Rocket Jump Events

Wherein I use the terms "Events", "Video Games" and "Video Games Industry" a lot*

I love community events

It's fair to say attending and organising events has become a bit of a hobby of mine over the years, maybe bordering on obsession. There's something I find extremely fulfilling about helping to enable an environment to be shared and enjoyed by a group of enthusiasts who perhaps wouldn't normally get the opportunity to share their interest in an offline setting.

I've been involved in a variety of events from localised hack days such as HackSoton, technology focused events like Windows Phone Dev Day or Kinecthack, more generic knowledge sharing like Barcamp Southampton or just plain old nerdy pop culture events like the recent Hack to the Future in Bournemouth. They have all provided me and my peers with environments to chat with like-minded people, a safe environment to work on whatever we like, to experiment and play with ideas I might not normally get the opportunity to and to learn.

I love video games

So I'm in my mid-thirties and I still have an obsession with video games. I think at this point it's fair to say I'm not going to "grow out of it" and nor do I wish to. I get a huge nostalgia buzz revisiting games from my childhood (predominantly Spectrum games) and am consistently blown away by the latest generation of console and PC games. I feel like I'm in a privileged position to have witnessed almost the entire history of an entertainment industry during my lifetime. One that has evolved from a relatively niche pastime into a steady part of modern day mainstream entertainment culture for multiple generations. Not dissimilar to the prolificness of the web, another passion of mine. Two phenomena that have converged and accelerated the evolution, capabilities and popularity of each other. Amazing.

I love the video games industry

At Moov2, we've had the fortune over the past year or so to do some work within the video game industry and it's been highly rewarding to do so. Something that really stood out to me in this industry is that in the main, the objective and focus is on fun and recognition. And by that I mean that money is not the sole measure of success. This is extremely refreshing and has been a real eye-opener. Certainly profit is an essential part of the industry and if the headlines are to be believed it's in no short supply with many media outlets stating big game launches are outstripping other entertainment industries such as music and movies. But on the whole, in my experience with people working in video games, money isn't the determining factor of success. "Is it fun?" and "Do people like it?" are what really matter. If the money happens to be enough to carry on and have another go at creating fun and enjoyment then all the better!

What's also fascinating is how vast the industry is and how completely new niches and sub-industries are rapidly coming into existence and blowing up in a big way such as Virtual Reality and E-Sports. These are sectors growing so fast and unpredictably it's thrilling to see new announcements, records being broken and new technologies being revealed on a near weekly basis.

We're running some events for the video games industry

I fully subscribe to the notion of "do what you love". Right now that for me is events, video games and the video games industry. So it's a pretty simple realisation that having a go at organising events for the video games industry would be a fun challenge to embrace. If in the process of doing so, some game studios like what we're about and want to work with us on some awesome apps or web experiences to enhance their offering then great. But regardless, first and foremost and most importantly I hope everyone who attends has fun.

Come join us

If you're in the games industry and want to come along, the first event is in Brighton on 24th November. Check out the website for more details, follow @rocketjumpevent on Twitter and get in touch for a code for a free ticket.

*Whilst reading back I realised how SEO spammy this all sounds. That wasn't the intention, honest.