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The Pixel Mill Trainee 2022 – Trainee Producer (Video Games) is an entrant scheme for aspiring video game producers. We are looking for motivated individuals who want to develop a career in Northern Ireland’s thriving interactive sector. Do you enjoy working and communicating within a team to deliver projects? Are you a planner with an eye for detail? Are you passionate about video games?

There is one place available for a Trainee Producer and we expect a high level of competition. If you gain a place as a trainee at The Pixel Mill, you will be given an 18-month contract (Real Living Wage) and have the opportunity to work on a range of video game projects. We will train and develop you for a career in the video game industry and you will be assigned a senior industry mentor. You will be expected to work closely with video game studios to support them tracking projects and identifying bugs within games.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the professional video game development industry in Northern Ireland and gain hands-on experience in producing and QA. This position would be of interest to those who want to pursue a career in producing in the video games industry.

The duties of the Trainee Producer may vary from company to company. Administrative skills and being organised will be a key part of the role. The candidate will need to work well as part of a team to support the management of projects so that they can meet milestones.

Individuals applying should come from a creative media production or administrative background, but no specific academic qualifications are required. However, you should be able to demonstrate your ability and knowledge of how to plan and manage a project. This can be done through professional experience and personal projects. More importantly, we want people who are passionate about the video game industry, have the ability to manage projects and are enthusiastic about working with teams.

Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Friday 4^th March 2022.

For more information and to apply, visit the Company Placements section on Northern Ireland Screen’s website.

The Pixel Mill is hosting a Community Strategy for Indie Studios workshop on Thursday 3rd March at 10:30am. The session will be delivered online by Matt Knott, Community Director at Future PLC.

At Future PLC, Matt oversees community strategy for some of its best known brands, including PC Gamer and Space.com. Prior to this, he was the English Language Community Manager for Riot Games in Europe, being a key point of contact for players and press before taking point on product releases for the Player Behaviour Team. He worked alongside developers to craft projects and messaging plans for feature launches raising awareness among the game’s fan base and making them part of the event.

The workshop will focus on strategic planning of campaigns for indie studios to engage and develop communities around their games. The workshop will cover best practice of how to develop a campaign, for example feature announcement, launch, new character reveals, and give practical tips of how to best implement and manage campaigns.

If you would like to attend the workshop please email rory@northernirelandscreen.co.uk to book a space.

The Ukie Hub Crawl is back! Join fellow games developers and publishers and identify new opportunities and strategies to support the growth of your business. The 12-date series will commence from Tuesday 18^th January with 8 virtual events taking place. With one event a week and with fresh speakers every time, this should become a key part of your weekly schedule.

Hub Crawl 22 will feature an array of expert speakers sharing their insight around key issues including the latest technology, staff recruitment and retention, access to finance and reaching your all-important consumers.

All events within Hub Crawl 22 are free to attend thanks to its amazing partners Barclays Bank (lead partner) and Amazon (event partner).

Virtual events dates and themes:

1. Tuesday 18^th January – Games staff of the future; how and where to recruit the best talent for your games company.
2. Tuesday 25^th January – Retaining your team for the long term; how to develop and support your employees.
3. Tuesday 1^st February – New technology for games; what technology is helping to shape the future of the games industry, and how.
4. Tuesday 8^th February – Finance for growth; how games companies can access external finance for business expansion.
5. Tuesday 15^th February – The what and how for Blockchain and NFT for the games industry.
6. Tuesday 22^nd February – Reaching and building a relationship with consumers.
7. Tuesday 1^st March – The latest trends in data analytics in games.
8. Tuesday 8^th March – The future of esports; how and why will esports shape the games industry.

In April Hub Crawl 22 goes on the road with visits planned to key games hubs around the UK.

Physical events dates (Themes TBC):

1. Tuesday 5^th April
2. Tuesday 12^th April
3. Tuesday 19^th April
4. Tuesday 26^th April

For more information, please click here.

Platform is a business accelerator programme for video game companies in Northern Ireland aimed at supporting companies to self-publish a new game based on an original IP within 12 months.

Working out of The Pixel Mill based at the Ormeau Baths in Belfast, companies will have access to facilities, mentors, training and funding as well as the opportunity to attend markets to build their business network and meet consumers.

Northern Ireland Screen is inviting applications from companies to take part with support for up to 3 successful companies to develop their business and build their teams. As part of Platform companies will receive:

• Up to 3 teams
• Up to £60,000 in development funding per company
• Up to 12 Months Office Space and access to mentors
• Market Attendance – Gamescom and EGX

For further information please click here.

Deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 11^th February 2022.

The Pixel Mill will be hosting an online talk with Graeme Weir from the Federation of Small Businesses on Thursday 20th January at 2pm. The talk will cover the Federation of Small Business (FSB) and how it supports small companies and sole traders/self-employed.   

FSB is a member-led, not-for-profit, organisation which represents small firms and the self-employed to UK, national and local government. FSB offers its members a range of benefits, such as a 24-hour legal advice line and free business banking.  

The talk will be held online. If you would like to attend, email rory@northernirelandscreen.co.uk to sign-up.

Are you a passionate graduate game dev? Are you interested in taking part in Tranzfuser 2022? There will be a single Enterprise Pathway with a focus on helping teams get pitch-ready for applying to the UK Games Fund for grant support of up to £20,000.

Next year sees the competition focus on the art of transforming entrepreneurial passion into a sustainable and commercial creative studio.

