Video Game Development

Dublin Dataviz is delighted to welcome Andy Kirk as our first speaker of 2026! Andy is the founder of [Visualising Data](https://visualisingdata.com/) and works with [clients around the world](https://visualisingdata.com/clients) as a data visualisation design consultant and prolific [trainer](https://www.visualisingdata.com/training/). He is a a four-times published [author](https://www.visualisingdata.com/book/) and host of the ‘[Explore Explain](https://www.visualisingdata.com/podcast/)’ video and podcast series. In his talk, **The 7 Hats of Data Visualisation (Revisited!),** Andy will showcase the value and richness of data visualisation as a key literacy in this contemporary digital age. We all have a stake in this, whether that is through our roles as creators, consumers or coordinators, but it can appear to be a substantial challenge to fully embrace the multi-disciplinarity of this subject, whether as individuals or more generally across organisations. Framed as the ‘7 hats’ of data visualisation, Andy will look back over his 15+ years of experience developing an expertise in this subject to present his view of the major competency ‘ingredients' that make up the all-round talent recipe of a visualiser today. He will differentiate the knowledge required from skills necessary to demonstrate, the attitudinal maturity from the technical intelligence. He will also advise on some of the strategies that will help you continue to develop and refine your data visualisation literacy. Join us for what's going to be an amazing evening, with pints in Arthurs pub surely to follow.

A weekly board game meet up in "Mc Mahon’s Bar and Eatery" which is a pub. We get our own section, it's wheelchair friendly and parking is free! 🙂 Whether you are new or a veteran player you are all are welcome! General guidelines are: 1. Avoid handing drinks to people OVER a game. 2. We cannot take responsibility in the event of theft so keep your valuables close to you. 3. Strictly over 18+ only. The "rules" would be: 1. Be respectful to each other. 2. Don't be a creep. 3. Be patient to players of all skill levels. Failure to be a decent human being\* will jeopardise your participation in future events. The pub owner is really nice and are letting us use the space so if you can - please buy a tea, coffee or a drink on the night to support them if you can but don't feel obligated to do so. They also do food so you won't go hungry! The event starts at 7 PM and everyone is free to play until 11 PM where we'll wrap it up for the cleaners. Feel free to bring your games, join in on a game if there's space or organise a game here for the upcoming event to get participants. We advertise the games we want to play ahead of time on our discord server, so feel free to check it out. https://discord.gg/xW8WryXmKu If you get lost or have any questions feel free to message me on WhatsApp at 0858405446. Just a note for those coming by car from Dublin: 1. I highly recommend using the motorway then driving into the pub. There's a slightly faster way with the back roads but unless you are from the area its not worth the 2 minutes saved since it's barely lit and the bends are somewhat hazardous. 2. Traffic from 5 - 6:30 is horrendous but the roads are clear enough after this time.

