linux.conf.au 2009

Involvement: October 2007 - January 2009

URL: http://www.linux.org.au/conf/2009/

In 2009, Tasmania hosted linux.conf.au, a Free/Open Source conference, which attracted over 700 speakers, delegates and volunteers from around Australia and the world. I held a position on the organising team, being responsible for graphic design and marketing. In addition to hosting a fantastic event, we also raised over $40,000 for the University of Tasmania and Tasmanian State Government's Save The Tasmanian Devil Program to support research into the Devil Facial Tumor Disease that is endangering the species.

In addition to working on the website design (2008-2009 the link above is to an archived version), I created designs for t-shirts, bags, notepads, balloons, lanyards, flyers, postcards, Rubiks Cubes and an 80 page programme booklet using Open Source tools (Inkscape, Gimp, Scribus).

I also worked on the conference's Tasmanian Devil mascot, Tuz, which replaced Tux as the mascot for the 2.6.29 Linux kernel.

• Graphic design
• Website design
• Open day coordination
• Liaised with fulfillment company
• Held a position on the LCA09 executive committee

Software Freedom Day/Free Software For All

Involvement: September 2006 - Present

URL: http://softwarefreedomday.org

URL: http://freesoftwareforall.org

I've been coordinating annual Software Freedom Day events in Launceston since 2006, and ran an additional Software Freedom Day-like event called Free Software For All in February 2007 in response to additional demand.

We generally present our SFD events as expos, with a focus on highlighting interesting things that are being done with Free Software within the local community. We have recently been attempting to bring additional interactivity to our SFD events, with walk-up-and-play F/OSS games, F/OSS graphics displays with tablets.

In October 2008, I helped coordinate a belated Software Freedom Day in Hobart.

• Event coordination
• Team management
• Publicity (many radio interviews ^_^ )

Steam Linux Users Group (SteamLUG)

Involvement: 2011 - Present

URL: http://steamlug.org

URL: irc://irc.freenode.net/#steamlug

URL: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steam-linux

URL: http://steamlug.org/cast

SteamLUG is a community of Linux users who use Steam natively or via Wine. Originating as an IRC channel to continue discussion outside the monolithic Linux thread on the Steam Powered User Forums, SteamLUG has grown to encompas a 5,000+ user Steam group which I became primary administrator of in October 2012.

Our community contains individuals of varying backgrounds and skill levels, ranging from newcomers to software developers. We aim to be welcoming and helpful to people who are new to Linux and/or Steam, and be engaging for more experienced users.

In May 2013, I launched SteamLUG Cast alongside regular co-hosts johndrinkwater and swordfischer. SteamLUG Cast aims to be a casual, laid back fortnightly discussion of Linux gaming and Steam related news. From time to time we've been joined by special guests ranging from prominent members of the SteamLUG community through to representatives from game development companies including Frozenbyte, Screwy Lightbulb, Over The Moon Games, Eden Industries, Witch Beam Games, InterWave, Double Fine, Muse Games, Unity Technologies, Feral Interactive, Leadwerks, Defiant Development, Flippfly, Question.

At the end of February 2015, I resigned from administrative duties to better focus on game development.

• IRC channel operator
• Manage Steam group
• Coordinate events
• SteamLUG Cast co-host

GamingOnLinux.com

Involvement: 2011 - Present

URL: http://gamingonlinux.com

URL: irc://irc.freenode.net/#gamingonlinux

URL: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/index.php?module=search&author_id=122

URL: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/category/Podcast

Shortly after launching the Humble Visualisations in December 2011, I was invited to join the GamingOnLinux.com team, primarily writing long-form editorials and cross-positing Cheese Talks content.

In the leadup to the launch of Steam for Linux, I provided timely coverage of Valve and Steam related news relevant to Linux gamers.

In February 2016, I joined the GOL Podcast team to bring some experience, and have stayed on as an occasional co-host.

• Writer/Editor
• GOL Podcast co-host

Tasmanian Linux Users Group

Involvement: May 2008 - Present

URL: http://taslug.org.au/

URL: http://cheesetalks.twolofbees.com/usergroups.php

I have been running regular monthly TasLUG meetings in Launceston since May 2008, and coordinating TasLUG statewide for a similar timeframe. In April 2012, I inaugurated what I hope will become a regular statewide TasLUG gathering in Ross.

In February 2014, I handed over control of TasLUG infrastructure to a new statewide committee set up to help support individual meetings across Tasmania.

Launceston meetings are held at 2:00pm local time on the last Saturday of the month, and are open to the public.

We typically structure our meetings around a focused talk with a solid takeaway in the hopes that attendees will be able to leave with knowledge or skills that they can make use of without further assistance. We start our meetings by going around the room and introducing ourselves and answering a brief question related to the meeting's topic (a great icebreaker that I stole from OCLUG), followed by the main talk (which can be anywhere from half an hour to two hours). To conclude, we do a round-table recap of any recent interesting F/OSS news, and then degrade to general discussion. To let people get settled prior to the start of the meeting proper, many of us gather for lunch beforehand - this has cut down the amount of off-topic chatter we get during talks.

Over the years, I've tried to reduce the number of talks I give to allow as much space for other members to produce and provide meeting content as possible.

