Latest news with #4J
The Courier
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Dundee games boss Chris van der Kuyl investing millions in new technology
Chris van der Kuyl spent more than a decade helping Minecraft become a global phenomenon – but believes his new game could keep his Dundee company busy for the next 20 years. Chris has several surprises in store for his appearance at The Courier Business Conference next month. These include a demonstration of what a new 'world-class' Dundee virtual production studio is capable of. And Chris, who co-owns 4J Studios with Paddy Burns, will give a sneak peek of its new game which is the culmination of more than five years of work and millions of pounds of investment. The conference will take place at the new events space, The Real Deal, within the Water's Edge building he and Paddy own at the City Quay. The Courier Business Conference, held on June 24 in partnership with Henderson Loggie, has the theme of Powering Scotland's Creative Economy. 4J Studios will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. It started off as – in Chris' words – a 'scrappy, work-for-hire games developer' with dreams of building a game based on its own intellectual property. After a series of successful projects, the company was recommended to Swedish games developer Mojang as a good option for creating a console version of Minecraft – now the best-selling video game of all time. The 4J team spent a year creating Minecraft for Xbox 360, which was released in 2012. 'We always knew that the game was quite special but we had absolutely no idea what it was to become,' Chris said. 'By the time it was getting close to launch, you could feel there was a different kind of anticipation for it compared to anything else. 'I think we hit a break-even point in the first five minutes of launching it. 'Then it went on to become the biggest ever selling Xbox 360 title. 'Our console versions sold almost 70 million copies. It was an incredible period.' 4J created seven console editions of the game, the last being for the Nintendo Switch in 2017, and it continues to provide updates for its existing versions. For more than five years, 4J has developed its own games engine – software from which games can be developed. This multi-million-pound investment on its Elements engine has been the basis of 4J developing its own original game, Reforj, which has reached the testing phase. Chris continued: 'If you told me we'd have had even three or four years of involvement with Minecraft I would have gone, 'wow, that's such a long time, that's mad'. 'To still be involved 13 years later blows my mind. 'But there was definitely a point where 4J had a real desire to reach out and start to develop our own games. 'We released Manic Mechanics a couple of years ago. That was us just really exercising our creative muscles again. 'The Elements engine is about five years of work from our top technical team. 'It's the core technology that allows us to build out new game Reforj, which will be 100 times higher performance than Minecraft.' Like Minecraft, Reforj is a 'sandbox' game which allows players to create and modify the game's world. It has recently been released to a few hundred fans to test and give feedback. Its full launch will likely be next year. 'The worlds in the game are generated faster than anybody's ever seen before,' Chris said. 'You can traverse our worlds at the speed of a jet plane and nothing pops up. 'The reaction's been incredible. Within minutes people had spun up YouTube channels about Reforj. Within days somebody had written a fan-based soundtrack. It's amazing. 'One of the key features of Reforj, is it's beyond blocks. You can shape and sculpt the blocks so people are able to create amazing structures. 'It's been millions of pounds of investment, but we're only at the beginning. 'We wholly expect Reforj to be something we work on for the next 20 years. 'And it's all ours, so we're very excited about where we can take it.' The other major project Chris has been working on is the next stage of the Water's Edge office development. It has won numerous awards since opening in 2019 and houses several of the city's most entrepreneurial firms, including 4J. These include some of the local businesses that have received financial investment from Chris and Paddy – Broker Insights and Ace Aquatec. The final part of the development is a new events space, The Big Real, which contains one of Dundee's most exciting developments, a virtual production studio. Abertay University's CoSTAR Realtime Lab specialises in the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), augmented reality, and motion capture to create immersive virtual film, game and performance sets. Its vast screen will be the backdrop for this year's Courier Business Conference. Partnership working was key to securing funding for this facility to come to Dundee. Chris explained: 'Professor Gregor White from Abertay approached me about the project. The funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council relied on partnerships with existing creative studios,' Chris said. 'Water's Edge is a perfect home for it – we believe it's the beginning of something very special. There's nothing else like it in Scotland. 'It's phenomenal that the first major event we're hosting is the Courier Business Conference, and it'll be a showcase for the potential for this technology in this space. 'I think once they see what it's capable of, people's imaginations will run riot. 'It's a world-class facility. It's perfect for film and television units to do music videos, advertising or small parts of much larger productions. 'It can act as a catalyst for businesses to come to Dundee and we want local companies to use it. 'At the Courier Business Conference I'll also talk about how the games industry's next chapter is going to stretch way beyond what people think of as games today.' This year's conference will feature a keynote speech from Geoff Ellis, the chief executive of DF Concerts, which is behind the T in the Park and TRNSMT music festivals. There will also be a panel discussion featuring local business success stories on the theme of monetising creativity. The conference will run from 8.15am to 1pm followed by lunch and networking. Tickets are available at
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election results: Eugene-area K-12 school board positions on Lane County ballots
