IGDA Finland Hubs and Their Effects on Local Game Development : An Ethnographhic Study of Tampere and Kajaani
Komulainen, Lauri (2019)
2019
Informaatiotutkimuksen ja interaktiivisen median tutkinto-ohjelma
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2019-05-20
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201906272289
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201906272289
Tiivistelmä
Game development is thought to be a community-based industry, where social networks and flow of information is crucial to both individual and company development. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and its Finnish chapter work to promote and support individual game developer in their careers and skill development by holding local monthly gatherings in areas where there is a game development scene. In Finland, these gatherings are commonly held by locally based IGDA Finland Hubs. In this study, we look at the hubs in Tampere and Kajaani game development areas.
There is research done on the inner functions of game development industry, its structures and challenges. These previous researches have studied the rise and fall of big game development companies and how the business behind the game development functions. There are, however, very little research done about the game development communities, and especially, the IGDA and how its monthly events effect the game development industry on a local level.
This paper aims to investigate the effects of IGDA hubs in Kajaani and Tampere areas by interviewing the attendees to the IGDA events in the respective areas. The goal there is to gain understanding on how the IGDA hub affect the local game industry, and how the attending people find the events. Why do people attend the events? Are the events perceived as useful to the individual and local companies?
The demographics attending the IGDA events are colorful. The average IGDA gathering can have students, veteran game developers, recently graduated looking for jobs and people who are just interested in the game development industry. The results show that the interviewed people have many different reasons for attending the local IGDA hub gatherings. As information flow is seen one of the biggest motivations the attendance of gatherings is crucial. Networking with other people inside the industry plays an important part in this knowledge gathering and flow of information. The overall usefulness and effect to the game development industry is a complex matter to be investigated thoroughly in one thesis and would require even further research.
There is research done on the inner functions of game development industry, its structures and challenges. These previous researches have studied the rise and fall of big game development companies and how the business behind the game development functions. There are, however, very little research done about the game development communities, and especially, the IGDA and how its monthly events effect the game development industry on a local level.
This paper aims to investigate the effects of IGDA hubs in Kajaani and Tampere areas by interviewing the attendees to the IGDA events in the respective areas. The goal there is to gain understanding on how the IGDA hub affect the local game industry, and how the attending people find the events. Why do people attend the events? Are the events perceived as useful to the individual and local companies?
The demographics attending the IGDA events are colorful. The average IGDA gathering can have students, veteran game developers, recently graduated looking for jobs and people who are just interested in the game development industry. The results show that the interviewed people have many different reasons for attending the local IGDA hub gatherings. As information flow is seen one of the biggest motivations the attendance of gatherings is crucial. Networking with other people inside the industry plays an important part in this knowledge gathering and flow of information. The overall usefulness and effect to the game development industry is a complex matter to be investigated thoroughly in one thesis and would require even further research.