Latest Event Updates
January 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 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: 26th January, 7:30pm
This month we’ve got:
Mega Dev Quiz 2017 – The annual Mega Dev Quiz is back! Come along and test your knowledge, as a team or team up when you get here.
So join us then! 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
Global Games Jam 2017
3 days and counting until we kick off GGJ17. We’re very excited to be hosting a site again this year at the PM Studios in the Watershed. With only 6 tickets left out of 40 you need to get your skates on if you want to come along! Tickets can be found here and for all the details for the venue, timings etc. please go to the Global Game Jam site 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
SW Game Dev Jobs Facebook page
Find roles and post new openings here…
Monthly Indie Spotlight
Ground Shatter
Initially a one-man powerhouse of PC and console development, Ground Shatter released SkyScrappers (Steam/PlayStation 4) and Black & White Bushido (Steam) in late 2015, and has subsequently rattled out console ports of fiendish puzzle platformer Binaries (out now), classic musical puzzler Chime Sharp (out soon), and the long-awaited console versions of Black & White Bushido (out eventually).
Ground Shatter has recently expanded to three people and expanded its ambitions accordingly. Now working on a buddy-cop themed first-person shooter, the currently-unnamed game is due for Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview release in the summer. The company is currently looking to enlarge yet further – so see the posting in the jobs section for more details.
Dev Scene News
Brexit and the Games Industry
Over the next three month’s Ukie are touring the country with its Brexit Roundtables. They want to hear from game businesses about their post-referendum concerns and examine opportunities for providing more support for the sector.
On the 31st January, they will be holding the Bristol event at the Watershed. This is a great opportunity to be heard on behalf of the UK Games Industry. For full details and to register for your place, please click here.
Opposable Group
VR World Congress 2017 is now officially THIS year! It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed how many time we would call it ‘this year’s conference’ back in 2016…
Anyway, plans for VRWC17 are still full steam ahead, with a host of new speakers announced at the tail end of last year. This includes a special talk from Microsoft concerning HoloLens – something we know many developers will be keen to learn more about!
We’ll also be announcing a fair few more talks and exhibitors very soon that we hope will catch the eye of local developers, so keep a lookout on our Facebook, Twitter and newsletter for those announcements.
Ndemic Creations Ltd
This month amongst other things, we finally got the office all set up after our recent move from London to Bristol, finished shipping Plague Inc: The Board Game to Kickstarter backers and prepped the Shadow Plague update for XB1 and PS4. We also did Locked in a Room (Invisibility Gene) for our Christmas party – highly recommend it!
We are looking to hire a number of people (permanent and freelance) to work on Plague Inc. and other projects – check out the jobs page here: http://www.ndemiccreations.com/en/19-careers
Auroch Digital
After a well-deserved break we’re back hard at work on all our projects, including Dark Future: Blood Red States with Games Workshop, Ogre with Steve Jackson Games, and some more titles we’ll be telling you all about in the coming year. In the meantime, it’s not too late to prepare yourself for the upcoming US presidential inauguration with a copy of our critically acclaimed Elections of US America Election: The Card Game.
Jobs & Opportunities
Ndemic Creations/Plague Inc – Various Roles
Ndemic Creations is the creator of Plague Inc., one of the most successful paid mobile games ever with over 85 million players worldwide. It was recently recognised by the Sunday Times as one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country.
We have recently moved to Bristol and are hiring across multiple areas including:
- Graphics
- Programming
- Community Management.
More information and application details here: http://www.ndemiccreations.com/en/19-careers
Ground Shatter – Communications and Marketing Assistant
Ground Shatter are looking for someone to help handle our marketing, comms, and community management on a full-time basis. Would suit a recent marketing graduate with a love of games, a journalist looking to move into the heady world of dev, someone with social media and streaming presence looking for an expanded challenge, or YOU, if you think you fit the bill.
For more details, click here.
Auroch Digital – Games Designer
Auroch Digital is looking for an experienced Game Designer who has demonstrable experience leading the design on a selection of commercial projects. An attractive salary for the right candidate who has worked with Unity (and preferably other engines too!) and ideally will be a fan of turn-based strategy games.
For more information or to apply please send a covering letter and CV to nina(at)aurochdigital.com
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from Game Debate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Global Games Jam (20th – 22nd January)
See above for more details.
Antisocial (26th January)
See above for full details or RSVP on the meetup page.
Brexit Roundtable – Bristol (31st January)
See above for details.
Grrrl Gamers (7th February)
The Grrrl Gamers monthly meetup, for more info or to RSVP click here.
