LEVEL ONE, the indie game development co-working space, has found a new home at SK Games. We attended the launch event on Thursday 3rd March.
LEVEL ONE is a collaborative co-working space run under the auspices of FTI in partnership with SK Games. We spoke to Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie, who is overseeing the program. She said:
We have a lot of talented people in the Perth games industry, but not a lot of government support. Co-working spaces have been proven to be a key success factor for growing local industries, providing amplification and cohesion for the community. Melbourne has The Arcade which has been hugely successful, and we’re aiming to do the same thing here.
We’re also supporting and promoting diversity here. The space is run by women, has a Safe Space policy and is open to everyone to participate.
LEVEL ONE had previously been run in the Central Library as a pop-up space to test the market. Moving to SK Games has given the program a solid home, at the heart of Perth’s game industry. Sophie from SK Games said:
We’re super stoked to open our doors to the Perth dev community. I think a co-working space specific to game makers is something that is really positive for Perth and watching it grow has been a real joy. We started doing a weekly ‘Dev of the Day’ for devs that frequent the space and I find myself learning more and more extraordinary things about Perth’s incredible homegrown talent. I’m really excited to see LEVEL ONE grow.
Introductory dev-friendly pricing for the space is $10 per day for hot-desk workers and $65 a week for a permanent desk.
Tahlia Carter, industry liaison co-ordinator from SAE.edu.au attended the launch as an observer, and commented:
We’re seeing a huge increase in applicants for game-related degree courses. It’s becoming more and more popular, and we’re proud to be in a position to help game development in Perth take off. We think the LEVEL ONE program is great, and we look forward to working alongside them to help ease our graduates into the industry.
The launch event was attended by the Hon. Kate Doust, deputy leader of the Opposition, Paul Papilia, shadow minister for Tourism, Corrective Services and Defence Issues, John O’Hare, Director, Industry and Innovation, and John Carey, Mayor of the City of Vincent. John O’Hare was impressed with the space and said:
Collaborative working spaces provide great opportunities to develop ideas with like-minded people. I am very pleased to see the opening of LEVEL ONE which is unique for gamers in WA who would like to seek specialists in developing games. This space will help the burgeoning WA games industry to continue to drive innovation.
