We are still firming up some details but we do have a wonderful program lined up! Don’t forget to register via eventbrite. The exhibition is open all day on Sunday Aug 9. Please note that the workshops have individual booking options – numbers are limited.
Saturday Program || Sunday Program
Watch our sites for updates: GO423 facebook page
GO423 Saturday Program
Free, public event - please register .Venue: Level 5 P block (the cube), QUT Gardens Point Campus, George Street, Brisbane.
| Time | Session | Speakers | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.30 - 10.15 | Registration | Level 5 | |
| 10.15 - 10.30 | Welcome A very brIGDA welcome to our 4th annual GO423 symposium | 512 | |
| 10.30 - 11.30 | Keynote panel: What if ...? This opening keynote panel invites some of our local game development luminaries to talk about their personal dreams for the future of game development and how they are going about putting them into action | Morgan Jaffit (Defiant Development), John Passfield (Red Sprite & Right Pedal Studios, Megan Summers (Screwtape Studios), Nicole Stark (Disparity Games). Chair: Christy Dena (SAE QANTM & Universe Creation 101) | 512 |
| 11.30 - 11.45 | Morning tea | Level 5 Open area | |
| 11.45 - 12.45 | Panel: What if we look after ourselves? What if we looked after ourselves and our players? Studies show that gamers and game devs suffer a higher prevalence of mental health issues than the general population. Are the games helping or making things worse? Our panel will discuss better ways to support both players and developers. | Jennifer Hazel, Lois Spangler, Francis Fitzgerald, Stephanie Kyrin Chair: Nicole Stark | 512 |
| 12.45 - 1.45 | Lunch | ||
| 1.45 - 2.30 | Panel: What if we publish? That word? What does it mean to different people within the studio? Cam, Nart and Kim discuss publishing games from three unique perspectives and roles (Programmer, Designer and Producer for Mobile, PC and Console games). | Kim Allom (Defiant Dev), Sanatana Mishra (Witch Beam), Cameron Owen (Attract Mode) Chair: Meg Summers (Screwtape Studios) | 512 |
| 2.30 - 3.15 | Panel: What if the space changes? The MS Being Human 2020 report announces a new age of ubiquitous computing where we will see a shifting boundary between digital technologies and humans, different forms of engagement and new forms of creativity. What might this all mean for the game making space? | Matt F. Ditton (Many Monkeys), Christy Dena (SAE QANTM & Universe Creation 101), Kieran Lord (Cratesmith) Chair: Zac Fitz-Walter (QUT) | 512 |
| 3.15 - 3.45 | Afternoon tea | Level 5 Open area | |
| 3.45 - 4.30 | Studio Talk: What if the chicken crossed the road? Matt Hall and Andy Sum met at GCAP 2013 and formed Hipster Whale, releasing Crossy Road in 2014. The game has been downloaded over 80 million times, received numerous awards including a 2015 Apple Developer Award, and has been #1 on the app store across many countries. Crossy Road has been hailed as Free to play done right and was the most played iOS game in the UK for Q1 2015. The team are now able to support other Aussie devs, having recently announced they are seed funding Brisbane's own Prettygreat. It is time for one of those conversations about game designing! Join us for what we are calling a 'Studio Talk'. A sit down chat and gossip about design, dreams and stories, featuring our own John Passfield as the 'host with the most' and the team behind the smash hit, Crossy Road. | Matt Hall & Andy Sum (Hipster Whale, Melbourne) Host: John Passfield (Red Sprite & Right Pedal Studios | 512 |
| 4.30 - 5.15 | Studio Talk: What if we could dream? The team from Prettygreat have an illustrious game dev background and some very famed titles under their belts and yet they moved into a new office and even made their own furniture in order to form the new studio. Its time for stories about dreams and designing. Join us for a studio talk with the team from Prettygreat, hosted by Morgan Jaffit of Defiant Development. | Luke Muscat, Phil Larsen, Hugh Walters (Prettygreat) Host: Morgan Jaffit (Defiant Dev) | 512 |
| 5.30 - 6.30 | GO423 Social | Level 5 Open area |
GO423 Sunday Program