Scaling Up Inclusively – Minding the Gap (24th February)
A free event at The Engine Shed, looking at how enterprises can thrive and ‘scale up’. Members of the panel includes The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, and Helen Simpson – Professor of Economics at UWE. For more info or to register for a ticket, click here.
#GAconf (27th February)
Advancing accessibility for gamers with disabilities – San Francisco, click here for more info.
Thanks all!
December 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 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.
Please be aware there is no Anti-social in December, back in January!
Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 26th January, 7:30pm
Games Hub News
Merry Christmas from Bristol Games Hub!
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…
Monthly Indie Spotlight
Out of Bounds Games
Run by Alexander Birke, Out Of Bounds Games is a one-person indie studio that has been based at the Hub since it was founded last year. With a focus on desktop and console premium games, Alexander got a publishing deal for Laser Disco Defenders, a groovy, self-inflicted bullet hell shooter that has been released on Steam, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation 4. It even got a physical retail release which was a nice unexpected surprise.
Hailing from Denmark, Alexander is an avid user of the Unity game engine, which landed him his first job in the UK games industry for Ninja Theory in Cambridge. He soon moved to Bristol to work on the point-and-click game Bertram Fiddle, before transitioning into freelancing for local companies such as Auroch Digital, Aardman and Shadow Industries.
Alexander often participates in game jams, and does talks at industry events such as Unite and GDC Europe. At the Hub he runs the Unity Meetup, that meets on a monthly basis to share knowledge and get feedback on the projects its members are working on.
Dev Scene News
Pocket Gamer Connects: London 2017
Pocket Gamer Connects is back early next year with two days of over 140 speakers and over 500 companies in the show hall. Pocket Gamer have offered all BristolGames Hub affiliates 20% off tickets, delegates also get access to the sister event VR Connects!
Use the code PGCL-BGH to get 20% off your ticket.
Global Games Jam 2017!
After last year’s sell-out success of the Global Games Jam, we’re organising it again! Back at PM Studios and running from Friday through to Sunday, the 2017 Global Games Jam tickets will be available from the 5th of January for just £10. Contact Nina@aurochdigital.com for more information.
Opposable Group
By far the biggest news from us this month is that our very own game Salvaged is finally available on Steam Early Access! As many Games Hub followers may know, Salvaged has been a significant long-term project for us and many others who call the Hub home, so it’s been great to get it into the hands of gamers across the globe. We’d obviously love for you to pick up the game and help it grow!
Alongside the release of Salvaged we also created the Salvaged: VR Comic, the world’s first audio-driven virtual reality comic series. You can watch the (really cool) comics on YouTube or Facebook 360 or download the Salvaged: VR Comic app to watch them using a mobile VR headset!
A lot of new info, yes, but we’ve got one more important piece of news from this month. We’ve announced the first wave of speakers & exhibitors for our very own VR World Congress, so be sure to give them a look and pick up tier two early bird tickets (tier one sold out, sorry!) as soon as possible.
Auroch Digital
One of our many talented artists – Chris Raadjes – is featured in this month’s issue of Develop Magazine (which is now in subscribers’ hands and should be online shortly), talking about the skills required in the field of UI. Plus our Design and Production Director – Tom Rawlings – was involved with a panel at Future Games Summit 2016 titled: “Augmented Reality Games – Where Do We (Pokémon) Go from here?”.
Elections of US America Election: The Card Game is pulling in some great reviews at the moment too, including this from God is a Geek: “even if you stripped away the politics, you would be left with an interesting and extremely tactical card game“.
Other than that we’ve been heads-down on projects, which you can find out all about via our Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Grrl Games
Grrrl Games is taking a break in January. First Tuesday will be back in the hub on Feb 7th 2017
https://www.meetup.com/Grrrl-Games–Bristol-First-Tuesday/
Jobs & Opportunities
REACH ROBOTICS Job Opportunities!
Reach Robotics are hiring, with 17 varied positions available inc.-
– 3D Modeller and Texturer (and Generalist)
– Backend developer and Dev ops
– Character engineer and animator
– Digital Animator (and generalist)
– Digital Marketing Manager
– Experienced Game Designer
– Experienced Game Developer
– Internal QA Manager
– Office and People Manager
– Project Manager
Apply here: https://reachrobotics.breezy.hr/
Mentoring Computer Science Students
Interested in being a mentor for a Games Project module this year at the CS Dept at the University of Bristol? In this unit teams of 6 students build a state-of-the-art computer game. The commitment of a mentor would be to meet teams about 7-10 times throughout the project and discuss their development, reflect on how they run their teams etc. This process is flexible in terms of the when, where and what. Contact Tilo Burghardt – tb2935@bristol.ac.uk
Codebyfire
Codebyfire is looking for a 3D artist to help out on our upcoming PC strategy title for around two to three months starting in the New Year. Ideally you’d have experience creating lovely low-poly models and animating them. Please send portfolios, rates and availability to hello@codebyfire.com
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from GameDebate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Pocket Gamer Connects: London 2017 (16th to 17th January)
See above for full details.
