Do you remember playing Space Invaders or Galaga down at the fish and chip shop on Friday nights?

The Film Archive is collaborating with Flinders University of South Australia on their “Play It Again” project, which aims to remember and preserve New Zealand and Australian video games of the 1980s. The Archive seeks 1980s games fans, programmers and collectors who are able to share memories, information, games or documentation relating to games.

The digital future has a history and it needs remembering. Vital human and technical data is in danger of being lost. In the 1980s the New Zealand and Australian software industries were remarkably active in the production of digital games, yet little is known about this chapter in the history of the moving image.

The “Play It Again” project team’s goals are twofold.

Wellington, NZ – November 9, 2012 – DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) in conjunction with leading smartphone games publisher PikPok®, today announced the release of DreamWorks Dash n Drop for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android, based on the CG animated film Rise of the Guardians, which arrives in theaters on November 21. The DreamWorks Dash n Drop app is available now for US$0.99 from the App Store at www.itunes.com/appstore and Google Play at http://play.google.com

At this month's Auckland Game Works Meetup we held a panel on Freemium games.

Guest speakers from Gameloft Auckland and Grinding Gear Games gave us their insight on the field of Freemium game development. The panel included: Thomas Foricher, Game Monetization Manager from Gameloft, Patrick Wagner, Studio Manager from Gameloft, Jonathan Rogers, Technical Director at Grinding Gear Games and Chris Wilson, Managing Director at Grinding Gear Games.

Gameloft's history and experience within the industry allowed Patrick Wagner to give us a great introduction and overview to the seachange in revenue earning brought about by the app store. He then used the whiteboard to clearly present the difference in the revenue curve between Freemium and the traditional model (in part two of the video).

Innovative arcade platform game by Conix Games now available on the App Store

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – September 06, 2012 – Leading games publisher PikPok® has released Twang the Fox™ for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, an original arcade platformer title developed by Conix Games.

PikPok is hiring! If you are or know a talented and experienced game developer in the following areas, then get in touch.

- Programmers
- Analytics and Online Services Tech Specialists
- IT Support
- Game Design
- Video Editor / Motion Designer
- Marketing and Advertising Manager

AUT's CoLab are holding a hands-on Motion Capture workshop this Saturday. 

Te Papa is delighted to announce its summer blockbuster exhibition, Game Masters, opening 15 December 2012.

Featuring over 120 playable games across arcade, consoles, and PC, including Donkey Kong, The Sims, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, and not forgetting mobile games such as Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja; this exhibition has games suitable for all ages.

The exhibition profiles a selection of the world’s most influential videogame designers, and the iconic games developments of the past 40 years. Videogame creatives are often little known outside of their field, and the exhibition will provide a platform for acknowledging the huge individual creative contributions they have made to the industry.

International videogame designers whose work will be profiled include Tetsuya Mizuguchi with Child of Eden, Chris Metzen with World of Warcraft, and Toru IIwatani, the father of Pac-man.

Autodesk Australia/NZ have kicked off a monthly webinar series for game developers and other digital creatives.  This month's webinars include:

• Animation Tips & Tricks : Round Tripping Assets on Friday 10 August (you may remember David from the NZGDA Conference 2012)
• Mobile Game development with Gameware on Fri 17 August

Check them out at www.autodesk.com.au/meettheexperts.

Every day across the world, millions of people enter virtual worlds through video games. The Dowse Art Museum is excited to celebrate what is now the fastest-growing form of mass art with a major exhibition of New Zealand video gaming - Arcade: Homegrown Video Games opens on 10 November and runs throughout the summer months until 3 March 2013. Entry is free.

Arcade offers an insight into the amazing world of the video games made right here in New Zealand. It celebrates the extraordinary skills and creativity of the New Zealand gaming industry, focusing on the striking visual effects designed by our most talented and influential gaming artists.

There'll be stunning digital art as well as still images, concept art, video footage and the actual games that visitors can play.

Hot on the heels of their 15th anniversary celebrations, Wellington-based game studio Sidhe and mobile publisher PikPok has granted two Media Design School students a generous scholarship toward their first year of study.