Story and photos: Emma Kiiski
After being invited in the Shared Gems game seminar organized by Vyyhti in Metropolia, I was really excited. The speaker list was diverse from the development point of view; there were professionals from music, art and game industry start-ups. The event consisted of varying topics, including game design and research. This event brought together students from all over the country.
 |
| Giuliano Cremaschi |
One speaker, an Italian guy called Giuliano Cremaschi who now develops games in Finland, came to talk about founding an own company. He had specific information on what you should do and how if you want to found a company of your own in the games industry. That was quite useful! This guy had some solid experience; in his career he’s been titled as creative director, designer, campaign manager at Sulake and other successful game companies. Giuliano Cremaschi also emphasized the importance of social media in the game marketing. Always remember Twitter, Facebook and others! Go check out his upcoming game at http://cuteattack.com/
It was surprising that this event covered sound design in games! I appreciated that, since many events don’t scratch the topic of music in their presentations. Luckily Shared Gems wanted to bring the catchy Angry Birds melody’s father, Ari Pulkkinen, in front of the students. It is quite surprising to know that pretty many of those Finnish games you know have music composed by this guy. For example such productions as Trine, Bike Baron and Dead Nation. I bet those zombie screams were an artform to create!
 |
| Ari Pulkkinen |
One of the most important things in the event was the Networking Nightclub, hosted in the evening after the main presentations. It was a great chance for students to meet people from the industry and talk with them, show awesome portfolios and give CVs to the future employers. To promote yourself out there you have to know what you’re doing. The event organizers helped students with covering some good tips for the event. Reading this article about speed networking won’t hurt you, especially if you’re a student!
All in all Shared Gems was a really good opportunity for a student who doesn’t have any connections to the games industry yet. It remains a secret if the event will be held next year but let’s hope for the best!
Emma Kiiski is running Score Game Development Community, also a student of our Media Programme.
Read more stories by/about EmmaRead more stories from/about IMPs, the Media students
Suomeksi
Posts
