GamesPond: Student Games Showcase
This write up includes transcribed excerpts from a Q&A with the event host, Natalie Raskin, into the motivations, challenges and opportunities presented by GamesPond, a student games showcase first hosted on 27th August 2024.
Natalie is the excellent producer behind the amazing Block Buddies, which you might have spotted at PAX or SXSW 👀
Special thanks to James Shutt and the City of Port Phillip for allocating the St. Kilda Town Hall venue for the event. 💖
The mission
The motivation behind GamesPond was to create a space where students/early career devs could connect with mid - senior level devs in a low pressure way.
My whole opinion on networking is that you are just building professional friendships and friendships, like any relationships, take time. I found that all of the universities showcases happened at the end of the year when students had already graduated and therefore it is often too late for them to find a job based on their networking.
GamesPond is supposed to be the showcase that can kickstart those relationships, then you have MIGW to build them, and then the universities final year showcase to finalise them.
The challenges
For its first occurence, GamesPond attracted a considerable crowd, selling 235 tickets and achieving a turnout of 175 attendees.
The biggest difficulties organising GamesPond was the insane amount of logistics required to organise 14 student games who all needed their own tech, during a time where students were also really busy.
However, this was also the most rewarding part as I saw students take time out of their busy schedules in order to put towards this event. It was really helpful in showing that the event had a usefulness to these students and that they saw value in it.
The opportunities
The opportunity GamesPond presents is not just connections and a showcase.
The whole GamesPond model actually includes several weeks of extra training. It includes a networking workshop intended to help students make the most out of GamesPond, it incentivises students to update their LinkedIn profiles, and it gives them insight into how supportive the Melbourne games community is of newcomers.
When all the teachers are telling their students to hide the fact that they are students, [GamesPond] puts them out there loud and proud and says, 'Yes we are students, yes we are doing cool stuff. And yes, soon we will be the future of the industry.'
Future events
Natalie is aiming to turn GamesPond into a staple fixture for every year capstone students to show off their work, get the ball rolling with networking and orient them for career-readiness. She is also planning to expand the format, with a few items on the agenda:
- Involve more universities
- Involve more standalone devs
- Add more games
- Add more activities (talk/panel, more student portfolios, etc)
She is open to sponsorships and partnerships, so if you're interested, reach out to her via email.
As someone who has experienced the magic of GamesPond, I cannot stress enough how amazing of an opportunity this is, and wish her all the best with this endeavor!