◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ Galway, Galway Game Jam, gamejam, news
This event went surprisingly well. While it was organised in haste, in a bit of a last-minute bid to get a gamejam done in 2020, the community really came together around this one to make it a worthwhile endeavor. Want to see the games made at this event? Check out itch.io/jam/galway-game-jam-16/entries Organiser team Brian (Another […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ fungi garden, gamedev, news, WRAP Fund
Last updated: January 12, 2021
We have just learned that our game application for the WRAP fund has been successful! This means we are now looking at paperwork and figuring out the details. This is truely a very exciting moment for the team and project! We are currently waiting on more details, as we may not have been granted the […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ long rest, mental health, milestones, news, opinion
Mind Cauldron is celebrating 2 years since establishing in 2018! Taking a Long Rest To kick off the celebration, I’m taking a holiday! When I began my business in Autumn 2018, I decided that I would “make the call” in two years time to decide if I want to continue running my own business or […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ fungi garden, gamedev, learning, prototype, streaming, twitch, unity
I have been interested in learning Unity for some time though never seem to get around to completing online courses. To finally tackle this personal mission, I have teamed up with two artists from Goat Planet so I can learn Unity by making a game and focus on the technical side of things. Motivation and […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
Last updated: September 21, 2020
During early March, Mind Cauldron fully transitioned to work from home. As Ireland’s government began to address the issue of dealing with the pandemic, Mind Cauldron assisted it’s largest client to transition to remote work for their entire staff. Since then Mind Cauldron has been providing support for remote work and assisting existing clients during […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
Last updated: September 21, 2020
I exhibited an updated version of OBSTACLES with some new art and leaderboard functionality at GamerFest 2020 in Thomond Park, Limerick. Here’s a few words about the experience. Measures to prevent spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 This was yet another big event taking place during the coronavirus outbreak. Gamerfest adapted well and there was a lot […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
Last updated: September 21, 2020
I attended Games Fleadh for the first time yesterday. The athmosphere was both competitive and celebratory. Students had worked hard to make their games. Each team has a different story, each college and course has a different emphasis. Hard work has been put into every game, and we must congradulate everyone who has managed to […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
Last updated: September 21, 2020
COURSE DESCRIPTION In this three week evening course, you will make a tiny game using the PICO-8 “fantasy console” – a delightful game making tool for retro style games. Over three weekly sessions, you will create your own retro arcade hi-score chaser. This course takes a hands-on approach – you will follow along the development […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
Last updated: September 21, 2020
Hi folks, Thanks to everyone for helping to make Global Game Jam ’20 another success, and especially to our great team of organisers and shed full of jammers at the Galway jam-site. A very important message about taking breaks and taking care of yourself was at the heart of this jam. This is something I […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
As Galway’s Site Organiser, I’ve joined the first ever Global Game Jam cross-site collaboration experiment with a small bunch of participating Site Organisers across the world. Our Galway site will be teaming up with Seattle, and we will have at least one team with members in both sides of the planet, jamming together. How exciting! […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ global game jam
Last updated: September 21, 2020
Hi everyone! Great news. Our Galway jam-site has been approved! Jammer registration will open on November 8th. You can check it out here: https://globalgamejam.org/2020/jam-sites/galway-ireland At this early stage if you have any feedback or requests please get in touch at darren.ggj@mindcauldron.com. The upcoming GGJ20 will be the 6th Global Game Jam event to take place […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ gamescom
Last updated: September 16, 2019
Well that was intense! I’m super busy for the next while but will catch up on doing a follow up to my little adventure to Köln, Germany for one of the largest game conferences on the planet. In short, I went over without a plan and a desire to meet people and learn about the […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊
I’ve recently started experimenting with streaming. People have streamed for years, why now? Streaming is still kind of a strange (and scary) new world for me. For the longest time I have generally been disinterested in streaming, choosing instead to view pre-recorded videos of my favourite game developers and interesting people doing their thing. I […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ course, education, learning, pico-8, training
Last updated: May 23, 2019
COURSE DESCRIPTION In this three week evening course Darren Kearney (Mind Cauldron) will teach you the basics of making tiny games using PICO-8 – a “fantasy console” and delightful game making tool. This course takes a hands-on approach to learning. Each student will make a tiny retro arcade hi-score chaser from design to delivery in […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ hosting, WordPress
I’ve been running a free hosting plan for over a year for my first WordPress development clients who opted in. Unfortunately it is time for the free plan to come to an end. Thank you to everyone who has participated in this fun and educational experiment. If your website is currently on this hosting plan […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ Galway, gamejam, ggj19, global game jam
Last updated: December 13, 2018
Hi folks, Our Global Game Jam jam-site at the PorterShed has been approved by Global Game Jam 19! You can check out the page here for details about the site. https://globalgamejam.org/2019/jam-sites/portershed-galway-ireland Registration through ClearBookings: https://clr.ie/127719 If you have any questions let me know in the comments or get in touch at info@mindcauldron.com.
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ Galway, ggj19, global game jam
Last updated: December 11, 2018
Hi folks, I’m putting together Galway’s next Global Game Jam. Global Game Jam 2019. Over the last 4 years, Pulse College Galway has brought Global Game Jam to Galway and made it into a landmark game making event for the community. Unfortunately, Pulse College Galway has closed it’s Galway Campus earlier this year and Chris […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ Galway, gamejam, hotmess, throughthefireandthegames
Last updated: September 21, 2020
Unfortunately we didn’t get enough bookings for the Blender workshops. Everyone who booked a place on the Blender workshops is getting a full refund. Next time I’ll ensure we have more lead up time to the event for promotion. But, we still have the event space booked for the workshops! So why not use it […]
◊ written by Darren Kearney ◊ 3d, blender, Galway, portershed, workshop
“Introduction to 3D Modelling with Blender” is a beginners level course starting this weekend at the PorterShed, Galway. The workshops will be delivered by Trevor Burke, 3D Artist of Howling Hamster Games. Blender is a free, open-source tool for creating and rendering 3D art and animations. It is used mostly by smaller studios in both […]