UK Venture Studio's 2nd Entrepreneurship Hour Focuses on Local Game Development

The UK Venture Studio, which is a part of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship, Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, will be hosting its second Entrepreneurship Hour and Game Demo Day during Lexington's 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Week. This event is scheduled from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, and is being cosponsored by the UK Department of Computer Science. The session, to be held in Room 299 of the new Gatton building, will feature a panel of local game development companies discussing the growing independent game development industry in the region, as well as some of the games that their respective companies are currently developing.

This panel will include these companies which are based in Lexington:

  • FrogDice - an indie video game studio currently developing its newest game "Stash."
  • Gun Media - a video game designer and publisher which has produced games such as "Breach and Clear" and is currently in production with its newest product   "Friday the 13th : The Game."
  • Super Soul  - an award-winning digital arts studio with a diverse portfolio that includes PC, console and mobile video games, educational and training games, marketing materials, art installations and consultation.
  • RunJumpDev – a nonprofit organization of independent game developers created to grow and cultivate the local game development community in Kentucky. Seeded with the passion for creating games, the group hosts meetups, talks, and game jams in order to bolster its members’ skills and connections. The organization also strives to raise local awareness of game industry concerns.

Following the panel discussion, attendees will also have an opportunity to network with game developers, partake in some great food and play these companies' games in the new UK Venture Studio space. Also at the Game Demo participants will get to play games that are currently under development by members of the RunJumpDev organization.

This event is one of the many workshops and other special activities that are part of Lexington's fifth annual Global Entrepreneurship Week, which will take place from Nov. 16-22. This week of  events, is organized and hosted by the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership (BBDP), which is comprised of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship and the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network within the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics, the Bluegrass Small Business Development Center and Commerce Lexington.

Global Entrepreneurship Week http://www.gew.co/ is an international initiative that celebrates today's innovators and creative thinkers, who bring ideas to life and foster economic growth and human development. During the week the BBDP will host informational panels, networking events, workshops, competitions and other events that focus on the entrepreneurial community of Lexington.

“The UK Venture Studio’s Entrepreneurship Hour and Game Demo Day are great additions to Lexington’s Global Entrepreneurship Week events and are just the latest examples of where university and community innovators and entrepreneurs can come together to network and celebrate an ever growing and flourishing Bluegrass entrepreneurial community,” said Warren Nash, director of the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network

This is a free event open to the entire university and Lexington communities, but registration is required. Register here.