Dung was the chosen concept from Project Joystick, the game design competition funded by Bigpond which had Melbourne developer Firemint assigned the task of turning the idea to reality. As reported by smarthouse.com.au, you can now buy the finished game from BigPond's GameShop for $5 if you're a Telstra Next G mobile customer, or $9.95 for your PC.

Dung was submitted by Sherele Moody and involves controlling a dung beetle through waste. She had the inspiration for the idea from a David Attenborough documentary about dung beetles and Katamari. Firemint CEO, Rob Murray, had this to say to about their involvement with Project Joystick to smarthouse.com.au...We're thrilled to have been able to play a part in this innovative BigPond competition and are especially excited to build Sherele's concept into a reality. The beauty of Dung is that it is a simple pick-up and play concept but at the same time it also has surprising depths of strategy for dedicated rollers.
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Tony Albrecht, Senior Engine Programmer at Pandemic Studios, has written an entry at his Seven Degrees of Freedom blog about a concerning change for speakers at the Game Connect: Asia Pacific. This year, speakers have to cover the cost of entry to the conference, as well as pay an upfront submission fee for each paper (which is then later subtracted from the entry fee)...(Tony) If you want good speakers, provide good benefits. Make people want to donate a considerable amount of their own time in order to present a good session. Yes, it means that you won't get registration fees from those 20 or so speakers, but if so few people are registering that you really need the fees from those people that actually make the show worth attending, then I think you've got greater problems than just financial ones.It's got Tony a bit worried on the direction of the conference, and he's provided a list of suggestions on how to bring the conference back on track.

(sourced from Kotaku AU)
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dates: may 7 - june 25 2008

GameOn Goes Virtual: Landscape Concept Art Competition - Launches 7 May - via 60Sox *

This is an invite to all game enthusiasts to visualise and present a game world landscape in the medium of your choice. Entries are to be uploaded onto the 60sox website and will be critiqued by a panel of judges, at the end of which a finalist will be announced and a prize given on Wednesday August 6. The competition will be open on Wednesday May 7, closing on June 25. Good Luck!

inspiration: mccaskie park, kelvin grove [flickr]

submitted concept art should start with something from mccluskie park, KG. take it into a future, a past, a fantasy, into space, go abstract - or where / when / however your own creativity inspires you ....... the only parameter is that your concept art could become a game world

explore in any medium - digital, paint, eggshells [?] - digitise - scan - upload to 60Sox

see alex drummond in action at supanova - alex is also a mentor on 60Sox which is hosting the competition entries
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Moxy Studios is looking for a Java programmer to help out on the next iteration of their Multiplayer strategy game - Kami

The role involves adding a Experience Point system to the existing game and encorporating the feedback from playtesting sessions.

The candidate will ideally have experience with:
Java, MySQL and Python.

The job is based in North Sydney.

For more details contact Dave on david_w_neale@yahoo.com
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There's a great interview with Sydney developers, Nnooo, about their Wiiware title called Pop up at Gamespot AU. Nnooo creative developer, Nic Watt answers questions about his casual bubble popping game and provides some interesting insights into the Wiiware distribution system, the freedom and help that Nintendo provided for an approved developer like Nnooo, the classification process that developers have to handle for Wiiware, as well as the casual games market. From Gamespot AU...(Nic) For us, what something like WiiWare offers us is we invested all of our own money into this product. By releasing Pop on a distribution service, all of the money that comes back is split between us and Nintendo. That means that we can take those funds and directly invest it into making new games. If we were to make a disc-based game model, there's an awful lot more people that are sharing in that pie. What that means then, especially for a developer like us, is it would cost 5 million dollars to make a really good disc-based game.It seems like there's so many options available for small, independent developers these days, and I'm hoping to hear a lot more startups making inroads to Wiiware, Xbox Live, Playstation store, and iPhone games. For the full interview, head o...

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Submitted by Paul Callaghan
  
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE), the leading training school in Game development, 3D graphics and CGI with campuses in Canberra and Melbourne, is looking for an independent, focused individual to deliver the mid-year intake of our Certificate IV in Information Technology (Games Programming) at our Melbourne campus. 

The Certificate IV is a strongly practical and intensive course that focuses on the core skills needed for programming using C++.  The successful applicant will develop, co-ordinate and deliver the course content, administer course requirements, and provide assessment and direction over the school year. 

Teaching experience is desired, but not necessary.  Strong communication skills and commercial C++ experience are essential.  Knowledge and/or experience in vocational training is desirable.

Duties and Responsibilities
- Delivering the course content for the Certificate IV in Information Technology using a combination of lecture style sessions and practical tutorials
- Evaluating student course work in both practical and theory exercises
- Maintaining and developing course content along with the Senior Programming Teacher, including creation of lesson plans, tutorials and examinations
- Monitoring student progress inclu...

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Come join a fun, rewarding environment where your creative inspiration and production experience are valued and where you'll have the opportunity to put your name on the biggest games in the world!

Current positions are:

- Junior to Intermediate Designer (this position has been filled!!)
- Associate Producer
- Senior Producer

For more details on our available opportunities, please click the following link...
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Screenplay has an interview up with Lead Programmer, Trevor Powell, from Krome Studios Melbourne on the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Trevor talks about how the Melbourne studio, which was previously known as Atari Melbourne House, received the project, and the challenges of developing the Wii version of the game, from tackling the Wii gesture controls, and providing alternatives to some of the processor intensive technology that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions use...What we tried to do was go back to the basics. To say: 'They are using Euphoria and DMM in order to achieve these effects. How can we achieve the same effects without using the expensive middleware?' So where they use Euphoria, we use a combination of more conventional ragdolls and animations.
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