Develop Conference ‘the biggest ever’

More than 1,500 industry professionals attended the Develop Conference in Brigton last month, according to event organiser Tandem.

The 1,559 attendees, coming from more than 20 countries, represents the biggest ever turnout for the industry event, Tandem said.

“We’re delighted with the success of this year’s event,” said Tandem boss Andy Lane.

“The support we receive from the industry is amazing and just shows how valued this UK-based developer event really is. We always try to reflect what’s happening in the world of game development, so this year we launched the new Indie Dev Day and Showcase and it attracted over two hundred indies and start-up studios,” he added.

The event co-exists with Intent Media’s Develop Awards, which this year drew in an all-time record attendance of more than 550 industry professionals.

Eidos Life President Ian Livingstone said Develop in Brighton was “a great learning and networking event for both UK and overseas developers”.

“Brighton naturally creates a relaxed atmosphere. Attendees were happy to share experiences and ideas. I met up with lots of old friends and had a brilliant time. And of course winning the Legend Award was very special for me personally,” he added.

Speaking from the opposite end of the spectrum, aspiring indie Andrew Smith said: “As a fairly new start-up developer it was very important to me that I got confirmation of my ideas on what challenges the future is going to bring, and it was also very reassuring to see the breadth of talkers from the giants of the traditional games industry and the champions of independent development and new business models.”

The next Develop Conference takes place in Liverpool on November 24th.

The Evolve conference will return in London on December 1st.

Develop in Brighton 2012 takes place 10 -12th July.