Talk & Play #8

Talk & Play is a bi-monthly meetup whose goal is to give a better idea of what it's like to create and play games today, providing the opportunity to local independent game makers to showcase their work in a friendly and relaxed environment. Everybody's welcome, whatever their background and knowledge level: if you like video games, we'll make sure you have a good time!

The event is split into two parts:

1. TALK: 2/3 short game-related talks (5 to 15 minutes), followed by a Q&A session – it's all about sharing knowledge

2. PLAY: All participants are welcome to bring games they've made or are still working on – a perfect opportunity to discover and play new games, collect feedback and, who knows?, maybe find collaborators for future projects

Check out the summaries of the previous events (http://linkli.st/LorenzoPilia/8WTOT) to get a better idea of what to expect.

We've got a very interesting mix of speakers and themes this time:

— Adam Streck (http://www.justaconcept.org/), The LARPscape of the Czech Republic

"A good experience does not have to be positive. It must be strong."In the Czech Republic, LARPs are the thing. How serious we are about it can be seen for example here (http://ondrapenicka.com/yep/i-m-larper). In my talk, I will go swiftly through the history of the LARPs, touch on the current state of affairs and give some insight into how we started combining the live gaming with the digital one.

I have started organizing LARPs in 2005, basing the game on the world of Fallout games, which we had the option to set in the incredibly atmospheric locations of 15 years abandoned Russian military bases. Currently I focus on hard sci-fi settings with use of the contemporary technology.

— Miho Tanaka (https://twitter.com/mihoberlin) is the founder of AirMarkr (http://airmarkr.com/sign-up) and organizer of AR Berlin (https://www.meetup.com/AR-Berlin). She has worked with interactive technologies and mobile for over 6 years, and was a new technologies consultant to major brands such as BMW, MINI and Vodafone.

AirMarkr is a mobile app that lets you draw in the air in 3D "realspace".

— Jonah Burke (http://symbolicny.com/) is a New York-based independent programmer and co-founder of EXO Games. Previously, he worked at Microsoft and Big Think, where Bjarne Stroustrup signed his copy of The C++ Programming Language. He created The Darfur Wall (http://darfurwall.org/), a project that raised $100,000 for Sudan, and has written the software behind several startups.

He’s going to talk about EXO: Arena (http://playexo.com/), a local multiplayer game for iPhone inspired by the film Tron.

— The Game Yourself (http://gameyourself.de/) team will present their upcoming smartphone app that takes a 3D model of your head, allowing you to select your character with your own face inside any game.

— Last but not least, our friends from Game Science Center Berlin (http://www.gamesciencecenter.de/) (see Talk & Play #2 (http://linkli.st/LorenzoPilia/88ehE)) are going to make a small announcement about the opening of their space on September 1st!

— LAST MINUTE ADDITION! There will also be a quick & dirty live musical performance by Alfred Ladylike (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alfred-Ladylike/339271726177412) on the ukulele! She will play her MMO-themed folk hit, Level Up, and provide details on how you can be involved in the LARP-tastic music video shoot (https://www.facebook.com/events/269049643289229/) in Berlin on September 7th.

Would you like to give a talk, at this event or in the future? Then get in touch (https://www.meetup.com/opentechschool-berlin/members/1939705/)!

Talk & Play now has its own @TalkAndPlay_ (https://twitter.com/TalkAndPlay_) Twitter account that you should definitely follow – and don't forget to sign up to the newsletter (https://tinyletter.com/talkandplay), to receive an email every month with tips about game-related stuff happening in the city.

Talk & Play is organised in collaboration with the monthly Berlin Mini Game Jam (https://www.meetup.com/game-developers-berlin/) and A MAZE. (http://www.amaze-berlin.de/)