THERE WAS standing room only in a large conference room of a Dublin hotel on Wednesday as games developers and industry representatives gathered for the first annual Games Ireland Gathering.
As well as an opportunity for people in the Irish and international industry to press flesh and network, the afternoon was a series of talks and discussions about the games sector and games development and opportunities in social, locational and mobile gaming (or Solomo as it was referred to).
Representatives of Big Fish, PopCap and Havok were there – all of whom have jobs to fill.
Chatting outside the conference room after his contribution to a panel discussion, Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe talked about what he had learned since taking an interest in Ireland’s gaming industry two years ago.
“I discovered that the potential for the industry to grow in Ireland is even greater than my most optimistic predictions initially were.
“For example, I had underestimated the scale of involvement already going on by Enterprise Ireland both at home and abroad; I’d also underestimated how strong the culture already is with relation to people developing their own start-ups. I’ve been really impressed by that.”
By the end of 2012, Mr Donohoe promises “resolution of the R&D tax credit”.
“It had been a subject of a lot of discussions between representatives in the industry. The fact that it’s mentioned in the jobs plan makes it certain that it will be resolved within a year – I think positively. The second thing you’ll see is more cluster teams – people who come together to try to generate more indigenous activity and get investment into Ireland,” said Mr Donohoe.
The day ended with an entertaining showcase for future games from Irish developers.
BitSmith – born of the Digital Hub – showed a trailer for its Táin-inspired action game Kú; Galway-based Tribal City Interactive is working on two casual games, Turtle Troubleand the wonderfully named Arrrgh Pirates; Red Wind Software from Glasnevin has carved a niche as developers of app trivia games (including a Bible-themed one) and its next offering is Name that Movie(and later Name that Tune); and Ideal Binary showcased its exquisite interactive books based on Grimm Brothers stories.
Most entertaining were the playful Limerick developers Open Emotion (the only Irish firm at present with a PlayStation Vita game on the way) who were very excited about their next project: a casual game collaboration/ adaptation of The Rubber Bandits.
After showing a few images (including a muscle-bound Willie O’Dea), a few quotes appeared in the slideshow, ending with the confident prediction that “it’s gonna be daycent, kid!”
