The organizers of the Game Developers Conference - the world's longest running and largest professionals-only event dedicated to game development - have announced the debut of a new onsite opportunity for emerging and independent developers to showcase their games at Game Developers Conferences worldwide.
Titled 'GDC Play' and inspired by the success of the Independent Games Festival Pavilion at GDC, the new initiative will include space in special Pavilions themed around emerging game markets. The program will allow GDC Play exhibitors to display their games to key distributors, publishers, press and investors visiting each conference.
When signing up for GDC Play, which is open to a range of emerging developers showcasing playable games, game creators will be given a standalone kiosk with a monitor, keyboard, speakers and internet connection, as applicable.
This makes the new area into a simple, lower-cost opportunity to exhibit titles to prospective business partners, investors and the press.
This program will kick off at GDC Online 2011, to be held in Austin on October 10-13, with a special GDC Play Pavilion located in the heart of the show floor during Expo Hours on Tuesday, October 11th and Wednesday, October 12th at the Austin Convention Center.
Promoted to over 3,000 key GDC Online attendees via pre-show media promotions, and with sponsored profile articles for each GDC Play developer featured in sister website Gamasutra, the Pavilion will be entirely devoted to notable online and connected games from worldwide markets.
A much expanded presence is planned for the Game Developers Conference 2012, to be held in San Francisco March 5-9, with separate GDC Play Pavilions for social & online, smartphone & tablet, and independent games.
The Pavilions will be included within a dedicated room - including nearby seating areas for more in-depth meetings - for GDC Play, taking place on March 6th and 7th, 2012. The event will also include a special VIP reception for publishers, funders, and other notables to view the games and talk to the developers.
"GDC Play is a great opportunity for small developers to show their games to a singularly qualified audience through an easy, low-cost entry," Meggan Scavio, GM of GDC events. "And similar to the IGF Pavilion at GDC, we expect this new, playable game area to be quite the draw and catalyst for business."
More information about signing up for GDC Play is available via the UBM TechWeb Game Network's information site JoinTheGameNetwork.com, with pages listed for both GDC Play 2012 and GDC Play for GDC Online 2011.
