TAMK´s two day Game Design Workshop was organized for the second time in DEMOLA. This time we were able to experience how it works to have a virtual lecturer as one participant of the workshop.


This was not the original plan. It was the second best solution after our lecturer Gareth Noyce (Ruffian Games, UK) called us from Aberdeen airport and told that he cannot fly to Tampere because his passport has expired.

We were really lucky because Demola is now equipped perfectly for virtual (e.g. Skype) meetings. We were also very lucky having DEMOLA activists Teemu Haila (in picture) and Antti Salomaa as teachers and organizers who knew how to use the equipments for shaping virtual lecturing experiences. E.g. when Gareth was listening the discussions among the students we saw him from "small" Mac screen, which Antti propelled according the interaction going. And when he was lecturing we saw him from big screen.

In the two hours rapid game design workshop the students created an awesome board game called "Status Update". It was tested and rated high among the students and the teachers in the Game Evening after the workshop. We believe that nobody who is working at Demola can avoid playing it in the future:)

Leena Mäkelä

Ruffian Games
Demola

Pictured: Teemu and Gareth