GCAP 2022 Date and Focus Announced

29
Mar

Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) enters its 17th year and IGEA is delighted to deliver this well established and internationally recognised game development conference. GCAP 2022 will take place in Melbourne during Melbourne International Games Week (#MIGW) from 3-5 October 2022.

GCAP focuses on professional development, education and providing invaluable networking experiences for delegates, connecting them to industry peers from this region and abroad. GCAP 2022 will be held in person at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, and it is expected that a few sessions will be streamed.

The focus for GCAP 2022 is Ambition.

Australian game developers have found their voice in the world and that voice is ambitious. GCAP 2022 will challenge attendees to chase their ambitions and create world class products, experiences, studios, and businesses for an ever-expanding global games audience.  GCAP 2022 will provide avenues for personal and professional ambitions to be realised and success to be achieved.

GCAP 2022 will consist of talks, panels and workshops from experienced game developers and industry professionals, delivered by local and international presenters and tailored towards intermediate to advanced developers.  Sessions and workshops will focus on technical upskilling across all major game development disciplines, investment and funding, plus leadership, management, culture, and business presentations.  GCAP 2022 will provide many opportunities to meet and connect with all delegates, plus there will be a careers fair for those recruiting and those seeking employment.

IGEA celebrates the Australian game development industry by presenting the Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) on Wednesday 5 October 2022. The AGDAs are a national event celebrating outstanding games and individual achievements by Australian game developers.  Given the critically acclaimed and diverse content being made in Australia it is a celebration not to be missed.

Please join IGEA at GCAP 2022 as we connect, educate, advocate, celebrate and support the Australian games industry and embrace the ambition of our highly creative and highly skilled community.

We have thoroughly reviewed and sought additional feedback on last year’s event to guide our content direction for 2022.  Liam Esler will be assisting the IGEA team with content in 2022, supported by IGEA Member specialists.

Fabian Malabello and Lex Suurland from GYLD Agency will again be managing sponsorships for GCAP 2022 and are open to discuss how you can become involved in supporting this important event for the local community. Keep an eye on the GCAP website as more information becomes available.  For further information please reach out to:

raelene@igea.net

sav@igea.net

ceri@igea.net

sponsorship@igea.net

2021 Australian Game Developer Awards finalists announced

09
Sep

Sydney, 9 September 2021 – Australian video game development peak industry body, the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), today announced the finalists for the 2021 Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs). The AGDAs honour the incredible skill, talent, and creativity of game developers in Australia across 15 categories. This year’s AGDAs will be held online on 6 October at 7 PM AEDT on IGEA’s Twitch channel as part of this year’s Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW), with discussions on social media using the #AGDAs21 hashtag.  

 

Notable mentions include Brisbane-based Witch Beam’s zen puzzle game Unpacking, which is nominated for four awards including Excellence in Art, Excellence in Gameplay, Excellence in Accessibility, and Game of the Year. The Artful Escape by Melbourne studio Beethoven & Dinosaur is in the running for three awards: Excellence in Art, Excellence in Audio, and Game of the Year. A full list of finalists for each category can be found on the GCAP website and in the appendix below. 

 

Each year the AGDAs present a new Award linked to the Games Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) theme. This year’s GCAP-themed Award is the Raising the Bar Award, which recognises an individual in the Australian industry who has set the standard on industry performance, excelled in their work within the industry, and ‘raised the bar’ within their community, culture, and team to ensure success personally and professionally. 

 

“Australian developers have a long history of making award-winning games, and it’s wonderful to see so many new studios, developers, and individuals making their mark locally,” said IGEA CEO Ron Curry. “The industry has expanded and proven to be adaptable and flexible during the pandemic. There is a lot of confidence around our sector thanks to the Federal Government announcing the introduction of the Digital Games Tax Offset in 2022 which will ensure a complete thriving and creative game development ecosystem and community.” 

 

IGEA assembled a judging panel of over 50 industry professionals to determine finalists and winners in each category out of 59 award entries, another record-breaking year of entrants. 

 

This year’s AGDAs will have returning hosts, sisters Amanda and Angharad Yeo. Amanda Yeo, Mashable’s Australian-based tech and games reporter, said, “Rad and I are thrilled to be back hosting this year’s awards! The AGDAs are an annual highlight for the local games industry, and we’re excited to celebrate the hardworking developers creating some of Australia’s best video games.” 

