PC Gaming Weekly - Diversity in PC gaming

A pair of events point to the continued strength – and diversity – of PC gaming.



The first is one of the most impressive and innovative ideas I’ve heard of when it comes to conferences. But this shouldn’t surprise me, since it came from Rami Ismail, the cofounder of Dutch studio Vlambeer and de-facto spokesperson for the independent game development scene. Along with voice actor Sarah Elmaleh, who served as event organizer; and Myriame Lachapelle, a producer, Ismail and crew put on GameDev.World, a game conference that lived online – and in eight languages.



It’s an unprecedented effort – and it wound up being a success (along with a great deal of work). It’s also important. Events such as the Game Developers Conference are too expensive for many developers (tickets and travel), and getting to the U.S. isn’t as easy thanks to the President Trump’s bigoted and foolish travel restrictions. But when an event’s online, anyone with an internet connection can take part – and learn. I hope they’re able to put it on again next year.



The next is a more traditional event. Devcom is a developer-focused event that takes place right before Gamescom. But what makes this event stand out is that it gives a European take on issues in game development. Europe is a huge market, especially for PC gaming, and the perspective of its developers adds to the creativity and knowledge of the entire industry. It’s important that they have a voice.



What event am I looking forward to this summer? To be honest – vacation! Just two more weeks!