Make like your laptop charger and plug in, because today is all about serious fun. Discover what goes into video game development, explore the world in a new way with the latest in augmented and virtual reality technologies, and play the day away our Indie Game Arcade.
Join us for some coffee and breakfast before diving in to the last day of Geekend!
Made in Savannah, sold everywhere. Hear the stories behind these Savannah powerhouse brands and learn about the unique challenges these founders have faced in building nationally recognized consumer brands.
Learn what it takes to create and sustain an emotionally healthy dynamic that fosters innovation and drives outcomes for you and your teams. Devin O’Bryan is a designer-educator with an eye for talent and a heart for cultivating that talent. He currently serves IBM’s Strategic Talent Program as design advocate and facilitator. His past 4 years have been filled with guiding and co-creating within IBM Corporate HR and IBM Design’s global education efforts with programs like IBM Design Bootcamp Experiences, IBM Designweek events, and building the immersive and award-winning, Maelstrom internship program. In this talk, Devin will share his experiences and lessons learned through Maelstrom as it grew to become the prime IBM’s premier software design experience.
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The essence of user experience is how a person feels when interfacing with a system. Ironically, it is something we never think about unless the process is broken and it is not easy to use a particular product. Join this panel of user experience experts as they discuss projects ranging from video games to mobile apps to B2B sites and hear about their process of designing human centered experiences and products. Learn about the processes and tools that they use to figure out how a user should interact with a product, including user research, interviews, data analytics, algorithms and more.
Software is more than code, and a lot of time and overhead that goes into building software can be automated. This talk will look at the tools and techniques that software teams are using to automate everything from project management, to code review, to product feedback.
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Come experience a wide array of augmented and virtual reality (that’s AR/VR for short!) technologies and projects at this special showcase. This event is free and open to the public!
We all need a little fuel to keep going. Take a break and enjoy some lunch!
This Hour of Code workshop is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Ages 6+, free and open to the public. Advance registration strongly recommended, as space is limited. Parents should plan to accompany young children.
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It takes hard work and dedication to make a video game, especially without the big budgets associated with blockbuster AAA games. How do indie game developers support their passion with limited resources?
Join game makers from Indienomicon, Florida’s indie game developer collective, as they discuss a day in the life of an indie game dev.
This session is free and open to the public.
Gain insight into common pitfalls for designing games and UI for kids, and learn tips on how to interact with them to get the most out of your playtest sessions.
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Colloquially referred to as “crypto,” cryptocurrency is setting the stage for major economic and technological changes that will impact the way we do business. Join this panel of enterprising crypto enthusiasts to learn what exactly cryptocurrencies are and how they are enabled by the underlying blockchain technology. This disruptive technology will very likely affect our lives and communities in the not-too-distance future, so join us to discover what it all really means.
Since the indie game boom of 2008 that ushered in an age of passion, creativity and breaking boundaries with games like Jonathan Blow’s Braid and 2D Boy’s World of Goo, game development has become so accessible that it seems everyone is building a game.
With so many games being released every day, gaining recognition is very difficult, regardless of the quality of the game. Join this panel of game developers for a rundown of their successes in marketing their independent video games to the masses.
As the tech industry grows in Savannah and across the globe, more and more workers from different industries are being pulled in to work for tech companies: programmers, marketers, product managers, and designers are just some of the roles required to create and sell technology.
Join this panel of mavericks and hear about how they got into tech, the latest and greatest software tools that they use every day, and opportunities for others to work in this growing industry. Plus, hear about all of the opportunities in Savannah to get plugged in, learn to code and get a job. Our panel will include a senior developer, CEO of a tech company, UI/UX designer and product manager, offering a cross-section of people needed to build technology.
The technologist and game development communities in tech — even in the world’s leading tech centers — often operate in isolation. Join us for this exciting final panel of Geekend 2018 where we will discuss why this isolation exists, how Savannah is uniquely positioned to bridge that tech industry divide, and how that fits into the city’s strategy as an emerging tech corridor.
Join us for the ProjectMQ Indie Game Awards, where we’ll celebrate the indie games from the Geekend Indie Game Arcade and the talented local and regional developers who made them. ProjectMQ’s Malcolm Howard will present the People’s Choice Award, and attendees will have a chance to win games, merchandise, and even a Nintendo Switch, sponsored by Savannah-based Avant Games.
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Geekenders believe anything is possible…
but hosting this event would be hard without our amazing sponsors!
