FreeGame[Dev] Meetup / Conference? UK? Germany?

[charlie]

Well, I just made major changes to my house, which makes it a much better place to be. I could accomodate maybe 10 people (although it'll be a bit of a crush). I also have fairly easy access to a lecture theatre at my office, that could be [needs confirming] used at weekends.

Who would be interested in a spring/summer meet up in Manchester, UK? If the logistics proves tough, it could be done with concurrent meet ups - e.g. have 1 in Germany, 1 in Manchester simultaneously.

What kind of things would be on the agenda? Is there enough energy in the FreeGameDev movement to engage in any non-button-pushing activism? Thoughts on a post card (or in a reply) please.

[charlie]

Guess this one is not a goer then. Unless I redefine the term 'conference' to include only 1 individual... me...

[qubodup]

"i'll reply to it later"

uh.. what could we be talking about?

[amuzen]

I'm not that much into this real life thing. I don't like traveling at all and don't want to meet people that badly in general. There's nothing else I'd like to see in either of the countries either so you had better have some top of the line shroom juice on the table to convince me that the conference itself is worth all the effort and expenses. Well, I guess it could be fun in some levels, but the fact that it's far away in the real world is too much for me. Sorry.

[hagish]

Yes, a meeting would be nice
The German - UK parallel thing sounds good (as im from germany both would be quite reachable)

[charlie]

I mean, I think the idea would be to minimize the out of pocket expenses for people who have to travel. If I were hosting it, I would do my best to provide free (or nearly-free) accommodation and provide food at a really low cost.

I suggest it because I think it would be quite a fun experience to get together in person and get to know each other better, it would solidify the community a little bit more, and it would give us an opportunity to get together for a few days and work towards a specific goal and do some brainstorming (what those goals would be are up for discussion). At the moment, things get done but in a very slow, trickling manner due to the nature of the community (spare time stuff).

It might be an idea to coincide anything with one of the 48hour game competitions or something like that...

As much as I like the forums/irc, they are no substitute for sitting around a table with a few beers (or your beverage of choice).

[Julius]

Sorry for the late reply... the internet connection I have here in Nepal is a bit slow and unreliable, so I don't check FG too often

It sounds like a very nice idea though, and I would like to join a meeting when I am back in Germany in mid June.

Not sure if having a double meeting would separate the community a bit too much though. It's not that big after all
I guess it would be better to organize some car sharing to make a road trip from Germany to Manchester (or the other way around). If we get a full car it's not that expensive either, and could be fun too.

So who would be interested in a car sharing trip to Manchester, and is located somewhere between Germany and the UK? qudobup and Hagish are both in Berlin right? I will be either in Cologne, or in the Ruhrgebiet, but depending on the date I could maybe also join you in Berlin as I have some things to do close to there in the summer anyways. Maybe I can also get a car, not sure though.

Having some activities would definitively be a plus (although visiting a British pub sounds nice too). Maybe a full game competition is really not feasable, but some art competition (we should extend the invitation to OGA users), or some small community game (maybe done with Löve, or some other quick game creation tool) could be cool to make in 2 or 3 days.
Someone would have to prepare a few things for that in advance though (research usable frameworks... 2D/3D? etc); best would be a programmer for that (so that rules me out ).

[minicoolcow]

Yes, a meeting would be nice

[qubodup]

FGD ON A MAP : http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 20&t=h&z=6

Well, yeah, I'm in Berlin, I'll be able to give a small sofa and a big carpet to sleep on

There will be also the BIG in berlin.

I think I will have exams in that time though. Unless I drop out before.

[alapshin]

Wow! Idea sounds really great! But that's almost impossible for me to take a vacation in the summer.. Only in september.. Really cool idea, charlie!

[Sindwiller]

Yeah, attending the BIG would be rad if it was in autumn. :S