Andrew Fray is back to present his talk on "Productive and Pragmatic Prototype Programming". The Game Dev Group is a chilled, friendly place for anyone interested in game development to meet, learn and collaborate together. **The Speaker for this event is Andrew Fray.** Andrew is an automated testing consultant, speaker and developer with a background in programming for studios like SEGA, Codemasters, SpryFox and Roll7. He will be sharing high-level insights into programming with prototyping in mind and how it differs from programming for production. Structure: 6:30PM - Doors Open - Bar Snacks, Drinks, Networking/ Chatting 7:00PM - Introduction and Talk Begins 8:30PM - Talk Finishes, More Chatting, More Snacks, More Drinks 9:30PM - Last Orders Please let your game dev friends and colleagues know about this group too. We hope to build it into a great resource for the community over the coming months and years. 1 Mill Street is the incredible home of TheGDG, a place designed to blur the lines between work and play. For more information about the co-working facilities, podcast studio or event space, check out their website. Maverick Games is a UK-based independent video game studio, focused on creating premium open-world AAA titles for consoles and PC. The studio champions a developer-first culture that encourages creativity, bold ideas, and risk-taking to craft innovative gaming experiences. Playground Games are an award-winning studio based in the heart of Leamington Spa. They have built one of the biggest franchises on Xbox with Forza Horizon, and are currently building one of the most highly anticipated games of the decade: Fable. They are recruiting across both teams, so check their website to see if there is a role for you! Code Wizards Group – Code Wizards and Multiplayer Wizards – help studios build and run games that players love. Their company specialises in video game consulting services for backend elements, powering up gaming projects with expert gametech, esports-tech, and LiveOps services for game dev professionals and studios. Rebellion is an independent video games studio that also produces books, comics, TV, Film, board games, etc. They make great games such as the genre-defining Sniper Elite series and Zombie Army, and before 2010 have worked on multiple amazing external projects including the likes of Aliens vs Predator and Star Wars Battlefront. Creare Capital is a financial platform dedicated to empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and freelancers in the creative industries by connecting them with tailored grants, loans, and investment opportunities. Their mission is to bridge the gap between finance and creativity, offering inclusive, flexible funding solutions that help creative businesses grow and thrive. Sorcery.gg is a jobs platform built by game devs, for game devs. The platform is one of the biggest in the industry, with over 15,000 roles listed. Sign up for an account and start your hunt. Black Cat Entertainment is an indie studio focused on supporting junior game devs get their chance in the industry. In order to show appropriate respect to the organisers, speakers, and your fellow community members, please ensure you attend if you RSVP! See you there! A disclaimer: This event is intended for an audience of people aged 18+ and alcohol will be present. Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Holy schmoly - we forgot to post this, and it's tomorrow! Six or seven OFFICIAL SEATS left >>>>> Check your schedule first (it's not cool to not show!) BOOK HERE [https://ti.to/dublin-java-user-group/2603-loic-magnette](https://ti.to/dublin-java-user-group/2603-loic-magnette) We're flying Loic Magnette in from Belgium for.... ## JavaScript (No, Not That One!) Modern Automation with Java If you're like Loïc, as a Java developer, every time you want or need to write a quick automation script, you struggle to remember how to properly write some bash or python. On those days, you probably end up "vibe coding" it and struggle once again when you want to adapt it. If only you could write it in Java! You might say "but Java is not for scripting" and I don't want to bother with maven or Gradle. Modern Java has quietly eliminated the traditional barriers that made it unsuitable for scripting. With instant execution, shebang support, and zero-setup automation, Java has evolved into a lean scripting language that lets you write precise, maintainable code without the "vibe coding" that often comes with unfamiliar languages. In this talk, Loïc will show you how Java became a first-class scripting language and why it might just become your new favourite tool for automation. . ## **Talk 2:** AI-Powered Form Wizards: Chat, Click, Done! Forms are everywhere; tax declarations, job applications, or even signing up for a new service. Although some forms are simple, many include ambiguous fields, complicated logic, or subpar design, which frustrates users and makes them more likely to make mistakes. Completing paperwork shouldn't be like solving a puzzle. What if consumers could just chat with an AI that walks them through each step instead of having to struggle? In this session, Loïc discusses his experience developing an AI-powered form-filling helper with LangChain4j, Quarkus and other useful Java libraries. He'll go over the challenges faced and how to overcome them, such as transforming text into form data with validations, assisting users based on their input, and the role of RAG in all of that. Loïc's talk will use examples to demonstrate how AI can assist users in their daily interactions with your software, so you will have the ideas and techniques to create more intelligent and user-friendly forms. Learn how to make forms enjoyable rather than tedious by using AI to assist your users, reduce errors, and eliminate aggravation. .

