Hackathon

24 hours of concentration and codes – the Hackathon in Hamburg

The Hackathon in Hamburg took place recently with the motto “For a better working life”, and several Goodgamers were there to test their programming skills. At such events, participants have 24 hours to work on a project together. The aim is to produce demonstrable results before the time runs out, and ideally a finished and functioning product.

In Hamburg, the 80 participants, of whom more than half were women, sat together in small groups to discuss their projects and work together on their tasks. Some opted to work on beanbags or benches in the open air – the atmosphere was relaxed and casual. The Hackathon started early on Saturday and hacking continued until Sunday afternoon. Goodgame Studios were supporting the event, and we were there running a smoothie bar where participants could pick up a free dose of vitamins.
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Java User Group

Meeting of the Hamburg Java User Group at Goodgame Studios

Despite the fantastic weather, this week saw around 50 eager developers come together for a meeting of the Hamburg Java User Group (JUGHH) in our café.

Events organized by the JUGHH are aimed at anyone interested in improving their skills and exchanging experience, experts and novices alike. It was fitting that the group should meet in the café at Goodgame Studios, as we rely primarily on Java for our game servers.
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Web Performance

Meetup for web performance experts at Goodgame Studios

The 18th Web Performance Meetup took place in our Goodgame café yesterday with 40 participants attending. The meetup is a platform to exchange experience, problems, tools, and recipes for success regarding performance of web-based and mobile applications, and takes place about ten times each year.

The evening kicked off with a few words about Goodgame Studios from our Chief Technical Officer Stefan Klemm. Then our Frontend Team Lead Lars gave a talk on “Traffic from over 200 countries – performance optimization in terms of global delivery”. A very important topic, especially here at GGS. Our websites are accessed all over the world, and it is a challenge to ensure that every visitor gets the same good user experience in terms of performance. Our Frontend Team has managed to achieve this, and Lars shared his knowledge with our guests in his presentation.
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Pokernight

All-In with Goodgame Studios

On March 21 it was time for the second Goodgame Studios poker night. In the Spielbank Casino in Hamburg, online marketing experts gathered to compete in a poker tournament. After last September’s successful premiere, our management team were looking forward to a repeat of the exclusive event. Dr. Kai Wawrzinek, CEO, and Fabian Ritter, CFO, once again welcomed Katja Thater, a poker world champion with the nickname “Lady Horror” – one that we think doesn’t reflect her accurately. She provided a touch of flair and brought an extra challenge to the evening, which she was visibly enthusiastic about: “I think the idea of putting on an event like this is just great. You can tell that the guests are having fun and enjoying themselves.”
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Artnight

The Art of Social Games – GGS Art Night 2.0

What makes a game really good? Storyline, gameflow and sound are certainly all important. However, the first thing we notice is a game’s graphics. Goodgame Studios attach great importance to outstanding visuals, high quality design and creativity. Our constantly growing art department is responsible for satisfying these requirements. But as many creative types don’t necessarily have the gaming industry at the forefront of their thoughts, we decided it was time for Goodgame Studios to organize a second Art Night, this time as part of the Social Media Week. Over 100 curious graphic artists and designers, as well as others aspiring to art careers, gathered in the event room at the MHMK Hamburg.

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Ladiesnight

The Gaming Industry: Female Perspectives

It’s no secret: we want more employees. Above all, we would like to see more female Goodgamers. Some women cannot imagine working in the gaming industry (yet), which is why, on February 20th, it was time for the second Goodgame Studios Ladies’ Night. As part of the annual Social Media Week, we again put on an information evening especially for women, at the Handelskammer Hamburg. Bettina, an e-business expert at the Chamber of Commerce, opened the evening. Two female employees gave insights into their daily working life. Alina, project manager, acts as a key communication link between a number of departments and coordinates ten (predominantly male) colleagues. As a senior server developer, Claire is a bit of a rare specimen in the java team, and she hopes that more and more women will have the confidence to study computer science. She can assure them that it’s really not boring at all.

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