Knoxgamedesign.org Website Updates

Available now on the site is a new Community Forums section and a Directory of local game designers and related roles.  Please take a moment to check these new sections out and if so include, setup an account and add yourself to the Directory.  (note: if you already have an account because you helped test these features, first thank you, and second your account is still there but the forums were reset and the profile fields have changed, including making the Directory opt-in which is why you won’t see yourself listed at first.)

This Months Topic: Unity and GameMaker – Sunday Nov 13th, 2016 2PM

Last month we saw a pretty large turnout of new members and discussed in brief several game creation tools.  This month we’ll look a bit more into two of the more popular tools among meetup regulars: Unity and GameMaker.  If you’re an experienced user of one of the tools, come ready to show off a feature or two (plan on short, 15-20 minutes mini talks instead of a full hour long deep dive).  If you’re interested in using one of these tool, come ready with questions!

No December Meetup, Game Jam Instead

The game jam will be held December 9th – 12th, 2016.  More details to come as we get closer to the event, but know that we won’t be holding the regular meetup that weekend and instead meeting

Next Game Design Chat Podcast Game is Amnesia: The Dark Descent

This month’s game is Inside (available for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One)

Hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project.

The podcast is recorded after the regular meetup ends.  Anyone is welcome to join the discussion with the only requirement being that you have played the game.  I highly recommend taking notes while playing so you have a good set of taking points for the podcast and have less of a chance of forgetting something!

You can check out all previous episodes at knoxgamedesign.org/podcast and subscribe to the show on iTunes, Google Play or via the direct feed.

Location and Time

The meetup will be held at the Technology Cooperative located at 13 Emory Place, Knoxville TN.  Parking is available in front of the Technology Cooperative.  We start at 2PM and open with some roundtable discussion and a Show ‘n Tell where everyone can show a bit of their in progress game, favorite tool, mechanic they love in another game, or anything they find helpful and want to share with the group.

This Months Topic: Open Discussion

This month is an open Q&A / Show’N Tell and we’ll talk about some of the changes happening at the website.

Next Game Jam Date Announced

The dates for the game jam have been announced – mark your calendars for December 9th – 12th, 2016.  More details to come as we get closer to the event.

Next Game Design Chat Podcast Game is Amnesia: The Dark Descent

This month’s game is Amnesia: The Dark Descent (available for Windows, Mac, and Linux)

Amnesia: The Dark Descent puts you in the shoes of Daniel as he wakes up in a desolate castle, barely remembering anything about his past. Exploring the eerie pathways, you must also take part of Daniel’s troubled memories. The horror does not only come from the outside, but from the inside as well. A disturbing odyssey into the dark corners of the human mind awaits.

The podcast is recorded after the regular meetup ends.  Anyone is welcome to join the discussion with the only requirement being that you have played the game.  I highly recommend taking notes while playing so you have a good set of taking points for the podcast and have less of a chance of forgetting something!

You can check out all previous episodes at knoxgamedesign.org/podcast and subscribe to the show on iTunes, Google Play or via the direct feed.

Location and Time

The meetup will be held at the Technology Cooperative located at 13 Emory Place, Knoxville TN.  Parking is available in front of the Technology Cooperative.  We start at 2PM and open with some roundtable discussion and a Show ‘n Tell where everyone can show a bit of their in progress game, favorite tool, mechanic they love in another game, or anything they find helpful and want to share with the group.

It’s time for another game jam!  If you’ve been to a jam in the past, it will be very similar.

We will meet Friday August 26th @7PM at the Technology Cooperative – The game jam officially kicks off at 9PM when the game theme is announced.  This will be a good time for any last minute questions on the jam, software, or process you have for making your game.

From Friday until Sunday work on your game.  We won’t be keeping the Techco open the whole weekend for the jam.

We’ll share and recap our entries at the next meetup on September 11th, 2016.

Some Notes:

Your game does not need to be complex and you don’t need to spend every hour of the jam devoted to making the game.  Simple is better, and seeing friends and family is a good break to keep you fresh.  The goal is to finish, and the reward is having completed a game!  You can enter solo or as a team and parents, this is a great activity to do together with your kids.

What you should do before the jam:

• Read over the rules of the game jam and decide if you’ll be doing the “compo” or “jam” version.
• Get your development system ready to go – figure out what software you’ll be using and make sure it’s ready to go.
  A list of common tools others have used in the game jam is listed on the Tools page, and links from previous meetups can be found on our site.
• Make an account on the game jam website
• Make an account on Itch.io (optional, but great place to host your entry)
• Check the game jam site to vote on themes
• It’s common to live stream your game development – if you plan to do this then:
  • Setup a Twitch.tv account
  • Install Open Broadcaster Software – a free, open source app for live streaming
  • Test out Twitch and OBS (don’t wait to the jam to start learning about live streaming!)
• It’s also common to make a timelapse video of your development, and there are some tools to help with this too.  Again, test this out on your system before the jam beings.