# 🌊 **Percy Jackson + General Knowledge Quiz – Two Rounds, 100 Questions** From Mount Olympus to pure trivia chaos, enjoy a full quiz night with two different challenges. We’ll run **two independent quizzes of 50 questions each**: **Round 1:** Percy Jackson (19:30–20:15) **Round 2:** General Knowledge (20:30–21:15) Join one or both. No repeated questions. ✨ **Round 1 – Percy Jackson (Thematic Quiz)** •**30 Story / Plot questions** • **10 Character questions** *(Double Points)* • **10 Quotes questions** *(Double Points)* Standalone thematic quiz (not part of a league). ✨ **Round 2 – General Knowledge** The quiz contains **5 questions per category** across: History • Geography • Music • Science • Food Pop Culture • Presidents • Literature • Sports Series & Movies This round **counts toward the General Knowledge League 2026**. ## 🏆 **General Knowledge League 2026** Every time you join a GK quiz, your team’s score is saved. Scores accumulate all year, and the best team wins: Custom jerseys for all members, featuring: • Team name • Team photo • Title: **“General Knowledge Champions 2026”** **🤝 Teams & Format** • Groups of **4–6** form their own team • Groups of **1–3** are matched with others • Arrive by **19:00** for smooth team formation • Latecomers join the team with the lowest score • **Fries for every table** • **Top 3 teams** win prizes • The winning team gets **free entry to any upcoming quiz** **💸 Pricing** **Per Round:** €7 individual • €5 groups of 2–3 • €4 groups of 4–6 **Both rounds:** +€2 extra **💳 [Membership Options (Save € & unlock perks)](https://buymeacoffee.com/newindublin)** **🟡 Regular Membership (€12/mo)** ✔ Free: Singles, Language Exchange, International Meetup ✔ –50%: Quizzes, Big Singles, Theme Party, Cultural Mix, Social Games, Music Challenge ✔ Extra perks **🔵 Theme Membership (€15/mo)** ✔ Free: Quizzes, Big Singles, Theme Party, Cultural Mix, Social Games, Music Challenge ✔ –50%: Singles, Language Exchange, International Meetup ✔ Extra Perks **🟣 Complete Membership (€20/mo)** ✔ Free access to ALL events ✔ Extra Perks **📱 Stay Connected** 🔗 **[Linktree](https://linktr.ee/newindublin)**[ ](https://linktr.ee/newindublin)– full weekly calendar 💬 **[WhatsApp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/L8IcUuQzHVVLGaoUZ8ONRt)**[ ](https://chat.whatsapp.com/L8IcUuQzHVVLGaoUZ8ONRt)– reminders & updates 📘 **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/newindublinmeetup)**[ ](https://www.facebook.com/newindublinmeetup)– photos & highlights 📸 **[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/newindublinmeetups/)**[ ](https://www.instagram.com/newindublinmeetups/)– stories & behind-the-scenes 🌐 **[Website](https://newindublin.net/)**[ ](https://newindublin.net/)– all information about our events

For this meetup, we’re swapping the rehearsal room for a bar and bringing our laptops, demos, and dreamiest ideas with us. We’ll listen to any tracks and sounds we’ve created so far, share what’s working, and shape where we want the project to go next. Bring along songs, bands, instruments, tones, or production styles that inspire you — we’ll use them as reference points to help define our collective dream pop / synthwave direction. Along with all that we need lyrics so feel free to bring any or come up with some on the way 📑 We’ll also chat through DAWs, workflow tips, and the best ways to share stems, sessions, and ideas so collaboration feels smooth rather than chaotic. Expect good tunes, good banter, and plenty of neon-tinged music chat 😎🎶 (Btw despite the title of this meetup we are most definitely open to guitar players also, especially those into a dream pop and atmospheric style 🎸)

**Disrupt Dublin returns on 26 February 2026, bringing sharp ideas and real conversations about the future of work.** Expect big bold ideas, brilliant conversations, and a room full of people who do not just talk about change, they build it. **[REGISTER THROUGH EVENTBRITE HERE](https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/disrupt-dublin-returns-february-26-2026-tickets-1976595846385)** What happens when you mix TED, Ignite, and a truth serum that removes all corporate gloss? You get Disrupt Dublin, a rapid-fire, idea-packed, community-powered evening. Speakers have five minutes. Twenty slides that automatically advance. Straightforward insights that challenge how we design work, lead teams, and shape talent in 2026 and beyond. If TED talks finally cut to the point and said what everyone is really thinking, this would be it. ### Why Attend **Get Energised** Ten big ideas delivered in a single evening. Hear from HR leaders, founders, researchers, and workplace innovators redefining the world of work. **Stay Ahead of the Curve** Discover how organisations are rewriting playbooks on culture, AI, talent, leadership, skills, and employee experience. **Expand Your Circle** This is the first Disrupt summit in Dublin since the Pandemic! Join us to celebrate the relaunch and rub shoulders (gently) with forward-thinkers from HR, Talent, Tech, People Ops, L&D, Consulting, and Leadership. These are the conversations that spark partnerships, job offers, and fresh opportunities. ### Agenda for 26 February 2026 5:00 to 6:00 Registration and Networking Drinks, canapés, and first connections. 6:00 to 6:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks Settle in. Things are about to get lively. 6:15 to 7:00 Lightning Talks Round One Fast, fearless five-minute sessions from inspiring voices in the workplace space. 7:00 to 7:15 Break Refresh. Decompress. Debate. 7:15 to 8:00 Lightning Talks Round Two More ideas. More energy. More “I am stealing that for Monday.” 8:00 to 8:30 Wrap Up and Final Networking Because the best conversations usually happen after the talks end. ### Speakers Speakers will be announced soon. ### Ready to Disrupt Dublin? If you are hungry for fresh thinking, curious about new possibilities, or tired of the same old workplace conversations, this event is for you. Join us for an evening that sparks action, connection, and meaningful change across the world of work.

