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I am stepping down from my role as President of the MVGSA
by Stephen - 16th May 2019
The Malta Video Game Studio Association turns 5 next month, and as it nears this milestone it is with heavy heart that I am announcing my stepping down from the board and from my role as President of the MVGSA.
As one of its founding members, I can recall our excitement at the prospects of what the association could achieve. We knew that the first few years would be challenging but also critical to establishing and positioning the MVGSA as the trade association for Malta's game industry. Now, as the association has been transitioning into its second phase, one of growth, I find myself having the same feelings about this exciting new chapter in the association's journey.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the association through a number of different challenges. Most of this typically happened behind the scenes, working with government and other Maltese and international stakeholders to provide a better working space, environment and opportunities for our studios and the sector at large. Still, we managed to strike a balance between addressing the long term growth of the games sector in Malta and the more immediate needs of the studios. This would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the Executive Committee to support the game development sector and the association's members.
Our greatest achievement so far has been the platform we launched last year. It represents a significant time and financial investment through which have been delivering a collection of programmes and benefits, ranging from monthly workshops on various aspects of running a games business, to mentorship schemes, to providing funding for studios and freelancers. This platform has been an overwhelming success, and I am saddened to be leaving at the point when it is about to make its big launch and unveil its brand locally and internationally, especially after all the hard work that went into it. However I am particularly proud to have built it up to this point that it can now take a life of its own and continue to expand upon its successes. I am stepping down safe in the knowledge that I am leaving behind something that will continue to benefit the Maltese sector for years to come under the guidance of the Executive Committee and my eventual successor.
I would like to thank the MVGSA members and committee for their trust and continued support throughout these years. It has been a privilege and unique learning experience to have been entrusted with the leadership of the association. As I start this new chapter in my career, I will continue to support the game development sector in Malta and the MVGSA as it takes on new and exciting challenges.
Stephen
As one of its founding members, I can recall our excitement at the prospects of what the association could achieve. We knew that the first few years would be challenging but also critical to establishing and positioning the MVGSA as the trade association for Malta's game industry. Now, as the association has been transitioning into its second phase, one of growth, I find myself having the same feelings about this exciting new chapter in the association's journey.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the association through a number of different challenges. Most of this typically happened behind the scenes, working with government and other Maltese and international stakeholders to provide a better working space, environment and opportunities for our studios and the sector at large. Still, we managed to strike a balance between addressing the long term growth of the games sector in Malta and the more immediate needs of the studios. This would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the Executive Committee to support the game development sector and the association's members.
Our greatest achievement so far has been the platform we launched last year. It represents a significant time and financial investment through which have been delivering a collection of programmes and benefits, ranging from monthly workshops on various aspects of running a games business, to mentorship schemes, to providing funding for studios and freelancers. This platform has been an overwhelming success, and I am saddened to be leaving at the point when it is about to make its big launch and unveil its brand locally and internationally, especially after all the hard work that went into it. However I am particularly proud to have built it up to this point that it can now take a life of its own and continue to expand upon its successes. I am stepping down safe in the knowledge that I am leaving behind something that will continue to benefit the Maltese sector for years to come under the guidance of the Executive Committee and my eventual successor.
I would like to thank the MVGSA members and committee for their trust and continued support throughout these years. It has been a privilege and unique learning experience to have been entrusted with the leadership of the association. As I start this new chapter in my career, I will continue to support the game development sector in Malta and the MVGSA as it takes on new and exciting challenges.
Stephen
It's time for another Malta Unity User Group meetup!
by Stephen - 18th November 2015
It's time for another Malta Unity User Group meetup!
Date: Wednesday 9th December
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm (after the meeting we can stay and have a drink and a chat)
Venue: The Pub, Valletta
This year we'll be having a number of 10-15 minute microtalks. In no particular order:
- More fun with shaders: What would Fallout 4 look like on the Game Boy? - Alan Duca (5¼Games)
- Geometry Deformations: Model or Shader - Marvin Zammit (Mighty Box)
- Developing a Unity3D Asset Store Plugin - Michael Camilleri
The Malta Unity User Group is a local group for Unity users and developers to exchange ideas, share experiences and help each other create awesome games using Unity.
The group is open to everyone! You don't need to be a Unity expert to attend. Whether you are still a beginner or an experienced Unity user, come and join us.
Stephen
Introducing the Malta Unity User Group!
by Stephen - 13th November 2014
We are starting a local group for Unity users and developers to exchange ideas, share experiences and help each other create awesome games using Unity.
We are having our very first meet on Tuesday 2nd December at 6:30pm, and it is going to be a very special kick off event as we will be joined by Unity's own Andy Brammall, Alex McCredie and Andy Touch who will be telling us all about Unity 5!
We also have some great content lined up from local game studios Pixie Software, 5¼ Games and Codemasters for a jam packed evening of game development goodness!
We shall be meeting at the Microsoft Innovation Center Malta at SkyParks in Luqa. The fine folks over there are generously hosting us at their premises.
More details to come soon!
The group is open to everyone! You don't need to be a Unity expert to attend. Whether you are still a beginner or an experienced Unity user, come and join us.
The event is free, but please help us out and RSVP on Eventbrite or on the Facebook event page so we can get a better idea of numbers and prepare accordingly.
| Schedule | |
| 18:30 | Introduction Alex McCredie - Unity Technologies |
| 18:40 | Unity 5 Andy Touch - Unity Technologies |
| 19:20 | - Break - |
| 19:35 | Unity 5 Andy Touch - Unity Technologies |
| 20:15 | - Break - |
| 20:30 | Making life easy through precompiler directives Stephen Caruana - Pixie Software |
| 20:45 | Unity through a technical developer's lens Alan Duca - 5¼ Games |
| 21:00 | Codemasters |
| 21:15 | We'll head off for some drinks and a chat |
Stephen