If you’re interested in taking part in Tranzfuser 2022, register your details now to be kept up to date with the latest news.

Click here to find out more and to register your details.

Screen Academies have released new dates for its upcoming workshops across VFX and game development. Both academies will run for 12-weeks from January t0 March 2022.

VFX Academy

Participants will learn about the different aspects of creating a game or designing VFX shots, mentored by professionals who work in the creative industries. This is an exciting opportunity to hear more from industry professionals and get a feel for what the VFX industry is like in Northern Ireland. The VFX academy will take place at the Nerve Belfast office in Havelock House. During this academy you will gain experience in using industry standard software such as Nuke and Blender as well as learning about the process of shooting for VFX to create your own portfolio.

Games Development Academy

Throughout the Games Development course you will have the opportunity to learn about the different departments who work on a game, as well as developing a game idea in small teams under the guidance of industry mentors who are working in highly successful gaming companies. This course will take place in both the Nerve Centre in Belfast and Derry-Londonderry.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, where meeting in person is not possible the Academies will offer blended learning through online classes and in venue training sessions in adherence with government guidelines.

For more information on both of these academies please visit www.screenacademiesni.org for more information and to apply.

Closing date for both academies is Friday 10th December.

The Pixel Mill Trainee 2022 (Community Manager) is an entrant scheme for aspiring video game marketers. We are looking for motivated individuals who want to develop a career in Northern Ireland’s thriving interactive sector. Can you create gifs that catch people’s attention? Do you like creating short video content that tells a story? Are you passionate about video games?

There is one place available for a Trainee Community Manager and we expect a high level of competition. If you gain a place as a trainee at The Pixel Mill, you will be given a 12-month contract (Real Living Wage) and have the opportunity to work on a range of video game projects. We will train and develop you for a career in the video game industry and you will be assigned a senior industry mentor. You will be expected to work closely with video game studios to support them in creating content and curating communities around their games.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the professional video game development industry in Northern Ireland and gain hands-on experience in community management and marketing. This position would be of interest to those who want to pursue a career in community management, marketing or publishing in the video games industry.

The duties of the Trainee Community Manager may vary from company to company. Content creation for online and using social media platforms will be a key part of the role. The candidate will need to work well as part of a team to post content that is consistent and to a high standard.

Individuals applying should come from a creative media production or marketing background, but no specific academic qualifications are required. However, you should be able to demonstrate your ability and knowledge of how to create content/assets for online, for example gifs, stills or short videos. This can be done through professional experience, personal projects, being a Streamer/Content Creator or an admin for online community forums. More importantly, we want people who are passionate about the video game industry, have the ability to generate ideas based on current events/seasonality and are enthusiastic about building online communities.

Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Friday 3rd December.

For more information and to apply, visit the Company Placements section on Northern Ireland Screen’s website.

Turkish mobile game studio, Hungri Games, has today announced they are opening a new studio in Belfast and is actively seeking game developers, level designers and project managers for its new office. The Belfast-based studio is supported with funding from Northern Ireland Screen and its video game co-working space, The Pixel Mill.

Hungri Games, which has achieved significant success with two mid-core games published global in the last two years led by its experienced team based in Turkey, is aiming to accelerate its global growth and add talent to its team. As part of its worldwide talent strategy the company is eager to hear from passionate game developers from across the globe, with applications welcomed from Turkey to Belfast and beyond.

Hungri Games’ Co-founder Kagan Berk Kocak, stated that having a studio based within the UK will allow the company to have a finger on the pulse of gamers in the European market. Kagan added: “We are currently working on a new and exciting game about World War I. In addition to our talented team in Turkey, we have started to recruit talent for our new studio. We are focused on attracting talent from a range of cultures and experiences, with the ambition of growing the team to 25 people by the end of 2021 in our Belfast studio.”

Kagan underlined that Hungri Games’ ultimate goal is to be a globally recognised and respected mobile game company. Led by a team with a track record of experience and success in the global video game industry, Kagan added: “We aim to be in the top 20 grossing games for core and mid-core game in the EMEA and US markets. The whole team is focused and determined to achieve this goal. We will continue to progress down this path with our Istanbul and Belfast studios.”

Established in Istanbul in 2019, Hungri Games is an innovative mobile game development and publishing company focusing on mid-core and core areas. Hungri Games’ goal is to create value on a global scale by localising the games it developed in Turkey around the world, producing content with a player-centred approach. For detailed information, visit www.hungrigames.com.

The Pixel Mill is hosting a Q&A with a Publisher workshop with Sega Content and Partnerships Manager Julia Kenny on Tuesday 30^th November at 9:30am – 11am.

The workshop will be an opportunity for developers, new and experienced, to ask questions about video games publishing. Julia will cover topics ranging from how to pitch games, what working with a publisher entails and what to expect from a publishing partner.

Julia’s background is in video game publishing and business development. She has worked both on the publishing and developer side of investment and publishing discussions, with a particular focus on content acquisition. What drives her is her passion for bringing great games to the consumer and forming meaningful relationships. She is currently working in the SEGA Searchlight team, SEGA’s publishing and incubation arm for original IP.

The workshop will be held in-person at the Ormeau Baths (with a limited number of people and social distancing measures in place), however there will also be an option to join remotely. If you would like to attend the workshop please email Rory Clifford, Interactive Manager, rory@northernirelandscreen.co.uk. Please include whether you would like to attend in person. Numbers will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.