It’s become a sort of a tradition that I write an editorial about Dev.Play about 2 months before each edition. It’s that time now – but I’ve decided to do it in English this year, as our little event has been very much international for a while now. 

So here we are – Dev.Play is coming back on November 7-8 for edition #4. And we’ve got a bunch of interesting things going on this year! 

First of all, we’ve got a new venue, none other than the Romanian Palace of Parliament! We’re excited to organize the event within such a landmark location and I’m sure both international and local participants will appreciate the opportunity to visit the Palace. Also, we’ve partnered up with our friends from Bucharest Gaming Week (their main show takes place right after Dev.Play within the same venue), which will bring additional opportunities for exposure for our exhibiting developers and we’ll create together a week full of gaming related events, which should help put a spotlight on our local industry!

Then, as always, we’ve put an effort into bringing you more quality content. We’ve listened to your feedback and added Game Design as a main track this year (along with the mainstay Business track). You’ll find speakers from companies like Quantic Dream, Blizzard, Kickstarter, Creative Assembly, Superhot, Rovio, Google, Epic Games and more, including several in-depth sessions that we very much look forward to watch next to you. 

Our popular Indie Expo section is, of course, coming back as well. We expect to see more games than in previous years, including more studios from nearby countries. We’re extremely proud that our show has hosted and awarded local indie games which have found international recognition already, either by finding top publishers (“Yaga”), securing funding for the studio (“Interrogation”) or “just” launching successfully (“Gibbous”)!

And with this context, perhaps one of the more interesting additions this year is the brand new Investor Track. For the first time at a games industry event in Romania, we’re bringing both seasoned international games investors and Romanian investors interested in the sector. Expect to see some very interesting panels on the topic of investment in games and if you’re a studio looking to meet investors, this is an opportunity you should not miss!

I believe our local and regional industry is at a very interesting point. So many new studios have been founded within the last 5 years or so, many of them working hard to release their first title, and the last year or so has already seen the launch of those first games. What this means is that those studios are now more mature, working on their second or maybe their third game. This is usually an ideal point in time for publishers and investors to become interested and get involved. And at the same time, a whole new batch of studios is starting up, creating a new cycle. If we add the fact that formal education opportunities in games development are starting to take shape, it means we’re getting close to having all the pieces of a fully fledged games ecosystem. I very much look forward to seeing how our regional landscape will look in another five years!

I’ve said in the past how Dev.Play is about bringing more visibility for the regional games industry. While that is technically true, I’ve come to realize that effect is rather a consequence of a more meaningful aspect. Dev.Play is, in fact, about community building. Our show is an opportunity for game developers from Romania and surrounding countries to meet, exchange experiences, find new business opportunities, make friends. This is an incredibly powerful thing. All these people, all these creators, are gaining something, creating bonds, growing little by little  by participating at this event (and others). In turn, this helps to make the community stronger and bigger, which eventually brings “the spotlight”, investors, publishers, etc. 

We’re excited to see you, our community, at Dev.Play 2019! Join us, contribute to the group with your presence and let’s all grow together!

The Early Bird tickets are still available for a couple of weeks. We’ve also assembled the most diverse and affordable ticketing options we’ve ever had, as we strongly believe in lowering barriers and helping as many people as possible enjoy the opportunities that come with an event like this. 

So sign up / register, and see you in on November 7-8, at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest!

Catalin Butnariu, Founder of Dev.Play and President of RGDA

 

P.S. RGDA members, it helps us if you register in advance with your member tickets! Please contact us if you don’t have your registration code yet.