GRID Lab staff spent the entire weekend in Columbus for the Ohio Game Developers Expo this week. The booth on the exhibition floor was a combination of Scripps College of Communication and GRID Lab projects. Austin Drozin and Alex Rossin were there to talk about their recent release, “Gone Wandering,” and a demo of Will Gray’s “ZVR” was being shown in virtual reality. Various 360 video projects completed by the staff were also available for viewing. Lab director, John Bowditch came with information about Scripps MFA program, and the booth had plenty of free things to take, including personal VR headsets for your phone.
The GDEX expo floor was filled with Indie game developers, artists, schools and various visual effects companies from across the state. Each had their own products and projects to promote. Outside of the floor, there were talks with industry professionals strewn throughout each of the three days.
GDEX is comprised of exhibitors, speakers and vendors. Exhibitors range from artists to game developers – anyone who has a cool product to show off. Many came with either finished games or games in the beta stage, but many others were displaying their art, VR applications, and any other tech used to make games. Multiple colleges were in attendance to recruit incoming students, and the extensive list of exhibitors and vendors forced the convention into a larger space this year. For only being around 5 years, Ohio game dev communities are coming together more than ever to support each other and witness their peers’ success.
Insightful talks from GDEX speakers were positive, but realistic about entering the world of game development as a recent Midwestern grad. The industry isn’t exactly booming in Ohio, but there is no shortage of hope from successful speakers who have made a name for themselves and their companies. Wade Barnes, a YouTuber with over one million subscribers was in attendance. Barnes had his humble start in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2012 playing Minecraft. He now travels the country, and even the world, for conferences and collaborations with his YouTube gaming community. Other speakers included: Seven Siegel, executive director of Global Game Jam; Jesse Cox, voice actor/entertainer/creator of YouTube Red eSports comedy series; Justin and Travis McElroy, creators of “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” podcast; and many more.
Exhibiting or speaking at a state developers expo is the first step for a lot of aspiring artists and programmers. For many, it is the beginning of a long networking process that will hopefully lead them to where they want to be in their careers. Business cards were plenty, and the support for fellow Ohioans working towards their goals was obvious. Exhibitors were warm and welcoming toward anyone with an interest in their craft, and as Multivarious Games’s Chris Volpe said at the Business of Games Summit, Ohio is a tight-knit community that should be taking advantage of that. The cities here talk to each other unlike any other state, and GDEX is an important medium for building lasting connections.
OHIO GRID Lab 