Conference opens doors for student games developers

Posted by: Kevin Hawkins at July 21, 2005 2:00:26 PM

"Wednesday, 10 August 2005 is a day that will change the lives of the computer games stars of the future."

Students from across the UK will gather for the third and final day of the internationally-renowned Women in Games 2005 conference, where they will be given unprecedented access to some of the best brains in the business at a Student Forum.

The Student Forum is made up of five key elements, the first two of which are designed to give delegates a head start into the industry. The event kicks off with a seminar on Presenting Yourself!, hosted by Robin McShaffrey of recruitment & business services company Mary-Margaret.com. Students will learn how best to package themselves, and a panel of industry veterans will discuss everything from CVs and interview tips to presenting a demo. As part of the process, students can submit their own CVs for discussion.

The second part of the forum, entitled Winging it into the Games Industry, will give delegates a unique insight into the Dare to be Digital international student games development competition, hosted each year by Abertay University. Project Manager Jackie McKenzie will profile some of the successful prototypes created over the past five years as she tracks the history of the competition. Dare has spawned five start-up companies, and graduates of the project are now employed by games companies including Rockstar, Electronic Arts, Rare, Lionhead, Visual Science, Denki and Genuine Games, among others.

Inga Paterson, lecturer in computer games at the University of Abertay and organiser of this year’s conference, said: “Marketing yourself for any job is a difficult task, and this is no less true in the Entertainment Software industry. Even the most talented developer in the world will go unnoticed, if they don’t have the knowledge to present themselves properly. It benefits everyone – job seekers, games companies, and ultimately the consumer – if the best talent can be identified and nurtured.”

Inga continued: “A big stumbling block for anyone hoping to enter the industry is a lack of experience – and trying to gain that experience can be a catch-22 situation for so many students and graduates. I’m delighted that we’ll be hearing from Jackie McKenzie of Dare to be Digital; this is a project that allows people to prove themselves on talent and ideas alone, and does not depend on ‘who you know’.“

The Student Forum will also feature short presentations from rising stars. Caroline Weller, who graduated this summer from Abertay University’s Computer Arts course, will explain the process behind producing her interactive CD for Barnardos; while her classmate Robin Sloan will give a presentation of his game demo. Graduate Beth Sutherland, now Mobile Projects and Business Development Manager at Absolute Quality, will give a presentation on her experience of getting into the new media industry, and discuss her experiences in games, education, creative design and professional practice.

The fourth part of the Student Forum will see a keynote speech from Aphra Kerr, entitled: Gamework: gameplay – a chilly place for women? Aphra, a game researcher at the Centre for Media Research at the University of Ulster, will establish what is known about conditions and barriers to women working in the industry, and to women playing games. The speech will relate the situation to the wider process of inclusion and exclusion in the media, ICT industries and society generally, and outline potential strategies to address the situation.

The Forum will be concluded with the closing session of the conference. A panel of experts, led by Mary Margaret Walker of Mary-Margaret.com, will reflect on the issues raised during the event, and explore the future with questions and answers. The session will allow attendees at the Student Forum the chance to hear an overview of the three-day conference, and mingle with delegates from some of the world’s top firms.

Inga Paterson added: “New talent is the lifeblood of the games industry. The Student Forum is an essential part of the Women in Games Conference, because it provides a unique opportunity for young people trying to get into the games and new media industry.”

The 2005 Women in Games Conference runs from 8-10 August 2005, and will highlight the most recent, groundbreaking work in computer game research and development in both academic and industrial worlds. Key areas for discussion will be professional development for women working in and researching into games and the games industry.

For further information, or details of how to book, visit www.womeningames.com. A reduced registration fee is available for group bookings, and all student registrations will be entered into a draw for an iPod Shuffle.