Global Games Jam (20th – 22nd January)
See above for full details.
GAconf (27th February)
Advancing accessibility for gamers with disabilities – San Francisco, click here for more info.
Quick Links
- What’s with weak AAA sales?
- How to make science and health games
- How an indie hit moves forward (& sales data)
- Institute of Play huge games dev reading list
- Westworld got a VR makeover…
Thanks all!
November 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 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.
Next Games Hub Anti-Social: 24th November, 7:30pm (Tonight!)
This month we’ve got:
Do’s and Don’ts for Getting Publicity for your Project – Dave Bradley, Operation Manager from Steel Media, will be coming in to talk to us about how developers should and shouldn’t go about trying to get publicity for their projects.
The Twitch talk from Jake Connor has been moved to January. Look out for more info closer to the time. Apologies.
So join us then! 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
Want to Meet Publishers?
Bristol Games Hub has been offered a table at The London Book Fair from the 14th to 16th March 2017, we would like to accept and spread 3 to 4 developers over the 3 days. With the table, they are also offering a concierge service where we are able to highlight the publishers we want to meet and they arrange for them to stop by the table. Perhaps you plan to make a digital version of printed IP? Register your interest by emailing nina(at)aurochdigital.com.
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…
Monthly Indie Spotlight
Codebyfire
Codebyfire is a one-man development studio run by Rich Wallis. Rich has been based in the Games Hub since it started in 2014 and has worked with fellow residents Auroch Digital and Ground Shatter as well as collaborating with Large Visible Machine on digital board game Doomstar which was released earlier this year.
Rich started out making Flash games for companies like Logitech and Gillette before moving into indie mobile development and now combines freelancing with work on his own title, a city-building strategy game for PC, which should be hitting Steam’s shelves sometime next year. If computers still exist by then.
Dev Scene News
Pocket Gamer Connects: London 2017
Pocket Gamer Connects is back early next year with two days of over 140 speakers and over 500 companies in the show hall. Pocket Gamer have offered all BristolGames Hub affiliates 20% off tickets, delegates also get access to the sister event VR Connects!
Use the code PGCL-BGH to get 20% off your ticket.
VR & Accessibility – Gamasutra
Ian Hamilton, one of Bristol Games Hub‘s newest residents has posted a very interesting article to Gamasutra which goes into the barriers and accessibility issues presented by VR.
He looks at everything from motion sickness, including the long term affects of this, and the possible solutions, but what is really interesting is Ian’s in depth look at how VR might be made accessible for disabled users. Issues that most of us probably haven’t considered when thinking about this relatively new technology; hearing loss, motor impairment and photosensitive epilepsy are amount them.
To read the full article, click here.
Opposable Group
This month has all been about VR World Congress for us here at Opposable (at least on the ‘publicly visible’ side). We’ve officially announced the dates, location, sponsors and all the other details for VRWC17, a 2000 attendee event that will be biggest of its kind in Europe!
The event is spread across three days – the 11th, 12th and 13th of April 2017 and will be taking place from Bristol‘s Millennium Square and surrounding venues. Tickets are available RIGHT NOW, with full conference passes available at a Super Early Bird half-price rate.
We’re currently on the lookout for sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and helpers, so be sure to sign up/get in touch if you’re interested in filling any of these roles.
Auroch Digital
We’ve received a gloriously positive and completely unbiased review of Elections of US America Election: The Card Game from our partners at Wonkette. They love the game and so will you, and you can pick up a copy of your own here.
Our Unreal Engine 4-powered strategy game Dark Future: Blood Red States has some new weapons effects screens for you to take a peek at, plus we’ve been continuing on with our Twitch streams of Last Days of Old Earth, which you can catch live every Thursday at 1630.
Jobs & Opportunities
Bristol University – Mentors
Bristol University are looking for mentors for their games course. If you are interested the contact Tilo at tb2935(at)bristol.ac.uk. Click here to see an example of one of last years projects.
