent projects for Content Delivery Network Akamai (they provide up to 30% of the world’s web services!) is now available on Google Play and the App Store, both can be viewed through Google Cardboard.

We’ve also launched group multi-buy tickets for VR World Congress which can net you a discount of over £120 PER TICKET. Well worth a look if you’re interested in heading to our conference in April.

MGF London

Running straight after Pocket Gamer Connects, on the 20th and 21st Jan, is MGF London. It’s the 13th year the event is running, bringing together mobile gamesenthusiasts, developers, and studios from around the world. Our very own Tomas Rawlings will be speaking, talking about licensing as an indie developer.

Jobs & Opportunities

Sumo Digital

Showcase your skills in Games Art or Coding and be in with a chance of winning a job opportunity at Sumo Digital. Click here for full details and how to apply.

Grads in Games – Search for a Star

Grads in Games have launched their Search for a Star Competition which is open to final year and postgraduate students. The prize will be an interview offer from one or their partner studios. Click here for full details and how to enter.

Grads in Games – Rising Star

Grads in Games have launched their Rising Star Competition which is open to first and second year students. The prize will be an internship with one of their partner studios. Click here for full details and how to enter.

Events Diary

Unreal Meetup (18th Jan)

This month’s Unreal Meetup will be covering Engine Framework Overview. TheMeetup page has all the information you need to come along.

Pocket Gamer Connects London (18th – 19th Jan)

See above for full details

Unity Group Meetup (20th Jan)

After a bit of a break for Christmas the Unity Meetup is back and ready to kick off the New Year with a talk and discussion about lighting in 2 dimensions. For full details and to RSVP go to their Meetup page.

MGF London (20th – 21st Jan)

See above for details and links

Bristol Games Hub Antisocial (28th Jan)

See above for full details and links

Bristol Games Hub Global Game Jam (29th – 31st Jan)

See above for full details and links

Grrrl Gamers Group (2nd Feb)

The regular monthly Meetup for women in the gaming industry, for full details and to RSVP go to their Meetup site.

Quick Links

• Paid games on Steam brought over $3.5bn in revenue in 2015
• Can games teach our brains resilience
• Games take on big subject with ‘That Dragon, Cancer’

Thanks all!

Christmas Newsletter

Posted on December 8, 2015 Updated on December 8, 2015

All the latest updates 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 newsletter, host events, and also rent desk space at cost price with no strings attached so you can get on with creating amazing games. Contact nina at aurochdigital.com for more information.
Nina can also be contacted regarding including news items in the next newsletter, the deadline for which is 10th January.

Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 28th January, 7.30pm

There will be no Anti-social in December, as we’d hate to step on Christmas’s toes! So it’ll be back in the New Year with two great talks you’ll hear all about in next month’s newsletter.

Games Hub News:

Merry Christmas from the Hub!

We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, we hope you all have a wonderful holiday full of laughter, love, and button bashing!

The Hub  & Watershed Hosts Global Game Jam

We are very excited to announce that we will be teaming up with the PM Studio in the Watershed to host a Global Game Jam site in January (Evening Friday 29th to EveningSunday 31st). We’ve got no funding for this so sadly need to charge £10 for a basic ticket to cover costs. There are VERY limited numbers so if you want to join us, please grab a ticket from the Meetup page.

Unreal Group Kicks Off with a Great Start

Thursday night saw the first of the Hub’s monthly Unreal Dev’s Meetup. It was a great success, with Auroch’s own Abhi Sagi taking the helm. If you’re looking for help, support, or just somewhere to talk all things Unreal Engine, come along next month. More info can be found on the Meetup page.

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 in the public domain: http://bit.ly/bghdirectory (at the moment the page is locked, as it has got messed up – contact us if you need to add info! Back to normal soon we hope…)

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

Dev Scene News

Auroch News

Another exciting month for Auroch Digital! We unveiled the first work-in-progressscreenshot for our upcoming Games Workshop adaptation; strategy / action hybridDark Future: Blood Red States. We’ll have even more on this in the coming weeks, but in the meantime check out our Twitter feed for our Pic Of The Day from the Dark Future rule book.

In other news, Tom gave a talk at the British Library about the connections between videogames and interactive literature in relation to our Jack the Ripper project.

3Cubes New Release

Indigo Lake is an intelligent psychological horror game that mixes first person combat, driving and puzzle solving. Explore an open world, translate ancient American Indian pictograms and dispel spirits with unique rituals

Opposable Games

The development side of things at Opposable has been pretty manic over the past month, lots of secret (but exciting) projects on the go! Which means its down to the PR team to hog all the attention.

