“It became very difficult for the industry to do any good bizdev in those two years. A lot of these deals are done in conversations, they’re done at a meeting over coffee, or at Tobacco Dock or somewhere else. That stuff just didn’t happen anymore.” Hybrid events like the London Games Festival feel like


the best of both worlds in a lot of respects. To many of us, online-only events haven’t felt quite the same as being able to speak to each other in person. From both a business point of view, but also just a social one – lots of us have missed physical events. But that doesn’t mean the increased accessibility of


COME TOGETHER As event organisers ourselves, we’re well aware that there is huge demand for industry events to bring us all together again. That said, it’s difficult to talk about these things without addressing the elephant in the room. With many of us now triple-vaxxed, things are certainly looking rosier than they were this time last year – but Games London is still very aware of the need to ensure all its attendees feel safe. Thankfully, the events industry has come a long way in adapting their events to better suit these difficult times. “Humans need to meet face to face to do business,” says


French. “I mean, we did an outbound mission to Slush in Helsinki, back in December. Just as the Omicron wave was taking off. Over there, I saw how you could run an event super safe. It’s possible to do it even under those slightly more stringent times. And we’re coming out of that now, So I think that the industry wants it, and consumers want it.” “I think in order to do successful matchmaking, you


really need to meet people,” agrees Lilley. “Because you just don’t get it the same online as you do in person. a lot of it’s based on personality, and a lot of it’s based on recognising physical traits. I think that being back in person will be a big deal.” While events like these have certainly been missed,


Games London has done good work over the last two years, while adapting to the pandemic. “We were given the go home order two weeks before


the 2020 London Games Festival,” says French. “We’d already picked an online platform, and so we were quite lucky in the sense that it already had video call options on it. And I think two weeks in, everyone was a bit stir crazy in the first lockdown, and were just relieved to go to something to connect to people and see familiar faces. The learning there for us was that you can use technology to solve some of the issues that came from the pandemic. Not health wise, but solve the issues that it was creating.


digital events has to go away. Online events opened up the 2021 Games Festival to people from all over the world, people who, for one reason or another, may not have been able to make the trip to London to attend in person. “So last year, for the 2021 Games Festival, we did


that entirely online. We actually ended up having more international visitors last year online than we had when it was a physical event. “Because suddenly, people can connect to London from


home, wherever that home is, wherever on the planet they are. And so we had delegations from South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland… which have got these little pockets of indie game creators, and suddenly they felt part of the festival. “So we’re doing that again. And I think I think we’ll


have a mix of a mix of them coming in person, and another set calling in. This new world has meant that we can make London more accessible, and make the Games Festival more accessible.” And with that accessibility in mind, with a wide array


of events available both online and in person, this year’s festival is shaping up well, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing many of you in London this April. But be it online or in person, Games London is


certainly doing good work in expanding its audience, and further boosting its mission to make London the games capital of the world. “There’s a diverse range of events,” notes Lilley. “I mean,


look at the BAFTA Games Awards. They’re literally the most prestigious games awards on the planet. I know, other games awards may be available – sorry MCV!” How dare you, Lilley. “But they’re on the same journey as the rest of us.


They’ll have a live ceremony in person, and there’ll be people in the room – but they’ll also broadcast it. And if you look at what they’ve done in previous years, especially in the 2021 ceremony – they’re finding new audiences. “I think that’s the great thing. We do the festival, and


we’re all working together and individually on our own projects. There’s really some great events in the festival.”


March 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 29


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