Buffalo Game Space (BGS), a non-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting the collaboration of programmers, artists, musicians and designers, has grown to the point that they are now in the stage of securing a permanent home – an official co-working space. It turns out that if upcoming funding goals are realized, the organization has set its eyes on a location in the city (location currently undisclosed).
At this point, the ability to share resources is key, and as the game development community gets larger, the potential to work on more significant projects is only a matter of formalizing a proper headquarters. “Many years ago I started trying to make my own games,” said BGS Board Member John Futscher. “What I found out very quickly is: It’s really hard. Especially if you’re working alone. So after years of struggling on my own and getting nowhere, I started to look for other like minded people.”
Now those like-minded people are rallying together to create a conducive atmosphere where they can focus on purchasing equipment (motion capture studio, audio recording equipment, additional workstations, development software, etc.). In order to get to that next level, Buffalo Game Space has launched a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of raising $40,000 by October 16th, 2014 (see reward levels for all contributions). The following video gives us a good perspective of the passion and the fortitude of local developers, and their mission moving forward.
According to BGS, its new focus is on its growth trajectory. Until this point, members have been busy building solo and team projects and demos, as well as hosting game jams (short spans of time in which teams must complete a game from scratch based on a specific theme). The community has also sponsored talks from the likes of Richard Wnuk (Senior Advisor for Kik Interactive, formerly at Atari, Time Warner Interactive, and Konami of America) and Michael Thomasson (video game historian, lead at Good Deal Games and Homebrew Heaven). So far, all of these initiatives have been held, and will be held, at an interim warehouse on the outskirts of the city, until the permanent facility is secured.
“With this upgrade, it will allow us to offer services that we couldn’t possibly offer before,” said BGS board member Chris Langford. “Things like a co-working space, a place that game developers, who are most likely working alone at home, can congregate with others like them to discuss ideas and be part of a community. We want to give our members access to tools that they couldn’t have on their own, such as professional game development software, development kits, a recording studio, and even a motion capture suite. We also aim to connect developers with the all too often overlooked accounting, legal and publishing services required to get their project out the door.”
“What this all means,” Chris continues, “is a push for better games for more people. There’s some incredible talents in Western New York, and every one of them has something interesting to say. Games are quickly becoming the next big art form, and helping BGS grow means helping push the medium forward and making Buffalo the home of this push.”
“Buffalo is a prime location for something like this,” adds John. “We have proven the demand for our services as a wellspring of untapped talent seeks mentorship and direction. Buffalo has highly qualified universities with thousands of computer science, art, music, and writing students graduating every year. But when they graduate, there are no local career opportunities which, in turn, disperses them throughout the country, looking for work. But, what if we had a place for all those creative young minds to congregate and thrive? Just imagine the companies that might be formed and games that could be produced.”
To learn more about the Buffalo Game Space Kickstarter and help fund the project, visit this Kickstarter page.
To learn more about Buffalo Game Space, visit www.buffalogamespace.com
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