Voting for Imirt's new board members will open on December 6th and will take place until midnight on Monday the 20th of December 2021. Details of how to vote and links needed to vote will be sent to members by email.

This year we are using a new system (Opa Vote). This system ensures a secure and unbiased voting process. (make sure the email address for noreply@opavote.com is in your contacts so it’s not sent to your spam folder)

To vote you must be registered as an Imirt member in order to receive a voting link before voting starts on December 6th. You can visit the website to sign up for Imirt membership for only €20. Please sign up before Monday the 6th of December so that your membership can be processed in time to vote before the deadline.

4 out of the 7 board seats are being contested in this election. Board members Denman Rooke, Jairo Lopez and Ellen Cunningham will be standing down while Board member Brendan Dillon is going up for re-election. Many thanks to Denman, Jairo, Ellen and Brendan for their great contribution to Imirt and the Irish game developer community over the last several years, we wish them every success in future.

If you have any questions please email contact@imirt.ie and thank you for supporting Irish game developers!

The Candidates

Alanna Kelly

Alanna wrote her first game, an implementation of Hangman on her father's ZX81 that had been fished out of the attic in 1991. Alanna developed a strong interest in game development, technology and computer programming. In 2005, Alanna started working in Dublin as a programmer for PopCap Games International. In 2012, she moved to Galway and has since worked in diverse fields such as Computer Vision, Academia, 3D/Bio Printing and Telecommunications.

What I hope to achieve

She is interested in driving community projects to encourage game development related learning, collaboration and entrepreneurship. She established Galway Game Jam in 2013 to further this end. Alanna is currently developing a crowd funded indie game full time and is also involved in running the Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland.

Contact

Website: alannakelly.ie

Twitter: @alannakelly_ie

Brendan Dillon

I got into the games industry straight out of college in 2005, having studied IT in NUI Galway. I started out as a coder before transitioning to being a producer. Since 2007 I've been working at Demonware - Activision's online technology studio. During my time at Demonware I've worked on projects with all Activision studios and on franchises such as Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk, and Skylanders. I've also had the opportunity to work with external partners such as Bungie (Destiny) and Blizzard (Diablo 3).

My current role at Demonware is Director of Studio Operations. In this role I oversee the running of our offices in Dublin, Vancouver, and Shanghai. I also engage with the Activision production teams on every online enabled title from concept design, to green-light, through to final release.

What I hope to achieve

During my first term on the Imirt board I have been leading the game industry's conversations with the various government departments that influence the tax credit for game development, Section 481a. I'm incredibly proud of the success that has been achieved during this process. I believe that the tax credit as it has been defined in the government Finance Bill for 2022 will accelerate the advancement of the games industry here. My primary reason for running for re-election onto the Imirt board is to maintain the relationships with the government departments that have been established over the last 18 months, especially as we work through the final steps of putting the credit into action in the first half of 2022.

In addition to the tax credit, other areas that I intend to work on if re-elected to the Imirt board are:

Enhance Imirt's relationship with other representative bodies in Ireland, such as Screen Ireland
Complete the role out of company memberships for Imirt
Building on the relationship that have been established during the formulation of the tax credit, begin the process of lobbying for a prototyping fund for game developmentContact

Twitter: @bren_dillon

LinkedIn: bdillon

Email: brendan@demonware.net or bren.dillon@gmail.com

Josh Loveridge

Josh Loveridge is the founder and managing director of Loveridge Digital & Stratton Studios, both are multinational companies in their respective fields.

He is currently the youngest ever all-star accredited business owner from the All-Ireland Business Foundation at only 20 years of age. Josh is enthusiastic & driven to transform the gaming industry within Ireland by sharing the vast resources and knowledge he has gained from working within the industry & developing unique business models over recent years while putting a strong focus on research & development and continue to grow and strive within the field. Stratton Studios is a full-time development studio located in Newtown County Wicklow, They focus on developing single-player experiences for Console platforms such as The One We Found, Castle Costume, Costume Kingdom, with their most recent title"Spelink" releasing on PS4/PS5 next year.

What I hope to achieve

Over recent years there have been major successes within the Irish gaming community, but those successes are too few and far between, I believe that with the right resources and mentorship programs in place Ireland can become a major player within the gaming industry, I hope to establish a program within IMIRT that enables the development community to have a fighting chance and to thrive as it has become harder and harder to "break" into the industry over recent years due to increased financial pressure when setting up a studio. I would also strive to set up more networking events be it virtually or in-person (when all the craziness has subsided), The knowledge gained at such events cannot be understated enough and often times forge business relationships that last a lifetime, Having more events within the country would also make the gaming scene more attractive to higher-profile members of the gaming community, The more exposure the gaming industry within Ireland gets the quicker it will expand and grow! These are some of the reasons I believe I am a perfect fit for the Imirt board this year!