We’ve been running some awesome events across Bristol, including a VR demo at Bristol Media’s 10th Anniversary Showcase and the first ever VR graffiti jam in partnership with Pervasive Media Studio and AMD. We even managed to get ITV, The Bristol Post, Made in Bristol and others to he\as down to the Watershed for the jam.

We also welcomed Thomas Katsikoudis to the team as our new Unity Developer!

Visit Wonder.land with Play Nicely

The Virtual Reality music video fabulous wonder.land has been selected for the prestigious New Frontier section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, which champions storytelling at the crossroads of film, art and new media technologies. fabulous wonder.land is a first of its kind collaborations between the National Theatre, 59 Productions and Play Nicely with Production Partner Mahdi Yahya, Managing Director of Room One.

fabulous wonder.land can be seen from 2nd December – 30th April, click here for more details.

Jobs & Opportunities

Get Paid to Play Games!

Game Debate are looking for someone who is passionate about games to take on this junior role. Main responsibilities include playing games, writing reviews and attending conferences. For more information email jobs@game-debate.com

Longitude Prize

The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, Nesta, is seeking a games developer to work with them to make a great game for the Longitude Prize which highlight an important issue we all face, antibiotic resistance. Pitches are welcome from any games development studio who thinks that they can make a great game on this theme. The full info is here on what they are looking for and how to apply. Deadline for pitches is 14th December, so you’ll need to get thinking fast if you want to submit some ideas!

Events Diary

Unity Group (9th December)

There is no Unity group meeting this month, instead they will be meeting at Noa Japanese restaurant for a Christmas meal. Click here for more info or to RSVP.

Lunchtime Talk: Making in China with Molly Price and Fiona Dowling (11th December 1-2pm)

Designer, maker and PM Studio resident Molly Price and founder of The Laser House in Bristol, Fiona Dowling will be joining us to share their recent experiences exploring maker culture in China. Click here for full details.

This Happened Bristol: Hygge (11th December 7pm-12am)

This Happened Bristol’s final event of the year, a cosy gathering of talks about the stories behind interaction design from UNMADE founder, Ben Alun-Jones, The Rooms Creative Producer, Katherine Jewkes, founder of Being & Dying, Ivor Williams and Director og Giant Origami Coco Sato. Talk will be followed by festive tipples and tunes.Booking essential.

Bristol Games Christmas Party (10th December)

Calling all game developers and gamers! The mightiest Christmas shindig is happening this year on December 10th. What makes it so mighty you ask? Check out the flyer!

RSVP here.

Quick Links

• Some top reasons why game studios fail
• The making of Rainbow Six
• it costs $200K to push at game into the top 25 apps in the US
• When Early Access fails

Thanks all!

November Newsletter

Posted on November 23, 2015 Updated on November 23, 2015

All the latest updates 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 newsletter, host events, and also rent desk space at cost price with no strings attached so you can get on with creating amazing games. Contact nina at aurochdigital.com for more information.

Nina can also be contacted regarding including news items in the next newsletter, the deadline for which is 10th December. From December we will be sending the newsletter out a week earlier.

Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 26th November, 7.30pm

Ella Romanos – Tips for Tech Innovation Funding
Tenshi Grants help games, digital and creative companies secure public funding for technology innovation projects. Our goal is to help more businesses take advantage of the public grants that are available to them, and to thereby help those companies and the industry to grow.

Peter Willington – The Perils of PR Emails
Auroch Digital’s new Producer brings an expanded version of his talk from Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki, to the Bristol Games Hub, showcasing real world examples of dodgy press releases and shady PR tactics, revealing how any company can create better written communications.

So join us then…we’ve got a buzzer! We’re at 77 Stokes Croft on the 3rd Floor. The entrance is off Thomas Street, just up from the junction of Thomas St/Stokes Croft, above MEATLiquor.

Games Hub News:

Launch of Unreal Group 

The Hub has collaborated with Epic Games to launch a brand new developer group dedicated to the Unreal Engine. The first meeting will be on Tuesday 3rd December and will be an introduction to Unreal Engine 4. Following month’s meetups can look forward to technical talks, Q&A sessions and plenty of swag courtesy of Epic!

For full details and to RSVP, visit the Meetup page.

Dev Time Bank

The Hub strives to support the games community, part of this is to support the budding generation of devs. In the few hours before next week’s Anti-Social we will be trialling our new venture, ‘Dev Time Bank’. Anyone interested in getting in to the games industry will have the opportunity to book a 30 minute slot with a relevant professional. If you or you know anyone who would benefit from this opportunity please ask them to send an email to nina at aurochdigital.com with a paragraph outlining question they want to ask or information they are looking for.

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 in the public domain: http://bit.ly/bghdirectory

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

Dev Scene News

Auroch Digital’s Latest Update

We’re proud to announce our latest title, The Last Days of Old Earth. The project is a hex-based tactical wargame with a rich single player campaign and deep multiplayer mode, developed in partnership with Slitherine Publishing and The Wintermute Company, and comes to Steam Early Access in Feb 2016.

