A new masters in digital games is to be launched in Dublin this week at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival gaming forum – Controller Cinema – which will feature a keynote speech from Peter Molyneux, a legendary figure in the gaming world.

Dublin Institute of Technology’s Schools of Media and Computer Science MSc in Digital Games will be launched at this event. DIT has introduced this MSc in Digital Games to meet the increasing demand from the games industry for postgraduates with the high-level skills in the analysis, creation and management of digital game content.

According to DIT, this exciting new programme will address the key occupational areas identified by the Forfás report on the International Digital Media Industry. These are: management/project management, design; artistic/creative; programming; and quality assurance.

A one-year Masters programme, the MSc in Digital Games at Dublin Institute of Technology will prepare graduates for a broad range of careers in the computer gaming industry including game designers, level designers, game software engineers, project managers, consultants, and games analysts.

The programme has been designed to encourage graduates to become innovators in this exciting field. Uniquely building on the combined expertise across the entire DIT, this industry-oriented programme will emphasise creativity and innovation through interdisciplinary study, cross-faculty cooperation, and constant industry input.

Building on the combined expertise of DIT’s Digital Media Centre, and its schools of Media and Computer Science the programme will provide modules in Ludology, game design, programming, animation, project management and the business of games.

It will appeal to graduates from diverse undergraduate and work backgrounds, including the visual and media arts, and computer science.

Also of appeal is Molyneux’s DIT Aungier Street appearance as part of the JDIFF 2010’s gaming forum, Controller Cinema. Run in conjunction with the schools of Computing and Media in DIT, the event takes place at 6.30pm, Thursday February 25th at DIT Aungier Street. Molyneux will discuss RPGs and their inherently cinematic nature as well as showcase his latest work on the evening. This will be followed by a panel discussion addressing RPG game development within the Irish gaming industry and will be chaired by Aphra Kerr author of The Businesses and Culture of Digital Games: gamework/gameplay. Peter Connolly, executive producer from Microsoft Games Studio will also be in attendance.

To guarantee a place at this event (spaces are limited) you can purchase tickets (€5) from http://jdiff.ticketsolve.com/shows/23497949/events, by calling 01 6877974 or in person at the JDIFF Ticketing Office, Filmbase, Curved St, Dublin 2. Entry will be allowed on the night but subject to space.

The event can be viewed live from Seriousgames.ie, the website of the DIT Experimental Gaming Group, a cross faculty research group for digital games in the DIT.

http://seriousgames.ie/wordpress/projects/live-stream-from-peter-molyneuxs-talk/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25053475671

Twitter: www.twitter.com/DublinFilmFest

Raidió Rí-Rá, Ireland’s only all-Irish chart-station for young people, has put out a call for people with fluent Irish and a few hours to spare one morning a week in March 2010 to help get the word out about the station

Raidió Rí-Rá, which can be heard all year around online on www.rrr.ie, on all Nokia phones, and on iPhones with the latest application, will go onto the airwaves for the second year in a row as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge. Seachtain na Gaeilge is a non-profit organisation, which promotes the use of Irish language and culture both at home and abroad within a two-week festival held in March every year.

The chart-station will be broadcasting live in Dublin (100.3 FM), Cork (106.7 FM), Galway (99.1 FM), and Limerick (105.5 FM) during March 2010 and the station is organising volunteer teams to visit schools in these cities. Volunteers are required for a few hours one morning a week in March to help Raidió Rí-Rá by visiting at most five schools in their area.

The Raidió Rí-Rá street-teams will visit classes to chat with the pupils in Irish and to organise quizzes with small prizes with them, and some lucky students will even have the chance to talk live on air to Rí-Rá presenters in studio. Raidió Rí-Rá will supply all the prizes and the necessary material for the quizzes for the street-teams to get the fun going as Gaeilge in schools.

If you’d like to be part of this project with Raidió Rí-Rá and help to promote Irish in your local area, contact Clare Lanigan today at mailto: clare@rrr.ieor call +353 (0)1 6611999.