 

Angharad Yeo, award-winning television presenter, video game critic, and tech commentator said, “The AGDAs are not at all unlike the Met Gala – except everyone is much more beautiful and we’re also celebrating the talent of Australia’s myriad of passionate and hard-working games developers. Australia consistently produces high-quality games bursting with warmth, humour, and heart – aided by the wonderful support from IGEA. We’re looking forward to an exciting evening full of laughs and festivity!” 

 

– end release – 

 

 

About IGEA 

IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association) is the peak industry association representing the voice of Australian and New Zealand companies in the computer and video games industry. IGEA supports the business and public policy interests of the games industry through advocacy, research and education programs, and working with many stakeholders including all levels of government, agencies, media and other trade associations. 

IGEA advocates on behalf of its members, who range from one-person studio start-ups to larger multinational developers, publishers, platform holders and digital storefronts. IGEA’s role is to help members and the wider industry more effectively create, distribute and sell interactive games, entertainment content and related hardware. 

Through the provision of consistent and frequent industry research and data, along with communications programs, IGEA promotes the interactive games industry both locally and abroad. 

Further details are available at www.igea.net 

 

 

Media contact 

Felicia McEntire 

Account Manager 

felicia@doublejump.com.au 

+61 455 143 650

 

APPENDIX: Award finalists 

 

Core awards 

Excellence in Art 

 

Excellence in Gameplay 

 

Excellence in Narrative 

 

Excellence in Audio 

 

Game of the Year 

 

Specialty awards 

Excellence in Accessibility 

 

Excellence in Mobile Games 

 

Excellence in Serious Games (Applied/Impactful) 

 

Bespoke awards 

Excellence in Ongoing Games (Games as a Service) 

 

Excellence in Emerging Games (Student or Early Career) 

 

Winners of the Adam Lancman, Rising Star, Studio of the Year, and the Raising the Bar Awards will be announced on the night. 

GCAP 2021 – Call for Speaker Submissions

17
Jun

Thank you for taking the time to check out the call for submissions for GCAP 2021, Raising the Bar.

GCAP 2021 at this stage will be a predominantly physical event with some virtual elements for internationals, held 4-6 October 2021, with the theme ‘Raising the Bar’.

As usual for GCAP, this year’s content will be a mix of submitted talks and carefully curated content from game developers in Australia and from around the world. The content strategy for GCAP is based on feedback and consultation with industry to specifically address current industrial issues.

GCAP speakers will be paid a $200 AUD stipend for their time. Talk duration is 50 minutes.

We are looking for intermediate-to-advanced level talks based in practical reality, with tangible takeaways and educational outcomes. We want to see examples of techniques used in shipped projects, hands-on deep-dives into successful production methodology, pipeline walk-throughs, etc.

We are looking for practical examples and hard data that attendees can walk out with to immediately apply to their projects and careers!

In terms of topics, we’re looking for a selection of talks to help people improve their practice, become better game developers and generally raise the bar on how we function as an industry in Australia. Some of the things we’ll be looking for include:

  • Building efficient content pipelines in Unity and Unreal
  • Designing the best tools for the job
  • Levelling up in your career
  • Making the most of a small team structure
  • How to give effective feedback
  • Next-gen audio content creation
  • Developing for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5
  • Multi-platform game development practices
  • Debugging and automated testing
  • Gameplay prototyping and technical iteration
  • Scope assessment and risk mitigation from a project-management standpoint
  • Making the most of Unity and Unreal to build stand-out games
  • Effective localisation strategies and implementation
  • Current UI/UX best-practice
  • Building accessible games from the get-go
  • Authentic representation of minorities in games
  • HR policy for indie teams
  • Attracting external investment
  • Pursuing alternative income strategies
  • Making the most of Unity and UE4/UE5
  • Post-launch marketing strategies
  • Platform sales data breakdowns
  • Hiring for culture add, not culture fit
  • How to be a competitive hirer
  • Creating effective graduate and intern programs
  • Training and personal development
  • Becoming better managers

Speaker submissions close 5pm AEDT July 8th, 2021 and you can make your submission here.

GCAP 2021 will take place from 4-6 October 2021. Please note that speakers will need to be available from 9am – 5pm AEDT on the above-mentioned dates.