On top of this, we also helped coordinate the Humble Weekly Bundle: Games Workshop. The final tally was an impressive $168k with 35k bundles sold and over $38k raised for charities including SpecialEffect, Jennifer Ann’s Group, Gamers for Orcas, and Direct Relief. We look forward to a visit from Gamers for Orcas in early 2016 to let us know how our money has helped.

Opposable News

We’ve had a great month at Opposable, the biggest news certainly being the announcement of our brand new Virtual Reality conference, VR World Congress. The conference is set for 12th April 2016 and we’re delighted to say that it will be taking place in Bristol. We’ve already announced a bunch of speakers, exhibitors and sponsors for the event, including the likes of AMD, Frontier, nDreams and more. Tickets are on sale right now!

This month we are saying goodbye to Rob and Daniel H-D who are heading off to pastures new. No doubt we’ll miss them but that certainly won’t stop us replacing them (sorry guys). See below for details on Opposable recruitment.

VRGo Kickstarter Almost There!

VRGo, the chair that redefines movement in virtual reality is currently inches away from achieving it’s goal of raising £20,000 on kickstarter. For more info or to support them click here.

Jobs & Opportunities

Opposable Games

Opening for an experienced Unity developer, closing date 13th Dec. Go toindeed.co.uk for more information.

Auroch Digital

With the possibility of some very exciting projects coming up at Auroch, they are looking to start recruiting Unity and Unreal based artists, programmers and designers. Click here for more info.

Creative Desk Space

Desk spaces and private office for 2-4 desks for creative individuals and companies available in 77 Stokes Croft. For more information email nina at aurochdigital.com

Design Competition – Future Dead: Designing Disposal for Bodies and Data

The Future Cemetery 2016 Design Competition is asking people to imagine a world where both human remains and a person’s digital footprint must be considered at the end of life. £5k bursary, click here for full details.

Events Diary

Unity Group – Wednesday 18th Nov

This month the Unity Group will have Andy Touch coming down from Unityland itself to talk about the audio changes to Unity 5. Visit their Meetup page for more information and to RSVP.

Anti-Social – Thursday 26th Nov

See above for full details.

Lunchtime Talk: Pink Friday Fandom – Friday 27th Nov

Jennifer Whitney’s talk, ‘Becoming Barbie with Nicki Minaj’ explores the ideas around the automation of everyday life.

Grrrl Gamers – Tuesday 1st Dec

As always, the first Tuesday of ever month brings the opportunity for women in the industry to get together. Visit their Meetup page for more information and to RSVP.

Unreal Group – Thursday 3rd Dec

See above for full details.

Quick Links

• How to Survive the Indepocalypse 
• How to Stay Productive in the Age of Distraction
• The Very Low End of Mobile Development is Likely to Go Away

Thanks all!

Bristol Games Hub Newsletter – Oct 2015

Posted on October 20, 2015

All the latest updates 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 newsletter, host events, and also rent desk space at cost price with no strings attached so you can get on with creating amazing games. Contact nina at aurochdigital dot com for more information.

Nina can also be contacted regarding including news items in the next newsletter, the deadline for which is 15th November.

Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 22nd October, 7.30pm

Join us for another evening of knowledge sharing. This month:

Alejo Acevedo: Best Veggies Release – Alejo is joining us to introduce his game ‘Best Veggies’, which is due for release on 23rd October. He will be talking about how his team approached the concept and production of this organic farming, hidden mutant vegetable, minesweeper style game.

Peter Willington: The Perils of PR Emails – Auroch Digital’s new Producer brings an expanded version of his talk from Pocket Gamer Connects in Helsinki, to the Bristol Games Hub, showcasing real world examples of dodgy press releases and shady PR tactics, revealing how any company can create better written communications.

Alix Briskham: Using HTV Vive for artwork.

Lukas Roper: Multiplayer games using the planetarium dome.

Location – 77 Stokes Croft on the 3rd Floor. The entrance is off Thomas Street, just up from the junction of Thomas St. / Stokes Croft, above what was DHS Heating.

Games Hub News:

Microsoft Visit the Hub!

The Hub will be hosting two members of the Microsoft Xbox ID team on the 10th & 11th December. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to have 30 minutes of demo and presentation time. If you would like to be considered, email nina at aurochdigital.com. We will try to slot non Hub residents in the earlier part of the first days, but it’s important that ALL attendees are at the Hub at 11am on the 10th for meet and greet and a presentation from Microsoft.

We will accommodate as many people as possible but places are limited so we cannot guarantee slots..