This story will be updated at 8 p.m. with initial election results. Voters across Lane County will be choosing elected school board officials at the district level. With 50 K-12 school district board positions on ballots countywide, here's what you need to know about the races. All ballots must be received or mailed with a valid post mark by 8 p.m. on Election Day — May 20. There are three Eugene School District 4J board positions on the ballot, one of which is uncontested. Vying for Position 2 are Ericka Thessen, a sitting appointed board member and health care worker; Danny McDiarmid, a child support case manager; and Alan Madden, a local garden shop employee. Thessen, a physical therapist at PeaceHealth Riverbend Hospital, was appointed to the 4J school board in September 2023, filling a vacant seat. McDiarmid is a child support case manager at the Division of Child Support for the Oregon Department of Justice. Madden's candidate filing stated that he works at Down To Earth Home and Garden. Lane Community College faculty member Don Easton and incumbent Judy Newman are both vying for the Position 3 seat. First elected in 2017, Newman is currently the longest-serving member on the board. Easton is challenging Newman for her seat on the board. Current board member Maya Rabasa is running uncontested for Position 6. All four positions have four-year terms. There are three Springfield Public Schools board positions that will be decided by voters on May 20. For Position 2, qualified behavior professional Sarah Bosch faces off against nonprofit philanthropy director and appointed board member Heather Quaas-Annsa. For Position 3, longtime board member Jonathan Light is challenged by bank manager Justin Martin. Three newcomers — full-time parent Amber Langworthy, retired former City Councilor Bob Brew and production manager Robert Morgan — are vying for position 5, which has been vacant since former board member Kelly Mason stepped away from the seat in January. Her term was set to end in June. The board ultimately decided not to fill the vacancy and wait for the upcoming election. All four positions have four-year terms. There are four South Lane School District board seats up for election. All four seats have two candidates vying for the role. For Position 2, retired former SLSD elementary teacher Diane Hicks faces off against farmer and homemaker Rayla Campbell. For Position 4, longtime incumbent and realtor Sherry Duerst Higgins is challenged by Chris Hollomann, who works in agriculture irrigation. Duerst-Higgins has been on SLSD board over 30 years and sits on the Lane Education Service District board. Hollomann currently sits on the South Lane Fire and Rescue Board of Directors. For Position 5, local car dealership service manager Tony Lefler is looking to take the seat from Bushnell University student and incumbent Colleen Valley. Valley was first elected in 2021. For Position 7, retired Weyerhaeuser millwright and current board member Jeff Gowing is challenged by tree service business owner Bill Parsons. Gowing was appointed to the vacant SLSD seat in 2024 and is former mayor of Cottage Grove. Positions 2, 4 and 5 have four-year terms. Position 7 is a two-year, unexpired term. Fern Ridge School District has three school board positions on this year's ballot, each with two candidates vying for the seats. For Position 2, Andrea Larson, longtime incumbent and associate director of University of Oregon's Office of Institutional Research, and business owner WC Grover and both vying for the seat. Larson was first elected in 2008. On the ballot for Position 3 are Mark Gent, Eugene Police Department officer and U.S. Coast Guard Reserve member, and David Voltz, electrician and FRSD budget committee member. For Position 4, retired landscaper and rancher David Alsup faces off against forestry general manager Brian Kirkpatrick. All four positions have four-year terms. Siuslaw School District has three school board positions on the ballot, each with two candidates vying for the seats. For Position 2, real estate broker and longtime incumbent John Barnett is challenged by business owner and private music instructor Adrian Pollut. Barnett was first elected in 2013. For Position 4, retired elementary school teacher Dennis King is seeking to unseat retired educator and incumbent Maureen Miltenberger. Miltenberger was first elected in 2021. Two newcomers are racing for Position 6: Maygan Hiatt, branch manager and escrow officer, and Tom Posegate, full-time parent and former educator. All four positions have four-year terms. Across the county, 11 other school boards will appear on ballots, and most of the races are uncontested. Bethel School District has four positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 1: Caleb Clark Position 2: Ashley Espinoza Position 5: Brian Hynd Position 7: Debi Farr Blachly School District has three positions on the ballot, two of which are uncontested: Director At-Large: Meleah Drago Director At-Large: Tony Wynn Director At-Large: Pam Alley Zone 2: Sara Gamache Zone 5: Bobbie Jo Brewster Creswell School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 4: Mike Anderson Position 5: Tim Rogers Position 6: Lacey Risdal Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 3: Darren B Willits Position 4: Jeff Ramp Position 5: Troy James Jentzsch Junction City School District has four positions on the ballot, three of which are uncontested: Position 2: Jim Anderson Position 3: Kristina Holton Position 5: Jamie Pleich Position 6: Jacque Gerdes Position 6: Kayla Timmins Lowell School District has two positions on the ballot, both of which are uncontested: Position 2: Kevin Finch Position 4: Jim Chapman Mapleton School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 1: Andrea Milbrett Position 2: Mizu Burruss Position 4: Maree Beers Marcola School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 3: Brandon Floeck Position 4: Jim Smith Position 5: Roxanne Ericson McKenzie School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 2: Dana Burwell Position 4: Elaine Bryson Position 7: Melissa Norlund Oakridge School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 2: Trisha Zepeda Position 3: Lisa Samuelson Position 5: Clem Pope Pleasant Hill School District has three positions on the ballot, all of which are uncontested: Position 2: Drew Gottfried Position 4: Russel (Rusty) L Rexius Position 5: Stephen Hammond Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@ or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr. This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Election results: Lane County school board races in May 2025
