Applied Immersive Gaming Initiative

Welcome to the September 2024 Christchurch Game Developers Meetup!

Location: John Britten 117 HP Seminar Room, John Britten Building, 69 Creyke Road, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch 8041

The meetup will also be streamed online:
https://youtube.com/live/57IyR7HK6fM?feature=share

Don't forget to check us out at:
Website: https://chch.gamedev.co.nz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CHCHGameDev
Facebook: https://fb.me/CHCHGameDev
Discord: https://discord.gg/68YqqFZ
If you like our meetups, consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/CHCHGameDev
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6:15 PM - KICK OFF
Welcome to the Christchurch Game Developers Meetup, with news from around New Zealand!

6:30 PM - Applied Immersive Gaming Initiative (AIGI)
Come and hear about the AIGI - a Human Interface Technology Lab NZ research group that investigates, designs, and develops applied games (games that serve a specific purpose). The AIGI applies methods from the fields of computer science, engineering, social science, arts, and design to address real-world challenges with game-based solutions. AIGI efforts are motivated by the power of games to engage people in carrying out tasks that might otherwise be dangerous, boring, or difficult. This includes games for learning in and outside of school, training games for professionals, games for decision-making, or for raising awareness. The speakers are:

Zoe Platt-Young:
Zoe is a PhD student at the HIT Lab NZ and has a design and user experience consulting background. She is interested in the intersection of games, technology, design, and social sciences.

Zoe's AIGI Project:
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders and occurs typically in adolescence. However, access to therapy and support for youth social anxiety can be limited. My research looks at the potential of games and design and user experience features of games to support engagement with mental health content for young people with anxiety. In this talk, I'll cover some brief background and discuss some game prototyping approaches.

Kieron Wall:
I have had a passion for natural hazards, even as a child. I studied Geology and Disaster Risk and Resilience here at Canterbury before returning to apply this knowledge to educational games in my PhD. I aim to discover how to create and use educational games about volcanic phenomena in New Zealand classrooms and other formal educational settings.

Kieron's AIGI Project:
5 Minute Volcano is based on the game 5 Minute Dungeon by Wiggles 3D. It is a fast-paced collaborative game in which you and your team must inform people, clear obstacles, and overcome taniwha within 5 minutes. In addition, a teacher guide and student workbook have been made alongside the game to encourage discussions and learning pre and post-play.

7:15 PM - PIZZA
Enjoy some refreshments (AKA pizza) and catch up with/meet other game dev enthusiasts.

7:30 PM - SUPER BONUS ROUND: AIGI Games Playtest/Workshop!
There will be an after-meetup session where attendees can play Kieron's game or participate in a game design workshop with Zoe.

Event Photography Notice: The CGDA occasionally takes photos and/or videos at our events for promotional purposes. If you would prefer not to have your image recorded for marketing purposes, please make your wishes known to the photographer, and/or reach out to a committee member, and we will accommodate your request. Thank you!
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Massive thanks to all our supporters for making our meetups possible!
Our Corporate Supporters:
Yoobee College of Creative Innovation - a tertiary institute committed to developing creative and technical talent across New Zealand.
https://www.yoobee.ac.nz/courses/

HIT Lab NZ - a multidisciplinary, Human-Centred Research environment that collaborates with industry.
https://www.hitlabnz.org/

CerebralFix - a Christchurch-based game development studio specializing in work for hire from some amazing companies.
https://cerebralfix.com/

Screen Canterbury NZ - a Canterbury-based film office helping creatives get their projects delivered to the screens of their choice, providing fantastic resource-sharing & advocacy for our screen production industry.
https://www.christchurchnz.com/screen-canterburynz

And our awesome Patreon Supporters:
Matt Barton
Leith Caldwell
Samantha Cook
Nik Scarr
Carl de Visser