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

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

Dev Scene News

Auroch Digital’s Latest Update

We have been busy! We have various projects in development currently, including our next Games Workshop-licensed title, ‘Dark Future: Blood Red States‘! We’ll be able to bring you more news on this soon, keep your eyes on DarkFuture.info. We also welcomed our new Producer, Peter Willington. Some of you may know him from his work with Pocket Gamer and AppSpy. Develop recently reported on his move from journalism to development! On top of that, we have welcomed two new coders, Daniel and Josh, into the office full-time.  We’re also looking at a couple of possible new projects. As such we’re happy to get CVs and cover letters from Unity-based artists & programmers and also games designers. Check out our jobs page for more info aurochdigital.com/jobs/

Ground Shatter’s SkyScrappers Released

Ground Shatter has released it’s long-anticipated first title, SkyScrappers, on Steam and PlayStation 4 and it is available to buy now!

Created by hub resident James Parker, and local artist/animator Tom Waterhouse, the game (in case you’d missed it), is a fast-paced arcade style competitive platform game, best played with a few mates and a few drinks, but with an equally riveting single-player story mode:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/403460
https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-gb/home/main

New HTML5 Framework

A student at Bristol Uni has, for the past year, been making a HTML5 game development framework called hitagi.js that’s just become stable yesterday (and is trending on GitHub!). It follow an Entity-Component-System architecture and loves to keep your code and data separate. Go and check it out!

Jobs & Opportunities

Creative Software Developer Opportunity

OpenUp Music (previously the MUSE Project) have raised the money they need to develop a new accessible, affordable and expressive musical instrument that can be played with any part of the body, including the eyes. This is something that will revolutionise musical access to young disabled musicians. To help them achieve this they are now looking to hire a Creative Software Developer. More information about the role and an online application form can be found here: http://bit.ly/1QManjC

Auroch Digital

See above, Dev Scene News, for details or visit www.aurochdigital.com/jobs

Creative England Games Development Fund

What would you do with an extra £50,000 – £150,000 in your budget? Take on extra staff? Buy the equipment to take your company to the next level? Creative England are offering exactly that to studios in regions of England outside of Greater London who can demonstrate high growth potential. For more information and application instructions can be found here: http://bit.ly/1MyT2qI

Events Diary

Unity Group Meet Up – 21st Oct

The unity meetup is on Wednesday, and will be going to Shadow Industries offices to check out a project they’ve been working on to explore a 3D mapped area of  the South Georgia whaling station. http://bit.ly/1W2peYA

Bristol Games Hub Anti-social – 22nd Oct

See above for details.

Game Connection, Paris – 28th-30th Oct

Where key players from the games industry meet and do business together. The games industry meeting place since 2001. www.game-connection.com/

Grrrl Gamers Group – 3rd Nov

Doors open 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Donations welcome but not at all obligatory to cover ongoing costs. Feel free to bring snacks/drinks to share. http://bit.ly/1GfZvKT

All 4 Games UK Roadshow – 17th Nov

Channel 4 is launching a new games publishing venture and are putting a call out to meet games developers in the area. They are looking for indies and larger studios who are interested in new opportunities and commissioned work. Register at: http://bit.ly/1M0eCnF for your free ticket.

Quick Links

• The Problem with Kickstarter…
• On the #Indiepocalypse
• More on the #Indiepocalypse

Thanks all!

BGH – September Newsletter

Posted on September 23, 2015 Updated on September 23, 2015

Bristol Games Hub – September Newsletter

All the latest updates 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 jake at aurochdigital.com for more information or with news items for the next newsletter and let us know for the next one by 15th October please!

Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 24th September, 7.30pm – Big Pharma Developer Talk & THREE Demo versions!!

Tim Wicksteed from Twice Circled will be joining us to share some thoughts which he has been having since releasing pharmaceutical-themed tycoon Big Pharma last month.

Most of these thoughts are on the subject of how to market a game, or more accurately, how to design a game that is easy to market. He’ll be keeping the talk relatively short so there’ll be plenty of time for questions afterwards.

PLUS! Demos galore!

Lukas Roper was part of the team that created “Splat Bristol!” with Interactive Scientific, a collaborative multiplayer experience in Bristol’s data dome! The game involves player’s trying to cover Bristol with paint and out score the other team! Using OneTouchConnect, up to 100 people can play together.

Alexander Birke will also be demoing Turncoat Protocol. A cross between War Games & The Matrix, this short form horror puzzle game aims to make the player ask the question “Can I trust what the game is telling me?”. After showing the game Alex will talk about what went into the design of the game’s narrative, and how he used Unity’s new support for WebGL to publish it to the internet.

Large Visible Machine is about to release a new game, The Battle for Sector 219, and will be teaching the game to anyone interested using real physical cards as well as signing up people for beta testing. For more information on the game check out the BGG entry.