Talks that I have given have ranged from basic Gimp, Inkscape, Blender, and Open/LibreOffice tutorials through to code walkthroughs, distro installs, WM/DE usage, and OpenGL programming.

• Maintain TasLUG website
• Oranise Launceston venue
• Coordinate Launceston speakers
• Organise and coordinate statewide meetings
• IRC channel operator

Ottawa Canada Linux Users Group

Involvement: February 2008 and February 2009

URL: http://oclug.on.ca/meeting/40/

URL: http://oclug.on.ca/meeting/26/

Whilst visiting Ottawa in 2008 and 2009, I was invited to speak at OCLUG, where I gave talks covering running a LUG in a low population density area, LCA, Hugin and Luminance HDR/Qtpfsgui.

Double Fine Community

Involvement: June 2012 - Present

URL: http://double.com/forums

After backing the Double Fine Adventure crowdfunding project on Kickstarter (which resulted in Broken Age and the accompanying documentary) and seeing Double Fine's interest in Linux support, I became motivated to become an active community participant.

In June 2012, I oranised a small backer meetup at the launch of ACMI's Game Masters exhibition which Double Fine founder Tim Schafer was attending, and expressed interest in looking after the Double Fine Game Club when it became awkward for Double Fine's Greg Rice to run it in his spare time.

During Double Fine's internal Amnesia Fortnight 2014 game jam, I coordinated a group of enthusiastic community members who were inspired by the failed Bad Golf pitches and attempted to create a game based on it.

To coincide with the 2013 and 2014 PAX Australia events, I organised Double Fine community gatherings in Melbourne, bringing together local fans to hang out and meet former Double Fine developer Ron Gilbert.

In 2014, I was invited to assist with assembling, coordinating and being a part of a team of volunteer community moderators for the Double Fine forums, which was put into effect in September, ahead of the bumpy road that accompanied the Spacebase DF-9 release.

Moving forward, I'm looking forward to coordinating more community activities and continuing to be an active member of the Double Fine community.

• Coordinate community activities
• Manage github repositories
• Liaise with Double Fine employees for approval of community activities
• Coordinate community moderators

The Double Fine Game Club

Involvement: July 2012 - Present

URL: http://double-fine-game-club.github.com

The Double Fine Game Club is a community run weekly event where members of the Double Fine community and other adventure game fans come together to play and talk about the game currently being played (think of it as a book club for games). It's entirely informal and everybody is welcome!

Logs and further discussion can be found in specific Game Club threads on the Double Fine forums. A list of Game Club threads can be found at the bottom left of the Double Fine Adventure Backer index.

From time to time we've also been joined by developers of a game we've been playing for a Q&A session.

• Developed website
• Manage site Git repository
• Coordinate streamers
• Make Game Club announcements/forum threads
• Liaise with Double Fine employees
• Contact game developers and organise dev chats
• Conduct and transcribe live voice interviews

Gaming On Linux

Involvement: June 2012 - Present

URL: http://gamingonlinux.com

In June 2012, I was recruited as a guest writer for Gaming On Linux, focusing on covering Steam for Linux news, and my own writing (in some echo of narcissism).

PC Gaming Wiki

Involvement: January 2013 - Present

URL: http://pcgamingwiki.com

Following discussion of my study of Cross-platform Support In Humble Bundles, several enthusiastic Gaming On Linux and PC Gaming Wiki community members embarked on an initiative to record additional details of the status and features of Linux versions of Humble Bundle titles.

Tamar Bicycle Users Group/Launceston Bicycle Users Group

Involvement: September 2006 - August 2010

URL: http://tbug.org.au

My enthusiasm for cycling led me to become involved with the formation of the Launceston Bicycle Users Group, which later evolved into the Tamar Bicycle Users Group (T-Bug). After being involved for four years, and serving as Vice President, as well as representing the local cycling community on the Launceston City Council's Bike Committee, I retired from T-Bug. I still remain a supporter of cycling as a viable means of transport and healthy form of recreation.

Beginning in 2007, I created and maintained the T-Bug website including a custom content management system in PHP/MySQL based on TinyMCE and an administrative interface to help with general maintenance tasks.

I also designed the T-Bug logo (2007-current) and website design (2007-2010) based on a bright, simple aesthetic.

• Held community representitive position on the Launceston City Council's Bike Committee
• Held steering committee position
• Held Vice Predident position following incorportation
• Implemented custom mailman install to handle multiple recipient contact address, newsletter mailout and internal mailing lists
• Implemented mailing list/forum bridge to provide a unified communication system
• Desgined and developed content managed website with collaborative editing and event/route map features
• Designed logo
• Provided ongoing technical support

Valiant Systems

Involvement: June 2000 - Present

In 2000, I co-founded Valiant Systems, a small software development team with a primary focus on games. Between 2000 and 2004, we worked on Half-Life 1 total conversions Grenades Snarks & Teleporters, and Guards vs Thieves, with the former getting an initial release in 2002. In mid 2003, we entered discussions with ATMOS Software to develop an engine for their next title, which eventually entered a limbo state.

The majority of Valiant Systems people are on hiatus, pursuing other projects, but intend to return as activity increases. Currently I am working on a prototype of an unannounced project codenamed "Fotham".

• Game design
• Graphic design
• Mapping
• Modeling
• Animating
• Composing
• Software development
• Team management
• Client liaison