Where: Filmhuset, Gothersgade 55 – Bio Asta (in the basement)
When: May 31^st 16.30-18.30
Why: Because the true method of knowledge is experiment*

Program:
16.30: Welcome
16.35: Leigh Alexander: Experiment!
17.35: Beer and mingling – and the possibility to play experimental games from Pippin Barr, Knapnok Games, and Die Gute Fabrik. The beers are sponsored by Hapti.co

A long cycle for traditional consoles coupled with a revolution in new mobile, social and online platforms has not only created opportunities for never before-seen kinds of games, but it’s also created an environment where we have the luxury to revisit and reinvent familiar adventure and storytelling games for entirely new audiences. There’s now so many other things we can do in the world of game development besides “better, faster and more” technology, and many of today’s experimental designers, armed with more experience and education than ever, are pushing the envelope in their own way. Leigh Alexander looks at how the climate is shaping up, the factors in play, and at opportunities to forge new trails across an exciting frontier – and also advises designers at all levels on how to communicate their visions to the games media and community.

As this is the 10^th SpilBar, we celebrate the anniversary after the talk with beer as always and games by Pippin Barr, Knapnok Games, and Die Gute Fabrik.

About Leigh Alexander
Leigh Alexander covers the art and business of video games at Gamasutra, and writes a monthly column on the culture surrounding games and gamers at Kotaku, as well as a monthly column on industry issues at EDGE Magazine. She is editor of the games section at NYLON Guys magazine, maintains her Sexy Videogameland weblog and is a contributor to Thought Catalog, where she often focuses on the social media and internet culture landscape. Her work has appeared in Slate, Variety, the Los Angeles Times, Paste and a host of other publications, and she frequently speaks at events on the business and design of social media and the intersection of interactive design with the real world.

About SpilBar:
SpilBar is a bimonthly event, where everyone in or close to the computer games industry can meet and mingle. The meetings always start with a talk and end with a drink.
SpilBar is initiated by Kristine Ploug from DADIU and Thomas Vigild from The Danish Game Council (Dansk Spilråd). SpilBar is organized in collaboration with IGDA, Unge Spiludviklere, Spilordningen, and Computerspilzonen.

Everybody is welcome and no sign-up needed.

* William Blake

See the full list of nominees here: http://www.copenhagengamecollective.org/2012/05/02/ngin-2012-finalists/

SpilBar 10.0 takes place on May 31 at 4.30pm at the Film House in Copenhagen. The speaker is the American games journalist Leigh Alexander. We will be back with more info, you can read her blog here: http://sexyvideogameland.blogspot.com/

Read more about DADIU Small Talks http://english.dadiu.dk/dadiu-is-proud-to-present-dadiu-talks-the-dadiu-small-talks

DADIU Talks’ website: http://talks.dadiu.dk/

In the first one, Dajana Dimovska from Knapnok Games talks about how she went from being a game student to being part of the indie game company KnapNok Games. This talk is filmed and edited by DADIU’s own Martin Ziir.

In the second, former DADIU student, Daniel Kromand, gives us insights into working as a producer in a games company in China. The Chinese company hosts an annual party for the company’s singles! Daniel also talks about a lot of cultural differences which poses bigger demands on the communication. The talk is filmed by Daniel Kromand himself and edited by Martin Ziir.

Where: Filmhuset, Gothersgade 55 – Bio Asta (in the basement)
When: March 29^th 16.30-18.30
Why: Can’t we all just get along?

Women are widely discussed both as game developers, game characters, and game players. For SpilBar 9.0 we will focus on the latter: Women – and girls – as players.
As players, women and girls are assumed to account for half of all games played. But why are there so few female game developers, how are women portrayed in games today, and are women and girls playing different games than boys and men? Should we design games for women and girls directly?  And if yes, how do you do so without resorting to stereotypes and what is – in negative terms – called to ‘pink it or shrink it’?

SpilBar has asked three game developers to talk about women and girls. Claus Lykke Jensen from MovieStarPlanet talks about how they designed a universe for kids – boys and girls – and ended up with something loved predominantly by girls. Jimmy Marcus Larsen from Cego has successfully designed casual games for women in a long time and will hand out his tips and tricks.
Finally Dajana Dimowska from KnapNok Games will tell her personal story and let us know why she does not believe in segregating girls as a target audience.