So join us then…we’ve got a buzzer! We’re at 77 Stokes Croft on the 3rd Floor. The entrance is off Thomas Street, just up from the junction of Thomas St/Stokes Croft, above what was DHS Heating.

Games Hub News:

Last month we welcomed two new directors, and sadly this month we say goodbye to one of our founding directors and the person who’s idea the hub was – Debbie Rawlings. She’s moving on to do very cool (non-games) things. We’re sure we’ll be seeing her social at games events now and then, but the rest of the directors and community want to wish her well for all the hard work she’s done in putting Bristol game development on the global map!

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 in the public domain: http://bit.ly/bghdirectory

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

Dev Scene News

Auroch Digital

The Games Writer we’ve been working with on Dark Future, James Swallow, did an interview recently on Game-Debate. A mysterious tweet game from Slitherine recently too that mentioned us – more to come!

Advanced Retreat Opens – The Private/Secret Gamers Club!

Hello Games Hub people! My name is Greg Kirkby and I am the owner/founder/janitor/barman and Official Club Secretary for ‘The Advanced Retreat’. A private members club and licensed club premises in central Bristol entirely devoted to enjoying all types of games in an fun and welcoming environment. Being a licenced club requires all profits to be reinvested back in and therefore expanding our abilities. Members of the Bristol Games Hub community are offered an earlybird chance to join the club in the first planned expansion of the membership base! Email:advancedretreat@gmail.com for more info!

Ground Shatter

After a year and a bit of development, SkyScrappers is due for release on Steam and PS4 any time now. Built by hub resident, James Parker and with incredible visuals from former Bristol-based artist, Tom Waterhouse, the game is a classic arcade style competitive platform-fighting game for one to four players. Keep your eye on social media, as when then game is released any signal boosting from the Bristol games community would be greatly appreciated! For more details on the release and to check out the latest trailer visit skyscrappers.groundshatter.com

Rumpus Animation

Rumpus are launching a Kickstarter for Episode 2 of our comedy point and click adventure game The Adventures of Bertram Fiddle. We start the campaign on 1st of October and are looking to raise £25,000 so we can finish of the long overdue conclusion and finally uncover the identity of Geoff the Murderer. Episode 1 was the first game we ever made, but with the help of Alex Birke, I think wemanaged to make something pretty special for such a meagre budget. We learnt so much and plan on making Episode 2 much better. And we’ve got some great rewards lined up, including limited edition Gavin sculptures, Plush Pigeons and the chance to have your likeness turned into a character in the game. All we need now is the help of everyone at the GamesHub to spread the word and let everyone know about the campaign. You can follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/BertramFiddle

Evil Twin Artworks

Evil Twin Artworks are proud to announce a new collaboration with Games Workshop using the Warhammer world in sea faring open world combat-action title, ’Man O’ War: Corsair’ for PC, and launching first on Steam Early Access in 2016. Man O’ War: Corsair is a video game of high adventure, naval combat and exploration based on the Games Workshop classic Man O’ War table top game. Play as a rogue Captain of the Empire or Champion of Chaos, personally navigating your vessel in third person across the Great Western Ocean while plundering enemy ships, visiting ports, trading and making legends of your deeds across the land and sea! Engage in boarding actions, with direct control over your Captain and take the fight to the enemy. In Man O’ War: Corsair, players will explore a vast continent featuring over 50 unique ports. Featuring customisable characters, fleets of sailing vessels, cannons, spells and mystical creatures all clashing on an epic scale, but beware the very waters beneath your bows… Here there be monsters! Links; Press, YouTube trailer & Official Website.

Opposable Games

It’s been a manic month at Opposable, with lots of amazing projects on the go and in the pipeline. We launched our latest product for content delivery network Akamai this past week at the IBC Conference in Amsterdam, a VR experience that takes viewers through an imaginative digital version of Akamai’s network. We also finished our collaborative project, Splat the Planet, for At-Bristol’s planetarium. This happened alongside the arrival of our own HTC Vive dev kits, which we were all rather excited about. We’re getting the ball rolling on next year’s SouthWest VR Conference that will take place in April of next year. Plus, with our new PR & Marketing Intern Ryan starting this month, our growth continues! Good times!

Jobs & Opportunities

I4G Funding

Innovation 4 Growth (I4G) is a grant funding scheme developed using the UK Government’s Regional Growth Fund. It supports SMEs in the South West to develop innovative products, technologies, processes and services, with grants of £25,000 to £150,000. Deadline is noon on 14th October. Full info is here: innovation4growth.co.uk

Creative Software Developer Opportunity

OpenUp Music (previously the MUSE Project) have raised the money they need to develop a new accessible, affordable and expressive musical instrument that can be played with any part of the body, including the eyes. This is something that will revolutionise musical access to young disabled musicians. To help them achieve this they are now looking to hire a Creative Software Developer. More information about the role and an online application form can be found here.