Contact

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/josh-loveridge-905361150

Facebook: www.facebook.com/josh.loveridge.3

Twitter: @StrattonStudios

Website 1: loveridgedigital.com

Website 2: strattonstudiogames.com

Maria O’Brien

I am an academic and researcher working in the area of public policy for cultural and creative industries. I carry out research on tax incentives for cultural production in Ireland/EU and am very interested in seeing how the new digital games tax credit will work out for the Irish games industry. I am currently based in the School of Law & Government in DCU teaching on various courses, reflecting my background as a lawyer. I completed a PhD on tax incentives for film production in Ireland in 2020 in the School of Communications, DCU.

What I hope to achieve

I believe I will be a great Imirt board member because I understand the importance of public policies in shaping the games industry, and am deeply committed to representing the industry in ensuring that government policies support the development of the industry, in all its variety.

My goals for membership of the Imirt board are

To work on behalf of Imirt represent the interests of all sectors of the games industry in Ireland in all policy discussions including the development of the new tax incentive
To bring my expertise to bear on policy developments for the industry
To be involved in listening to the community on what they want from this new support
To ensure that the games industry is recognised as a key and vibrant player in the Irish cultural and creative industries.

Contact

Twitter: @dublinbermia

LinkedIn: drmariaobrien

Paul Fahey

Paul has been a part of the Irish game development industry for the past 7 years. He’s been around the industry in multiple roles including reviewer, developer, and designer but has spent the past three years writing for Digit Games.

He has always tried to make time for his fellow developers, taking part in as many social or outreach initiatives that he possibly could!

In the past couple of years, he has taken a more active role in the community. Outreach to students and those breaking into the industry has been his focus but he wants to work with all of the wonderful developers this community has to make the industry better for everyone.

He wants nothing more than to see the Irish games scene grow into a strong, inclusive, welcoming community and he's willing to put in as much work as it takes to get there!

He will also join your tabletop RPG. It doesn't matter that he already has six ongoing. Oops.

What I hope to achieve

The games industry continues to grow in Ireland, and Imirt has made huge strides in gaining recognition from the government that has been long sought after. I want to continue that push, driving the industry toward tax incentives and legislation to improve the working life of our incredible developers.

I’ve always been an activist at heart. I’ve never liked the idea of leaving the work of improving our society to others and I’ve always tried to live by the mantra “If not me, who?”. Our industry, as much as we love it, has a lot of problems and I believe that we, as Imirt, can do a lot to improve it. I also want to help prop up the amazing talent that we have in our community and shine a spotlight on some amazing games that might not be getting the attention they deserve.

I’ve been involved in community organizations pretty much all my life. Youth politics, teenage activist groups, grassroots movements, I’ve done whatever I could to help wherever I can. As a result, I’ve picked up a lot of confidence when it comes to fundraising, event organizing, and canvassing. I’m still very much in the early days of my game development career, but I’m absolutely dedicated to making this industry better for everyone in it. I hope to show you that as a member of the board.

Thank you for considering me for the board and thank you for doing all that you do for the Irish industry!

Contact

Twitter: @paularexpress

Website: PaulFaheyGames.com

Sara Mena

Hello, I'm Sara Mena, a multimedia artist. I moved from Portugal to Ireland to start my career in videogames. After that, I was abroad in Germany and Sweden for four years before coming back again to Ireland to found my own company, Doodlio Studio.

During this time, I've been working in a variety of projects from small indie boardgames to large mobile titles to movie festivals, getting much-needed experience. I'm now focusing more on interdisciplinary projects that put together visual art with science/education.

What I hope to achieve

When I came to Ireland, I felt incredibly welcome to the videogames community, which is part of my interest to apply for the Board.

I'm confident that with my background as a visual artist, I can help with the following:

Create graphic material to promote and building awareness of Imirt
Create ways for better communication between members, the community and other organisations.
Help with proposals for the Irish Government and other organisations by setting up templates for appealing presentations, petitions and auxiliary material.
Help to organise events like Inis Spraoi and games festivals (Imirt Awards, etc)

Contact

Website - doodliostudio.com

Linkedin - linkedin.com/in/saramena/

Email - hello@doodliostudio.com