Celebrate Game Conference Guide's 2nd anniversary
Game Conference Guide Insights - October 2022
You might have noticed, there wasn’t any insights published last month. What happened? Is this the sign of a decline?
Shortly before gamescom I was sure about the topic of September’s blog post. There has been so many things happening in my life, and they still are, that the topic I was supposed to cover became uninteresting the moment our attention went from gamescom to similarly big Tokyo Game Show ended by a hurricane (= during the last day was raining cats and dogs). The show attracted 53% less attendees than in 2019, if you are into numbers.
September became so challenging simple because Reboot Develop Blue, I was heavily involved by organizing it. So much so the quiet weekends were filled with spreadsheets and crunching data. The last stretch (usually last few weeks) is the busiest, not just with the amount of assets you are gathering to process, print and produce, juggling with different schedules (arrival / departure dates + the main programme) but also the number of messages and requests you are getting daily.
Monitoring 8 different email accounts, 5 messaging apps, 4 social channels and good old-fashioned phone was my daily bread. And I was unable to think straight and focus on other projects. For this I apologise.
The great news is, the Game Conference Guide Insights is growing at a steady pace and there are new readers each month. Thank you for subscribing and let’s move on to this month’s topics. Which is…
Happy birthday to Game Conference Guide!
Here we are, Game Conference Guide is celebrating 2nd anniversary this October.
The project started for a slightly selfish reason; to understand where events are moving their dates when the pandemic hit us hard. As a conference organizer you are trying to stay away from similarly focused events, not to cross over with dates and alienate on the audience. This was crucial for Reboot Develop. Back then, no one knew what will happen next, so monitoring the changes was the only way to understand the shifts.
What I didn’t know at that time, many others were puzzled by the cancellations and delays as well and I shared my spreadsheet with them. From there it was a wild ride, spreadsheet turned into summer project you are reading and using today. It helped me to stay grounded, and most importantly I felt finally connected with the community when I needed it the most.
Despite many naysayers, Game Conference Guide lives on its own now, it grows by a steady pace since the launch which is amazing to see. And I would never assume so many would be reading my monthly columns (we are almost at 1000 readers!) or following the announcements on Twitter or visiting the website.
Thank you to everyone who is using, sharing, and putting a good word about Game Conference Guide. I do hope it is helping you find your next event and broaden up a perspective of how many of them are out there.
And if you feel like it is useful to you, consider supporting it by hitting the button below.
Do you like coffee like I do?
It helps me to stay alert and update the Game Conference Guide database on a daily basis, so you can find your next event.
Consider sharing a cup with me.
What will happen next?
As we were wrapping up Reboot Develop Blue with the team two weeks ago, I have announced a big change in my career – stepping down from my position and moving away from organizing events. I thought you should know this as well.
What will happen with Game Conference Guide, many were asking. What I can tell now, I will continue to develop it and maintaining it. This is a major career shift for me, but I will continue to work on events (I am still advisor for Reboot) and monitor them with the same vigor. Guess what? I will be visiting them as well as part of my new job, so I need to have a clear overview where to go and which one to visit.
October 2022 was supposed to be the launch of the new and improved GCG V2.0 I have mentioned here and there. The working prototype was showed and tested among few of my close friends before and during Gamescom. Despite positive feedback, I am not convinced if this is the right way for the project to move.
There won’t be no paywalls, no registration needed, and the full feature set will be accessible on any device, but I believe there is a more elegant solution how to evolve than the current prototype shows. I will keep you informed about the progress, for now I am moving forward with the current version.
Once again, thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. It means a lot!
See you next month or in Slovakia at Game Days.
PARTNER OF THE MONTH
It has been 9 consecutive years since we first brought you Game Days. We are glad that after 2 pandemic years we can meet in person.
GameDays is an international videogame conference connecting creativity, art and business aspects welcoming all fans of videogames in the city of Kosice, Slovakia. It is the biggest game development conference in the country happening on 3. - 5.11.2022.
This year we got bigger space, more speakers and we are bringing more art into the conference. Get ready for the workshops where you can learn. Showcase where you will be amazed, lectures to get inspired, job fair to find your dream job and afterparties to talk games over a beer.
See you there!
[Game Conference Guide is tracking games industry & game developers’ events, trade shows, festivals, conferences and events around the world.]
Thank you for reading and supporting Game Conference Guide. Consider sharing it with your peers, colleagues, and community.
Pavol Buday, curator @ GCG