Starwhal Is Coming to Xbox One!

Oh man! I've been holding on to this nugget since the Ottawa International Games Conference last month. It was announced this week at E3 that Starwhal, the best game about narwhals fencing in space, from the talented team at Breakfall will be coming to the Xbox One!

So, the Ottawa International Game Conference is officially kicking off tomorrow, Monday, May 26, but I got to attend a pre-conference workshop featuring the Unity game engine. I've been following the development of the Unity engine from its humble roots as a Mac only development platform to the multi-platform powerhouse it is today. Most of the territory treaded by the workshop was old hat to us grizzled ancients, but just about perfect for those unfamiliar with Unity hoping to learn how things are done in this powerful yet easy to use engine. The best part was definitely meeting folks from Unity Technologies and being promised a look at some of the rad upcoming features in Unity 5 tomorrow at the conference, including (drum roll) the much anticipated new Unity UI system!! I am SO psyched! I hope I can sleep tonight!


Image from www.unity3d.com

Ottawa International Game Conference 2013: Impressions from the Show Floor

Last week marked the second annual Ottawa International Game Conference which I had the fortune of attending. The OIGC did things a little differently this year, including setting up a 'show floor' style area where developers from the Ottawa region and neighbouring cities could come and show off their games. I think this is awesome and I wanted to do my small part to encourage this showcase of tallent by sharing a little about the cool stuff I saw with all of you. I would like to apologize to all the developers I didn't get around to visiting as I also spent my time at the conference mingling and attending talks. That being said, click through to see some of what was on offer at the OIGC 2013!

Upcoming Events

It's the start of a new year, and with a new year comes all sorts of cool events to check out. So, if you are looking to touch base with me or just want to participate in some awesome game related events, here's a list of the fun times I will be having in early 2013. I hope to see you there.

January 25 to 27: Global Game Jam
If you have a penchant for game design, I highly recommend signing up for this! Teams are tasked with designing a video or board game over the course of a weekend based on a theme that is only revealed at the start of the event. This will be my third year participating and I am so psyched! Events are held all over the world, so check the website for one near you. If you are in the Ottawa area, the jam goes down at Carleton University.
Links:
Global Game Jam Website
Ottawa Game Jam Website

February 2 to 3: Game Summit
For the board gamers amongst you, and I know there are plenty, you should swing by and see me at this year's Game Summit. I loved my time there last year and am really looking forward to doing it again this year. I should be available to demo Roll'n Bump to anyone who hasn't had a chance to play it yet, or for any masters looking to challenge me to a game.
Links:
Game Summit

Some Time in May: Ottawa Game Conference
This event would have been called Game Summit, if the aforementioned board game convention hadn't beaten them to it. For those of you interested in Ottawa's budding video game industry, this show is for you. This will be the conference's second year, and I'm told it will be a massive three day event, up from last year's single day. There will be workshops, talks and demos. If you are in the industry yourself, don't miss it!  The dates for this year haven't been announced yet, so stay tuned to the website for info.
Links:
Ottawa Game Conference

A Good Time Was Had at the Ottawa Game Conference

I just got back from the first annual Ottawa Game Conference and I couldn't be happier.