Available Tutorials & workshops
- Play IT - Hands-on Games Workshops
- Patents - Protecting Your Ideas & Sharing Knowledge
- New Masterclass on ISO 38500: Governance of IT
Hands-on Games Workshops
Brisbane will host the 2010 World Computer Congress the week of September 20th-23rd.
Computer game developers of the future, eyeing their slice of the billion dollar game development industry will get the chance to participate in a 2-day workshop program, providing an insight into the games industry and its multiple facets through participation and a hands-on experience.
Games & Games DesignWhere do game designers start when /they design a game? What is so special about designing a game for someone else to play and why don’t classic books make good games easily? This talk looks at the shape of games we play and offers you an opportunity to try out some design techniques for yourselves. |
Games & WritingGame writing has progressed in an extraordinary way since the days when all a writer had to do was prepare a few repeatable sentences for single dimensional non player characters. This workshop offers writers and game players alike insights into the business of writing for games. |
Games & ArtEven the most abstract games exploit visuals and there are many discussions about art games, however, most of these discussions ignore the industry business of art behind the games, the concept artists whose visions produce the worlds we play in and the animators who breathe life into the work. This workshop offers you the opportunity to explore the way of the games artist. |
Games & AudioWhen we make games, we carefully exploit the emotional aspects of audio, from those small sounds in the dark to rousing rhythms of success when a player achieves something in the game. This workshop offers you the opportunity to explore the powerful nature of game audio. |
For more information, visit: |
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Meet the Industry facilitators...
Morgan JaffitExperienced Games Designer |
Games and Game Design |
Morgan Jaffit is the head of The Impossible Changing Brain Foundation, an independent game developer focused on creating innovative titles and addressing users outside the classic market. He has been designing games all his life. Morgan’s first computer game design was an educationally focused biology challenge for the Atari ST at the age of 13. He has been working as a professional game designer for the last nine years and has shipped a wide variety of games for a broad spectrum of audiences including: Happy Feet, Freedom Force and Homeworld 2. Most recently Morgan was Assoc. Creative Director for Pandemic Studios developing new I.P. with a strong social and online focus.
He is convinced that the game industry is the most exciting place in the world to be, at least partially because it’s filled with crazy people on the frontier of creativity. Morgan has lectured internationally on topics such as the game design process and creative team leadership.
Milenko TunjicExperienced Games Industry Artist |
Games and Art |
Milenko brings 19 years of professional artistic experience to the table across all forms, from traditional painting to 3d modelling and animation. He has been working as a commercial artist for the past seventeen years. This is his tenth year in the games industry. He is very interested in the creative direction of game projects, and strongly believes that games turn out the best when there is a harmony between design, art, code and sound.
Milenko focuses on designing characters, props, vehicles and environmental elements in a variety of styles for the many projects he has worked on. He has been senior concept artist for Krome Studios, Brisbane and Pandemic Studios, Brisbane as well as doing concept art for Evolution Games and character design for Zoonimedia / Columbia Tri Star. Recently, Milenko has become the new art director at Strange Loop Games and will be in charge of building the visuals of the unique universe of Vessel
Andrew CurnockExperienced Games Industry Audio |
Games and Audio |
With a broad background in various media roles, Andrew Curnock has capitalised on his programming and music production experience to establish himself in the game audio industry, with a particular focus on handheld platforms. Since 1991 coding mod tunes on the Amiga, Andrew has refined his craft and kept abreast of new technologies to successfully delve into production for radio, television, as well as film. His most recent productions have seen a return to the old-school art of tracking, in producing music and sound design for 2 nickelodeon titles for Gameboy Advance. Recently Andrew has been working as a Catalyst at the Edge, Queensland
Leanne TaylorAcclaimed Games Industry Writer |
Games and Writing |
Leanne’s job is to either come up with or rewrite stories for games. This includes scriptwriting, dialogue, VO direction, character and world-building and cinematic direction. Her overall goal is to improve writing in games, so to that end she is currently lecturing in Narrative Design at Qantm College, Brisbane. Leanne has written many titles including Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots (DS) and Avatar: Into the Inferno, for both console and DS. She also worked on Pandemic’s Destroy All Humans! 2 and has consulted on a number of indie projects.
Reserve your seat. Register Now.
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Each PlayIT workshop is repeated twice daily, over 2 days. Attendees have the flexibility to choose a session time that suits or the ability to attend all four workshops over both days. Workshops are limited to 25 participants - so reserve your place now. Participants must be 15 years and older. |
Each workshop only: $35.00Includes morning or afternoon tea. |
Workshop Schedule
| Day 1: Tuesday 21st September | ||||
| 9.30am to 12.30pm | Games & Design [Session 1A] |
Games & Writing [Session 1B] |
Games & Art [Session 1C] |
Games & Audio [Session 1D] |
| 1.30pm to 4.30pm | Games & Design [Session 2A] |
Games & Writing [Session 2B] |
Games & Art [Session 2C] |
Games & Audio [Session 2D] |
| Day 2: Wednesday 22nd September | ||||
| 9.30am to 12.30pm | Games & Design [Session 3A] |
Games & Writing [Session 3B] |
Games & Art [Session 3C] |
Games & Audio [Session 3D] |
| 1.30pm to 4.30pm | Games & Design [Session 4A] |
Games & Writing [Session 4B] |
Games & Art [Session 4C] |
Games & Audio [Session 4D] |
All participants are required to bring their own USB memory stick to download a copy of workbook material.
Games & Audio workshop attendees are required to bring their own Headphones.
Patents - Protecting Your Ideas & Sharing Knowledge
Key idea
Protecting original ideas and inventions has become essential in today's knowledge-based economy. Large corporations, small businesses and start-ups use patents to ensure their innovations cannot be copied and to defend their competitive edge.
