[Event] UCT developer society events

edited in Events
Hello!

I have been in contact with the UCT developer society to do some more MakeGamesSA events like the the workshop held last year. They seem very keen to go ahead with a workshop and they have also invited us to host a few game dev related "Talks with beer" throughout the year. Having the society help this year will mean far less hell in organizing events and more advertising to students (as well as being seen as a legit event in the eyes of the bureaucracy).

#TalkWithBeer
Firstly, the talks with beer are held on a regular basis during term throughout the year. The usual details are:
Day: Wednesday
Time: 13:00 - 13:45
Location: CSLT2A (to be confirmed)

So would anyone one be keen to go to or speak at an event like this?

Workshop
Secondly, apparently quite a few people have already asked if the society would do another workshop like last year, so I think there will be an audience :)
I thought of having less of an intro to dev packages (like last year) and more of an introduction to gamedev resources and successful routes to getting a job or building a team? It seems like those are some of the most commonly talked about topics on the forums :P Other suggestions are welcome!

I think this would be far more beneficial to students earlier in the year rather than later, so I was thinking we could host it around April (I first need to check when the honours mobile gamedev module starts). Also, we should probably host it later than last year, in the early afternoon to cater for hangovers diligent developers.

So would anyone be keen to help me organise/speak/attend an event like this?
Thanked by 1Merrik

Comments

  • Um. I can do something like a Q&A session based on shit I've learned making QCF work.
  • I can do a plug on what Make Games SA is (like I did at Vodacom) though I don't know if that is necessary...
  • I can do a plug on what Make Games SA is (like I did at Vodacom) though I don't know if that is necessary...
    It's kinda always necessary because people are an infinite resource.
    Thanked by 1LexAquillia
  • Thanks @dislekcia and @LexAquillia they both sound great :)

    I found that the mobile gamedev honours module starts in mid to late April, so I think hosting before then on the 5th or 12th of April would be cool. Thoughts?
  • @creative630 If you are doing the mobile module using android game, u should grab a book called "beginning Android games 2nd edition by M. Zecner"... The book is free online, just google it, and the first link is the download, good luck
  • Also interested if there is anything I can do. Though I'm not quite as qualified for the "managing a game company" part as I am "devtools". Keen to attend anyway
  • edited
    @SkinnyBoy Thanks for the reference but I passed that honours module a few years ago :) I was more trying to be inclusive to students who may find it useful before the module starts.

    @raxter I was thinking less of running a company and more how to work with artists/programmers or getting a game good enough to build a team. Also, what I meant about "an introduction to gamedev resources" was more how to get the most out of using your tools. Like building a successful work-flow, finding good tutorials, picking/building the best tools for your team etc.

    [Edit:] @raxter What I'm trying to say is if you would like to help/talk in anyway you can just let me know :) I'm sure there is a talk with beer sitting somewhere from your experience going from UCT to working... *subtle hint*
  • Im keen to help out, not sure what I could talk about. We have created one game, and I have a wide range of knowledge with CG side of things.
  • Hey a bit off topic, but does the UCT developer society have a website or contact details?
  • @rumor That sounds cool, have any suggestions for a CG oriented talk?

    @inQbus Here is a link to their Facebook page. They are also putting up an internal vula page too, but I'm not sure if thats ready yet.
  • The last workshop event was brilliant!

    I'm in two minds about offering a talk for this one. I was told that I said some bad things last time that upset UCT. I'd like to help, but I'd rather not be a cause of controversy (and I think there are plenty of other developers here who could serve the workshop equally well).
  • Ahh bleak I'm sorry to hear that :/ I hope you'll still be joining us though?
  • @creative630 Yeah! It was fun last year.
  • edited
    The last workshop event was brilliant!

    I'm in two minds about offering a talk for this one. I was told that I said some bad things last time that upset UCT. I'd like to help, but I'd rather not be a cause of controversy (and I think there are plenty of other developers here who could serve the workshop equally well).
    Whu? What upset UCT? (Like, as a possible thing about not doing that again... and/or deciding that being upset might be silly)
  • Hello again! Amazon has gotten back to me and will be able to sponsor the workshop. I am thinking of holding the event on the 10th of May. I will confirm and create a proper event when the UCT dev society gets back to me on Wednesday.

    I am still looking for talks but provisionally I think the talks offered so far are:
    General introduction - @LexAquillia
    QCF Q&A session - @dislekcia
    CG oriented talk - @rumor (maybe a more art-tools programming talk?)

    Please let me know if the talks suggested are targeted at talks with beer or the workshop!
  • edited
    I think it might be a nice idea to have a more development/programming orientated talk. Like an introduction to Unity or something along those lines?
  • We did that last year with introductions to Unity and GameMaker, so I thought it would be better to have a different direction. Though when I think about it we do probably need more practical workshop-type talks.

    Would anyone like to volunteer a practical talk? Something like intro to game programming, game art, programmer art, game sound, unity or game maker?
  • Sounds good to me, I can try and focus it on specific areas. I would just need to know a bit more about the individuals coming to the presentation to gauge what they might find more interesting. ie should I focus on the more pretty art side of things or the more advanced under the hood pipelines and tech that studios use and have in place and what areas and tech are driving the future studio pipelines, and areas that people can focus on.

    I can go on about this stuff for agers lol so it would be good to focus on an area. I gave a two and a bit hour presentation the other day to The Animation School and had people grilling me with questions for about 40minutes, but I covered the entire pipeline and focussed more on the art side and touched on a small bit of TD's (Technical Directors).
  • edited
    @rumor Hmmm, depending on if we can get some more tech oriented talks then maybe it would be better to do a more art focused talk?
    I'm not really sure, I think you would need to aim it at a slightly higher level than for the animation school. Maybe aim it more to students who don't know what all the different pipelines are/do?
    Also would you include talking about your time in the industry as a whole? I think it would provide an interesting perspective on the big team vs small indie-team discussion that will inevitably be brought up.

    On another note:
    According to the current set of talks. Would it be better if we marketed it as a "QA session with game developers" rather than a "workshop"? Just a thought :)
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