IRDC 2012

The International Roguelike Development Conference - London 2012. A unique opportunity for roguelike developers to network and discuss their genre in depth. Attendance is free and open to all. Add your name to the participants list if you plan to attend.

IRDC London 2012

* Place: London, UK
* Time: June 2nd-3rd, 2012
* Venue: Imperial College London
* Venue Contact: Darren Grey
* Discussion: QuakeNet #rgrd, RogueTemple, RGRD, Facebook event

Participants

• Darren Grey darrenjohngrey@hotmail.com, +44 (0)770 929 3627
• Ido Yehieli ido.yehieli@gmail.com, +43 (0)664 5585 708
• Kevin Glass kevin@cokeandcode.com, +44 (0)7794 453 8521
• Alex May psychicteeth@gmail.com, +44 (0)7795 257 591
• Mario Lassnig [?]
• DarkGod [?]
• Jeff Lait jmlait snail gmail thing-that-oracle-owns com, $3.50 per minute so it better be important.
• Risto Saarelma [?]
• Craig Turner cratuki@gmail.com, +44 (0) 7714 620 963
• Björn Ritzl bjorn.ritzl@gmail.com, +46 (0)704 335333
• Hayden Scott-Baron [?]
• Radomir Dopieralski [?]
• Joris Pyl [?]
• Michael Cook [Okay, I initially thought I couldn't come due to conference date clashes - the conference ends on June 1st. I *might* make it! I'll do my best.]
• SRD [?]
• Andreas Dorn [?]
• Aaron Steed me@robotacid.com
• Ulf ?ström ulf.astrom@gmail.com
• Filip Dreger fdreger@gmail.com
• flend flend@compsoc.net
• Thomas Whetnall thomas.whetnall@gmail.com
• Janos Bornemisza janos@cheerful.com (tentative only - I'm a player and fascinated by how roguelikes are put together so the IRDC sounds awesome, will have to see closer to the time)
• Connagh Muldoon connaghmuldoon@gmail.com.
• jpeg
• Daniel Slaney daniel@monkeybutter.co.uk, +44 (0) 788 182 0129 - game dev making a roguelike in my spare time

Talks

• Darren Grey: Introduction and primer on the Roguelike Rennaisance
• Darren Grey: The Single Hit Point Model
• Ido Yehieli: Why Darren is Wrong About Single Hit-points.
• Björn Ritzl: I might have a talk about developing roguelikes for limited/mobile devices (not sure if it's of any interest or if I really want to yet)
• Jeff Lait: Porting POWDER: A brief history.
• Michael Cook: If I'm around (second day more likely than first) I'd like to give a talk tentatively titled "Why The Games Industry Is Relying On You To Be As Insane As Possible"
• jpeg: I'd like to do another Stonesoup survey presentation. Not all of it, but there are some results that might be interesting for roguelike development in general.
• Connagh Muldoon: "Roguelikes as contrasted to the Commercial Games Industry": Not guaranteed I'll be doing it, but it's very likely. I would be writing it up now, but I've come down with a god awful cold.

Add your talk here if you wish to give a presentation. Any subject is welcome.

Activities

We will likely be doing a special recording or two for the Roguelike Radio podcast. Details to follow.

It's also been suggested we have a game coding jam - 2 hours on the Sunday maybe, in groups or individuals. Non-coders can participate with ideas or hastily cobbled together graphics.

Transportation

London is the centre of the world! Its five airports transport the largest number of passengers annually in all city airports combined. Heathrow and Gatwick are easiest for transport to the city centre, but Luton and Stanstead are also options. Those hunting a bargain may wish to check Birmingham Airport paired with a cheap 90 minute train ride to London Euston (trains are booked through http://thetrainline.com - much cheaper in advance). Other England airports may also be options with cheap coaches from MegaBus or National Express. Info on local travel is available at http://tfl.gov.uk - best to get a weekend pass or an Oyster card with 15 quid on it for the weekend.

If you have further questions feel free to ask me directly - I'm happy to help.