At the end we will have time to debate – and at the very end:  beer as always!

Program:
16.30: Welcome
16.35: Claus Lykke Jensen, MovieStarPLanet: Designing games for girls … and boys
16.55: Jimmy Marcus Larsen, Cego: A handful of proven tips for designing games women will play
17.15: Break with coffee
17.35: Dajana Dimovska, Knapnok Games: My personal history and why I don’t believe in designing games for girls
17.55: Debate
18.30: Beer and mingling!

Claus Lykke Jensen: Designing games for girls … and boys
At MovieStarPlanet they tried to design a game catering to both girls and boys. Does this at all make sense or are girls and boys drawn by different features and thus require different games? The presentation will tell the story behind MovieStarPlanet and why and how they ended up where they are today. Why is the game for both girls and boys, why is the front page purple and why does half the game – in their own words –  look like crap!

About Claus Lykke Jensen
Claus Lykke Jensen is the founder and CEO of the company behind MovieStarPlanet.com, a virtual game and community for children aged 8-13. In a world of Fame, Fortune and Friends, each user designs his own movie star avatar, which can be used for creating small cartoon-like movies, chat and play games with other users. The game was launched in Denmark in 2009 and has since experienced an explosive growth. Currently, the website is marketed in 10 European countries as well as the United States, and globally it ranks among the fastest growing virtual worlds for the target group.MovieStarPlanet ApS employs a staff of 65 and is at the commercial section of the IT University of Copenhagen.

Jimmy Marcus Larsen: A handful of proven tips for designing games women will play
Do women prefer certain types of game mechanics? Are there any game mechanics they dislike? And what about themes – are they even important? Game designer Jimmy Marcus Larsen from Danish casual games developer Cego will present a handful of his tips and tricks to use when designing games for women. Don’t expect to walk away with a magic formula that will seduce women into playing any game, but do expect to be able to improve your game’s ability to appeal to women.

About Jimmy Marcus Larsen
Jimmy left Aalborg University four years ago with some sort of five year degree in informatics and game programming. He did spend most of his time at university focusing on his passion for game design though, so the job as a game designer at Danish casual games developer Cego was a natural fit. After four years with Cego he has designed several games – both good ones and bad ones – and learned lots of lessons along the way.

Dajana Dimovska: My personal history and why I don’t believe in designing games for girls
Dajana Dimovska will talk about herself as a player and game developer. She will present stories from her own life that she believes have had a big influence on why she develops games for “the people” and not for males and/or females.

About Dajana Dimovska
Dajana Dimovska is CEO and Producer at KnapNok Games ApS. She is managing a young talented team of game developers that are working on experimental physical party game concepts for social platforms such as Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Kinect, Sony Playstation Move and smartphones. KnapNok Games’ vision is to create novel game concepts where players are encouraged to interact directly with each other and express performative play.
Dajana is also a co- founders and Board Members at Copenhagen Game Collective, which is a network of game companies, non-commercial projects, and creative individuals with the agenda of developing and promoting experimental games. KnapNok Games is one of the core member game companies at Copenhagen Game Collective.

About SpilBar:
SpilBar is a bimonthly event, where everyone in or close to the computer games industry can meet and mingle. The meetings always start with a talk and end with a drink.
SpilBar is initiated by Kristine Ploug from DADIU and Thomas Vigild from The Danish Game Council (Dansk Spilråd). SpilBar is organized in collaboration with IGDA, Unge Spiludviklere, Spilordningen, and Computerspilzonen.

Read the article here

Peter Thomsen: “I sincerely believe, more than anything in this world, that 1916 – Der Unbekannte Krieg will be not only a hit, but a game that will get the entire industry talking.

Read the interview: http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/29/requiem-for-a-soldier-1916-%E2%80%93-der-unbekannte-krieg/

Read the interview http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/29/requiem-for-a-soldier-1916-%E2%80%93-der-unbekannte-krieg/