Rachel Earley, Digital Creative Lead at Eighty:Twenty in Dublin

Company Eighty:Twenty is a an interactive communications agency with technological innovation at its core. Through innovation we cultivate our expertise in Social Influence Marketing, emerging media, creative design, analytics, technology and user experience. Essentially, we create experiences that build businesses. http://www.eightytwenty.ie

The job I have worked at Eighty:Twenty since March 2009. Originally employed as a Web designer and developer my role has developed and changed in unison with the developments in the digital world. I am responsible for the technological development of all our digital campaigns across a range of platforms such as Web, Flash and Application development. I am also responsible for seeking out emerging technologies and social experiences and finding ways to apply those to the digital identity of our brand campaigns

Likes I like being part of something innovative every day. I like that I am constantly being challenged by both the industry I work in, as well as my peers. I also like working with some really fantastic creative people both in our company and on collaborative projects!

Career ladder I began my career working for several months as a junior web developer at Media One. After taking 18 months out to travel and work around the world, including a 4-month stint as a Flash Developer for a web agency in Brisbane, I returned to Media One where I was quickly promoted to lead web designer, a role I enjoyed for 3 years. My last role prior to this one was when I was approached by Blastbeat to head up the redesign and redevelopment of both their educational and social networking sites. I have also recently started a role as lecturer on the new Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising & Digital Communications at Dublin Institute of Technology.

Qualifications Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Communications (Swansea University).

Working hours My start time ranges between 8am and 9.30am and I finish up between 5.30pm and 7pm depending on the workload.

Breaktime Once or twice a week I’d head down to our local deli with some of my colleagues or go meet a friend for lunch to make sure I get away from my desk. If I’m really busy I’ll have a sandwich at my desk but make sure I take one or two tea breaks.

Social media credentials I’m a total social media addict. I am a regular user of Twitter as @rachearley both in work and at home (with Tweetdeck) and on mobile (with Tweetie). It’s a fantastic resource for everything and I love that I can keep up to date with both my friends, peers and experts in the industry. I use Facebook regularly to connect and keep up with friends and I use LinkedIn for networking and business. I also blog sporadically at http://www.rachearley.com/blog.

News Twitter is a great resource, I also like sites such as www.nma.co.uk and TED.com.

Onsite or offsite? I mainly work in-house although I would tend to go to a client meeting maybe once or twice a week, usually during the inception of the project.

Why do you love Mondays? I love Mondays because I’m part of something really exciting everyday and I know that my day will be creative, innovative and challenging in equal measure. I also get to work with some fantastic people with exactly the same attitude!

Contract workers who fall under the category of IT contractors may need to look into seeking permanent positions results from an Irish Computer Society (ICS) survey come to pass.
A survey completed by the ICS in late 2009 found that half of respondents expected their 2010 IT budgets to be lower than the 2009 spend on IT. Respondents were mainly from the private sector in both IT and non-IT industries and the public sector.
According to the ICS survey findings, budgets are expected to fall by up to 30% in a quarter of organisations surveyed. The main area that those surveyed expected to reduce their IT spending was contractor salaries (42% of respondents) while new staff recruitment was a factor for one on four.

The future is positive for the mobile/wireless applications area. These are to be investigated by one in seven companies and piloted by 4%. 12% of those surveyed plan to implement mobile/wireless applications in their enterprise while an additional 20% will maintain existing applications. 10% plan to roll extend initiatives in this area.
As regards use of social networking, 60% of respondents said they had no plans for it in their enterprise, 11% will investigate it and 9% plan to pilot it, while just 5% will pilot it. 13% of those surveyed plan to maintain their social networking presence, while just 2% will roll back on it.

Whether social media is part of your official job description, something that’s landed on your desk in the office because everybody else is too nervous about it, or it’s something you’d like to do professionally, there’s nothing like some proper guidance.
Online PR and social media company, Simply Zesty had served up just that in the form of a free e-book to help people understand social media.

The e-book is a culmination of content produced regularly on the Simply Zesty blog. The e-book was built using the best bits of the blog and covers the basics of social media and blogging, some advanced tips and tutorials too. The 179-page tome also explains how to use video online; how to grow your blog and build community; 10 video tips on how to get more out of Tweetdeck; a complete guide to Twitter; and 50 resources that will help improve your blogging.
If reading isn’t your thing, the WordCamp conference in Kilkenny could be for you. Taking place on the weekend of March 6 and 7, WordCamp is a two-day camp on blogging and CMS software WordPress. However, it has three different types of sessions for different users of WordPress: those interested in blogging, people already using WordPress and designers and coders. At the early bird rate of €40 for the weekend it is as close to free as you can get for the range of speakers and advice available.