VR Contest

Secret Sauce and VRTGO Conference are delighted to announce that we’ve teamed up with nDreams to create a VR contest for students and start-ups in the VR space.
We welcome applications from students, pre start ups, start ups, small games companies and non-games companies working in the VR field in any genre.  The deadline for all submissions to be made is Thursday 1st October at 5pm. For more information on the contest and the prizes please see https://vrtgovrcontest.eventbrite.co.uk or contact elspeth.lawson@secret-sauce.co.uk

Events Diary

GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit (24th Sept 9.30-6pm)

The GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit 2015, supported by Creative England, is the UK’s premier games investment event – and this year is happening in Birmingham as part of the huge EGX games expo. The GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit is an opportunity for small-to-medium-sized games companies to find out more about public and private games investment, and also have an opportunity to network and pitch informally and formally to investors, publishers and platform-holders. At last year’s event, there were more than 60 private meetings between investors and games developers.
Tickets: https://gamesindustryinvestmentsummit2015.eventbrite.co.uk

Games Hub Anti-Social (Thursday 24th September, 7.30pm)

Join us to network and chat and more! Details of event are above in ‘Hub News’.

Pinewood Games Visit (14th Oct)

The team from Pinewood Games will be visiting Bristol on the evening of Wednesday 14th October to host a drinks reception at Kongs of King Street – they will have plenty of marketing materials to showcase their various wares, and they will be outlining Pinewood Studios Group’s particular resources and expertise in Sound (Custom Sound Design, Foley, Localisation), Voice-Casting, 3D Photogrammetry Scanning and Motion-Capture, while plying you guys with refreshments! The event begins at half past five.

If you can’t make the evening event, they will also be giving a brief presentation at the Games Hub in the afternoon and be available to talk to there as well. This will be available to residents and non-residents, so please email james@groundshatter.com if you are interested in attending so we can get an idea of numbers.

GameBench presents open(London) – Thursday 15th October, 11am-6pm

A unique gathering of developers, publishers, chip designers and device makers who share a common goal of improving mobile gaming. No fluff. No dumbing down. No press invites. No sales pitches. Just a gathering of experts who have lots to gain by helping each other out. Join your fellow developers alongside hardware vendors with GameBench while we bridge the gap between hardware and software. The event will have a focus on optimisation, app promotion, and building relationships within the mobile ecosystem. This is a win-win situation. To benefit, all you need to do is turn up, listen to a few of our speakers, have a drink and say hello. Free to indie devs!

VRTGO Conference (12th Nov)

Attend and meet the experts behind VR, developers, hardware developers, buyers of VR, technologists and press.  Hear from the leading minds in VR during the conference and try out the latest VR tech at the expo. Get your early bird tickets now at http://vrtgo.co.uk/buy-tickets/ Register now for your VRTGO 2015 Early Bird ticket and use promo code VRTGO20 to gain a 20% discount if you register before 14th September.

Quick Links

• Transparency in F2P
• Interview with Oddworld creator
• Adult women are now the largest demographic in gaming

Thanks all!

August Newsletter

Posted on September 2, 2015 Updated on September 2, 2015

Bristol Games Hub Newsletter

All the latest updates 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 jake at aurochdigital.com for more information or with news items for the next newsletter by 15th September please!

Hub Directors and Moves

Bristol Games Hub is welcoming 2 new Directors to the Hub for a year appointment. They are James Parker and Nils Hellberg.  Both have been residents of the Hub and active community members since our inception in 2012 (and before with the monthly meet-ups) so we welcome them and look forward to working with them and having their input in all that we do here.

Also there will be some changes happening in the office space.  Auroch Digital is outgrowing the current office so we’ve negotiated with the landlords to take over the first floor where Happy Cities where until a week ago.  We move in on 1st October but Auroch will very firmly still be a part of the Hub.

Finally we’ve been attending ‘hub of hubs’ meetings both at Develop in Brighton and also at the Dutch Game Garden – the hubs idea is really taking off and that is very exciting to see!

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 in the public domain: http://bit.ly/bghdirectory

SW Game Dev Jobs Facebook page

Find roles and post new openings here…

The Hub Anti-Social returns this month! See below for more info

Dev Scene News

Geek Beach

We launched OreLight early access on Steam at the end of last month. OreLight is a dungeon crawling, multiplayer RPG with crafting, mining, base building and stabbing. There’s a healthy injection of humour and oddities to set it apart. We’ve still got LOADS to add to the game and we’re keen for community input. So if you pick it up, then please feel free to get in touch via the Steam community or email in with your ideas or suggestions.