Aardman – QA Manager
Aardman Animations are looking for a candidate with a passion and enthusiasm for digital entertainment and ideally experience in QA testing. It is an exciting opportunity to work for an award winning creative company and to work alongside established Unity and HTML-5 developers. For more info or to apply, click here.
South Screen – Games Designer
South Screen are looking for one or more freelance games designers to create up to four games. For more info or to apply click here.
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from GameDebate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Submerge Festival (18th – 20th November)
A weekend of audiovisual arts, electronic music and liver performance that will leave you gasping for air. Click here for full details.
Antisocial (24th November)
See above for full details or RSVP on the meetup page.
Grrrl Gamers (6th December)
The Grrrl Gamers monthly meetup, for more info or to RSVP click here.
Pocket Gamer Connects: London 2017 (16th to 17th January)
See above for full details.
GAconf (27th February)
Advancing accessibility for gamers with disabilities – San Francisco, click here for more info.
Quick Links
- What happened when they sacked the game designers…
- List of best 100 books about video games
- What does Brexit means for UK games dev?
- Think-piece: Video games are boring. Read it.
- Videogames Trump Hate
Thanks all!
October Newsletter
Nina can be contacted regarding including news items in the next newsletter, the deadline for which is 10th November.
Nest Games Hub Anti-Social: 27th October, 7:30pm
This month we’ve got:
Reach Robotics – MekaMon – Silas and Lexi from Reach Robotics will be bringing along their prototype demos of the world’s first intelligent gaming robots: combining AR, robotics and gaming.
Auroch Digital – Strategic Planning – Tomas Rawlings from Auroch Digital will be giving a talk on strategic planning and how it can be used to run projects more efficiently; both within a project and looking wider that the market you’re releasing into!
Look back at XX+ Game Jam – Constance Fleuriot will be giving us a run down of how the XX+ Game Jam went earlier in the month.
So join us then! 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
Looking for Love? BGH is Here to Help!
Last month Bristol Games Hub’s board game night featured in an article by Tech Sparkhighlighting us as the place to go for a ‘techie date’. Maybe we should launch Bristol Games Hub Speed Dating! 😉
We’re Revamping the Bristol Unreal Development Meetup
We’ve cleared out the schedule of planned meetups, and will be preparing a whole bunch of new content for upcoming talks and other events. We’ve got practical talks planned from a range of experienced developers, covering all aspects of working with the Unreal Engine, from art to code, professional to hobbyist, project management to core development.
We want to show that Unreal Engine 4 is an incredibly powerful, diverse, and easy-to-use tool for game development, and to help build a community in Bristol that knows how to take advantage of what UE4 has to offer, so that we can work together to build better games.
Stay tuned!
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…
Monthly Indie Spotlight
Raredrop Games
Raredrop Games was founded in 2015 by Josh Regan in the hope of pursuing game development full-time. In July 2016, after a year of working solo, Chris Waldron joined the team and the company relocated from Josh’s home to the Bristol Games Hub. With a background in mobile development, previous games from the studio have been exclusive to iOS. Their latest release in August was To The Throne, a retro inspired minimalist puzzle game that was originally made as part of GBJam. The team has since made the move to PC development and is now working on a new turn-based strategy game with a focus on online multiplayer. When not working on games, Chris and Josh can be found enjoying games, drinking beer or attempting to play volleyball.
Dev Scene News
Opposable Group
We’re incredibly proud to finally announce our brand new game, “Adventure Time: I See Ooo“. I See Ooo is a mobile VR game, set in the wacky and wonderful world of Adventure Time, that works with Android phones and VR devices (such as Cardboard, Merge VR etc.).
The game can be purchased from Forbidden Planet or Pyramid Shop along with a limited-edition Jake the Dog viewer, or on the Google Play Store as a standalone app. The game, created in tandem with Cartoon Network and Attention2Detail, has received a lot of love within its first full week of release – including the one and only Johnny Vegas enjoying the game on his daily commute! We’re delighted to be a key part in this project, and would love for you to check the game out.
That’s not all from us this time, however, as this month we also launched our brand new, very flashy, website! Not in the form of doing things in half measures, we decided to try something more than a little new with our site. opposablevr.com is now a full 360° site that lets you explore our beautiful ‘dream factory’. As you can tell, we decided to let our creative side shine through, with a healthy splash of VR/360 innovation along with it. Be sure to check it out (it’s especially cool on mobile devices) and keep an eye out for even more launches and announcements in the very near future…
Mr. Gansy: Quantum Jump
Bath-based indie game dev, Lisoo, presents his science-inspired 2D puzzle game which will take you to the unseen world of semiconductor physics and quantum mechanics. In this game you will be playing as Mr. Gansy, who is in fact a nanoscale light emitting diode! So join Mr. Gansy in his adventures travelling through a semiconductor’s crystal growth reactor by solving challenging entangled-photons puzzles! Don’t forget to visit the Mr. Gansy page and learn more about the game and about quantum physics from funny cartoons.
