The programme for Scottish Games Week 2023 (SGW23) has now opened. The week-long celebration of videogames, delivered by the Scottish Games Network, will welcome speakers, partners and sponsors from across Scotland and the global games ecosystem.
From design, development and publishing, to education and the application of games, Scottish Games Week will celebrate, support and showcase the incredible work being created in Scotland, as well creating a catalyst for a more connected and collaborative sector in Scotland, the UK and internationally.
The Scottish Games Network (SGN) has also welcomed two industry leaders to its team, with Fee Laming joining as the Programme Director and Gee Witchalls as the Head of Marketing.
Fee Laming has been in the games industry for many years, firstly as a developer, then progressing to management, including a number of years as Director of GAMAYO (Game Makers Yorkshire), and Gee Witchalls has been working across digital marketing and popular media for 15 years now. She has a fantastic understanding of organic growth, having been an early adopter of social media platforms for marketing as well as experience across editorial and PR roles.
The all-new SGW23 website is also now live, providing the latest news, updates and information in the lead-up to the week of events from October 30th to November 3rd, courtesy of online partner Ping Creates. If you would like to get involved with SGW23 and find out more about some of the events taking place, see below.
Get Involved
SGW23 is looking for speakers, panellists, chairs, subject-matter experts, creators, practitioners and technologists from across the world of games – at every level of experience and expertise. All voices are welcomed and encouraged to get involved – apply here.
Following extensive industry consultation with the games sector in 2022, Scottish Games Week 2023 is offering a much broader and more creative range of opportunities in which to participate in two of its major events.
“We’ve opened the programme up for ideas and suggestions from ten-minute microtalks, to hour-long workshops and masterclasses,” says Brian Baglow, the director of Scottish Games Week. “Presentations and talks are always welcome, but we want to use the incredible spaces we have – and the incredible creativity of the people in the games industry – to let them be more… interactive.”
SGW Conference
The SGW Conference takes place in Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth on Monday, October 30th and Tuesday, October 31st. Aimed at an industry audience, the conference is looking for game developers ranging from career-starters and ambitious indies, right up to the biggest studios. We will be exploring every aspect of designing, developing, running and playing games.
For its second year, SGW23 is keeping the opportunities broad. “Our key themes for this year are: Design, Build, Grow, Play and Learn,” says Baglow. “Interpret them how you will. We want to hear from everyone – creators, artists, developers, educators, academics, community managers, streamers, leaders, and anyone else with a story to tell or opinions to share.”
More Than Games
SGW23’s More Than Games event, which takes place in Glasgow’s fabulously baroque Corinthian Club on Friday 3rd of November, is something exciting, new and different. Focusing on the transformative power of games, the event is aimed at an audience outside the game development community – offering a chance for game creators to reach people who don’t normally come to videogames conferences.
“The tools, technologies and techniques from videogames are transforming our digital world,” says Baglow. From immersive media to virtual production, from education and healthcare to the emergence of the metaverse, the impact of games is getting ever larger. More Than Games will open up the whole games ecosystem to the wider digital and creative industries, the cultural and heritage sectors, and kickstart the conversations and collaborations for our shared future.”
“Talks, presentations, workshops, masterclasses, case studies, demos and more are all very welcome,” says Baglow. “We want to hear from the studios and creators working at the points where games and the rest of the world converge. We’re bringing together people who don’t normally get a chance to talk. So we’re looking for the best examples of games which are changing the world, and want to hear from companies looking at the games world and wondering where and how they can get involved.”
Submit Your Ideas
Submissions for both the SGW Conference and More Than Games can be made online using a simple Google form. Apply here.
Expo Space
Both the SGW Conference and More Than Games have extensive exhibition and workshop spaces available. To enquire email: fee@scottishgames.net
Partners
SGW23 is actively welcoming submissions from partners across the ecosystem, from charities and educational organisations to government departments and the public sector.
“We want to give every element of the games ecosystem the chance to be involved in SGW23,” says Baglow. “Last year we worked with a range of partners from across Scotland and the UK to highlight many of the organisations which are now actively involved in, or interested in working with, the games ecosystem. This year we’d like to extend this, and offer even more organisations the chance to be present at Scottish Games Week in order to reach a sector with which they rarely get a chance to interact.”
To enquire about partnerships, email: fee@scottishgames.net
Sponsors
Scottish Games Week offers sponsors a unique opportunity to reach a wide range of stakeholders from across an incredibly valuable – and often hard-to-access – ecosystem. Scotland boasts over 145 game development studios, with around the same number of independent and individual game creators as the wider educational, academic and creative industries.
The event is offering a broad range of sponsorship opportunities, from individual exhibition spaces to sponsoring full events – or even the week itself.
For more information and to request a sponsor pack, contact: brian.baglow@scottishgames.net.