Game Industry Networking | Approach Social Events Correctly.

So you're planning on going to a social networking event near you, meeting people who are in the gaming industry and either building your freelance network and making some new connections, or finding freelancers to work with your indie-dev team and improving your next big project. Well if you've never been to one before or you have, but left feeling like you could have gained a bit more, talked to some more people or learnt a little bit more than you actually did, you maybe after some quick pointers.

So to help give us all more opportunities to make mind-blowing games with other talented indie's, I thought I'd put together some tips to follow based on my experience networking to help us all accomplish this grand task of ours.
Today, we're looking at one of the most simple types of network based gatherings, 'social events' and how to find the best ones for you.

Got any questions? I'd be more than happy to help. Feel free to get in touch with me through Twitter or Email me.

Social Events are arranged events where, simply put, people go to socialise and talk to others. These can vary from mid-day lunch gatherings to evening meet ups in a bar or pub. If you're new to networking I would recommend that your first one is a social event, simply because there's no pressure to impress anyone or show off your skills and knowledge, you just turn up, talk a little about yourself and listen to others do the same, making it a great way to get a feel for what people are like in this industry (Spoiler Alert: They're very likely to be friendly, inviting and all around great people).

If you're looking for one, a great website to use is meetup.com. Simply type your interests and area you live in, and you'll be presented with groups that arrange regular events near you as well as a selection of up coming events.

Once you've found one you like and have attended, make sure to ask people there if they know of any others they would recommend. This is a great way to not only find more popular events and meet more people, it also means that you're likely to meet those who are attending the event you're currently at again, which will make that connection stronger, show you're active in this community/industry as well as help them remember you as who you actually are, rather than 'that person I met that one time'.

If you're able to, go to as many events as you can as you never know who you may end up talking to and possibly even working with, however if you don't have all the time and money in the world, you may want to maximise the amount of people you're able to see and want to avoid traveling to an event that only has 2 or 3 other attendees.

If you use meetup.com, there will be a list of people attending the event on the right side of the screen with the amount of people at the top. This list usually stays quite small until the event nears so keep an eye on it to see how popular the event is. You don't need the list to contain 100 or more people, as you probably won't get time talk to them. I personally like to aim for about 10 to 20 so I know I won't be talking to one person the whole time trying to keep a dying conversion alive.

Also be aware about any big gaming events or conventions in the local area that are on the same day or, if they're maybe a weekend long event, in the same week. I've been burnt by this myself.

I once went to what looked like a very popular game developer lunch meet up at Kings Cross Library in London. However when I arrived there, only a very small amount of people where present, most of which left very shortly after. After talking to those who were still there I found out that the popular gaming convention EGX had started on that day not too far from the meet up, where most people who usually attend regularly where at doing a lot more networking than I was. I had no idea until then and unfortunately missed out on a great opportunity.

To avoid making this terrible mistake, simply do a quick google search for any large gaming expo's, conventions and events that will be present near your area in the future, follow them on twitter for updates and make a note of the date they will be on. Some big ones to watch out for (depending where you live) are PAX, GDC, INSOMNIA, E3, EGX or any IGDA events. And of corse if you can, you should absolutely go to them! I plan on putting together some tips to approach these as well so keep an eye out for that.

When I started going to these events, I thought the best thing to do was to make sure I got to these events about an hour or so after it had started to make sure people where already there so I wouldn't turn up too early and be on my own. Please don't do this! You want to talk to as many as you can about as much as you can, so turning up late just wastes your time. Instead, make sure you arrive on time. This way you can introduce yourself to the first few people that have arrived and then move on to more people as they arrive and introduce themselves.

If you're using meetup.com, there is usually a description in the group of where specifically they plan to meet everyone in the chosen location. For example, if it's going to be in a busy bar they might say "we'll be sitting on the table to the left of the bar". Sometimes however they don't for what even reason (you'd think that would be a must, but hey, we all make mistakes), but that doesn't mean you should wonder around aimlessly until you stumble upon your group. Instead, don't be afraid to get in contact with them and ask where they're meeting. meetup.com has a group message function that you can utilise for this exact purpose. Not only does this save you time, but it gives you a little conversation starter once you do locate them.

So hopefully these tips I've shared with you prove useful and help you avoid some of the mistakes I've made when trying to find social events. I plan on making another blog about social events, all about talking to others and keeping conversations flowing like a pro. Please feel free to let me know if these were helpful, but also I'd like to know if you have your own ways that you prepare for networking events to make the most of them.

Need more info? Then I highly recommend you check out a youtube channel by Akash Thakkar. https://www.youtube.com/user/SexyTownBrown  he's a composer/ sound design like myself with plenty of networking tips for you to enjoy.

Got any questions? I'd be more than happy to help. Feel free to get in touch with me through Twitter or Email me.