Final preparations are under way as industry leaders plan to converge once again at this year’s Shawnee Game Conference (SGC), which begins Friday. As the longest running academic gaming conference in the Midwest, SGC has consistently attracted both new and veteran industry talent as well as enthusiastic fans in search of behind-the-scenes secrets. This year looks to be no different, with a wealth of speakers, projects and events in store for the two-day event.
In past years, SGC has partnered with notable names in the gaming industry, such as Jarryd Huntley, Tim Rodabaugh, Rami Ismail and Tyvic Stallworth. These names and more are a small sample of the wide variety of talent to have been drawn to SGC. This year’s conference is set to host Ben Kvalo of Netflix, Benjamin Carcich of Riot Games, George Ziets of Digimancy Entertainment and more.
Just as packed as past conferences, any attendee is likely to find something that interests them. While the conference is centered around video games and their development, speech topics can range from entrepreneurial advice to team building skills. Outside of speeches, the James A. Rhodes gymnasium will be the site of playable demos where attendees can ask questions directly to developers as they play.
Five fighting game tournaments are planned for Friday: Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear: Strive, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Rivals of Aether II. All tournaments have opened sign-ups, with first place receiving 60% of the prize pool. Players looking to enter should apply through the event page on Start.gg, found on the SGC website. Many other exciting events are planned to close out the first day of the conference: a pitch competition which Amanda Hedrick, executive director of the Kricker Innovation Hub, compared to Shark Tank, a networking mixer at The Vault and an eSports watch party in support of the SSU eSports team at the Clark Planetarium.
Saturday’s calendar features one keynote speaker and a fireside chat with Garrett Davis, director of the ShawneeXP Accelerator, “a cutting-edge game-based accelerator program meant to turn Portsmouth into the Indie Game capital of the world.” After these events, breakout sessions will take place in the Clark Memorial Library and Vern Riffe Center. An alumni panel moderated by Travis Lynn will close out the event.
Hedrick and Clarissa Schauseil, the Hub’s regional ecosystem coordinator, made sure to give special thanks to Lynn and deans Adam Miller and Michael Barnhart.
“At the end of the day, we’re all team Shawnee State University, and whatever we can do to make this university shine is what we’re gonna do,” Hedrick said. The Shawnee Game Conference is being held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, with events spread around Portsmouth. For more information, including a full schedule with locations and times, interested parties should visit the Shawnee Game Conference website.
