Good news for Thurles today as North Tipperary TD Noel Coonan welcomes the announcement of funding to NeverMind Games Ltd, Thurles, under the Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund. This new Thurles enterprise, situated in the Thurles Chamber Enterprise Centre, on the LIT Tipperary Campus, Thurles, is one of 30 successful companies recently awarded funding.
The Competitive Start Fund provides young companies with the critical early stage funding to test the market for their products and services and progress their business plans for the global marketplace.
Deputy Noel Coonan
The local Fine Gael TD stated: “This brings to 60 the number of innovative early stage start-ups supported under this fund in 2012. Access to early stage funding is vital for Tipperary’s community of entrepreneurs and we are working to nurture their ideas and enterprises. NeverMind Games Ltd is an innovative video game development studio based in Thurles and the entrepreneurs involved in the initiative have been rewarded for their creativity in this sector.Over the past year we in Government have developed a series of new finance instruments, including the Micro Finance Scheme, the Credit Guarantee Scheme, the €700million Seed and Venture Capital Scheme and the €850million NPRF funds.”
In announcing the news Deputy Coonan today also urged companies to apply for the first round of the 2013 fund, which is currently seeking applications.
“Fifteen companies are expected to benefit under this round, with a total of €750,000 available for investment. The closing date for applicants is Wednesday 23 January at 3pm. This call is open to start-ups from both ICT and Industrial sectors including sub-sectors such as Internet, Games, Apps, Mobile, SaaS, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Life-sciences, Cleantech and Industrial Products,” concluded Deputy Coonan.
The weekend of November 9th – 11th last, kicked off WOWZAPP 2012, latter a Worldwide ‘Hackathon’ for Windows, the first simultaneous global ‘Hackathon’ for students, start-up companies and professional developers in Microsoft’s history.
This event saw over some 15,000 developers, including four from here in Ireland, take part from over 120 countries worldwide. Students from Ireland, Canada, England, Italy, Estonia, and Bosnia descended on Thurles to devise and develop digital games for Windows 8.
During this 48 hour development marathon weekend, innovative games were produced, which should make it into the Windows 8 store in time for Christmas.
Tipperary is a fitting location to play a part in this global event as it can boast of a long historical association with the digital games industry. Prior to the invention of home consoles, Ireland working from a base in here in Tipperary, was Europe’s foremost manufacturer of arcade machines, producing gaming cabinets for Atari Inc. The arcade machines of the seventies were a favoured pastime of the very first gaming generation. Iconic games such as ‘Asteroids’ are an example of the many classics, manufactured and distributed from Ireland.
LIT Tipperary’s Thurles campus are renowned for supporting the game development industry in Ireland, including the hosting of the annual Games Fleadh showcase event.
Mr Seamus Hoyne, Head of the Department of Technology, Media and Science at LIT Tipperary stated “Our department has strong ties with industry and we’re delighted to support events like WOWZAPP where students learn new skills which will help prepare them for future careers in the technology sector.”
All the Games created as part of WOWZAPP will be exhibited to the public during the Thurles/Tipperary Games Fleadh Expo which will be held on the 13th and 14th of March 2013.
This weekend the second annual Irish Video Game, Music, Anime and Comic Book Convention “ARCADE-CON,” takes place in the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin, and Thurles, Co.Tipperary based award winning Irish video game website “TheGamingLiberty.com,” will be hosting a unique live panel interview event with the convention’s very special guest star, the acclaimed American voice actor Mr. Quinton Flynn.
“Quinton Flynn is one of the biggest names in modern voice-over and TheGamingLiberty.com is truly honoured to bring Quinton here to Dublin for ARCADE-CON,” said TGL’s co-founder Thurles born Shane Willoughby.
“Quinton has voiced some of the most celebrated characters in this generations popular culture, including Spider-Man & Johnny Quest and has contributed to everything from Aladdin, to the Lion King. However he is best known to gamers as the voice of “Raiden,” in the award winning Metal Gear Solid series, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year,” Shane continued.
ARCADE-CON, which is expected to attract huge crowds of gaming enthusiasts from both home and abroad, kicks off today, Friday, and will continue until Sunday next.
For further details head over to the TheGamingLiberty website (click HERE) or to the official ARACDE-CON website (Click HERE ) for continuous updates.
Games Fleadh 2012 begins at Thurles LIT here in Co Tipperary today. This Thurles College is regarded as the top third-level centre for games design and development, here in Ireland. This two day event will include a full range of events and will showcase many of Ireland’s rising young games programmers.
What are recognised as the ‘Oscars,’ of the Irish games industry, namely the “Engineers Ireland Game Developer Awards,” will also be announced at this now annual Games Fleadh event.
Thurles Games Fleadh founder and digital games design course co-ordinator, here at the Institute’s Department of Technology, Media and Science, Mr Philip Bourke, said, that given the rapid growth of the industry and Ireland’s growing reputation as an international gaming hub, it is only proper that we would have an annual awards event, here in Thurles, to acknowledge the cutting edge creativity of Irish gaming companies.
“Presently the global video games market is worth around €62 billion every year and rising. We must now deliver top quality graduates for this employment sector, so as to fill an expected 2,500 posts which this industry here can create by the end of 2014.” stated Mr Bourke.
Other events being held over this two day event will include:- GamesPro Talks: Discussion by industry experts, including representatives from Microsoft Ireland, BioWare, PopCap and Open Emotion Studios. Gaming tournaments: Participation by invited supporters, industry judges and academics. Robocode Ireland Challenge: Students will pit robot tanks they have programmed in battles with each other. Microsoft XNA Game Studio and DirectX Challenge: This event will see students design their own interpretation of the classic game ‘Chopper Command,’ from a Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360 based starter pack.
Plastic shopping bags at the ready folks, comedic duo the RubberBandits are coming to Thurles, but not in the way you might expect.
The Bandits are about to feature in their very first video game and attendees at Thurles’ annual Games Fleadh this coming March will be given the opportunity to sample the game for the very first time.
RubberBandits: The Revenge of Stephen Forward is an iOS and Android game, the brainchild of the Bandits themselves and Limerick based development studio Open Emotion Studios. The game will feature scenarios written by Bandits themselves including a cameo from “Willie O’DJ,” who must be freed from prison for “assaulting,” a dole queue.
The game will debut at Games Fleadh 2012, Ireland’s largest Computer and Console Games Programming Festival this March 14th and 15th in LIT Tipperary Institute in Thurles. Punters will be able to sample a demo of the game and get their first taste of classic Bandit humour on iOS and Android platforms.
Gamers coming to Thurles for this Console Games Programming Festival do take note, both hotels in Thurles, which are within 15 minutes and 6 minutes walking distance of the events, are offering very special overnight accommodation rates to all visitors.
Hayes HotelAccommodation Rates are as follows:- Single Room plus breakfast €40.00 inc, Twin Room plus breakfast €70.00 inc, Triple Room plus breakfast €90.00 plus breakfast inc.
Anner HotelAccommodation Rates are as follows:- Single Room plus breakfast €45.00 inc, Twin Room plus breakfast €80.00 inc, Triple Room plus breakfast €100.00 plus breakfast inc.
Accommodation during this Annual Gaming Festival will be at a premium, so all you mad gaming enthusiasts please do be warned, book your space as soon as possible, and enjoy this major Irish gaming event.
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