Venue: Level 5 P block (the cube), QUT Gardens Point Campus, George Street, Brisbane, GP Campus| Time | Workshop / Exhibition | Audience | Facilitators | Room | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.00 - 4.00 | Locally made games exhibition Come and play a selection of locally made games in the GO423 exhibition space. Featuring both published games and works 'in progress', chat with the designers. | All, public | 506 | Open to all | |
| 10.00 - 12.00 | MakeyMakey Interested in designing your own personalised game controller to run a video game? In this workshop you will design and prototype your own MaKey MaKey-activated game controller. A MaKey MaKey is a powerful device and invention kit for the 21st century that can turn everyday objects into touchpads! | 8 - 12 years | the cube | 502 | Bookings essential |
| 10.00 - 12.00 | GirlsMakeGames with AwesomeGameDevs This free game design workshop is for girls aged 16 and over, taught by some of our own leading women in game development. Games can be made for entertainment, training, cooperative play, and social change. What are you interested in creating? Whether you play all the time or not, if you're interested in how to design games, sign up! | 16 years and over | Nicole Stark (Disparity Games), Christy Dena (SAE QANTM and Universe Creation 101), Meg Summers (Screwtape Studios) | 505 | Bookings essential |
| 10.00 - 12.00 | Design Workshop In a world where a simple core mechanic can turn into a very successful indie game, we all seek that perfect balance between scale and engagement. This workshop is an opportunity for small indie teams, solo developers, emerging game makers and students to learn about small and beautiful game design. | indie teams, solo developers, emerging game makers & students | John Passfield (Red Sprite Studios & Right Pedal), Dan Vogt (Right Pedal) | 504 | Bookings essential |
| 10.00 - 12.00 | Master Class: Video games and theatre: the Revengance Friedrich is extraordinary - he works between games and theatre, he asks questions like: Shall we play Lemmings in the park using people? He can scan you into VR using a bathtub and a bit of ink. Last year Friedrich explored game design with Coca Cola and Mentos, this year we have him back to enact: Video Games and Theatre: The Revengance. This workshop invites you to come and explore game making on and off the screen with one of Europe's most extraordinary theatre - games practitioners. | All, Public | Friedrich Kirschner (Berlin) | 512 | Bookings Essential |
| 12.00 - 12.30 | Lunch | ||||
| 12.30 - 1.30 | GO423 Exhibition Open Mic Come to the exhibition and enjoy this opportunity to hear the game makers give lightning chats about their games. | All, public | 506 | Open to all | |
| 1.45 - 3.45 | MakeyMakey Interested in designing your own personalised game controller to run a video game? In this workshop you will design and prototype your own MaKey MaKey-activated game controller. A MaKey MaKey is a powerful device and invention kit for the 21st century that can turn everyday objects into touchpads! | 8 - 12 years | the cube | 502 | Bookings essential |
| 1.45 - 3.45 | Unity Game Making Work with experienced game developers to create your own mini-game with the tools game developers use. Make some fun! | 12 - 15 years | Nicole Stark (Disparity Games) | 505 | Bookings essential |
| 1.45 - 3.45 | Game Maker Workshop Making video games is easier than ever! In this free workshop you'll learn everything you need to know to get a basic game up and running. Create art, sound and logic to build a platformer that will run on your computer at home. Using the free tool GameMaker, you'll have hands on experience creating your very own game that you can play on your computer at home. We'll cover the basics of building the level, graphics and audio, along with how to take your project home and share it with your friends and family. | 15 + years | James Bowling (Attract Mode Games) | 505 | Bookings essential |
| 1.45 - 3.45 | Master class: Crash course in VR dev for Unity VR Master class. This is a one off very special master class opportunity for hands on VR game making tips with our own VR guru, Kieran Lord of Cratesmith. To attend this workshop, you should have prior Unity experience (e.g. made a student demo) and be able to BYO laptop. Number are limited. | indie teams, solo developers, emerging game makers & students | Kieran Lord (Cratesmith) | 512 | Bookings essential |
| 3.45 - 4.30 | Afternoon tea and wrap up |