This master class offers a collection of modules that can help to promote awareness about a number of key issues surrounding patents including information on intellectual property rights, basic facts about patents, the essentials of filing for a patent, help deciding whether or not to patent, and a guide to using patents as a source of information.
Who is it for?
The master class has been designed for professionals and students of any subject, but will be of particular interest to those working in natural sciences, engineering, law or business administration. The material assumes no prior knowledge of the subject.
What does it contain?
It is made up of four core modules:
A) The first module gives a brief introduction to Intellectual Property Rights (such as Industrial Design Rights, copyright, trademarks, patents etc.).
The benefits of protecting technical innovations by means of patents will be elaborated. How to draw benefits from a company's innovative ideas and technological capabilities? A number of key questions will be addressed which in particular Small and Medium Sized Enterprises need to consider before applying for a patent (the major do's and don'ts).
B) The second module sheds light on the mechanisms of the patent law in general.
What are the criteria for an innovation to be eligible for patent protection in the major patent laws. Criteria such as novelty and inventive step will be discussed. Various procedures for obtaining patent protection worldwide will be touched on briefly with a specific view on Europe covering aspects to be considered by patent applicants such as time scales, representation and fees.
C) The third module looks into intellectual property rights for the protection of software innovations elaborating the major differences in the patent law in Europe, US, and Asia. The requirements of the European patent law as concerns the patentability of software innovations and business methods are investigated.
D) The fourth module provides a guide to using patents as a source of technical information.
The European Patent Office provides - FREE of charge - a number of tools for accessing patent documentation worldwide. These tools are not only of interest for future patent applicants for conducting prior art searches before applying for patents, but even more for researchers, development engineers and managers to gain access to the information on the latest developments in their technical fields, in particular with a view of other companies operative in the same fast-changing fields. One of the tools is called "esp@cenet" ( http://ep.espacenet.com ). A short introduction to the search engine and its benefits will be provided.
In addition to that, examples and statistics will be accompany all the major points. An overview of further sources of information for patent applicants will be provided (such as applicant's guides, brochures on introduction to patents etc).
Key takeaways
1. Awareness of the benefits of Intellectual Property Rights in general and patents in particular as a means for protecting technical innovations.
2. A rough guide on how to obtain patent protection for technical innovations worldwide and more specifically in Europe.
3. Awareness of the major issues regarding the obtainment of patent protection for software innovations.
4. Hands on knowledge on where to find (free of charge) documentation on patents and patent applications which may serve as a valuable source of technical information.
Time & Duration
About 20 - 30 min for each of the above modules, in total about 2,5h (including questions).
Workshop 1: 10.00 – 12.30
Workshop 2: 14.00 – 16.30
Presenters
Dr. Eva Hopper works as a patent examiner at the Munich branch of the European Patent Office (Germany) specialising in the search and examination of patent applications in the field of computer-implemented inventions and methods for doing business. She has presented the current practice of the European Patent Office in this field at a number of conferences and law firms. Before joining the Office she was working as a researcher in the area of optimisation and meta-heuristic algorithms. Eva Hopper holds a PhD and MSc in electrical engineering from Cardiff University, United Kingdom.
Ralf Abbing has been working at the European Patent Office in The Hague (Netherlands) since 1997. He is specialized in search and examination of computer-implemented inventions in the field of data retrieval, i.e. retrieval of data, including text, audio and video, from conventional databases as well as from the Internet, e.g. by use of search engines or by navigation. He has been actively involved in presentation and training activities in the field of computer-implemented inventions in and outside the EPO, e.g. in the context of training of examiners of national patent offices in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Before joining the EPO, he was working in a technology transfer office in Germany as a consultant for transferring technology from universities to small and medium enterprises and supporting the subsequent technical implementation and intellectual protection.
Cost: $200
Registration
Anyone wishing to register should email Emma Marsden <emmam@eventplanners.com.au>.
New Masterclass on ISO 38500: Governance of IT
Registration for this Masterclass is separate from WCC registraton. Please read the Brochure for details
Information Technology and Business Risk: Are you in control of your situation?
University of Southern Queensland, Infonomics and the WCC organisers invite you to a full day workshop on ISO 38500 and governance of IT on Friday 24 September 2010, immediately following the WCC.
Industry commentators have hailed ISO 38500 as a milestone in the evolution of IT Governance concepts and practice. The International Standard positions Corporate Governance of IT as key to the effective, efficient and acceptable use of IT by any organisation. It establishes the role of the board and executive management in the system of governance, where the business has clear responsibility for how it uses IT and the IT organisation has responsibility for the supply of relevant IT capabilities.
This full day class builds a deep appreciation of the key concepts in ISO 38500, equipping participants to begin applying the standard in all aspects of planning and controlling the use and delivery of IT. It reviews and builds on the concepts presented in the standard, focusing on application of the six principles for good governance of IT as organisations develop strategy, prepare plans, implement new capabilities and conduct business activities that depend on IT.
In this masterclass, you can learn about ISO/IEC 38500 from one of its original authors, Mark Toomey. Mark is an independent and outspoken advocate for good governance of information technology, who played a key role in development of ISO/IEC 38500. He is a prolific contributor to the developing body of knowledge about corporate governance of information technology and author of two practical guides on the topic.
This class has been delivered and acclaimed in Britain, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand and throughout Australia.
Participants in the Masterclass will also receive a copy of "The Director’s IT Compass", Mark’s first book on governance of IT.
During lunch, participants will hear an exclusive briefing from Mayus Nath of the Queensland Audit Office, who will discuss "Challenges in delivering projects in the Public Sector Shared Services Environment."