Reach Robotics

Reach Robotics is a UK company currently based in San Diego as part of a startup accelerator.  We are developing the world’s first intelligent gaming robot, they battle each other (a bit like Pokemon in real life or that robot fight club in big hero 6). It’s basically like having your video game character in real life, you can upgrade them and distribute stats etc Then there’s the augmented reality solo play.

Our robots are controlled by smartphone / tablet and we need to redesign the app UI for an investor demo day coming up in about 4 weeks, we’ve wire framed it and we now need very good graphics design and art to implement it.

Auroch Digital

As well as the office move (see above) we’ve been busy making games! We’ve got a new competition running to design a card for Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night –see here. We’ve just had that game and the original in the Humble Bundle Mobile this month. Also for kicks, we’ve run the game though Google’s Deep Dream – here are the results!

We also did an interview for Red Thirst on Dark Future: Blood Red States, check it out here.

Go! Button Power Team!

Local developer Alistair Aitcheson demoed his latest project – Go! Button Power Team! – at the JOIN Local Multiplayer Summit in Berlin on 1st August.

A combination of game and live performance, the game involves five players, morphsuits and wireless buttons attached to human bodies. The video shows the calamity in action!

Opposable Games

Opposable have been hard at work on Salvaged, largely building out the single player campaign and adding some fun new features (grenades, more music, horror, yay!).

We’re also working on a really exciting local multiplayer game for up to 100 players that’ll use At-Bristol’s Planetarium and our OneTouchConnect tech, it’s a collaborative effort by the name of Splat the Planet created with Interactive Scientific for Bristol is Open.

Pesky gNATs is now entering trials at a number of health institutions, it’s a CBT computer game for young people who experience anxiety or low mood. The game use three desktop games and a series of accompanying mobile apps to make therapy more accessible. You can grab the Mindful gNATs companion apps on the App Store orGoogle Play right now for free.

Creative England launches CE50

Creative England launched the CE50 report to celebrate the achievements of the most innovative companies and individuals in the creative industries and the contributions that they are making to our economy. The report is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the most exciting creative talent in the country – innovators, entrepreneurs and boundary breakers – people who are challenging and changing preconceptions of our world-leading creative industries – indlucing games. The criteria for nominations this year is as follows:
– Working in film, TV, games or the digital media sector
– Based in England
– Highly creative – entertaining/educational/informative way of working
– Innovative – pushing the boundaries of their discipline
– Recognised – have demonstrable achievements in their marketplace
– An SME or individual early or mid-career

If would like to have your say, please send a maximum of 2 nominations to henry.watts@creativeengland.co.uk by 27th August for consideration as part of the CE50 Report 2016.

PLAY Margate Awards

PLAY Margate on 21/22/23 August will have a distinguished panel of people in the know from across the industry to cast their expert vote on the shortlisted games. Indie studios wishing to include their games in the official selection need to meet the following criteria:
– The game has been developed/published by an independent studio
– The game was released (or is planned to release) within 2015
– Playable code can be provided for display at PLAY Margate

There is no requirement for you to personally attend the event (though that is preferred and shortlisted studios get a free pitch if they want one!), the winners will be anounced at the end of the show and their trophy sent on.

Contact PLAY Margate for more information

Jobs & Opportunities

World War 1 Games Commission

There is a commission abible for up to £82,000 to create a game around WW1. Deadline is 18th Sept for pitches. Full info is here.

Events Diary

Hub Anti-Social – Thurs 27th Aug from 7.30pm

Overview of GameBench’s current tools for mobile game developers. GameBench has a unique tool to test the release readiness of Android games before they are published in the play store. GameBench will give a quick overview of the tool and how it can be used to perform mobile game QA on a variety of Android devices. We will also set up a free subscription for game developers so they can use the tool in their QA phase.

User testers needed for a input device for VR gaming – Joe Ryan will also be bringing along his new motion controller chair – the VRgo. He will have a gaming station set up with the chair hooked up to the Oculus Rift for people to try out and give some feedback. www.vrgochair.com

Bristol Unity Game Developers Meetup – Weds 19th Aug from 7.30pm

Over the last few weeks Alex has been galavanting around Germanyland attending GDC Europe & Gamescom giving a talk on the game he worked on last year, and trying to find new publishers for his next game. He’ll be talking about how he got to go in the first place, the experiences of attending some of the biggest development events in Europe and what he got out of it.

As always there’ll be time afterwards to talk about Other Stuff ™ that you lot have been up to, so YOU BEST BE READY (you don’t have to be ready (but you should be))

Lots of love,
Bristol Unity Game Developers Meetup folks ™ (r) (c) (ccc) (thanks)

Pocket Gamer Connects (Helsinki 7th – 8th September)

See here for everything you need to know about the event. PG are currently offering a 25% discount on tickets for hub supporters!

