Meetups Report: Kolkata and Hyderabad
Meetups Galore!
When you think about meetups, what comes to your mind? 🤔
We think that meetups are like magical portals, where strangers from different walks of life gather and transform into friends over shared passions and future aspirations. ✨
So, in this spirit of community and the shared passion for games, Gamedev.in along with our new city channels initiatives, had two exciting meetups - at Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Kolkata: The Game Dev Adda 44 Meetup
In Kolkata, the “City of Joy”, where its rich history and culture intertwine to create a jubilant atmosphere, had one more small joyous event in the form of the Game Dev Adda 44 meetup.
The gathering took place at Cafe The Eggspresso, on a lovely September night with vibrant minds passionate about gaming. It was a night to remember, with free-flowing conversations and friendly banter all around.
The talk of the hour was Pranoy Chatterjee, a BYOG veteran and multiple times champion, and the foundation of his new game studio - Unquittable studios. A newly opened studio in Kolkata, with their aim of “Fun comes first”, they are ready to take on the game dev dream and reach for the stars.
We also came to know about the Board Game Museum in Kolkata - The Goutam Sen Memorial Board Game Museum. The museum boasts an impressive collection of 60+ board games, with amalgamation of games from different cultures and eras, all the way from “Senet”, an ancient board game from Egypt to “Bagh Chal” a popular Nepali pastime game. 🎲
There were also talks about the modern game making tools, such as Unity and their (relatively) new implementation of ECS - a gaming architecture that enables developers to build more massive and ambitious experiences. 🚀
Hyderabad: Game Developers Guild Meetup
Elsewhere, around 1500 kms away from Kolkata, there was another meetup that had taken place in Hyderabad, the home of the famous “Hyderabadi Biryani”. The Hyderabad Game Developers Guild hosted a charged meetup - full of discussions and insights into the Indian game development industry at the cosy Heart Cup Coffee.
The conversations were abuzz with the talks of India’s biggest gaming conference - IGDC that will be taking place in the same city later in November. Some of the folks were reminiscing about how they had met in the last edition of IGDC, reliving the frantic excitement and energy around the event. Also, some were concerned about the increase in the price of conference passes, and how much of a financial impact they will create for indie creators and students. 💸
It was a chill vibe, flowing with interesting conversations - how everyone was progressing on their gamedev journey, what games they were enjoying these days and also some showcases and playtests of the next big game being made in Hyderabad. Some students and freshers also turned up, signifying the growing strength of the industry in India. 📈
The next location: City channels
While we talked about these were some of the exciting meetups that took place over India, are you interested in hosting your own? Or maybe even just explore your local game dev scene? Then you should come and hangout over the new City Channels in our discord. Meet and vibe with your gamedev peers and have a blast while doing so!
India is growing, and so is the gaming industry, along with gamers and game developers and everything in between. There has never been a more exciting time to be in this field of pure passion and joy. 🙂
So, make your mark, come over to the cities channel and maybe we can have the next great meetup at your city! 🏙️🔥