Looking to get to know new people? Try this board game meetup! Bring a friend, or come alone and play with someone new. Choose from **over 150 games** or puzzles in our library, or **bring one of your own**. Staff are happy to suggest different games you may enjoy to help break the ice! Register online, or walk-ins welcome too :) **Price:** €10 - includes 3 hours of board game play for only €3.33/hour - regular price is €5/hour. **Ages:** 18+

This event is beginner Friendly. More experienced players are still free to come along. I will explain the rules before the first game at 7:15 so please arrive on time if you're new. The rules may be different than other versions of mafia that you played. There is limited capacity so we can't accept every RSVP request. If we aren't able to accept your RSVP event please come to a future.

We present a hands-on Demo from the Google Cloud Professional Architecture Exam Learning Path Location: 1 O'Connell Street Lower, North City, Dublin, D01 TX31

We will try to secure a table downstairs in the venue in order to keep the location consistent. New people who know nothing about Linux are welcome and encouraged to attend, please don't be shy. If you are new please feel free to approach one of the organisers, and we'd be only happy to help explain things as best as we can, we honestly don't mind and don't judge. We were new once ourselves :) Please note that in general, these are adult friendly meetups, therefore, we are not responsible for those under 18 in attendance. We may have events targeted at children in the future. As with any Meetup, please try to stick to your RSVP or change it to No if you can't come.

Join us every Sunday and tell a story as a group by playing a beginner-friendly roleplaying game. Every week we have 2-3 different games. All materials provided and rules are explained at the start of each game, you just need to bring your imagination. **This week's facilitators:** * ️ **Silvia** running *The Ultime Hidden Truth of the World* \- a rules\-light\, postapocalyptic hopepunk mashup of *A Quiet Year* and *Fate*. The grid has gone dark. The internet is down. The delivery trucks have stopped arriving. But your little community is thriving. Play through four seasons of building something together at the end of the world… * **Vishnu** building a city in *[I'm Sorry Did You Say Street Magic](https://seaexcursion.itch.io/street-magic)*. Street Magic is about breathing life into a city together — finding the true names of things, the ones that really mean something, like "the cheapest espresso on the block, the barista with the tacky taste in music" or "lantern-lit, soft wind chimes, a million mages chanting." We'll chose a setting and dream up a city in this GM-less, dice-less map making game. * **Scott** with a Grant Howitt one-page RPG, *[Adventure Skeletons](https://gshowitt.itch.io/adventure-skeletons)*. You're a skeleton, bored of guarding the dungeon for some wizard, and you decide that you should go on an adventure instead. You're having a great time at the local village's harvest festival, but people keep hitting you and your bits keep falling off. Try get as much treasure as you can before you have to head home! *** Feel free to ask the organisers any questions you have (here or on our [Discord server](https://tinyurl.com/indie-rpgs-dublin)).

Catan, coup, Muchkin, Exploding kittens y mas! Agradeceriamos que consumierais algo (bebida, comida, postres, cafe, etc.) durante el evento para apoyar al local :) el evento es preferiblemente Alcohol free. Te esperamos!

Please PREPAY for this game either by Revolut https://revolut.me/davidandl or Paypal ([kenna.david@gmail.com](http://kenna.david@gmail.com/)) √ We have just 60 minutes to play so please come along a few minutes early to ensure we can start on time. √ The maximum number of players is 18. Please be sure you show up. Places are in high demand so unfortunately, failure to show will result in you being automatically removed from the group. √ As always, you participate in these games at your own risk and an agreement to indemnify the organisers from any injury, loss, claim, or infection.

Join us for another board game night with FANG (Fem All Night Gaming). We are an all fem board gaming group in Columbus, Ohio. We are creating a space for people who identify as fem. No cis-men. Closer to the event we'll announce any games the admins are brining. We will always bring games, but we encourage everyone to bring any games they enjoy playing! We have a lot of great teachers in our group, so don't worry if you don't know how to play! 2PM START TIME! We’re meeting at Nocterra Audubon! (Not Powell!). They have great food & beer! It’s inside of the Scioto Park if you’re into a Winter walk between games Feel free to reach out to either admin if you have any questions!