Quick Links

• How playing ‘FIFA’ helps men deal with their feelings
• Signifying nothing: making indie games in 2015
• Unreal launches form to connect freelancers with projects

Thanks all!

Develop in Brighton

Posted on July 7, 2015

Develop in Brighton Special

Hi all, this is a special edition of the BGH newsletter focused on Develop in Brighton (tickets & schedule). It runs from the 14th-16th of July and is an important part of the UK dev calendar. This is news of SW devs at the event and other things you might find of interest.

#Developconf News

Free IP Sessions

In the afternoon of the 15th July, running alongside Develop are two panel discussions and one set of consultation slots that you can get – all for FREE! It’s a fringe event, so even if you don’t have a Develop ticket – it’s free to attend. Note; you can go to one or both of the panels and add a one-to-one if you want – your choice! Also if you do, the panels are timed around the Develop sessions, so it’s convenient to attend. Plus it’s 4 mins away from Develop. Finally the 1pm session comes with free lunch! Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch 🙂  The sessions are:

The IP Lunch: Top 5 IP Management Tips @ Clearleft Ltd, 68 Middle Street, BN1 1AL Brighton
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 from 1pm to 2pm
This session gives indie game developers a chance to question a panel of IP experts from different creative industries on their top tips on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting intellectual property. A fantastic learning opportunity for indies who are without guidance or mentorship in this area, or who are just starting out and looking for the basics, and also those with a growing IP and wondering what to do next. Panel is:

• Mo Ali (IP Co-ordinator, UKIE)
• Professor Charlotte Waelde (Professor of IP Law, University of Exeter)
• Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing for Games Workshop
• Ella Romanos, Co-Founder, Strike Game Labs & columnist for Develop (creating new IP now!)
• Phil Gaskell – Former Sony Senior Producer, now co-founder of indie publisher Ripstone
• Chair: Dr. Tomas Rawlings (Auroch Digital/Bristol Games Hub)

Free ticket – book here.

The IP Surgery @ Clearleft Ltd, 68 Middle Street, BN1 1AL Brighton
Book sessions between 2.30pm and 3.30pm Wed 15th July.

This workshop gives indie developers the chance to begin working through any specific IP challenges they are facing at the moment. Developers can come with a particular question or issue, and find out how best to resolve their problems from legal experts and those who have faced similar issues. The surgery will also provide practical advice in how to navigate the common roadblocks for IP in the gaming industry today. Professor Charlotte Wealde will host this surgery. This is organised with short face-to-face slots with an expert and are free!

Book free slot here.

Navigating the IP Eco System @ Clearleft Ltd, 68 Middle Street, BN1 1AL Brighton
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 from 4pm to 5pm

This session is ideal for developers who are looking to either adapt an existing IP, or to transfer their game IP to another medium. It will give valuable advice on how to actively work with other creative industries such as publishing, television and film and the best practice for putting together a tender bid and approaching the right gatekeepers. Panel includes:

• Colin MacDonald (Games Commissioner, Channel 4)
• Professor Charlotte Waelde (Professor of IP Law, University of Exeter)
• Alison Sterling (Film producer, Ignition Films)
• Alexander Birke, Indie Developer of acclaimed ‘Adventures of Bertram Fiddle’ and creating new IP now!
• Chair: Dr. Tomas Rawlings (Auroch Digital/Bristol Games Hub)

Book your free place here.

Hyperthetical Games – CentraSphere

The team plan to demo a further updated version of CentraSphere, with new arena and multiplayer game mode plus a bit of visual and audio feedback updates. They will be there Wednesday and Thursday, somewhere near the Tea and Coffee. Got to experience it!

Owlbear  & Barbara-ian

Myself (Kristian Andrews) and Games Hub regular Sam Chester will be at Develop demoing Barbara-ian (www.barbaraian.com) in the indie section on the edge of the expo. Go check it out!

Alistair Aitcheson

Alistair Aitcheson is going to be running the latest version of Codex Bash at the Games By The Sea party on Wednesday 16th. The event is at Pub du Vin, from 6pm to 11pm.

Toxic Games

QUBE 2 is going to be in the Indie showcase at the expo. Go check it out!

PS. Dave from Toxic Games has a spare ticket for the Indie event on the Thursday – email him if you want it! Dave.Hall at toxicgames.co.uk

Quick Links

• Games can help with PTSD
• Is Apple embarrassed by games?
• Steam sale data
• More on Kickstarter

Thanks all! PS. Do check out the Special Effect charity drinks event on the 16th at the end of Develop! Well worth attending!