(Originally posted 10th December 2012)
GameDevNorth is a monthly meetup of people living in the North-West of England and involved in the games industry.
The event was attended by roughly 60 people and was sponsored by Ubisoft Reflections , Microsoft and Sheridans. I was there on Saturday night (8th) and had a good time meeting all sorts of people, from the freshest artists and developers to people who were regularly part of AAA productions. I discovered that the event was taking place more or less right next to where I live in Liverpool at the moment so it seemed like a no-brainer to go along and see what it was all about.
Besides the convenience, it felt somehow fitting to have it at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool this time around, considering the recent sad loss of one of the city’s beloved developers: Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool. The company was known for titles like WipeOut, Colony Wars and countless Formula 1 racing games – as well as being the original publisher of Lemmings. It’s not all bad news thanks to Sony (who bought Psygnosis in 1993) who are still keeping the site open with some of its other creative teams. Nonetheless, it’s always sad to see classic developers go.
I had a good chat with all the representatives of the sponsors and learnt a lot about all the different ways people navigate into and through the industry. Just thought I’d mention this event, and make anyone aware who’s not, that local meetups are always going on if you look out for them. I stumbled upon this event on Reddit and it was taking place just seconds from where I live! If you’re looking to work in the games industry, they’re a great place to start meeting up with aspiring and inspiring game developers on a casual basis.
Alex Cottrell 