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Spec-Driven Development with GitHub Spec-Kit: From Intent to Implementation* Spec-driven development flips the traditional workflow on its head: instead of code being the source of truth, the specification becomes the backbone of design, collaboration, and delivery. In this session, we’ll explore how GitHub Spec-Kit enables teams to treat specifications as first-class artifacts—living documents that drive architecture, implementation, and verification. You’ll learn how Spec-Kit helps teams clearly express intent using structured, version-controlled specs that live alongside code. We’ll walk through a practical workflow that starts with defining system behavior and constraints, then progressively refines those specs into testable, automatable outcomes. Along the way, we’ll show how specs can reduce ambiguity, improve cross-functional collaboration, and make design decisions explicit before a single line of production code is written. This talk will cover: --What spec-driven development is (and what it isn’t) --How GitHub Spec-Kit fits into modern developer workflows --Using specs to align product, engineering, and AI-assisted development --Real-world examples of turning specs into implementations with confidence Whether you’re building greenfield systems, integrating AI into your stack, or trying to reduce costly rework, spec-driven development offers a scalable way to move faster without sacrificing clarity. Attendees will leave with concrete patterns and a clear mental model for adopting GitHub Spec-Kit in their own projects. **YouTube Link** TBA

The Forge does have a full bar and kitchen. There is no cover charge but they do request all attendees to purchase a minimum of ~$20 per person. Soft drink refills are $1 each. Please support our hosts so we can continue to provide great events for the group! The Forge has a large library of games available for us to enjoy. Hosts and regulars will also provide numerous popular games but please bring any games you would like to teach and/or play. Doors open at 6, and we expect gaming to be rolling by around 630. Please promptly end your games and clear out the space at 10pm when the bar closes. We encourage socializing but do not permit disruptive behavior of any kind. Thank you for your continued commitment to providing a fun and welcoming space to veteran, newbie, and rookie gamers in the Columbus area. Parking can be challenging. There is a parking lot behind the neighboring Mexican restaurant that is free and easy to walk from but it's a bit hidden.

Come out to Improving for our monthly iOS and Mac meetings. This Month's Presentation: Nothing yet. (You should volunteer). What is Cocoaheads (http://cocoaheads.org/)? CocoaHeads is a group devoted to discussion of Apple Computer's Cocoa Framework for programming on MacOS X and iOS (including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch). During monthly meetings, members present on their projects and offer tutorials on various programming topics. What is BuckeyeCocoa (http://buckeyecocoa.org/)? BuckeyeCocoa is a group of Objective-C/Swift developers/enthusiasts. We host monthly Cocoaheads and near-weekly NSCoder meetings in Columbus, Ohio. The meetings are free to attend. Presentations! Presenters welcome! We are always in need of people willing to present material. Any Swift and/or Objective-C related topic is welcome. Times can be 5 minutes (i.e. lightning talks) to a maximum of 2 hours. Interested? Contact info is on the BuckeyeCocoa website. To volunteer for a presentation contact us at @BuckeyeCocoa on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter! @BuckeyeCocoa (https://twitter.com/#!/Buckeyecocoa/) For more information: http://buckeyecocoa.org/

Join us and work remotely together with like-minded UX folks. This is a last minute opportunity to get out at one of our favorites, [Junto](https://thejuntohotel.com/)! Plenty of seating is available in addition to a connected coffee shop and restaurant. I will be there 10-12 for sure, maybe longer. Feel free to come and go anytime during the day, and don't forget your charger and headphones!

Columbus Code & Coffee is an inclusive, informal co-working session. People of all skill levels attend, and we love it that way. Many people (optionally) bring projects to work on, and many other people (optionally) socialize the entire time. It's entirely up to you! **What to Expect at the Intro Circle** \~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~ Near the beginning of the event (1:30 pm), we do a standup: * Organizer announcements, updates, and logistics Round 1 - (7 secs max): * Your name * What you're working on * What you can help others with Round 2: * Community events you wanna plug. If none, that's cool too. Round 3: * Job opportunities you're hiring for OR announce that you are looking for one. If none, that's cool. After the introduction circle, everything is self-organized! Feel free to work alone, pair up, attend one of our workshops/presentations, or mingle!

Join us on the last ay of February for a fun day of gaming !!!