GDAP to hold game dev’t conference

MANILA, Philippines - In its bid to promote the country as a premier destination for game development, the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) is organizing the Philippine Game Development Festival (PGDF 2013) on Oct. 25-26 at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) in Manila.

The event is in partnership with DLS-CSB and the Department of Science and Technology’s Information and Communications Technology Office.

“We have what it takes to be a strong key player when it comes to providing high-quality game development services to clients as well as coming up with strong intellectual properties,” says Alvin Juban, GDAP president.

Fully aware of the potential of local talent in the game development industry, GDAP has invested in training future and existing professionals.

“The Philippines is home to many creative and hardworking individuals who are only waiting for an appropriate platform where they can exhibit their products,” says Juban.

PGDF 2013 will open with the launch of an inter-school game competition and will feature a series of lectures, conferences, and knowledge-sharing by local and international speakers who are authorities in their respective subfields. The various perspectives of global leaders are essential in furthering the growth of the sector.

Every year, the festival has been attended by participants from across the country, coming together to celebrate and take advantage of the networking opportunities and healthy exchange of ideas.

“It is the most attended conference for professionals and students in the game development field. This year, we are expecting about 2,000 participants,” Juban says.

On the first day, key topics in the program will be about the state of the Philippine game development industry, protecting creative rights, and a look on mobile game users in the country.

It will also tackle topics on management such as running game development companies and potential partnerships between government and the private sector.

Workshops will be conducted on the second day, which will focus on design, art, programming, and business, among other tracks. Resource persons such as Tom Stratford, creative director of iAcademy, and representatives of Mages Institute of Excellence, Gunship Revolution, and iAcademy will be present to facilitate the activities.

“All that’s needed is for us to stir the interest further, get everyone in the same place discussing ways to improve, collaborate, and help one another. We will put the experts, professionals, students, publishers, investors, and key government officials in the same room talking. I’m curious about what happens after that. With the recent successes of Pinoy developers in the international scene, everyone seems to be pretty hyped up,” says Juban. “Now is certainly the right time to be in the game and we are just happy to be part of it all.”

The PGDF is also made possible by GDAP’s partner association, the Animation Council of the Philippines. Other participating companies are Elance Philippines and Cherry Mobile. For more information, log on to www.gamefestival.ph.