Sign up for the Global Game Jam 2012

Tue, 20/12/2011 - 19:46

The Global Game Jam is a 48-hour event where artists, video game developers and programmers create a video game over just one weekend in January. Held in over 120 locations worldwide including New Zealand, it’s creative, cooperative, chaotic and huge fun.

New Zealand gamers will be the first in the world to kickoff, when the theme for the games is unveiled at 5pm on Friday 27 January 2012 and the teams work flat out until Sunday night.

Game Jams inspire upcoming generations of developers and enthusiasts to come up with new game ideas in small teams in an intense jam session.

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New Zealand-made Video Games Industry grew 46% this year

Wed, 16/11/2011 - 09:39

Wellington, New Zealand - 16 November 2011 - The New Zealand video game development industry grew by 46% this year, boosted by the huge growth of smartphone and online games.  114 game development jobs were created in the 12 months to September 2011 and the industry now employs the equivalent of 359 full-time people. 

 

In addition, local game studios expect to create 99 new jobs in the coming 12 months.  Approximately 40% of these will be for programmers, 40% for artists and 20% for managers.

 

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NZGDA October Newsletter

Tue, 08/11/2011 - 20:25

Heaps has happened in the Kiwi games industry over the last few months, and the NZGDA has been very busy.

Here’s what’s been going on:

  • See you at AnimFX, 15-17 November
  • Kiwi Games Industry Grew 46% this year!
  • NZ Gamers: Not Sweaty Teenage Boys
  • Spreading the Word: Raising the Games Industry’s Profile
  • Coming Soon: The New NZGDA.com Website
  • Discussions with Government about Games Sector Support

See you at AnimFX, 15-17 November, Te Papa, Wellington
AnimFX is three days of gaming, vfx and animation with an impressive line-up of international speakers plus the chance to network with game developers from throughout New Zealand. The Games Masterclass which is limited to 40 places is nearly full, so book fast.

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NZ Game Players: Not Sweaty Teenage Boys

Thu, 03/11/2011 - 12:20

The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association represent game publishers and distributors in NZ and Australia, and are supporters of NZGDA and GDAA too. Each year they commission Bond University to do a survey of game playing in NZ and Aus, which well and truly dispels the stereotype of gamers being teenage boys.  The last survey in July 2011 interviewed 846 NZ households.

The report found that:

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International Gaming Experts to speak at AnimFX 2011

Thu, 13/10/2011 - 09:44

AnimfxNZ is an Animation, Games and Visual Effects conference held annually in one of the world's leading cities for Digital Media creation-Wellington, New Zealand. Now in its sixth year, AnimfxNZ 11 brings together a mix of international speakers, including animation feature directors, vfx supervisors, digital artists and game developers, to present, share and interact with attendees from all over the world.

AnimFX is held at Te Papa, Wellington on Tuesday 15 November. Hands-on masterclasses on game production and game business development will be held on Wed 16th.  The conference costs $95 (or $75 for students who get in quick).

Speakers include:

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Retro Gamer Con in Wellington

Tue, 04/10/2011 - 22:08

If you're in Wellington during November the Retcon event looks like something worth checking out! Classic 80s and 90s games from the PC, Megadrive, SNES, Dreamcast, Gameboy, Master System and Arcade will be featured as well as art on sale from the Drawfest NZ community.

It's hosted by RetroActiveNZ who run a site / blog on the history of games, according to their About page. Anything retro arcade is a good thing in my book and if November wasn't such a busy month for me I'd be down there on the 19th with bells on!

Ret-con is 'The Gamer's Convention' and is scheduled for Saturday the 19th of November in Wellington Central Library on the Level 1 Mezzanine. It's free entry all day for all ages from 10:30am to 4:00pm.

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Sam Morgan Invests in Social Game SmallWorlds

Thu, 22/09/2011 - 21:29

 

AUCKLAND, 15 May, 2011- Fast-growing Auckland-based social game SmallWorlds has received $2.5m in an investment round led by TradeMe founder Sam Morgan to capitalise on the booming market for games played via social networks. Gaming is the fastest growing entertainment sector globally, and has already overtaken both the music and film industry in revenues.

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Action RPG Path of Exile Launches Closed Beta

Thu, 22/09/2011 - 21:25

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - 3 August 2011 - After four years of development, the indie studio Grinding Gear Games has announced that their online action RPG, Path of Exile, will enter 'closed beta' on August 10th. They have also unveiled plans for a range of Player vs. Player combat options designed to encourage a competitive online playing field.

With the closed beta, members of the game's online community at www.pathofexile.com. will be periodically selected at random and granted access to the game's beta. Players will be added continuously to stress test the game's servers, as the game is played entirely online to facilitate a secure item-based economy. The beta version of the game includes the first two acts of gameplay and five character classes at first, with more content added frequently.

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NZGDA Committee Elected

Thu, 07/07/2011 - 17:31

Just before the July Auckland Game Developers Meetup, elections were held for the NZ Game Developers Association committee.

We now have a committee of nine people who will lead activities:
• Stephen Knightly, InGame – Chairperson
• Jonathan Rogers, Grinding Gear Games – Secretary
• Maru Nihoniho, Metia Interactive
• Frances Valintine, Media Design School
• Damien Caine, Pixelati
• Peter Vullings, PixelThis
• Mario Wynands, Sidhe
• Benjamin Dellaca, Cerebral Fix
• Tim Nixon, Runaway Play
It’s great that we have a mix of people from up and down the country. Drop any of us a line if you have suggestions or questions. Many other people have also indicated that they’re willing to help out, which is greatly appreciated.

So, what’s next:

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Your candidates for the PlayMaker Committee

Sat, 02/07/2011 - 18:52

Here are the nominations for the new PlayMaker, the NZ Game Developers Association, Committee.  Elections will be held at 4.30 this Wednesday at the Media Design School, Auckland.  Details (including dialing-in from around the country) will be emailed out to everyone who has indicated they want to join up.  

If you cannot make the AGM in person you can still vote by emailing your votes to chris[at]grindinggear.com before 3pm on Wednesday.  He will reply to acknowledge your email. If you don't receive an email in reply, your vote may not have gone through.

There is currently no limit on the number of Committee members, and no position has more than one candidate standing. If you wish to save time, when you email your vote in you can just tell Chris "I vote for everyone standing." You can also vote for only a few people.

Committee member nomations:

Benjamin Dellaca

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