Are you passionate about game development and connected to the Icelandic community? Whether you currently live in Iceland or have ties to the local scene, we invite you to join our vibrant Slack community! Here, you can connect with other game developers, ask questions, collaborate on projects, and much more.
How to join
If you know someone who is already a member of our Slack community, they can invite you directly using your email address. Any existing member can send out invites.
If you don’t know a current member, you can apply for membership by emailing us at gamemakersiceland@gmail.com. Please share a bit about yourself, including:
- Who you are
- Why you’re interested in the Icelandic game development scene
- Whether you reside in Iceland
Why apply for membership?
We require an application to join for two main reasons. Firstly, to prevent spammers from joining our server. As our Slack workspace is quite large, it attracts content farmers and scammers looking to sell game development-related products. Secondly, our Slack workspace is a valuable networking platform for the Icelandic games industry and its peripheral communities, such as the indie, academic, and art scenes. By requiring pre-approval, we maintain the integrity and value of our community, ensuring it remains a meaningful place for career advancement and collaboration.
Membership criteria
We review membership requests based on the following criteria:
- You are or have been employed in the Icelandic games industry, or you are an investor in the industry.
- You work for a games company with a presence in Iceland but are located elsewhere due to remote work or being part of a different studio (e.g., CCP Games, Directive Games, Mainframe Industries, Klang, etc.).
- You live in Iceland and work remotely for a games company based elsewhere.
- You are an indie game developer, hobby game developer, or artist based in Iceland.
- You are a student, researcher, or academic working on game development-related projects or research.
- You have other connections to the Icelandic game dev community, such as academic or professional collaborations, even if you live abroad.
Our Slack server is created and maintained for the local game dev and indie community to engage with each other, advertise job opportunities, network, and seek advice. It is not an open forum for general game development discussions, and we will deny requests lacking a connection to the local scene.
What is Slack?
Slack is a messaging app available for both desktop and mobile devices. It is widely used in the tech and games industries for professional communication. We use Slack because it aligns more closely with the professional tools used by most Icelandic game studios. If you’ve never used Slack before, we recommend that you take some time to familiarize yourself with the platform. If anything’s confusing, you can always ask other members for help.
Our Slack community is organized into channels, each focusing on different aspects of game development. Here are a few of our most active channels:
- #general: General chat for all game development topics.
- #unity: Need help with Unity? This is the place to ask.
- #demo: Share your work-in-progress updates and get feedback.
- #art: Show off your latest art and get feedback.
- #indie-share: Discuss news and happenings in the indie game world.
- #opportunities: Keep an eye out for job opportunities within the Icelandic game industry.
Real names policy
The Game Makers Iceland Slack workspace serves as a digital extension of our physical community, providing a platform for networking, collaboration, and sharing knowledge about game development. The Slack serves over 800 users, including members from every games studio in Iceland. To maintain the professionalism and integrity of our community, we have specific guidelines regarding member identity on Slack.
- Real names: Members are encouraged to use their real names to promote transparency as well as facilitate trust and recognition among members.
- Recognized nicknames: Professional or widely recognized nicknames that are part of your public identity are acceptable. Avoid using gamer tags, fictional names, or anonymous identifiers. If you’d prefer to use one of those, you could put it either in front of, or behind, your real name as your Slack display name. Example: “Nickname (Real Name)”.
- Professional environment and employment opportunities: By using real names, we foster accountability, respect, and a connected community. Given that nearly the entire Icelandic games industry participates in this workspace in some capacity, using your real name helps in making meaningful connections that could advance your career in game development.
Welcome aboard!
Once you're in, introduce yourself in the #introductions channel. Browse and join the channels that interest you.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our admin team: @alexandrabjarg, @haukur, and @ingolfur.
We look forward to meeting you and fostering a thriving game development community together!