Mind Cauldron

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Running the first online-only Galway Game Jam (w/livestream)

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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 Ocean Music) joined the organiser team for this one, and really shined throughout the planning and running of the event. Brian brought in some fresh ideas and a lot of energy, which really helped the jammers and the team get together and be more effective. Well done Brian!

We discussed making an intro video for the jam and Brian suggested putting together an edit of footage from old gamejam games. Clearly a wining idea, I recorded some voice over and footage that I sent to Brian, who edited the whole thing together into a video. All in our spare time. You can watch the intro on the Galway Game Jam Youtube channel.

While short notice, I did want to ensure that the event was open to as many people as possible, so in following with diversity guidelines, we split the jam over two days over two weekends. While it is non-typical, in the end this worked out great!

Mentors

The main questions I asked myself when putting the this jam together were:

  • “Why do people enjoy going to a Galway Game Jam?”, and,
  • “Why would someone be interested in participating in this jam from home?”

From asking these questions, I knew we had to create a very compelling reason for people to join in the event. That’s when I thought of having a livestream with mentors.

We decided to focus on Discord as our primary digital “venue” for jammers to interact, along with a livestream of conversation and Q&A with gamedev mentors on Twitch that jammers could watch.

I had to figure out exactly what a “mentor” was and give people a concrete idea of the times that they would be needed. I contacted a few local gamedev friends, who were intrigued and happy to help. We quickly had a core experience for our event!

Once I had few mentors confirmed, I put out a broader call for mentors on social media channels for Irish game developers and got a few more people involved.

We put up theme suggestions and voting rounds to reduce the themes down to a top-three list This had a surprising effect of building excitement on our Discord server during the week leading up the the jam.

Soon we had enough mentors willing to do an hour commitment that we could run a solid day of livestreaming! This meant we had a core experience of an online event that everyone jamming could connect to. This makes the online-only jam “feel” more like a live event with other people actively engaged. That sense did in fact carry through the event, and was reported by people at the end. I’m delighted that it worked out!

Main challenges

We learned that there are many things missing from an online jam that you get for free at a venue-based jam. Mainly, there are communication benefits of close proximity to your team mates and production benefits from other people in the jam who you randomly encounter that might offer to lend a hand in solving any problems that you might get stuck on.

The main challenging point was team formation. Having a bunch of people online is not enough. We had to be very pro-active in getting people joining together into teams. Brian took the lead here and contacted people and teams directly, operating as a kind of “fixer”. This “Fixer” role essentially solved this problem, so our next online jam we will share this role among the organiser team and dedicate time for it on our schedule.

Energy! Organising and live-streaming is very tiring. Especially if you have been working all week and been putting together everything in your spare time. If possible, ensure you have a day after the event to recover. Maybe, if you can take a day off work *before* the event, do that too!

Discord worked out great but I’m putting it in the challenges here because it can be confusing for people who have no experience with it. We had lots of channels on our server, which makes it confusing and overwhelming. Before our next jam, we will likely prune our channels down to help avoid confusion. We will also be sharing an introduction video with our jammers in an email before the event starts.

We will be taking all the lessons learned from the online-only Galway Game Jam 16 with us into the next online jam – the Global Game Jam Galway.

See you there!

Fungi Garden funding approved!

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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 amount we asked for, and there are requirements we must fulfill before we can draw down the funding. This is a big learning curve for us and it has been so worth it – especially now that our futures are so uncertain for us freelancers.

The funding will allow us as a team to begin working more at a steady pace on our first game project together. The game that we want to make. It is a dream come true, and an accomplishment we are making happen with the help of the WRAP fund.

Thank you for your support and for being with us on this journey!

Mind Cauldron is two years old! What now?

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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 pursue another means of employment. It’s already over a month past that point (what is time?) and I have not taken the time to really consider the future of things. There is a lot to consider here, as I feel I have just begun my journey, and I have a few medium sized projects that show promise. Also, a pandemic was not factored into my business plan – so that has to be considered heavily. I currently have a few important commitments that I plan to keep going regardless – but I do feel I am at a cross-roads. Do I continue as a freelancer, or do I develop my own products and services? (I just rolled a 2, but the dice was an MTG spiral-down counter d20, not your standard equal weight d20 – so I’m going to reroll later instead…)

We often hear that you must look after your mental health – and well, it’s been two years since I had a proper break from running my small business and side-projects. It’s also been a tough year for everyone too. I survived on my savings as business dropped off during the lockdown and after – a lesson learned there!

While I could chew up my dwindling mental-health resources into dust to keep going forward at a snails pace (I don’t want to offend any snails), it seems silly to keep going like this.

I believe putting my tools down for a while will let me recover to a better state of mind and gain some much needed perspective. It has been very difficult personal challenge for me to take this holiday, even though I know I need it! I put it off by a week already. I guess I have to accept the old addage “work can wait” – even if I personally feel a strong anxiety about how the work will never wait and I will get left behind (You have unlocked the Second Recession of 21st century achievement, thanks capitalism!). My efforts to stay in the black have resulted in me neglecting my closest relationships with family and friends – it really sucks!

Only a few weeks ago I had a short conversation with my sister on her birthday and it was the best scheduled few minutes of this year. I nearly didn’t do it because I was back-to-back with meetings. I clearly need some time to relax and reconnect with my life outside of work! I’m sure you would agree. (If you are a robot, I suppose I could forgive you for thinking I am one too!)

To complete the Dungeons and Dragons analogy of a long rest, I’ve got some magical items I want to attune to – an irish bouzouki and pair of hiking boots. (Actually, I might run a game or something, that would be nice!).

Adding a freelance art service

As of August 2020 I have also been taking on a new type of freelance work – 2d artwork for games!

Specifically, Pixel Art and Concept Art for two very different projects – one is a 2D adventure game about a childhood summer, the other a 3D dark fantasy RPG set in the underworld. I can’t discuss more than that at this stage, but I am excited to work on both of these projects on and look forward to eventually sharing some fun artworks with you.

Such freelance art projects are exciting for me because I can focus on one job – I’m an instrument of visualising someone elses vision through my own lenses. Having such a focussed role is very rewarding experience, especially when given a wide range of creative freedom. I am able to tackle the problems with my full creative energy – instead of having to divide my attention across many aspects of a project., as I do with my own side projects or more complex setups.

Delivery programming tutorials and workshops

In the coming months I am running online programming grinds for students and adult learners alike. If you are having difficulty with your programming assignments or are interested in learning how to code but are confused about where to start, this might well be for you!

You can sign up for my newsletter for updates regarding programming tutorial registration and Mind Cauldron related news: http://eepurl.com/gINKQj

Tutorials designed to teach total beginners the basics of computer programming. While many people are content to take courses online, there are many who feel intimidated by the lack of support. In these virtual tutorial sessions, you have access to a professional programmer who can guide your solutions and answer any questions you may have.

The future!

It’s a strange time to be alive. 2020 so far has been a wild year – we all know the story. Right now I am doing my best to keep on going. I have learned to trust my ability to survive, and it is an important comfort that I hold close to my heart at times.

I am developing more skills and adapting all the time. There are many projects that I am excited about, from web development to game development to personal music projects. One thing is certain – I will never be bored!

As a small business owner in the West of Ireland, as a community member of the game development scene, and as a musician, all I can say is that I will pledge to make this little corner of the world a better place in whatever ways I can manage. Together we can get through any adversity the universe (or other people) can throw at us.

Take care of yourselves folks!

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