Accommodation

There's plenty of places available in London for a range of budgets. Google is your friend. Transport is good all over, so any location would be fine, though sticking is zone 1 or 2 is cheaper for tube travel. Hammersmith would be my best recommendation - lots of buses from there, or the quick tube option. You can frequently find good deals on http://lastminute.co.uk or http://laterooms.com (and in spite of their names they're fine to use in advance). Beware that a lot of places either don't have or charge extra for wireless. Book as early as possible for the best prices, as London gets very pricey on short notice.

Looking around, for somewhere cheap this sees sort of okay: http://www.laterooms.com/en/hotel-reservations/158205_euro-hotel-hammersmith-london.aspx (wifi, supposedly en suite, dodgy breakfast included, good location) Twinning up with others obviously saves cash for those so inclined.

Post here with details of where you're staying or looking at staying - it may be helpful if many are staying in the same place.

Venue

Imperial College London - South Kensington Campus, SW7 2AZ. Pretty much exactly here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?t=h&q=IRDC2012@51.499800,-0.175300&z=12

Meeting in room 301D of the Royal School of Mines building (no 12 on this map). Access is through Prince Consort Road (the main entrance on Exhibition Road will be closed). Due to security restrictions at weekends we're best meeting first in a nearby cafe and I can guide everyone to the meeting room.

[Do you mind specifying a cafe you have in mind so we know where to head? Cheers. Mort432 19:44, 15 April 2012 (CEST)]

Wifi: Those affiliated with universities will be able to log on to the Eduroam system. For others I'll try and set up a hotspot from my phone (logged on to the local wireless), but I can't promise it'll be fast. There are paid wifi services available for those particularly in need of a good connection.

Nearest tube station is South Kensington on the District and Piccadilly lines. Very central and easy to get to. Buses from all parts of the city also stop nearby.

There's lots to do in the area for after the conference, including the (free) Natural History Museum and Museum of Science next door. And it's London, so there's loads to do and see and places to eat in general. You may want to make an extended weekend of it if you're interested in some serious tourism. It's also a long bank holiday weekend for England (Monday and Tuesday off), which generally makes for a nice atmosphere.

Equipment & Supplies

• Projector will be set up in the room.
• Camcorder: ?
• Tripod: ?
• Food: Lots of places to go nearby.

Refreshments required/desired: I'll arrange for refreshments for the room. Post here with any requests for specific drinks/snacks. - Darren Grey

How we get there and back and where to meet up

Post your own info here and check back for updates.

I live nearby and will be available all day Friday to Monday. Happy to meet up at whatever time suits others. - Darren Grey

I'll be in London thursday to monday (arrive and leave in the afternoon). - Ulf ?ström

Questions

Post questions here with your name.

What does the abbreviation IRDC stand for?

Mort432 20:35, 3 March 2012 (CET)

A: International Roguelike Development Conference. (Darren)

Can you give a brief description of the event for someone who has never attended?

Mort432 20:35, 3 March 2012 (CET)

A: It's a meet-up of roguelike developers to talk about development related topics. There are normally presentations on different subjects relating to development, as well as just generally hanging out and networking. Roguelike players are welcome to attend too. (Darren)

Is there a cost of admission?

Mort432 13:15, 4 March 2012 (CET)

A: Nope, it's free and open source! (Darren)

R: Sweet, free speech and free beer; I'll definitely be attending, hah. Thanks for all the replies.

Mort432 21:07, 4 March 2012 (CET)

Do talks have to be on development, or can they also be from a player perspective?

Mort432 23:41, 5 March 2012 (CET)

A: There is no strict division between the two. Talks can be about anything game or programming related that can be applied to roguelikes. There's no requirement to give a talk and it doesn't need to be very formal. At IRDC 2011 we had discussions ranging from the mechanics of specific games to general program architecture and programming practices. There were even people there that had never played a roguelike. For me it's entirely a social event, a chance to meet people I've been talking to online for years. There's no prestige in being a developer or "only" a player - if you enjoy roguelikes you "qualify" and should attend! /Ulf