gameDev Evening 🔜 11th-13th of July 2025 @GameDevEvening

Registration link: app.evenea.pl/event/gde2025 Facebook event link: fb.me/e/7lCXnfImI

@GameDevEvening 2025 will happen between July 11th and July 13th in Łochów! Take a look at the recap video from last year and register for this year's edition - Early Bird tickets are available until the 2nd of June! Link below!

The second panel at @GameDevEvening, which I participated in with @LukaszHacura, was dedicated to events and the sensibility of attending them. The discussion focused on two aspects: marketing and business development. Social, touristic, and entertainment aspects, as well as the content quality of the lectures, were not considered. It’s important to note that the following suggestions are aimed at small indie developers and publishers where every penny matters. If you are a more prominent organization, other factors, such as brand marketing, employee empowerment, community management, IR, PR, etc., will become factors. We’re also discussing commercial solutions; if you manage to get in for free somewhere, all the better! Marketing • Only consider events that feature on Steam’s main page. A few people will see your demo/game at a trade show, resulting in just a few dozen wishlists per day. On the other hand, Steam has up to 30 million users logged in at peak times, potentially generating hundreds of wishlists or more. • If you don’t have a high budget for your game and consequently for marketing, you can use intermediaries like @GalaktusPR, @IndieArenaBooth, @IGPolska, etc., to showcase your game in minimal physical form, giving you a presence on the prominent and featured Steampages of @gamescom or @pax and others. Check if there are national stands, various organizations, or companies present that can help you with that. • As the number of games and events on Steam increases, the average number of wishlists per event continues to decline. • Physical presence with a good game/demo at PAX and similar events can get you noticed by a significant first-party player, leading to possible exciting collaborations or by a major influencer/media. However, these situations are rare, and your product must be good. It’s worth reaching out to them before the trade shows to inform them of your presence and why your game is the one they should see. Business Development • Networking and matching faces to emails always helps, so you need to be there. • Giving lectures and participating in panels increases your visibility. • Over time, people will start to recognize you. You might not become a VIP, but you’ll be recognizable, which is invaluable for your career. • A large number of industry people in one place can lead to interesting, unexpected meetings and connections. • Sometimes, all crucial meetings occur outside the trade show grounds, so theoretically, you might not always need to buy an entry ticket. Meet2Match and being around the most popular industry hotel might suffice. • In countries like Poland, more and more representatives of publishers and platform owners are appearing at local events. #gamedev

During this year’s @GameDevEvening, I co-hosted several panels, one of which focused on trends in #gamedev. The discussion was lively, and I noted these 10 points from it. I hope they will be helpful to you. Why? 1. Analytics and risk minimization are essential when you either run a scalable, sustainable business or have resources and are wondering how to allocate them. If you have an idea you believe in or want to make a specific game, then make it. 2. Palworld, Baldur’s Gate 3, Disco Elysium, Fortnite, and similar titles are not trends. They are unicorns, unlikely to be replicated by most. Of course, miracles happen, but refer back to point 1. 3. Current trends are relatively easy to identify. I recommend following @AdventureMtn, @simoncarless, and websites like @GamesStats, @GamalyticSite , @VG_Insights, etc. Present 4. When choosing a genre and gameplay type, check which features are crucial within it. For example, platformers need to be visually appealing – how do you rate the potential of your art department/person? 5. Select reference titles considering their budgets. Comparing yourself to AAA and AAAA titles as an indie developer makes little sense because you won’t have their scale, budgets, and resources. 6. The language of games is gameplay. The theme or known IP is just a layer or a way to buy reach and fans of a specific brand (Marvel, Warhammer, Star Wars, etc.). 7. The main driver of innovation in gameplay types is technology development and how we interact with it. Future 8. To predict trends, you need to understand your audience and how it evolves. What excites them, what frustrates them, and what is important to them? This means reviewing sociological, psychological, and marketing studies of new generations. There is quite a bit of research on Gen Z and others. Read books, marketing reports, listen to webinars, etc. (8 years ago, we knew that customization would be essential like skins, mods, etc. youtube.com/watch?v=j9Kif3…) 9. Global events will also have an impact. One such event is the pandemic and the prolonged lockdown, which has changed how children develop. There are studies on this. These kids will eventually turn to indie productions. 10. Finally, for now, the king is the Steam algorithm. Steam accounts for about 80% of the market, influencing what tops the charts and what doesn’t. Most of our data comes from this platform, so it’s worth keeping an eye on what’s happening there.

Tickets available only until THIS Sunday! Still figuring out your plans for upcoming summer weekends? Don't miss out on gameDev Evening 2024 - tickets are available until the end of day on July 14th! Get your tickets before the sales close! evenea.pl/pl/wydarzenie/…

In case you missed it - tickets for gameDev Evening 2024 are already live: app.evenea.pl/event/gde2024! Also, have a look at some of the photos from last year!

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It was quite a wait, but we're ready - tickets for gameDev Evening 2024 are now officially available 😎 app.evenea.pl/event/gde2024/

gameDevEvening will return in exactly 3 months! Save the date between July 19th and 21st and visit us at the new venue - Folwark Łochów. Tickets start next week! 😎

Check out a short recap of what happened a year ago on gameDev Evening 2020: youtu.be/xI61mJXVQjA :) Can't wait to see you on next week! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

GDE 2020 was super small, so we saved some memories to share with you. Huge thanks for Małolat and Movie Games for enjoying our party: youtube.com/watch?v=e4ElvY…

The 7th edition of GameDev Evening was awesome! 12 discussion panels, 2 live concerts, 3 tournaments, and what's most important - tons of smiled game devs. Check out our recap video and totally follow us to know when the 2020 edition will be happening! youtu.be/k9EjShqRTZs

GameDev Evening is all about people, but it would never be so awesome if it wasn't for our epic sponsors! Big kisses and kudos for @UnrealEngine, @Digital_Dragons, @TechlandGames, @BoomBitGames, @hoardexchange,@WaywardPreacher, Roboto Translation and Walkabout!

Thank you everyone and see you next year! 😎 PS. More photos coming soon!

Gamedev Evening's 7th edition will take place between 12th and 14th of July 2019! Take a look at the video from last year's event and make sure to mark the date in your calendars! See you in July! youtu.be/ixDkZDXz-_M

Last weekend I was lucky to spend some time at closed-off @GameDevEvening What amazing gathering of devs by the lake. Kudos to organizers!

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Hej @qlocsa i wszyscy uczestnicy @GameDevEvening, miłej zabawy! Pamiętajcie, piątek trzynastego to tylko zwykły dzień w kalendarzu... ;)