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By September 19, 2013 Press Releases

TIGA Launches Second Annual 24-hour GameHack at Pinewood Studios

TIGA, the trade association representing the UK Games industry, today announced the launch of its second annual 24-hour GameHack event on 16 and 17 November 2013. The event is being held in partnership with ARM, PlayJam – creators of GameStick, the world’s most portable TV games console, and BlackBerry.

GameHack challenges the best and brightest of the UK games development industry to come together for a truly unique creative experience. Participants are given the opportunity to develop a game from scratch in just 24 hours.

For ARM’s and Playjam’s categories, participants will be provided with Unity for Android and ARM tools including emulators. They will also receive help and support from the ARM team throughout the event, learning cutting edge tricks of the trade for maximising the graphical performance of portable gaming devices.

Quickfire inspiration and team work are the order of the day with the chance to win some amazing prizes at Pinewood Studios, a venue synonymous with world class British and international productions.

This year, thanks to event partner, Abertay University in Dundee, there will be a satellite TIGA GameHack taking place in Scotland at the same time, with the same categories, and the same 24-hour creative pressure.

Prizes are available across these categories:

  • Best Game, sponsored by ARM and PlayJam

Prize: £2,000 with an additional £3,000 to publish the game on GameStick

  • Best ‘Endless Runner’ Game, sponsored by BlackBerry

Prize: TBC

  • Most Awesome Game, sponsored by Centroid 3D

Prize: Half a day motion capture studio time with Centroid

  • Most Innovative Idea, sponsored by TIGA

Prize:Keynote speaking opportunity at a TIGA GameDev Night and top story coverage in TIGA’s member network newsletter ‘The Eye’ to raise the profile of your game and your team.

  • The Hacktackular Award

Prize: TBC

  • The Community Spirit Award

Prize: TBC

The TIGA 2013 24-hour GameHack is supported by Gold sponsors ARM and PlayJam, Bronze sponsor BlackBerry, snacks sponsor Unity Technologies and prize sponsor Centroid. The event is also supporting SpecialEffect, a UK based charity which uses video games and technology to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities.

GameHack is now open for registration for TIGA members and non-members alike and will be held at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. For more information visit: www.gamehack.co.uk. To register for the event, please visit www.tiga.org/events.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO said:

“TIGA is focused on helping independent developers and digital publishers to succeed. TIGA’s GameHack provides developers with the perfect opportunity to experiment with new game ideas, collaborate with new teams and work in a new environment.

“I’d like to thank our sponsors ARM, PlayJam, BlackBerry, Unity Technologies, Centroid 3D and Pinewood Studios for enabling TIGA to deliver a GameHack that will recognise achievements in innovation, mobile and sheer ‘awesome’ games.

“It’s also great news that Abertay University will be running a simultaneous  event for the hugely important Scottish academic and game development community.”

Sameer R. Baroova, Head of Games, PlayJam, added:

“We are very excited to be a part of GameHack. GameStick fits right in with the spirit of GameHack, offering a variety of ways to develop and innovate. I am looking forward to seeing some great teamwork and cool game concepts. This should be a lot of fun.”

Nizar Romdhane, director of ecosystem, Media Processing Division, ARM and TIGA Board Member, commented:

“The gamification going on in the world today is hugely exciting and pretty much anyone with the right tools can innovate and create the next big thing. Our ARM Mali™ graphics processing technology is part of that opportunity – providing stunning user experiences and near-life gaming in a mobile handset. We are looking forward to an exciting event and to seeing how developers will push the limits of technology.”

Volker Hirsch, director, global head of business development – games at BlackBerry, said:

“BlackBerry is delighted to be part of GameHack, we’re fully committed to the UK’s game developer community and this an enormously exciting way for people to come together and let creative sparks fly. Game developers are used to working in high tech, highly skilled and often high pressure environments, so I have every confidence they will rise to this challenge too.”

Ryan Locke, Lecturer in Media Design, University of Abertay Dundee, added:

“Both Abertay University and Dundee are at the heart of the UK games industry and we’re enormously excited to be able to run a concurrent GameHack in partnership with TIGA. This will give our students and Scottish developers the chance to experience the same thrill, networking opportunities and creatively stimulating environment as the event at Pinewood will provide.”

Giles Farley, Managing Director – Group Digital Content Services, Pinewood Studios Group, said:

“We are so pleased to be hosting TIGA’s Game Hack again at Pinewood Studios. To have so many talented and innovative people in one place with the time and space to be creative is not only exciting but exactly what Pinewood is all about. We want to remain the centre of excellence for the entire creative industries and being a part of the games industry is a key part of that strategy.”

 

-ends-

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

More details on each challenge can be found at: www.gamehack.co.uk

 

About TIGA

TIGA is the trade association representing the video games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have games publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. Since 2010, TIGA has won 14 business awards and has been nominated a finalist for 16 other awards.

TIGA focuses on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that TIGA members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that is at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies.

About PlayJam

PlayJam was established with a core mission to bring affordable gaming to TV. The company operates a built-for-TV games platform that currently powers casual games on over 80 million Smart TV devices worldwide through partnerships with leading manufacturers including, Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic. To date the platform has delivered over 1 billion games via Pay and Smart TV networks in over 120 countries.

In January this year, PlayJam extended support for its platform to Android-enabled devices and announced the launch of its own hardware platform GameStick. At $79.99, GameStick – billed as the world’s most portable TV games console – offers families an affordable entry point to a world of games that can be played out on the home’s big screen.

PlayJam is backed by GameStop, Adobe, Endeavour Ventures, London Venture Partners and a number of game industry luminaries.

About Unity Technologies

Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, a flexible and high-performance development platform used to make creative and intelligent interactive 3D and 2D experiences. The “author once, deploy everywhere” capability enables developers to deploy to all of the most important platforms.

Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of 1.5 million developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. To remain at the forefront of innovation, Unity Technologies tirelessly re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and its democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital marketplace and Union game distribution service.

Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com.

About Centroid 3D

Motion capture and character animation services to the film, television and video games industry, Centroid delivers motion capture and 3D pipeline solutions throughout Europe. With a team of thirty industry professionals, a comprehensive list of facilities and services from production pre visualisation to finished post production animation and a strict secure data environment, we deliver on time to the highest standards, quality and security.

About Pinewood Studios

 The Pinewood Studios Group is a leading provider of studio and related services to the global film and television industry. Synonymous with world class British and international productions, the impressive heritage of its UK-based Pinewood and Shepperton Studios date back to the early 20th Century and are home to some of the most successful feature films and TV shows ever made.

Pinewood Studios has universally been associated with the film and television industry. However, the expansion of the Pinewood Group continues to increase with the use of its award winning post-production facilities into the Games Industry. The facilities offer internationally recognised foley recording and editing; custom sound design; localisation in over 40 languages; Oscar winning mixers; sound editorial and project management.

Recent video games that have used the Studios’ facilities include Fable: The Journey (Microsoft); Total War – Shogun 2 Fall of the Samurai (Sega); Driver: San Francisco (Ubisoft). Visit www.pinewoodgroup.com for more info.

For further information, please contact

TIGA CEO: richard.wilson@tiga.org

Drew Field, TIGA Communications Director on: 07720 643 344, or email: drew.field@tiga.org

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