Pune to host NASSCOM Game Developers Conference

The NASSCOM Game Developers Conference (GDC),one of the largest meeting points of video game developers in the country,will be held in Pune this year on November 11 and 12 at Weikfield IT Park on Nagar Road. Started in 2009,previous editions of the conference were organised in Hyderabad. The event will bring together game developers and other professionals from all major studios of the country and enable them to network,swap ideas and enhance the business of gaming. The conference is known for its keynote addresses delivered by industry stalwarts. On the speakers list this year are Zynga senior vice-president of product development Mark Skaggs,Eidos life president Ian Livingstone and Lara Croft,Sierra Atlantic project lead Ravi Polimera,software engineer Ramaraju Pinnamaraju,Jumpgames studio head Billy Pamier and Indiagames Ltd art lead Arijit Goon among others.

NASSCOM vice-president Rajiv Vaishnav said the speeches will try to induce hope for a better future among game developers. “The mood will predominantly be in technology mode rather than business mode. The aim will be to convey the message talk that in spite of gaming not having picked up much in India,there was no need to lose hope,” he said.

Many factors tilted the stakes in favour of Pune as the host city when the venue was to be shifted from Hyderabad. The city’s proximity to Mumbai and other top studios in the country,relatively cheaper travel,and most importantly,the presence of industry top players like Ubisoft and DSK Supinfocom here sealed the deal.

The GDC was conceptalised to give game developers in the country a platform to gather and network as their presence was missing in the existing business conferences. Vaishnav revealed that the conference has received great response so far,with every studio sending close to 20-30 nominations. “The restriction will be because of space and not because of lack of enthusiasm,” he said.