IGDA Scotland Gets Googly Eyed & LinkedIn!

The New Year is coming up fast, and that means another round of IGDA Scotland Touring Talks, Parties and Gatherings. Us chaps at the IGDA Scotland Committee have some pretty wicked ideas for 2012, and we can’t wait to get started on them.

We’re still meant to be on our holidays, but I couldn’t resist and spread our reach across the social-spheres and unwrap IGDA Scotland’s shiny new official Google+ Page!

Wicked right? We don’t like the idea of forcing people to align themselves with one specific way of finding stuff out about the chapter, so, as requested by YOU, we’re giving you as many ways as possible to be connected and in touch with the chapter and it’s followers!

But it’s not just Google+ We’re getting our hands messy in LinkedIn by creating our very own LinkedIn Group for all of you creative Scottish Game-type folks to connect and collaborate together.

This is kind of a big deal! Did you do some awesome networking at one our meetings? Did you make some great contacts who want to keep in touch with you? Did you lose their business card on the 11:10pm bus home to Drongan? If this had happened to you pre-2002 your chances may be scuppered forever! But as of now, that should be a thing of the past!

Make sure to get your profile in our group before coming to one of our events, Perhaps even download CardMunch  to your iPhone to automatically connect with your new found contacts on LinkedIn before you spill your drink on their details?

What’s more you’ll be kept in the loop about exciting opportunities and upcoming meetings from the IGDA Scotland crew.

It’s a win win being part of the IGDA Scotland community! So here’s our full rundown of social connections you can add us on:

• IGDA Scotland on Google+ *NEW*
• IGDA Scotland LinkedIn Group *NEW*
• IGDA Scotland Facebook Page
• IGDA Scotland Facebook Community Group ( Event Planning & Discussion)
• IGDA Scotland on Twitter
• IGDA Scotland Blog
• IGDA Scotland Google Mailing List

All that’s left to do now is wish you all a Happy New Year! See you on the other side!

Dundee! Plot Twists! Social Event Rebellion! Loud Noises!

Dundee tickets Here!

Have YOUR say on our Facebook Page!

We have a taste for awesomeness at the IGDA Scotland Chapter. We want to get awesome people into awesome places to talk about awesome stuff. With our high standards to fill, it can be a little bit of a challenge to fit things together.

We HAD some awesome speakers and stuff planned for Dundee, however, as is quite common, awesome people are in really high demand. With regret, our speakers have had to cancel prior to our event next week…

Also, our publicised venue HAS CHANGED. Turns out the Hannah Maclure Centre was double booked, but we’re moving ACROSS THE ROAD to the award winning Centre for Excellence at Abertay University (cheers Abertay!) and the show WILL go on!

We’re shaking up the format a bit with things. No speakers? No problem! For what will be our last IGDA Scotland meet-up of 2011 YOU DECIDE WHAT WE DO!

Simply pay a visit to our Facebook page and vote for the idea you’d most like to see happen. Currently having a Games night is popular, but if you have you’re own awesome idea then you’re MORE THAN WELCOME to add your own.

I like caps…

ROCK THE VOTE(S) NOW!

Dundee!

Get Your Ticket Here!

You’ve waited patiently enough. IGDA Scotland will be hitting it up big style once again in Dundee, Scotland’s capital of gaming!

The event will be held at 7pm on Wednesday the 30th of November.

Space is limited! So be sure to get your ticket (we’ll be checking for them) on Eventbrite before coming along. The lovely folks at Abertay University are putting us up in the spacious Hannah Maclure Centre, where you can also check out the latest N55 exhibition of open source living design, currently on display as part of the NEoN 2011 Digital Arts festival.

Stay tuned to our various channels, as we’ll be announcing speakers in the coming days. We look forward to seeing you there!

November Dundee Skype Meeting

Want in? Add kraig.walker as a contact on Skype with the message “IGDA Scotland” and he’ll add you to the group conversation. You don’t need a mic since it’s all text…

Friday, 11th of November @ 8pm

Greetings Everyone!

November is here and the nights have drawn in. Even as I type, at three in the afternoon, the sun is already putting on it’s night cab after going on an all out binge over the summer months.

I’m just writing to let you know that we’re working on our next meeting in Dundee. The newly formed committee has been tasked with hosting the mini event, where you’ll have the opportunity to share your ideas, thoughts, or just find out how things are going.

We put on these meetings as an effort to maintain a level of transparency with the rest of the community, and we’d be super excited to hear from you.

