Gamedev NL will mark its first anniversary in March. The first year has been a learning experience for me (Mike), and there has been plenty to celebrate thus far: among other successes, we have seen the development of a network of peers, the establishment of a central place (this website) for our developers to show themselves to the province and the world, and successful participation in the Global Game Jam. Our members have contributed their support, insight, and feedback in great measure, and we have built significant support within the community at large.

It has also been a demanding year, culminating in a months-long quiescent period prior to our Game Jam. A big part of that gap is down to having a one-person organizing team. I broke my arm in November, and there was no one to take the reins in my absence. There are other foreseeable obstacles that could similarly disrupt our operations in the months and years to come.

So I am asking for at least two people to commit to helping with the operation of Gamedev NL. In return for volunteering a few hours of your time each month, you will have opportunities to meet with people working in both game and industry development, to gain insight into the game industry, and to guide the growth of our province’s game development community.

In a perfect world our organizers will come from multiple sources – professional, post-secondary, and youth organizers are all key components of a fully-developed organization in this field, as are organizers working in other areas of the province. At the moment, however, it is necessary simply to find a few others who can yoke together to build our organization’s capacity to fulfill its mandate to support and connect game developers in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I hope you’ll consider joining me.

Mike Burton
Organizer
Gamedev NL