If you are submitting a talk, please be aware that we may require you to pre-record your talk if you are unable to be present due to COVID restrictions, or in the case that the event becomes digital-only. If this becomes the case, we will let you know via email, and you will be asked to record and submit your presentations in 1080p and mp4 format by September 1st, 2021.

Please direct any questions to events@igea.net and we look forward to Raising the Bar for the Australian games industry.

Nominate your game now for the 2021 Australian Game Development Awards

08
Jun

The AGDAs team are delighted to announce that submissions for the 2021 Australian Game Developer Awards are now open.

The Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) are a national event celebrating outstanding games and individual achievements by Australian game developers.

The AGDAs are managed by IGEA, with the award ceremony to take place at GCAP, this year on the evening of Wednesday 6 October.

For any questions about the awards or submission process, please contact agdas@igea.net

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be eligible:

  1. Games must be in a digital format
  2. Games must be fully released between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021. *
  3. Applicants must make release versions of the game digitally available to the judge by submission close date, later builds and updates will not be accepted.
  4. Games that were nominated in previous years are not eligible for re-nomination *
  5. More than 50% of the game must have been developed in Australia.
  6. Applicants must provide valid contact information for each game submitted.
  7. The game must be in a complete and working state and be clear what software and hardware is required to use the product.
  8. Games with any required non-commercial bespoke equipment or any location specific requirements required to play are ineligible.
  9. Game submissions that do not fit the criteria of the category they have self-nominated for will not be judged in that category.
  10. Judges reserve the right to consider a game ineligible for judging.

BESPOKE AWARDS CRITERIA:

  1. Ongoing Games must have had a major update between 1 October 2020 – 30 September 2021.
  2. Ongoing Games must include access to any relevant updates, DLCs or general content that game is to be judged upon.
  3. Emerging Games must be developed by a Student Team or an Early Career Dev (defined as a developer who has been developing for less than 5 years or producing their first major game).
  4. Bespoke Awards are treated as a standalone submission, they are not in the running for any other awards in any other categories.

*Excluding Ongoing Games

ENTRY FEE:

An entry fee of $30 (excl.GST) applies to each game submitted.
(If you are experiencing financial hardship, please reach out to agdas@igea.net)

There is no charge for submissions for Career, Contribution & Culture awards.

AWARD CATEGORIES:

Based off community and industry feedback, we’ve changed our categories for our awards.

CORE AWARDS:

EXCELLENCE IN ART

EXCELLENCE IN GAMEPLAY

EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE

EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO

GAME OF THE YEAR

SPECIALTY AWARDS:

EXCELLENCE IN ACCESSIBILITY

EXCELLENCE IN AR/VR

EXCELLENCE IN MOBILE GAMES

EXCELLENCE IN SERIOUS GAMES (APPLIED/IMPACTFUL GAMES)

BESPOKE AWARDS:

EXCELLENCE IN ONGOING GAMES (GAME AS A SERVICE)

EXCELLENCE IN EMERGING GAMES (STUDENT OR EARLY CAREER GAMES)

CAREER, CONTRIBUTION & CULTURE AWARDS:

STUDIO OF THE YEAR:
The Studio of the Year of the award honours a studio that stands as a testament of what an Australian Studio can be.

This studio shows outstanding excellence in impressive business practices and policies, incredible products, amazing projects and creating opportunities for the Australian games industry.

THE ADAM LANCMAN AWARD:

Adam Lancman shaped the Australian Games Industry as we know it today.

Adam started out in games as the financial director of Beam Software in the early 80s, climbing the ranks to CEO, and later a founding member of Melbourne House for the duration of his career.

For more than 2 decades Adam traveled extensively, promoting the Australian industry internationally and was the strongest advocate of his day.

When the GDAA was established in 1999 – Adam was appointed its first president where he began laying the groundwork for where we are now.

Under the banner of the GDAA, Adam fought hard, working with government to get games recognised as a creative industry, educate stakeholders on games for the future economy, and worked tirelessly to raise our international profile.

This award is in memory of Adam’s work and early advocacy in games, of all the foundations he laid for us and to remind us all of the work and care that has been put into our industry.

The Adam Lancman Award (excellence in the industry) honours an individual or individuals who have helped the game industry advance to a better place, either through facilitating a better game community from within, or by reaching outside the industry to advocate for video games.