On the agenda:

• Edinburgh Meetup Feedback and reaction
• Current plans for Dundee Meetup this November
• December plans (feasibility of a christmas party)
• Long term plans/ ideas for the chapter

I’m currently serving a pilgrimage to the NEoN Digital Arts festival, where there has been much discussion from people from all over the place about Dundee, and Scotland’s place in the world of digital media and design. Because of this, I won’t be MCin the meeting, instead one of our awesome committee members will be! If you’re like me and can’t be there, but are still interested in the meeting, a memo document will be written up and published for all to see. You can also write in with your thoughts and ideas to our Twitter or Email.

Edinburgh Roundup

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What a week it’s been! IGDA Scotland has rocked Edinburgh for a second time! Thank you to everyone who came along to make an interesting evening of meeting, greeting, discussion and debate. We got a lot of feedback on how the chapter is going and even more ideas for the future, which we hope to be putting in place to make our journeys to the Edinburgh crowd even more special.

I’d like to say a big thanks to Chris Wright, from local firm <a title=”We Games Analytics, who gave a stellar talk on how to get Games Analytics “Wright” (ouch…)

Pics or it Didn't Happen!

Our camera buggered up on the night, the technician told us it’s awesomeness-ity reciprocator hadn’t been designed with an IGDA Chapter meeting in mind. Chris has however, given us his slides which will be able to give you all the juicy load out on using analytics, and how Chris and his guys can help you get started in a whim!

If you haven’t already, we’d be really interested in hearing your thought’s and opinions on what you’d like to see your IGDA chapter do. So you can spam Kraig, have a flame war on our Facebook Group, or kindly fill out our Survey Monkey Questionnaire. Every-time you do, something bad happens to a bad person! Honest!

IGDA Scotland Returns to Edinburgh!

Where: The Three Sisters, Edinburgh

When: Wednesday, 26th of October 2011 from 7pm

Sign up for free on Eventbrite!

We had a hoot in Glasgow, where all sorts of stuff went down! And now we’re taking our band wagon of of shenanigans back up north to the Capital herself!

We’ll be bringing out the big guns with high flying start up Games Analytics sharing their Top 10 Tips and why analytics is good for you! People paid good money to hear them speak at Develop this year, and we’re giving it to you all for £FREE!!!

Games Analytics (GA) is a new start up based in Edinburgh. Having launched at GDC this year they are now one of the leading providers of Analytics technology to the Games Industry. Their key technology is real time in game predictive modelling.

Speaking for us is Chris Wright, GA’s CEO, with over 15 years experience in the games industry in Scotland and Internationally.

It looks to be a great night of meeting new faces, greeting old ones, and (probably) packing out yet another unsuspecting venue in Scotland.

In case you didn’t know, we’re also recruiting volunteers and committee members! If you’re interested, then there’s still plenty of time to put your name in our book! We’re offering all committee nominees the opportunity to say a few supporting words before we open the digital polling booths. Getting a committee to help steer the chapter over the long term is the last piece of the IGDA formalisation puzzle, and we’re super pumped to welcome new helpers and folk just interested in Scotland’s Game Industry.

The Three Sisters says they can fit up to 140 in their back bar, but we prefer to have a little thing called “Air” in the room as well. Bring your Eventbrite tickets along with you for expedited entry!

We look forward to seeing you! Until then, why not add us on Twitter & Facebook to stay posted on all the latest updates wit the chapter. We’ve also got a nifty survey going on for all of you to share your thoughts and ideas with us!

Get Your Free Tickets Here!

Edinburgh Planning & Committee Skype Meeting On Monday!

Where: Skype

When: Monday, 10th October @ 8pm – 9pm (ish)

Monday’s are progressively getting worse nowadays. As Autumn draws in the runny noses and chilly winds catch up with us, and all the decent telly begins to dry up.

Fear not my friends! For one Monday only, we’ll be having a get together on Skype where all you interested IGDA Scotland folk, old and new, can come together and have a chat.

On the agenda is organising our next meet up in Edinburgh this month, where we’ll discuss potential venues, speakers, ideas etc…

As well as just that Kraig Walker will be available in person(ish) to discuss all things to do with the running of the chapter, as well as any questions you may have about our recently announced Committee Elections & formalising with the IGDA.

So how do you get in on all of this?

If you haven’t been added to our communal Skype conversation already, simply add kraig.walker or any other IGDA Scotland Skype chat member with “IGDA Scotland” in the message (or you’ll be marked as spam… sorry…)

If you’ve already been in one of our chat’s you don’t need to do a thing, we’ll be continuing it in the same one!

Feel free to join in at any point, and if you can’t make it in person but have a question, feel free to email us, and we’ll add it to our discussion.

Until then, have a great week! We can’t wait to chat with all of you!

Been to any of our previous get togethers? We’d love to hear what you think!

Check out what went down in Glasgow last month!