Vienna Design Week 2019

Last week I had the opportunity of exhibitors at this year’s Vienna Design Week , but why am I writing an article about it? Good Question! The answer, I need to first clarify what the Vienna Design Week is precisely what it is there to see, and why the Festival, in my opinion, an important contribution to the local game scene in Austria has done.

Vienna Design – what?

The Vienna Design Week is an annual Festival, which is set in the eponymous city of Vienna to be home. This changes every year, its Location, and takes place in total for 10 days. This Time it went for the visitors in the Alsergrund, to be exact in the direction of Franz-Josefs-train station in the disused Bank Austria commercial building. 27.September to 6.October, was taken the building in front of his tag once more in “operation”, and attracted around 40 000 visitors.

To be presents there are all sorts of things, whether it is a new, innovative furniture, or other groundbreaking ideas. Of course everything on the subject of Design! Honestly, I must admit that I was impressed, but also confused by the aisles paced am. Art is very subjective and to me particularly on this Festival is clear. Of rooms, which were designed to be interactive, where you could even change the appearance, to empty the Closet with abstract shapes that lie on the ground and a pair of white gloves, which hung from the ceiling. In part, the works exhibited were as banal as they are ingenious. Of course, I have to say that the discussions with the designers and artists as a very revealing out. Because, as the saying goes: “The eye is deceiving!”. Some of the things that appeared to me part incredibly foolish to have revealed to the avid Dialog suddenly make more sense. Often in the case of works which have little practical Benefit but, rather, an aesthetic value is not the case.

Each year a guest country at the Vienna Design Week invited to the it also some of the presentations, Panels, etc. out there. This year it was Finland. Admittedly, our Scandinavian colleagues know, in the North, how to make furniture. Well, what do you say Ikea? No, seriously, some of the featured products were part of failed really. For example, there was a series of furniture designed for the Office building so that you can talk within a noisy environment yet private. In addition to the there are also of course some other comfortable pieces of furniture. The price brought me in as a student, nevertheless, to Swallow. How people only can afford. Well, buyers seem to be for any of the products in any case. Design works up!

Austria’s game scene is thriving

The most interesting for me, the Game Area was up for it, but of course you will. This year the Vienna Design Week not only myself, but also a number of other Game-Developer on-site, including representatives of some of the Indie Studios from the Viennese Milieu, such as, for example, Mi’Pu’Mi with your title , The Lion’s Song or Lost in the Garden with light field. For those of you who have heard from the developers, nothing: must see, worth it!

In addition, there were, in addition to the professional developers also young talents on the spot. The HTL Spengergasse qualified this year as the first high school for the debut category of the festival. In a private room, the students from the game design gave the Department its own annual and diploma projects, and also worked actively in it. One of them was even I! Our task was, people clarify the little to no relation to the development and design process of video games and the design of the title part. An important aspect of the development of Games is to test the Play. It is in an early prototype Phase to find out whether the game concept is fun and understandable. A current example would be the infamous Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Admittedly, from a prototype, we do not speak here, but the immature concept just shows that not enough has been iterated.

Stress can also make fun…?

In addition to the issued Play, there was also a Gam-Jam, in which students from Austria were able to participate. Including, among other things, the HTL Spengergasse, FH hagenberg, the SAE Institute and the University of applied Sciences of Salzburg. But what is a Game Jam? Excuse my technical jargon, Game Jams are small-gathering of Game developers in your it comes to a specific topic, which the participants only at the Kick-Off to learn to make a game. Usually this happens within three days. So quite a bit of time, and of course also as good as no, to little sleep. The results could, however, see. A total of five games were produced. The given theme was “Right/left”. In addition to a game, in which, for example, the Movement of a character on the x-axis was limited, there was also a very amusing policy Simulator. How to implement the theme, the participant is always up to you. Was headed to the Game Jam, Jogi Neufeld, the organizer of the Subotron, probably the largest representation of interests of the Austrian-Game-Developer Community. Also, some professionals from different game studios in the country were invited to work with the designers on-the-spot games in the Form of this Game Jams to develop. To pairs the Experiment experienced game developer with a concept ionisten, which are not in the Gaming industry, is a success. The results of the “misery” were featured in a specially prepared room, and visitors to the Test provided.

CONCLUSION

In General, I am very glad that the Austrian-Game-Developer Community had the opportunity to present their own projects on Display. In this country in the future will surely appear some interesting titles from budding developers. And the data don’t lie. According to a recently published Infographic, TU Graz, a majority of the game studios of Austria in a very early stage. The coming years look very promising! Game studios do not arise out of Nothing, and as a country which is famous for its art and culture, we should not let the new art form, the game computer, except Eight. Especially the Game-Jam to me, but also certainly to the visitors, have shown that the next Generation of game developers is not to be underestimated. In conclusion, I can only say that it is a pleasure for me was part of this year’s Vienna Design Week to be had. A visit to the annual Festival is definitely worth, and who knows, maybe I have to write next year, the chance to report directly on site.