TU Dublin Hosts Game Design Seminar State of Play

Published: 14 Jun, 2023

The School of Media was delighted to host our annual State of Play games seminar at East Quad on Friday, June 2nd, in EQ002. This year's event featured esteemed speakers who shared their expertise in the gaming industry.

Daniel McSweeney, Head of Creative Digital Media, Immersive Technology and Games, commented:

It's wonderful to reconvene this event at a time when Ireland has signalled its commitment to the expanding international games sector through the introduction of the new tax credit scheme. Our speakers at this year's event represent a variety of games companies, ranging from one of the largest multinational games producers on the planet to exciting risk-taking start-ups making waves in this increasingly prominent sector. The School of Media continues to place itself at the forefront of Games Design education and is confident that our graduates will continue to shape this exciting sector in the coming years

In addition to the seminar, visitors had the opportunity to explore an exhibition of final-year student game projects as part of our GradX showcase. It was a fantastic way to conclude the 2022/2023 academic year, and we eagerly anticipate the 2024 edition of the seminar.

Speaker Line Up

Peter Lynch, TU Dublin School of Media

Seminar Organiser and Programme Chair for our BA in Game Design at TU Dublin. Peter discussed the game industry in Ireland, including the fascinating history of Atari in Tipperary.

Thomas Cashman, Director of Viridian Software

Thomas provided valuable insights into his journey as an indie games developer, sharing the lessons he learned along the way.

Barry Kehoe, Vice President of Worldwide Localisation at Activision Blizzard

Barry captivated the audience with his knowledge of game localisation and shed light on the extensive work carried out by Activision/Blizzard Ireland, enabling their games to reach global audiences.

Elaine Reynolds, General Manager, Black Shamrock

Black Shamrock is an Irish games studio specialising in the creation of AAA RPG and action-adventure titles for PC and consoles. Elaine offered valuable insights into game co-development and the remarkable work being undertaken at Black Shamrock.

Jon Gibson, Founder/Head of Studio, Electric Square

Jon provided an overview of Electric Square games studio, highlighting their partnerships with renowned companies like 20th Century Fox, Apple, Blizzard, Electronic Arts, UBISOFT, and XBOX Game Studios to bring AAA console action games to global audiences.