Digital Dragons is one of Europe’s biggest gaming industry events, with 51 countries represented at this year’s conference. Digital Dragons 2023 had a total of 2500 attendees, 400 more than the previous year, and its biggest year-to-year increase. 870 companies were in attendance this year compared to last year’s 613. Digital Dragon’s first conference was held in 2012 with only 300 participants. Digital Dragons is held at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre, which is in the center of the city and in view of Wawel Castle.
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One of the reasons for Digital Dragon’s continued growth and popularity is its panels and lectures. The guest lecturers are from every part of the gaming industry, from animators to legal and public relations. We were able to chat with guest lecturer and animator Tina Nawrocki about their time in the industry and upcoming projects. Tina’s credits include Cuphead, Green Eggs, and Ham, and Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Jula Arendt, architect turned art director, hosted a lecture titled: Designer in Multiverses of Technologies. Her lecture focused on career development, changing careers, and learning to be comfortable taking risks. The panel discussions primarily focused on equipping smaller independent developers with the knowledge to secure financing for their projects. Panel: Private equity or IPO – business and legal benefits and risks, was a panel about the risk when taking certain kinds of funding. The speakers conducting this panel were from their respective studios’ legal and management departments.
The panel, If not IPO then what? Private market money for GameDev companies was hosted by Baker McKenzie Advocate; Radzym Wójcik. This focused on private funding for game developer companies. Panel guests include Nicolas Bender from Raymond James Investment Banking, Nick Field from Dovetail Games, and Curtis Urbanowicz from Makers Fund. Lastly, the Science of Horror panel focused on the current state of the survival horror genre and where the genre is heading. This panel featured speakers Mikael Kasurinen from Remedy Entertainment, Tom Heaton from Supermassive Games, Kelvin Moore from Sumo Digital, Mateusz Witczak from Mighty Pirate!, and Wojciech Piejko from Bloober Team.
ICE Kraków Congress Centre has three floors, with the first two dedicated to the exhibition. The first floor is for indie developers whose projects are in various stages of development. The Indie Showcase Zone is where conference attendees can check out available demos, some of which will be competing in the Digital Dragons Arena. The Digital Dragons Arena is where developers can pitch their games to investors and publishers. Developers receive direct feedback, and some are allowed to participate in the accelerator program, which will give them an additional 60,000 Euros towards their project.
Digital Dragons also has an incubation program organized by Kraków Technology Park. Teams brought into the incubator program receive more individualized support and networking opportunities. The second floor serves as front-facing PR and on-sight recruitment for larger developers and publishers. In some cases, prospective recruits are interviewed on the spot; which takes us to the third floor. The third floor is where you will find the majority of the lectures and the Business Networking Zone. The Business Networking Zone is a dedicated space where attendees can schedule tables to conduct business and interviews.
The Digital Dragons Awards took place on the first night of the conference. The awards are for the previous year’s industry achievements. Dying Light 2: Stay Human was named the Best Polish Game of 2022. The nominees were created by the developer community via survey, and the jury made the final selection.
The other categories and winners are:
- Best Polish Game Art: Serial Cleaners
- Best Polish Game Audio: BLACKTAIL
- Best Polish Game Design: Dying Light 2: Stay Human
- Best Ongoing Polish Game: Cyberpunk 2077
- Best Foreign Game: Elden Ring
- Special Recognition Award: Łukasz Hacura (founder of Anshar Studios). Anshar Studios has worked on some very notable titles, including Baldur’s Gate 3, Darksiders III, and Layers of Fear.
For the Indie Games Showcase winners were announced the final evening of the conference. The 1st through 3rd place winners were SacriFire by Pixelated Milk, Tarnished Blood by Juggler Games, and The Wandering Village by Stray Fawn Studio. And lastly, two games I was able to get my hands on were recognized by the community and industry. Backpack Hero by Jaspel went on to win the Community Vote while Techland’s Special Award went to Through the Nightmares by SandmanTeam. Backpack Hero is a roguelike where inventory management is the core of the gameplay.
How your items are organized in your bag impacts how well you do in the dungeon. There’s no date yet for final release but the team is still adding tons of content which you can get via early access on Steam. Through the Nightmares is the game I had the most fun playing. It’s a side-scrolling action platformer where you play the Sandman as he travels through children’s nightmares. Per the developer, the nightmares are rooted in childhood trauma. There are three chapters and each one focuses on a specific child. My biggest takeaways from my time with the demo are its great art direction, responsive gameplay, and challenging levels. The demo is currently available on Steam with a projected release date of sometime this year.
Digital Dragons 2023 was an eye-opening experience of the inner workings of the gaming industry. Anyone interested in learning more about the industry or getting their work noticed by professionals should attend.
