On 1-2 March 2023, the DEVGAMM Gdańsk 2023 conference was held in Gdańsk. This is the first conference of its kind that DevGAMM has organised in Poland. Its aim is to bring developers together with publishers and investors.
– DEVGAMM is an international event for game developers. Our goal is to bring together developers, publishers and industry representatives in order to support local businesses– says Lerika Mallayeva, CEO and founder of DEVGAMM.
Gdańsk and the whole of Pomerania are an important hub for the development of the games production industry in Poland. The region is home to many companies working in game production, as well as game-related software, along with schools and universities training future game programmers and designers.
For the first time in Poland
– We have been organising events for 15 years, and this is the first time we have come to wonderful Gdańsk. Last year we received a great many requests from our community to organise a conference in Poland. We decided we had to choose the right place for it. There are many large conferences in Kraków, Poznań, and quite a lot in Warsaw, but none in Gdańsk. Gdańsk has a great many wonderful software companies and is one of the most beautiful cities in Poland– adds Lerika Mallayeva
The DEVGAMM fair drew many people connected with the games industry to AmberExpo, enabling an exchange of knowledge and experience, as well as business networking.
„This is a fantastic opportunity to meet other people from the industry, exchange ideas and make business contacts. I am very pleased to have taken part in this event. I greatly appreciate that an event like this has finally come to Gdańsk. It had been missing for years– says Frederic Raducki, game designer at BOOMBIT from Gdańsk.
Demand for programmers
One issue raised during the conference was the shortage of specialists in game design. According to speakers and participants, growing interest in computer games and new technologies is only increasing the demand for game programmers and designers.
– The specialists we are looking for are mainly programmers working with the Unity engine and the C# language, but also people from other fields such as game design or testers, as well as business-side people dealing with advertising or acquiring new users for our games – adds Frederic Raducki.
The conference is important for the industry, as it helps promote the region as a major hub for the development of the games industry in Poland, which drives technological development and generally contributes to the country's growth.
– We are working on some very well-known titles. We came here to expand our network of contacts, meet interesting new people and, of course, promote our brand. We were happy to come to Gdańsk. DevGAMM is a really great event. We met a lot of people from the industry, expanded our network of contacts and discovered some great talent – says Lisa, a recruiter from Sper Soft, a company working on games such as Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty.
A new stop on the developers' map
Among those who gave talks were Jon Carnage – Head of Cross Media, Henrique Olifiers – CEO of Bossa Studios, and Fawzi Mesmar – Game Designer. Each of them presented their experience and approach to game design.
During the conference, participants had the opportunity to take part in numerous workshops, presentations and panel discussions devoted to various aspects of game development. Exhibitors presented their projects and also had the chance to make business contacts and exchange experiences.