Auroch Digital
Elections of US America Election: The Card Game – our successfully Kickstarted game with Wonkette – has begun shipping to backers. Anyone who missed out on buying a copy the first time round can now order a copy for themselves and find out all about the game in our video guide. We’ve also got some fresh new images and video for Dark Future: Blood Red States up on its page on Steam, plus there’s a post on our website linking to Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s feature on Steam user reviews, in which we were invited to give comment.
Jobs & Opportunities
Knowle West Media Centre – Artists for 2 day event
KWMC are looking for two artists for their South Bristol Gaming & Anime Expo. Artists of all ages are invited to submit an image that can be enlarged to A1 size for exhibit. Your image will be credited, if your work is for sale the price can be included, and you’ll feature on their website with links to your work.
Click here for full details and how to apply.
Studio Meineck – Studio Lead
Opportunity to become an integral part of the social design company Studio Meineck, residents at Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed, Bristol. They are looking for someone to join the team with experience in making electronic products. Click here for more info or to apply click here, but be quick deadline is Friday 14th Oct at 7pm!
Open NVA – Showcase your work
The National Videogame Arcade is the home of videogames and they want to be a platform for makers, developers players and public to find out what games are, what games can be and how they can be made better!
Over October they are giving developers the chase to showcase their work, click herefor more info.
Freelance Graphics Designer Needed
Details on Game Dev Jobs page.
NESTA – Crowdfunding match funding
NESTA have launched a match funding opportunity for projects raising money through crowdfunding. Between £1,000 and £10,000 is available for 25% of a project’s total if crowdfunded projects are able to raise 75% of their target. For more info and how to apply click here.
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from Game Debate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Board Game Night (18th October)
The bi-monthly board game night has come round again! Head over to the Meetup page to RSVP and get the info on the super secret location.
Unity Meetup (19th October)
This month’s meetup will be visited by Unity’s Ben Pitt to give a talk on cars and AI. He even made a fancy video teaser which you can see here.
Brigstow @ Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (19th October)
Ahead of their new call for seedcorn funding, Brigstow will be holding a workshop. A chance to explore some of the collection with like-minded people, as well as re-imagine the future of the museum over the next 10-30 years, with a particular focus on the interface between the digital and the material. Please sign up via Eventbrite and join us for conversation over a diverse range of ordinary and extraordinary objects.
Antisocial (27th October)
See above for full details or RSVP on the meetup page.
Quick Links
- Steam Dev Days summary
- Lessons from the development of Star Citizen
- The explosive growth of the 300-person “megagame”
- Game graphics jump in 30 years.
- John Carmack says VR dev is ‘coasting on novelty’
Thanks all!
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 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 October.
The Antisocial is back on this month!
After 3 months off, we’re kicking things off with two talks on September 29th at 7.30 PM:
SN Systems – An insight into PlayStation development tool – Bernard James, VP Development will present an overview of SN Systems and its role in the PlayStation development process. SN Systems are a Bristol-based , SIE-owned company with over 25 years of console development tools experience, developing a range of tools including debuggers, compliers, profile analysers and more.
The dark art of R&D and VGTR – James Gibbs will be joining us from F6S to be the champion on your side when dealing with the dark art of VGTR and R&D Tax Credits.
So join us then! 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
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…
Monthly Indie Spotlight
Large Visible Machine
Nils Hellberg has been running Large Visible Machine out of Bristol Games Hub since it’s inception in 2014. The main focus is on digital board and card games and the latest project, Lew Pulsipher’s Doomstar, was released on Steam on Friday! Doomstar is a collaboration with fellow hub resident Rich Wallis and the ability to bring in people as needed has been one of the main benefits of being based in the Hub. Other activities apart from games making include beard/black kale growing, beer drinking and watching Pro Wrasslin.
Dev Scene News
Mega Best Cat Adventure Kickstarter
Psychedelic twin-stick shooter SUPER MEGA BEST CAT ADVENTURES mixes the crazy intense wave-based action of classic arcade games such as Llamatron 2112 and modern rogue-like exploration of games like The Binding of Issac. Inspired by classic Williams-style arcade shooters and modern rogue-lites, it’s crammed to the brim with kaleidoscopic colours and mind-melting visuals. Hyper stimulating gameplay thrills are a direct result of the focus on fast, unrelenting action through randomised mazes and destructible environments.
