Atomic LIVE Forum, Melbourne Edition

Another city, another great night of Atomic, tech and catching up. David Hollingworth reports.

On the 25th of July last month we held another very successful Atomic Forum. It was a great night, and we’d like to thank everyone who attended – behind and in front of the stage.

The night opened with a brief talk from Andrew Owen of Monash University (also a huge Battlestar Galactica geek, bless his cotton socks), talking about what his uni had to offer those interested game development. Then it was on with the featured speakers, who do a great job keeping the nearly 200-strong crowd informed and entertained.

First cab off the rank was the always interesting Nick Hodge of Microsoft evangelism fame. He talked about his love for lots of RAM, cats and small towns in Austria (long story, had to be there). Next up we were treated to a discussion of enthusiast and gaming grade motherboards, courtesy of Albert Liang of ASUS. After a brief look at the ROG series of overclockable motherboards, he treated us to a short video, then left the stage for Damian Scott from Primal Clarity Productions.

Damian talked us through the kind of development his company has been engaging in, from modding for existing games to creating the company’s own content. And, of course, he also spruiked the importance of good education.

Our final set of speakers were Justin and Peter from Toshiba. Not only did they have a brand spanking new laptop to tell us all about – the awesomely cool X300 gaming laptop – but they had both of the only two machines in Australia to show off. What’s more, they even took one apart to show the gribbly working bits inside.

And afterwards everybody went downstairs to Mama Duke’s bar for a drink and a chat. One of the great things about these Forums is the chance to see readers and forum types get face to face. It’s a chance not only to get an insight into the technologies we all use every day, but to see the human face behind them.
Plus, it’s an always welcome chance for us, the people who make the mag, to get some personal time with you, our readers. Sure, we might lose the odd game of foozball, but all in all it makes for one of the best nights of our working year. Atomic is about more than technology, and these nights embody the best of what we do.

The Atomic Forums will continue, so when one comes to your city you really owe it to yourself to attend.

Toshiba's reps take apart the X300 gaming laptop.