Speaking at Sundsvall 24


Sundsvall. The capital of norrland. 100 000 inhabitants. 50 000 in the city. The stone city, after no less than four raging fires. Heavy industry; forest, paper, aluminum. 1 percent of the Swedish population, using up more than 5 percent of the electricity. Apart from industry also banking, insurance and IT.

And an alarming unemployment rate.

Adam and Ulf were invited to keynote at Sundsvall 24 – speaking about digital entrepreneurship with a focus on games.

From Gotland University GAME, subject responsible Adam Mayes and program coordinator Ulf Benjaminsson will talk about life for digital entrepreneurs.
 
Starting a business is simple, but the amount of games that make their money back is laughingly small. Adam and Ulf will give a whirlwind tour of the current market for games to show how the business is changing (rapidly!), and then provide methods for adaption. They’ll give advice for setting up your company, planning your business and managing your creative process.
 
Reality is not broken, but it is a lot less glorious than you might think.

If the audience approves, the two are also happy to talk about the GAME education at Gotland University, and give some handy tips for getting the most of your student loans. 😛

Our local game developers Zeal Game Studio and Meow Entertainment were also on the program.


Max Tiilikainen (founder of Meow) spoke about honing the drive and motivation required to be an entrepreneur. Robin Flodin (CEO of Zeal) spoke about his journey from game design student to game developer to business owner and employer.

Sundsvalls Tidning covered the event.

This was a first attempt on an event like this in Sundsvall. Mikael Bergvall and his crew did a tremendous job in generating buy-in from the city. We’re looking forward to next time, and hope to see many more of the local (Sundsvall) studios on stage!

Media Coverage & Link Love

The three best things about school are June, July, and August.

Summer has started and everyone is fading away. So let’s take a moment and review all of the awesome things that have been written and recorded and published about this years conference. Apologizes for the mixed languages here – we do not discriminate when it comes to link love. 🙂

Dealspwn: Sweden’s Hidden Gaming Powerhouse

All great games have to start somewhere, and Gotland University gives their students a truly great start. Nestled in a disarmingly picturesque Swedish island, this small yet breathtakingly innovative game design course grounds applicants in the theory, even the ethics, of how to create the next generation of games – but practically applies this knowledge from the get-go.

PowerGamer: Den ljusa framtiden

Högskolan pÄ Gotland har sedan Är 2001 utbildat och slussat ut Sveriges representanter i spelvÀrlden och dess forna elever hittar ni idag pÄ DICE, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Lionhead och Massive.
[…]

Under tre, med möjlighet för fyra Är sÄ gÄr eleverna under utbildningen GAME igenom alla de utmaningar som de efter sin examen att möta ute i den faktiska industrin och stÀlls inför precis samma motgÄngar, problem och eventuellt segrar som deras fÀrdigutbildade kollegor tacklar varje dag.
[…]

Tillsammans sÄ lyser lÀrarna och eleverna pÄ GAME starkare Àn solen. Kontrasten som uppstÄr mellan Visbys tysta och lugna leverne och den sprudlande och levande miljön som huserar inne i Wisby Strand nÀr GGC 2012 sparkats igÄng Àr chockerande.

SVT Östnytt

RiksutstÀllningar visits Gotland GAME Conference

PowerGamer Video-montage

I en fet bonanza speciale har vi samlat nÄgra av de intryck som Joakim Sjöberg fick sig under sin vistelse pÄ Gotland Game Conference 2012!

Gotland University in Finals @ Swedish Game Awards!

SGA is the nation wide student-only games competition. The jury just announced the chosen finalists and Gotland University ended up with no less than THREE games nominated! First year project Clapper is nominated for Best Innovation. Post Mortem and Secrets of Grindea are both nominated for Best Game!

GL Gotland!

Have you published anything about the Gotland Game Conference 2012? Drop a comment and share the love. 🙂

GGC 2012 Photos

All great games have to start somewhere, and Gotland University gives their students a truly great start. Nestled in a disarmingly picturesque Swedish island, this small yet breathtakingly innovative game design course grounds applicants in the theory, even the ethics, of how to create the next generation of games – but practically applies this knowledge from the get-go. From the very first year, developers (for that is what they are) split into teams and design imaginative, polished games […]
 
They learn the importance of teamwork and delegation as well as raw coding or design skills… and over the last decade, have produced games that rival even the biggest AAA studios in terms of quality, scope and good old fashioned fun.
 
Indeed, Gotland’s output has consistently been a highlight of my Gamescom coverage every single year.

Jonathan Lester, dealspwn.com

PHOTOS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!!!

Tillsammans sĂ„ lyser lĂ€rarna och eleverna pĂ„ GAME starkare Ă€n solen. Kontrasten som uppstĂ„r mellan Visbys tysta och lugna leverne och den sprudlande och levande miljön som huserar inne i Wisby Strand nĂ€r GGC 2012 sparkats igĂ„ng Ă€r chockerande. […]
 
NÀr helgen nÄr sitt kulmen i form av det fantastiska Gotland Game Awards, dÀr de mest framstÄende spelen frÄn mÀssan tilldelas pris i olika kategorier, Àr jag precis lika lycklig över vad jag har fÄtt ta del av som jag Àr ledsen att det hela Àr över. Som utomstÄende Àr det sjÀlvklart att skolan har haft ett fantastiskt Är, vilket för mig presenteras genom de spelen som elever och lÀrare entusiastiskt stÀller mig inför.

Joakim Sjöberg, powergamer.se


’nuff said. 😀

Secrets of Grindea

Secrets of Grindea is an old-school RPG with co-op support for up to 4 players. It is a tribute to and sometimes a parody of the old SNES games so many of us grew up with and loved!

“In the world of Grindea everything is determined by one thing–how big your collection of stuff is. You take on the role as a young hero (or heroine) taking his or her first steps to become a famed Collector and help collect the most valuable rares in the entire kingdom. But is everything really as it seems? The hunt for rares soon turns into something bigger, a scenario where family, friendship and possibly the fate of the world rests in your hands.“

Awards: Secret of Grindea won Public Choice and Best 3rd Year Project at the Gotland Game Conference 2012, as well as Game of the Year at the Swedish Game Awards 2012.

The Secrets of Grindea team at the Gotland Game Conference 2012
The Secrets of Grindea team at the Gotland Game Conference 2012

Secrets of Grindea is available as Early Access on Steam, and can be pre-ordered straight from the team!

Team:
Teddy Sjöström – Programmer
Vilya Svensson – Artist
Fred Ström – Animator
Secrets of Grindea Official Website