SUPER MEGA BEST CAT ADVENTURES is currently live on Kickstarter and Greenlight, check them out!
Auroch Digital
The Steam page for Dark Future: Blood Red States is now live! You can Wishlist our new game here and ICYMI we put together all our vehicle videos from Dark Future here.
We’ve been sharing pre-alpha footage of our digital adaptation of Steve Jackson’s Ogre with Kickstarter backers and receiving a ton of great comments and positive feedback, and in other community news our Twitch channel is slowly but surely picking up pace – you can catch up with any streams you’ve missed by visiting our Youtube channel. Plus a great new podcast called “Futures and Skills” invited us onto their show, and we were interviewed in Programme.
Evil Twin
‘Evil Twin Artworks’, are excited to announce the latest update for our Early Access title ’Man O’ War: Corsair’ and it’s a big one! We have wanted to bring out more of the elements that make the Warhammer world what it is, and so we felt it was time to bring the Dwarfs and Skaven to the Great Western Ocean. Not only that, we are also beginning to introduce the different colleges of magic, as well as allow players to launch flying monsters and shoot flying enemies from the sky with unique and bizarre anti-air weapons. It all really gives the game an extra dimension.
Click here to see the brand new trailer.
Opposable Group
Plans are afoot for VR World Congress 2017! If you don’t already, be sure to follow our VRWC Twitter and Facebook accounts as we’ll be posting all announcements there first. Quick insider tip: keep April 11th, 12th and 13th of 2017 free…
Later this month we’ll also be providing equipment for our friends at Simpleweb as part of their Challenge Hack Day here in Bristol. Well worth checking that out if you’re interested!
Laser Disco Defenders Boogies Its Way Onto PS4 And Steam
After having been out on Vita for a couple of months the first game from Out Of Bounds Games is ready to dance its way onto Steam on the 29th of September, and PS4 the 4th of October. The Vita release received praise for the core mechanic and overall presentation but received some criticism for a lack of variety and the high difficulty. Based on this initial feedback the game now features a brand new zone, enemies and the addition of powerups, as well as having been rebalanced. Sound groovy? Well If you find your way to EGX this month you will be able to play this updated version on the show floor.
Force Of Habit
Last week we revealed and released a new game that’s been bubbling in the pan since January. ‘makenines‘ – an ambient logic-puzzle game, about making numbers equal 9. Lots of people have been playing and enjoying it, with TouchArcade saying “impressive in its incredible sound and visual design”, “aesthetically beautiful” and “a title that any puzzle fans should definitely download”. It’s completely free too (pay what you want) so give it a shot (Android, iOS) and let us know what you think.
Jobs & Opportunities
Slitherine – Junior Art and Programmer
Epsom based publishers Slitherine are looking for a junior artist and programmer to join their team. Email career(at)slitherine.co.uk for more info and how to apply.
Alto’s Adventure – Unity Programmer
Seeking a talented Unity Programmer to join Team Alto in the South West, for the full list of requirements and ideal qualities click here.
Creative England – Tech & Digital Funding
Follow @TechDigital_CE on Twitter to keep up to date with business investment info, case studies, technews and innovations.
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from Game Debate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Grrrl Gamers Group (20th September)
This month’s Grrrl Gamers group has been moved to the 20th. A welcome get together for women working in games. Click here for more details and to RSVP.
Antisocial (29th September)
See above for full details or RSVP on the meetup page.
Games For Better: 48hr Games Jam (30th September)
The theme for this years Games For Better Games Jam is ‘Antibiotic Resistance’, an international issue and a genuine threat to humanity. For full details and to register for free visit their EventBrite page.
Grrrl Gamers (4th October)
Next month’s Grrrl Gamers meetup will be back in its usually spot, first Tuesday of the month. Click here for full details and to RSVP.
XX+ Game Jam (14th October)
REFIG UK is running an international, 24hr Games Jam for women on 14th to 15th October. This is a great opportunity for women who like games and want to create one to get together, network and have fun. There are 4 other UK sites, along with sites in Canada. Click here for more info or to register. Registration closes on 24th September.
Quick Links
- More games released on STEAM in the first 8 months of the year than in the entirety of 2015
- Does it now take $10 million to make it in mobile?
- Myst creator on role of luck in making it big
- Study: Video games can actually help kids learn
- More romance in games!!
Thanks all!
August 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 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 September.
