Finland's Ovi

Considering the size of its population Finland has an exceptionally firm foothold in the world’s computer games market. The most renowned Finnish computer game developers are Remedy, responsible of the Max Payne shootout feast, and Bugbear of FlatOut car racing fame. Products from both game houses can be found in computer game stores the world over.

Expectations are also mounting on the new player Recoil Games, whose game Earth No More will come out in a couple of years’ time.

Yet another success story is Sumea, which produces games for mobile phones. For three years now the firm has been owned by the American mobile games and applications developer Digital Chocolate.

Last year the worldwide worth of the computer game industry was estimated at 25 billion US dollars. According to Neogames, the Centre of Game Business, Research and Development, the field employs 1,200-1,300 people in Finland. Still, unlike in the United States, where for example the DigiPen University’s sole purpose is to produce experts for the video games industry, it is not possible in Finland to complete a degree programme of any kind related to computer games.

Some Finnish universities and polytechnics offer short in-depth courses in games programming. The largest game-related study package is currently available at Jyväskylä Polytechnic, which offers a fifteen-credit-unit course involving real-time 3D graphics, related mathematics, as well as computer games logic and structure.

During the semester the students are also required to devise a working computer game.
Lecturer Jani Immonen estimates that of the students who completed the 2001 course, about five percent ended up working in the games field.

“Surprisingly many of those attending the course dream of a career in the field. Maybe ten per cent of the students are clearly oriented towards this goal”, Immonen estimates.

“In the Jyväskylä region, in particular, there are not enough jobs available in the field. Otherwise, the programming fields employ people fairly well, and fortunately the knowledge of how to program games is applicable in other programming as well. In my view, the game programmers have better than average basic skills. Even a simple game is such a complex system that it develops one’s perception skills”, Immonen argues.

Finland’s strong programming tradition originates from the large number of people taking an interest in computer science and from the vibrant demoscene computer art subculture. “Based on mere school education one should not dream of becoming a game designer”, Immonen points out.

“One has to have the desire to experiment with new things on one’s own time.”
Of the Finnish game houses the hottest name is the Espoo-based Remedy, which recently signed a publishing contract with Microsoft regarding its new Alan Wake action thriller game.

Remedy business director Matias Myllyrinne does not see it necessary to have a game school that would produce professionals into the field.

“That would be like establishing a shipyard worker programme, even though building a ship requires financial experts as well as interior designers.”

“A large project does not call for handy-men, but specialised experts.”

Even Remedy workers come from very different backgrounds.

“In the actual programming we use self-taught veterans with little more than a comprehensive school background. But we also employ a person with a PhD from the Helsinki University of Technology. In the animation department classical animation training is still highly regarded, and the team responsible for the buildings and landscapes required by the games include architects” lists Myllyrinne, who himself has a degree in economics.

Many of the Finnish game houses have recently been taken over by foreign buyers. Myllyrinne considers this a natural development.

“That’s the nature of the business. The same has happened in the film and music industries as well. Only a few large labels remain that dominate the market. But there is still room for smaller players in more specialised fields”, reminds Myllyrinne, whose employer Remedy is still in Finnish hands.

But even Remedy has outsourced a lot of its functions. The upcoming game Alan Wake, for one, utilises professional actors and voice-overs. Also, all the game’s cars as well as most of the characters are bought from elsewhere.

The Finnish government now wants to keep guns out of hands of kids
 
The Finnish government decided on Friday to propose a change in the law on firearms, restricting the acquisition of guns by those under the age of 18. Until now guns have been available to children 15 and abovewith a parent’s permission.

The decision came on Friday when the government’s ministerial committee on European Union affairs discussed the upcoming EU firearms directive. The aim of the directive is to restrict access to guns by those below the legal age.

It may take about two years before the new law comes into effect. After that, those under 18 will still be allowed to hunt and shoot for target practice, but only under adult supervision.

Until Friday the government had opposed tighter age restrictions.

The reason for the reluctance was that there are many underage hunters in Finland - something which was seen as a “special national characteristic”. Hunting is especially popular in rural areas, which are strongholds of support for the current main government party, the Centre Party.

There were denials from government ranks that the change had been prompted by the Jokela killings. Ilkka Salmi, special aide to Minister of the Interior Anne Holmlund (Nat. Coalition Party), notes that the proposed changes would not have applied to perpetrator in the shooting, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, who was 18 years old and had a permit for his weapon.

Criticising the decision was Rauno Kurko, Chairman of Finland’s National Rifle Association. According to Kurko, who accused the government of pandering. In his view, weapons are not the problem, but rather the neglect of mental health work.

 Source: Helsingin Sanomat

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