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[Jandy]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to the forum but have been playing around with game making tools for years (nothing really sophisticated, mind), and I wondered if anyone here was from around the Midlands (England). 

I'm from the Staffordshire area and as far as I know there is nothing going on around here like indie jams or anything.  It'd be great to find some people who are close enough to get something going on around my area, as I have a hard time finishing projects (I'm also at uni ((not on any programing / game design course either :/)), which is pretty intense so sometimes I'll go for months without working on anything and then the motivation is just kinda lost).

I just work in Game Maker, but I'm fairly competent from a technical standpoint (in so much as I can write well enough to achieve what I want from a game), and I do a lot of spriting with an emphasis on animation.

It'd be great to find people close by to jam with or even get a little colab going over summer maybe.

~Oshi

[Draknek]

There were a couple of people from Coventry/Leamington at TIGJam UK4. There's also Warwick Game Design which is a student society at Warwick university.

I don't know of anything closer to Staffordshire.

[Jandy]

Yeah, I'd seen the last TIGJam UK4 but it'd sold out already 

The Warwick Society sounds great - maybe I picked the wrong university >__> we have a gaming society here but the one time I went to see it was during a CoD tournament, I played (/ sucked the business end of a rifle) for 5 minutes.  When I heard gaming society I expected something... different I guess...

[PaulForey]

Hey!

I'm based in Coventry at the moment, and don't expect to move anytime soon.

I know there's a few guys based in Coventry and there's a whole host of *real* developers in Leamington Spa, of which I'm sure many employees would consider heading to an indie meet-up.

Ratchet, Ishi and Bluescrn are all local to this area.

Bluescrn and I were certainly saying it would be a great idea to have some sort of meet-up.

Are you still moving back to Coventry at some point, Draknek? I seem to remember you mentioning something.

[Draknek]

Yes, the current plan is to move back there in July. At that point I think I'll try to encourage more participation between Warwick Game Design and the larger indie community but a separately-organised thing would be excellent as well.

Organise something before then and there's a good chance I'll use that as an excuse to visit. Actually I'm going to be up there next week (13th-19th) -- we could quickly arrange a pub meetup if enough people are interested?

[bluescrn]

Yeah, I'm in Leamington. Would be good if there were some indie get-togethers in the area, might help me stay motivated if I'm showing more people what I've been up to

I don't really know anywhere to suggest as a game-jam-friendly venue - theres no shortage of pubs and good currys here, though

Not sure how much longer I'll be around here, may be moving away in July, depends if I've still got a job...

[Nugsy]

I'm near Sheffield! Would be cool to have some sort of TIGNorth meetup haha.

[Draknek]

I believe Ben Bradley organises a Sheffield meetup.

[HelixFox]

Ben is organising one for Sheffield, yeah. We're currently planning on meeting up next week (Monday 14th). Email Ben (his email is on his site, linked above) and he should let you know what the deal is

[PaulForey]

I'm all for it, but if we were to have a quick pub meet up, first question would be where? Coventry? Leamington Spa? Somewhere in the middle?

[Draknek]

Since Bluscrn is the only interested Leamington-based person I'm aware of, Coventry would seem to make the most sense.

Anyone have a preference for date or location within Coventry? Earlier in the week probably works better for me than later.

[bluescrn]

Anyone have a preference for date or location within Coventry? Earlier in the week probably works better for me than later.

I could do Saturday or Sunday, ideally somewhere near either Coventry or Leamington train station? Maybe mid-afternoon/early-evening, before the pubs get busy?

Weeknights anywhere beyond Leamington are a bit tricky, as I usually don't get back from work until 6:30pm-ish, and if there's a pub involved I don't want to be driving!

Leamington<->Coventry is only 10mins on the train, but there's only one train per hour (and the last is about 10:30pm weeknights/9:30pm at the weekends, which is a bit rubbish!)

A lot of indie meetups/events seem to be weekdays/nights, which is fine for full-time-indies and students, not so great for those working full-time.  If/when my work situation changes, I'll be able to get out more, maybe the occasional Tuesday afternoon at CB2

[benbradley]

Yeah it looks like there is now an indies meetup in Sheffield every month or so. We're planning to meet for the second time on the 14th of March. It's just been social/pub meets so far but it's still growing so may turn into something bigger. Who knows.

Most of our communication is by email and if anyone is vaguely interested I can pop you on the mailing list. Send a message to mail [at] benbradley [dotcom], I'll add you and you can keep an eye on what's happening. All interest welcome!

Ben

[Draknek]

I'm also working full-time (including next week, just from a different office to normal) so I appreciate that weekday evenings are not necessarily convenient for everyone.

I'm not sure about my availability over the weekend so I would much prefer a weekday. Paul, do you have an opinion here?

[PaulForey]

I pretty much decide my own hours for University at the moment so I'm good for either weekday or weekend.

It's better for me to avoid Tuesdays and Thursdays, though (band practice).

Location-wise, The Aardvark is fairly close to the station. It's just a regular scream pub but the only non-average pubs in Coventry are much closer to the centre. I bet the Tin Angel would welcome us, but it's on Spon Street, past IKEA and all that.

I don't want this to slip past due to continuous negotiation of time and place, so how about a provisional idea of 18:30 or 19:00 at The Aardvark on Wednesday the 16th?

EDIT: Just realised that if Bluescrn is gonna be able to make it due to it being a weekday, then we're probably not so limited to being near-train station. Would that be an accurate assumption?

[Ratchet]

The Tin Angel's shut now anyway, the landlord managed to kick them out before their lease expired and there's all protest signs on it 

However, there's also Taylor John's, which is owned by the same people and has a similar, creative-welcoming atmosphere. They have band rooms in the back that I'll be going to check out soon, so I can report back if it's really awesome.
Otherwise I don't now much about pubs, I'm too much of a nerd to go outside, with your giant sky lamp and such.

I'll try to get Propellor and Raggy to come, too.

[Draknek]

Okay, let's go with Wednesday at 7:00.

Will let you make the decision about pubs based on your research, Ratchet. Spon St. isn't really that much further from the station compared to the Aardvark. Don't know where Taylor John's is.

I'm inviting people from Warwick Game Design, might get a few of them coming along.

[Ishi]

A bit late to the party but yeah I'm up for this. Never been to the Aardvark but I've walked past it so I know where it is, and I'm fine with that for wednesday.

I might ask a couple of people from work if they fancy coming along, if that's ok? (I work at a games company)

While we're on the subject or pubs, I can recommend Inspire, which is in an old church and has a fantastic selection of bottled beers; and Browns, which has great atmosphere (which for me means no loud music) and decent food. Oh and The Gatehouse in summertime - amazing burgers.

[bluescrn]

EDIT: Just realised that if Bluescrn is gonna be able to make it due to it being a weekday, then we're probably not so limited to being near-train station. Would that be an accurate assumption?

If you're going to be somewhere in easy walking distance of the station, then I'll try to make an appearance, at least for a couple of hours

[Ratchet]

Actually, unless Taylor John's is spectacular, Brown's is pretty awesome. They do really good coffee.

However, I might not be able to come after all, might be seeing family during the week.  Really want to come though, could we make this monthly? Haha