The Antisocial is on Summer Holiday for one more month so won’t be on this month, it will be back in September!
The usual Meet Ups will still be on, see the Events Diary below for more details on those.
So join us then! 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
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…
Monthly Indie Spotlight
Sora Sabi
‘My name is Rory Doona, I create 2D digital art and graphic design as a freelancer, I’ve been doing it for over 10 years and have been based in the Bristol Games Hub for nearly a year. About half of my commissions are for game assets which you can see on my website.
I’ve had a really diverse mix of clients and commission types over the years, including Aardman Animations, Manga Entertainment and Demon Music Group.
When I’m not working on commissions I’m interested in creating work that entertains others. I started my own webcomic a few years ago, it currently has over 4,000 subscribers and 250,000 views on Tapastic.com. However most of that is now behind me as I’ve decided to become a full time Pokemon Go trainer so please don’t contact me unless you know a good Oddish nest in Bristol!
Dev Scene News
Opposable Group
We mentioned last month that we’d be releasing new info on our own VR game, Salvaged. As promised, you can now view our new teaser trailer and also check out our new blog for the latest update on the game.
This month was an unusual one for Opposable, as we headed for the Welsh Hills on a team camping trip. You can see some of our snaps (in 360!) on our Facebook page.
We’re also hard at work on a variety of projects ranging from a brand new company website (which will be up soon and is looking very, very cool) to new VR experiences. Hopefully we’ll be able to share the details on our BIG project very soon…
Auroch Digital
We launched our Twitch channel! We’ll be using it to highlight our games and titles from around the Bristol Games Hub. We’ve already streamed Last Days of Old Earth,Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night, and The Battle for Sector 219.
Backers of Elections of US America Election: The Card Game will be pleased to know that the game is currently in the office and almost ready for distribution, Chainsaw Warrior fans should check out the amazing entries from our haiku competition, and readers of Develop can flick to page 39 of the August issue to find our Producer, Peter Willington, talking about his role.
Phew! Busy! But we did get the chance to get a game of Ogre in. For work purposes, obviously.
Ground Shatter
Ground Shatter has teamed up with Ant Workshop to bring fiendish puzzle-platformer, Binaries, to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at the end of the month.
In the game you control two lovable balls of different colours across 100 levels of platforming… but you control them both at once. It’s breathtakingly simple in its idea but absurdly difficult in its execution. It’s basically like playing two different Super Meat Boy levels at the same time with the same controller. If you can play it without inventing a brand new set of swear words you’re doing very well.
The game, which was released earlier this year on Steam, is being launched on consoles on August 30th. Find out more at PlayBinaries.com
Jobs & Opportunities
BDH – Freelance Unity Developer
BDH are looking for a freelance Unity dev for a few weeks in September to refine the user experience and mechanics of a VR project. Email dan(at)bdh.net for more info or to apply.
Pitch@Palace – Funding
Pitch@Palace offers tech entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their ideas to an influential audience of global investors who can catapult them to the next level. This year’s theme includes media, communications and entertainment technology so for more info and to apply, go to their website.
Playable City Award
Open call for ideas themed around ‘journeys’ for Playable City. The winner will receive a £30,000 commission, practical support, residency at PM Studio in Watershed and more. For full details for to apply, click here.
Reach Robotics
Reach Robotics, creators of MekaMon, are looking for a freelance contractor with game design experience to support a few areas of the project. Collectable card game and balancing experience is highly desirable. Email Silas(at)reachrobotics.com for details or to apply.
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from Game Debate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Bi-Monthly Board Game Night (16th August)
The first Board Game Night in June was a huge success so don’t miss out in August! Feel free to bring along any games you want play, otherwise between Bristol Games Hub and the venue we have a huge range of great games. To RSVP go to the Meetup page. As long as you are on the list, you will receive an email with the location at lunch time on the 16th.
Bleep Your Heart Out – 8 Bit Festival (20th August)
Free entry to this music festival dedicated to music created on old school Game Boys and other consoles/computers. Go to the Facebook event page for all the info.
Unity Meet Up (24th August)
James Parker of Ground Shatter will be talking at this month’s Unity Meet Up, looking at console porting for indies. Click here for more details or to RSVP.
Unreal Meet Up (1st September)
Join the Unreal group to talk all things Unreal, from programming and assets to dev queries and latest news. Click here for full info and to RSVP.
The Internet of Us: What Does Privacy Mean in the Digital Age? (1st September)
Gregg Latchams’ Digital Media & Technology team invite you to join them for an afternoon of exploring and debating one of the pivotal social issues of our generation. Book your place here.
