Monday, September 18th, 2017— Zettabyte MPR, LLC and Geek Side Magazine are proud to announce the third Power-Up Digital Games Conference (PDGC). As with the previous two events, the event will be 100 percent FREE and take place on the chat app Discord. This is set to take place October 25-28, 2017 (Wednesday through Saturday).
Just like the previous two PDGC events, the third one comes with a subtitle/theme to its ideology.PDGC: Syntax Error brings focus to problems that need solutions. The entire point of the online conference has always been to help indie and game developers learn from those in the know. Old masters and those new to the industry alike come together to give their advice and wisdom. The thought process is there are a lot of issues, problems, and errors in games, but there are just as many solutions to solve them.
The PDGC has always been a free event meant to help educate and inspire developers, aspiring game industry newbies, or just anyone that is willing to listen to people that have a ton of experience. The best part about the conference is that it’s digital, meaning there’s no need for travel, hotels, or even to leave the house. Discord allows people to join from all edges of the world using PC, Mac, mobile, or even just on the website.
“I’ve always said that this is an event that you can participate in and be a part of while wearing your pajamas,” said Jesse Collins, founder and host of the biannual PDGC, “The fact that you can enjoy this anywhere, at no cost, is part of the Conference’s DNA. I’m here to help the game dev community and this is my way of giving back.”
The previous two Conferences were themed Words of Wisdom and The Devs Strike Back, respectively. Each had their own set of special guests and events. All of it was produced with nothing more than passion, zero budget, a minimal volunteer staff, and partnerships to help boost the signal to the masses.
25 special guest speakers have already joined the Conference to talk (presented in alphabetical order below), ranging from game developers, journalists, and legendary masters of the game industry. More speakers will be announced as the event nears.
- Billy Joe Cain (Founder/President, Radical Empathy Education Foundation)
- Blair and Jean Leggett (CTO and CEO, One More Story Games)
- Chris Pusczak (CEO, SymbioVR)
- Dave Vogt (CEO, The Ludicrous Ones)
- David Baity (CTO, Crimson Leaf, LLC)
- Deniz Opal (CTO, Hologram LTD)
- Elizabeth Olson (Principal, Strategic Marketing, PR & BizDev Consulting)
- Gregory MacMartin (CEO, Interdimensional Games)
- Heidi McDonald (Creative Director & Head Troublemaker, iThrive)
- Japheth Dillman (CEO, CLEVR; CCO, YetiZen; VP of Content, PlayTable)
- Joerg Droege (Founder & Writer, Scene World Magazine)
- Justin Klinchuch (Independent Designer, Defend The Cake)
- Kate Edwards (Board of Directors member, Take This)
- Laurent Mercure (Communications Officer, Chainsawesome Games)
- Mark Soderwall (Founder, Indie Game University)
- Matt Scibilia (Executive Producer, Gameshastra)
- Mike Jaret-Schachter (VP of Business Development, Running With Scissors)
- Nolan Clemmons (Founder, Clemmons.io; CMO, The Knights of Unity)
- Rebecca Heineman (President, Olde Skuul)
- Renee Gittins (Creative Director / CEO, Stumbling Cat)
- Richie Bisso (President, Hyperkinetic Studios)
- Rupert Meghnot (CXO, Burnout Game Ventures)
- Russ Pitts (Board Chairman & Executive Director, Take This)
- Sherif Botros (CEO, Autonomicity Games Inc.)
- Yulia Vakrusheva (Director of Public Relations, tinyBuild)
Alongside Zettabyte MPR, LLC, who is handling the marketing and public relations, the PDGC has partnered up with veteran game developer website, GameDev.Net to help spread the word. GameDev.Net is a renowned social platform formed in 1999 dedicated to teaching and connecting game developers, making this a perfect fit as a partnership. In addition, Jesse Collins (Host/Founder, PDGC) is bringing along his newly formed Geek Side Magazine to help within the event, as well.
While attendance has always been free, a donation link is going to be available to enable participants to give to the event. Donations are split evenly with a charity. For the PDGC: Syntax Error, Take This will be the primary charity recipient for PDGC: Syntax Error, with game industry veterans Kate Edwards (Board of Directors member, Take This) and Russ Pitts (Board Chairman & Executive Director, Take This) both speaking at the event.
All talks are recorded and released for educational purposes after the event, in high-quality format, so participants need not feel like they must to attend every talk. However, special guest speakers do frequently interact with those in attendance, so it’s definitely recommended to attend live.
On top of it all, giveaways are done sporadically and often, across a range of donated digital games and software, so it’s worth attending and taking part in the activities.
“I like to keep people engaged and involved during the entire event,” Collins added. “The best way to teach is to keep people entertained, so we make sure to keep your attention.”
About Power-Up Digital Games Conference
The PDGC is a completely free digital conference utilizing the chat app Discord that gathers together some of the most renowned and experienced names in the games industry to give their wisdom to whoever is willing to listen. Taking place across multiple days, the events include a fundraiser, game developer talk, as well as plenty of giveaways.
I'm a published author and proud US Army veteran who happens to be a gamer, so I decided to combine the two and love every minute of it! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and I'll be sure to get back to you.
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