THE RISING STAR AWARD:

The Rising Star Award honours those who have made significant contributions to the Australian Games Industry in the past 1 – 5 years. They have become invaluable members to the community and show immense talent in their field, constantly working to facilitate a better space for the local industry

THE RAISING THE BAR AWARD:

Each year we would like to provide an award that is intricately linked to the GCAP theme. This year’s award, Raising the Bar is for an individual or individuals within the industry who have Raised the Bar on industry performance, excelled in their work within the industry and raised the bar within their community, culture and team to ensure success, both personally and professionally.

Please note that all game categories must receive a minimum of 3 entries in order to proceed with an award. 

JUDGING:

All winners will be selected by the Australian Game Developer Judging Committee based on submissions received during the nomination period. The Award Committee is comprised of external experts, with a strong knowledge of the game development industry.

Games will be judged by the expert committee using the publicly available assessment criteria.

This criteria has been reassessed this year and reevaluated based on community feedback and professional expert collaboration.

Submissions open 8th of June 2021 and close 15th of July 2021.

No submissions will be received or acknowledged after this date.

The Judging Committee members are not paid for their contribution and will abstain from any votes in the event that a conflict of interest arises.  The Judging Committee are bound by the following policies to ensure there are no conflicts of interest and that all entries are assessed fairly.

  • If at any time, a judge feels like they have a conflict of interest with a game they have been given, they may choose to opt out of judging that game and we will pass it on to someone else.
  • All games are judged by at least 3 people. All scores are then standardised to eliminate bias.
  • If a judge has submitted their own game, they do not judge their own submission.

Decisions of the Awards Committee are final and no further correspondence will be entered into once judging is complete.

Finalists will be notified via email and publicly two weeks in advance of the AGDAs ceremony.

For any questions about the awards or judging process, please contact agdas@igea.net

Please note that The AGDAs is a competition based purely on skill, no chance plays a part in the judging process.

AWARD PRESENTATION:

The 2021 AGDAs will take place on the evening of Wednesday 6th of October 2021 as an in-person, live event. Our intention is to also stream the awards presentation in order to showcase the incredible Australian talent to the largest audience possible and ensure an accessible night for all.

PRIZES:
All winners will receive an award, acknowledgement in all related media activity, and on the official GCAP 21 website.

MAKE AN ENTRY
Make a Games Submission.
Make a Career, Contribution & Culture Submission.

 

GCAP 2021 – Raising The Bar

26
Apr

 

Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) enters its 16th year, where for the second time IGEA takes responsibility for delivering this highly renowned and internationally recognised conference.  GCAP’s focus is to provide professional development to the expanding and maturing Australian game development industry, plus provide invaluable networking experiences.  GCAP 2021 is scheduled to take place on 4-6 October 2021 in Melbourne and will be a key part of Melbourne International Games Week.  The intention for 2021 is to deliver a hybrid event, predominantly physical but with some virtual options for those unable to attend in person due to Covid restrictions. 

GCAP 2021 will features talks, panels, and workshops from skilled game developers and industry adjacent professionals, both locally and abroad. The highly curated content is tailored towards intermediate to advanced developers, with a focus on professional training, upskilling, education, industry growth and connections. GCAP 2021 will also feature GCAP Loading, a curated track for people starting their journey the industry, GCAP Invest as a connection point to investors and GCAP Government Congress to share knowledge, connection and ideas with Federal, State and Local government staff, departments and agencies. 

The theme for GCAP 2021 is Raising the Bar. 

The Australian game development industry is poised to go beyond their established limits.  United, we can raise our potential, reach for success and smash expectations both professionally and personally. 

We are ready to ‘Raise the Bar’ – to grow, mature, move forward and build on our reputation as both a highly creative and skilled sector, as well as a thriving community. 

The Australian game development industry is certainly worth celebrating.  To bring down the curtain on GCAP 2021, we will be delighted to deliver the Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDAs) on the evening Wednesday 6 October 2021.  The AGDAs are a national event celebrating outstanding games and individual achievements by Australian game developers. 

Please join IGEA at GCAP 2021 as we connect and support the Australian games industry.  We will share knowledge, education and best practice, plus facilitate connection and communication as we all aim high and join together to Raise the Bar. 

Liam Esler has again joined us as our Director of Content.  To help guide our content direction we will work with members and utilise feedback and data from GCAP 2020 to deliver the most relevant and important knowledge to participants.  Speaker submissions will be open soon. 

