DIG 2010

On Thursday/Friday we had DIG conference here in London. I was quite surprised there is something like that and even more surprise when I found out it’s actually quite big, with DE & other local companies, local universities, hordes of students and interesting lectures. I come from a country where game development is still considered exotic, not very serious career choice. It’s a refreshing change to participate in gaming event organized with so huge support from the city, with London mayor attending. Canada/Ontario is really taking it seriously. Apparently, Canada is now the third biggest GD country in the world, overtaking UK recently (even if they have like half of their population). London is not a big city, but they have some serious plans as well, according to this article (TLDR version – millions of dollars invested in creating a gaming hub). It’s a new situation for me, feels weird, but good at the same time, it’s always nice to be appreciated. It seems to be a general feeling in Canadian cities, as Andrew Richards (codeandrew) put it after visiting Montreal: “Being in Montreal is weird. Game development is a proper career, with lots of big employers in bright shiny skyscrapers in the city centre. […] in Montreal, mothers say ‘why can’t you be a game developer like your brother?’”

As you may know, November is also a month of a Movember Campaign, collecting funds for fight with a prostate cancer. It seems to be really popular amongst game developers here (almost half of DE taking part), so DIG looked a little bit like Retired 70s Pornstar Convention. If you have spare 5 bucks that you really don’t need, consider donating.