GDC 2023

Roundtable Conversation

Carl at GDC 2023

Black Excellence in Game Development: The Designer’s Dilemma

Description

In this incredible panel, game designers and industry professionals address how companies can better support black designers in creative and corporate dynamics. Panelists will discuss the value black designers can bring to every team and how to incubate diverse ideas into game design.

Takeaway

Attendees will learn how companies can better support black designers in creative and corporate dynamics. They will have a better understanding of the value black designers can bring to their teams, and how they might incubate diverse ideas into game design.

Intended Audience

This is for anyone in the industry who affiliates with game design or game designers in the game industry.

Dennis at GDC 2023

Black Developers Matter Roundtable: The Workplace and Workforce Development (Presented by the IGDA)

Description

The games industry is one of the most innovative sectors in our society. We have innovated from the arcade to the home console, from 8-bit cartridges to Virtual Reality, and the handheld to Augmented Reality. It is now time to innovate how we approach the actual development process, who we include in those conversations, and what audiences are we attempting to capture.

This roundtable will be a discussion about how Black Developers Matter in the games industry. The future to our industry is how we answer these questions today, and how we will approach them tomorrow.

Takeaway

Attendees will leave with an understanding of how to better support diverse team members, brainstorm how to solve problems with diversity, and how to create a more welcome workspace for black team members.

Intended Audience

This is for anyone interested in improving diversity.

Arthur at GDC 2023

So You’ve Made a Video Game, Now What? Promoting Your Game in the Modern Marketplace Roundtable (Presented by the IGDA)

Description

Independent game devs and small game dev studios often struggle in getting the word out about their projects. What are the common trends to consider when promoting entertainment content? What should your budget be (even when you don’t have one)? After decades in the advertising trenches of ad agencies and some the nation’s largest internal groups, Black in Gaming’s Director of Brand helps offer insight about what creators need to look at and what the importance of brand management should be to everyone. We’ll offer insight to the importance of design and brand voice to you game to help you promote your product and your company to greater levels of success.

Takeaway

Digital marketing and promotion is not easy but it plays a critical part in the success of your game and business. Discovering what makes for good brand building and marketing for budgets of every size, helps ensure the best possible reach and audience share for your product. Here we’ll discuss the principles of branding, marketing, advertising, and managing the best returns for the scope and scale your marketing efforts.

Intended Audience

Game developers, studio heads, indie game devs, even industry creatives looking for better tips on self-promotion and brand building; this discussion focuses on the do’s and don’ts of promotion, the necessity of budgeting your marketing dollars, ROI, and the difference between marketing, advertising, and branding. Our discussion will inspire even the most tepid entrepreneur to get effectively their product to market.

Bret at GDC 2023

Making the Invisible Visible: Devs with Kids Roundtable (Presented by the IGDA)

Description

This roundtable focuses on making visible the various forms of invisible labor present in the game industry and how these are exacerbated by trying to balance professional responsibilities with taking care of family members (which holds its own set of invisible labor demands). Both at work and at home, tasks and responsibilities can be overlooked, ignored, or marginalized for a whole range of reasons. This session provides space for participants to share experiences as well as develop strategies together.

Takeaway

Participants in this roundtable session will have opportunities to share their own experiences and hear from others in similar situations. They will benefit from the conversation that makes invisible things visible, receiving social validation from mutual exchange as well as developing and learning new approaches to navigate tensions between finding health at home and at work, especially as we continue to move into a new normal following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intended Audience

All are welcome, but the conversation will be most useful to those who are trying to balance professional responsibilities with taking care of family members.