Demo Camp Vancouver 03

So, there is thing called the Internet. And there is thing called the Web and there like up to version 2.0 and stuff. And people get together and talk about it.

There is a huge difference between the web development community and the game development community here in Vancouver.

Game developers, at least a bunch of my friends, tend to be yuppies. Whereas web developers tend to be hipsters.

I was the only one wearing Pumas at Demo Camp.

Demo Camp is a get together where developers show off demos of stuff they have been working on. It took place over at WorkSpace in Gastown.

“So, what are you working on?”

“Can’t say.”

That would be the extent of a Demo Camp of game developers. Then we would all go out and get completely smashed on Guinness.

The most noteable reason for this is that most titles are funded by large publishers. Large publishers are listed on the stock market and need to be fairly strict in how they release information.

Game developers also don’t get together quite as often because we see each other so damn much at work. There were about 25 people working on SOCOM : Tactical Strike. Tactical Strike was a smaller, handheld project.

At peak, Company of Heroes had over 100 people working on it. This is the opposite in the web world. There are smaller teams with a handful of people working together. There is much greater benefit in stepping out and talking to other people.

I would like to see some of the smaller indie developers get together more often. I think that is where a lot of the benefit for the community could come. There is a burgeoning indie community here in Vancouver. A lot of newer, small developers are choosing to stay small and forgo the traditional publisher route.

A few examples of newer studios in Vancouver that are going this route: Klei Entertainment, Slick Entertainment, Hot Head Games.