Upcoming gaming events: devcom 2022

After 2020 and 2021 were digital-only events for the devcom Developer Conference, #ddc2022 embraces the hybrid concept this year.

devcom once again invites developers, publishers, students, and press (but also people from other fields) to #ddc2022 on August 22 and 23, 2022 (although the Networking Dinner already starts on Sunday, August 21). This time it doesn’t only offer a chance to see talks online, but also takes place at the Congress Center East of Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany.

The schedule for the individual sessions isn’t final yet, but there are already quite a few talks and speakers to get excited about. So I’ll just list few of them I find particularly interesting below:

“Developing a Screenplay-Like Scripting Tool for Story-Driven Games” by
Marcus Bäumer, Game Designer, Writer, Programmer at Backwoods Entertainment

“Video Games, Literature & High Culture – The Relationship between Auteur Cinema, great “classic” Literature and Videogames?” by Fabio Belsanti, CEO, Founder & Lead Game Designer at AgeOfGames
and Elisa Di Lorenzo, Co-Founder & CEO at Untold Games

“Storytelling for Game Devs: Beyond the Hero’s Journey” by Don Daglow, President at Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Foundation

“Narrative for Meaningful Games” by Lena Falkenhagen, Narrative Director at Paintbucket Games

“Linear to Procedural Narrative in ‘Road 96′” by Yoan Fanise, Creative Director at DigixArt

“A Look at the History of “The King of Fighters” and Japanese Fighting Games” by Yasuyuki Oda, Chief Producer of the KING OF FIGHTERS series at SNK Corporation

“The Tragic History of Comedy in Video Games” by Baudelaire Welch, Senior Narrative Designer at Larian Studios

It’s not surprising that my favorites are mainly about storytelling, as this is what many of my reviews and other articles usually focus on. But I’m also a fan of immersive music, and it’s great to have composers like Olivier Derivière (the 2008 Alone in the Dark version or Obscure), Richard Jacques (Mass Effect), Jesper Kyd (Hitman and Assassin’s Creed), and Inon Zur (Dragon Age and Syberia) joining the talks, even if there aren’t any topics yet. Hopefully, the latter composer will share his experience with the production of Syberia: The World Before which had an amazing soundtrack that was an essential part for the plot, too.

Of course one can’t only listen to or watch talks, but check out 62 games in the NRW Indie Expo 2022. In addition, the side events include the Global Industry Game Awards (GIGA) Ceremony 2022 and the Sunset Mixer Party on Monday, August 22; the Executive Summit #6 and Indie Developer Night on Tuesday, August 23. The Pitch it! – Summer Edition starts during gamescom on Wednesday, August 24, and lasts until Friday, August 26. These are obviously all great opportunities for celebrating or promoting games and meeting the right people.

The last thing is probably the biggest selling point of this year’s event, although unfortunately I won’t be able to attend in person due to my wife being pregnant and me still suffering from my broken wrist bone accident two months ago. But as the event also takes place digitally, I hope to get an accreditation as in past years and cover as many developers, publishers, and other games industry people as possible.

If you want to experience #ddc2022 either online or on site, then tickets are still available in the shop.

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