The San Francisco Game Developers Conference is possibly the biggest convergence of all things gaming. Individuals and companies from all the sub sectors of the gaming industry eagerly await this event which provides valuable knowledge sharing sessions, new releases, networking opportunities and all the updates the industry has to offer from across the globe.
While the event is thronged by game developers and enthusiasts around the world, the somewhat steep pricing deters a lot of Indian studios from attending the event. The passes to the conference alone cost quite a lot, this coupled with the additional expenses brings the enthusiastic developers to a standstill most of the time.
Enter Game Designers Network. Founded by Blake Merriam, the organisation offers a heavily subsidised exclusively to Indian developers to attend the GDC. Like previous years, this year too they have been looking for applicants for the program. Says Merriam “The response has been amazing. I attended the Indian Game Developers Conference to help promote the scholarship and received an amazing response as a result! We received about 300 responses, our largest ever!”
The applications for this year’s scholarships are now closed and the results will be out soon after the review process is completed by the organising committee.
Further says Merriam, “I lived in India for 10 years and have volunteered at GDC since I was a teenager. I know first hand the benifits attending GDC can have on your game development career. One game dev studio in Gujurat saw a 200per cent revenue increase in their games after applying their learnings gathered from GDC. The good people at the Game Developers Conference provide me with the tickets, as I have been a volunteer at the event since I was a teenager! We have a great relationship. I keep trying to raise funds to help with travel but it’s very difficult.”
While gaming as an industry in India is seemingly picking up, it is not possible for everyone to travel, stay and buy the passes for the conference. hence, initiatives like these are always a good sight!
This is however not the first time that this is being organised by Game Designers Network, it has been there quite some time. So, although the entries are closed for this year, budding developers from the country should keep an eye on it for next year!
The scholarship winners of this year will be announced in just a few days, each scholarship winner will receive a “Summit and Main Conference” pass valued at Rs.2.1 lakh.