We’re excited to be bringing Fabian Malabello and Lex Suurland onto the team as GCAP 2021’s partnerships managers. Fabian and Lex are highly experienced agents in the games industry, who have facilitated deals for more than 200 video games. They will be available to discuss how you can become involved in this year’s business-focused GCAP, and help you to connect with our incredible industry.

Keep an eye on the GCAP website as more information becomes available.  For further information please reach out to: 

raelene@igea.net 

liam.esler@gmail.com 

fabian@gyld.agency 

lex@gyld.agency 

GCAP 2020 Schedule and Tickets Now Available

09
Sep

IGEA is delighted to announce that an outline of the GCAP 2020 Schedule is now live and tickets are on sale for this year’s event.

This year’s theme is Pathways to Connect and our aim is to replicate the well-loved physical event in a virtual space. We will achieve this by allowing interactions with both other attendees and speakers, plus a business matching system to connect attendees to each other and potential partners.

We are yet to announce the Opening and Closing Keynote speakers, but rest assured, you won’t be disappointed with details as they are revealed in the coming week.

Earlier this year IGEA surveyed the industry about content you’d like to see at GCAP 2020. Given the lifecycle stage of many local studios, you told us you wanted to see mid-to-advanced level talks with a focus on improving general business skills and marketing. As always, it’s equally important that we focus on key technical areas, with conference streams also dedicated across these areas.

Thanks to Koch Media, GCAP Loading will take place on Day 3 (7 October) with content directed at entry level and emerging game developers.  We’re equally thankful to Creative Victoria for sponsoring GCAP Invest, which also takes place on Day 3 (7 October) and will provide attendees with an update on the investment landscape, an ability to meet publishers and investors, and for those studios interested and selected, a chance to pitch their games the following week.

More than ever, 2020 is a year that we need to celebrate the achievements of the Australian game development industry, with the Australian Game Development Awards (the AGDAs) taking place on the evening of Wednesday, 7 October.  We have received an amazing amount of high-quality entries for games, studios and individuals and we look forward to announcing the finalists soon.

The AGDAs in 2020 will be a free to attend virtual event and we look forward to celebrating achievements with our members and the wider industry in a digital environment.

GCAP and the AGDAs would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors.  We sincerely thank Creative Victoria, Koch Media, League of Geeks, Wicked Witch, Bethesda and Cam Rogers Legal for their assistance and commitment to the Australian games industry.

 

GCAP 2020 – Call for Speaker Submissions

23
Jun

Thank you for taking the time to check out the call for submissions for GCAP 2020.  GCAP 2020 will be a predominantly digital event, with the theme ‘Pathways to Connect’. 

The schedule for GCAP 2020 will be significantly tighter than in previous years and will be a mix of submitted talks and carefully curated content from game developers in Australia and around the world. The content strategy for GCAP has been created based on feedback from and consultation with industry to specifically address current industrial issues.

GCAP 2020 speakers will be paid a $200 AUD stipend for their time.

We are looking for intermediate-to-advanced level talks based in practical reality and will be moving away from theoretical talks and panels this year. We want to see examples of techniques used in shipped projects, hands-on deep-dives into successful production methodology, pipeline walk-throughs, etc.

We are looking for practical examples and hard data that attendees can walk out with to immediately apply to their projects and careers!

In terms of topics, we’re looking for a mix of topics all focused on helping connect and lift each other up. Some of the things we’ll be looking for include:

Taking narrative design to new heights
Gameplay and systems design
Pitching to platforms, publishers and VCs
The funding landscape
Training and mentorship
Building sustainable businesses
Building powerful content pipelines
Creating psychological safety in the workplace
Creating the best tools for our teams
Engineering excellence
Production – shipping our products on time and on budget
Current audio best-practice
Risk management
Hiring the right people
Audience identification, marketing, understanding the press landscape
Working in small teams
Working in large teams
Art pipelines and practical demonstrations
Pricing and monetisation
Shipping in multiple regions
The process of shipping on new platforms

Speaker submissions close 27 July 2020

Please make your submission here

GCAP 2020 will take place predominantly virtually from 5-7 October 2020. We encourage speakers from all walks of life to submit, especially those under-represented in the industry.  Please note that speakers will need to be available from 10am – 5pm AEDT on the above mentioned dates.

 

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