Women In Games Conference (7th September)
This year’s WIG Conference will be held at the University of Greenwich. With a host of great speakers, it’s not to be missed! Click here for more info and to register.
Grrrl Gamers (9th September)
The monthly Grrrl Gamers will be held from 7:30pm onwards and is open to women at all levels of the industry. Click here for more info or to RSVP.
Quick Links
- The power of games and education
- Getting noticed by streamers and twitchers
- Some VR dev lessons
- Don’t be scared to share ideas because this!
Thanks all!
July 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 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 August.
The Antisocial is going on Summer Holiday so won’t be on this month or August, it will be back in September.
The usual Meet Ups will still be on, see the Events Diary below for more details on those.
So join us then! 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
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
Opposable Group
It’s been a while since we spoke about Salvaged, our own game due for release soon on Steam Early Access. We’ll be releasing a new trailer and some new info for the game this week, so keep an eye on our social media channels (Twitter / Facebook) for the latest word.
Alongside our game antics, we’ve also been keeping up to scratch on our events-focused prospects. An event we co-hosted in London this month was featured in Event magazine, showing the world how VR can be used in events and for businesses in general.
We were also in Shanghai this month, helping out with the running of our own experience for the GSMA at Mobile World Congress! Plus, it’s not too long until we can start talking about our super-secret big project…
Auroch Digital
It has been a busy month for us. We released the first piece of in-game (pre-alpha) footage of Dark Future: Blood Red States, as well as launching the Chainsaw Warrior haiku competition, where fans had a chance to win a 30″ by 20″ canvas print of John Blanche’s classic 2nd edition 40K cover! See here for the full list of submissions, including the winning entry by De Selby!
We are very excited to announce that out of over 200 applicants we are going to be one of the lucky recipients of the UK Games Fund, not only that but GameReactor mentioned us in their article about it. For now though, you’ll have to wait and see what we’re using the money for! We’ve also signed a new project with the legendary Steve Jackson Games!
Finally with Develop just wrapping up, our Design and Production Director, Tomas Rawlings gave a very well-received talk about the importance of number crunching before launching a crowdfunding campaign, which was then featured on Develop.
Orange Rage Games – Hero 2 Zero
Two University of the West of England graduates have come together under the moniker ‘Orange Rage Games’ to make a board game concept as part of a past coursework assignment into reality as a digital board game. Hero 2 Zero has up to four players taking control of very famous Heroes aiming to compete with each other to lose all of their fame, in order to become ignored (or hated) enough to begin living a normal life. Fame is lost through random event cards and purposely throwing combat with Monsters, while sabotaging their rivals with spells and items in order to become a civilian first!
Hero 2 Zero is aimed at a PC release through Steam, more information can be found through the Kickstarter campaign page. Those with a Steam account may also wish to show support on the accompanying Greenlight page.
Jobs & Opportunities
Creative England – Greenshoots
As we mentioned in last month’s newsletter, applications for the Greenshoots funding are now open. For the third year running, Creative England have teamed up with Microsoft to offer independent games developers up to £50k, links to Xbox is open to all of England outside greater London.
To read more or to apply click here.
Rocket Lolly Games – Environment Artist
Ella Romanos from Rocket Lolly Games is looking for a freelance 3D environment artist to work on The Rocky Horror Show mobile game. Send CV / portfolio to ella(at)rocketlolly.com.
UWE Seeking Lecturer
UWE are looking for a senior lecturer in Games Technology. Closes on 22nd July. Info here.
Infinite State Games – PS4 Coder
Infinite State Games are looking for a PS4 coder to do some freelance work, mainly someone who would be able to port their Xbox / PSVita game, Wing King, onto PS4. Get in touch through their website for more info or to apply.
Plus… South West Games Dev Jobs
There is a Facebook group for devs to post opportunities; South West Games Dev Jobs. It’s for companies seeking new people, freelancers and the like. It’s free to use but please don’t use it to ask for work. Currently it has opportunities from Game-Debate, Rendermedia and PQube.
Events Diary
Unity Meet Up (20th July)
This month the Unity meet up has a special treat in store, a talk on 2D animation tool Spine, which is gaining more and more traction as the go to solution for making animations for 2D Unity games. Click here for more details or to RSVP.
Games for Health UK Conference (21st July)
See above for more details or click here.
Grrrl Gamers (2nd August)
The monthly Grrrl Gamers will be held from 7:30pm onwards and is open to women at all levels of the industry. Click here for more info or to RSVP.
Quick Links
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