Explay '11 - a round up

Back at the beginning of November we were really pleased to take part in Explay 2011, the South West's very own interactive game conference. Held at an awesome venue - the National Marine Aquarium on Plymouth harbour front, the 3 day event brought together game developers, digital artists, tech, audio & media agencies.

When signing up for the event there was something for everyone;

Did the 2 day game jam appeal to you? if so off you went to design & build in a 2 day heads down frenzy.

If you wanted to pick and mix your topics - you got yourself a day ticket and based yourself in the auditorium.

or

If like us, you were keen to get up close and personal with the speakers and lock yourself in the 'Explay House' you bought the gold ticket and set off on a development journey with 15 other boot campers....

The aim, well that depends on who you were and what you were looking for, check out the awesome live drawing above produced during the event by Nat Al-Tahhan (Nat pretty much captured every theme) but to point them out in the antithesis to Nat's work- a list- the topics covered were....

• Strategy & Focus
• Growth & Marketing
• Pitching & Pricing
• Product versus Service
• IP & Copyright

However one of the key successes of Explay '11 in our opinion was, rather than following a nicely typed agenda, the Explay folks took these topics, shook them in a bag with a load of key industry players, then emptied them out across the three days. The result was loads of real case studies and hot advice in 2 hour chunks followed by informal small huddle networking with the pro's over coffee & carbs. It was a really refreshing way to learn, explore, quiz and soundboard ideas.

We took loads of notes but a few lightbulbs we'd like to share with you are:

Investment options: play yourself forward 5 years which one would you choose looking back.

Kids prefer gaming to television (so true I see it everyday just hadn't realised it!)

 Games are the new marketing.

Keep it simple (the mass market don't like to feel stupid)

 Keep it fun (fun sells)


Explay '11 was inspirational, and the best bit is there's more to come this wasn't an experience to file on the 'Done' shelf. The Explay bootcampers meet again in February 2012 to share progress, ideas and ....urm probably eat more carbs!

Thanks to everyone involved in the event but special shouts out to iNet creative industries, Designed in Devon, Remode Studios, Mutant Labs & Nat Al-Tahhan