Video Game Career Speaker Series Set to Launch

January 9, 2009

A new initiative to promote careers in Ontario’s video game industry will be launched at McMaster University on January 14 with speakers from Bedlam Games.

The Department of Computing and Software is hosting the first Go Into Games (GIG) Speaker Series event organized by Interactive Ontario, a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 200 members in the digital media industry.

Trevor Fencott, CEO, and Jon Paul Schelter, Technical Director, of Bedlam Games are the featured speakers for the event starting at 1:30 p.m. in the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, room 1105.  The lecture is open to the public and free of charge.

“This is a great opportunity for students to hear directly from leading game developers about what they are looking for in future employees,” says Martin von Mohrenschildt, Chair, Department of Computing and Software.  “The video game industry is growing in Ontario and we’re tailoring programs at McMaster to meet the changing needs of employers.”

"Ontario game developers create some of the best interactive media content in the world," says Ian Kelso, President and CEO of Interactive Ontario.  "In order to maintain Ontario's reputation for innovation and excellence we need to raise awareness about the opportunities students have right here in Ontario. The purpose of the Go Into Games series is to connect these developers with students of video game production."

Mr. Fencott will speak about the video game industry as a whole, touching on the types of career opportunities within Ontario, where the industry is going, and what skills will be necessary to move the industry forward.  Mr. Schelter will focus on more technical issues related to game development and coding such as how programming skills can be used in the different areas of game development.

The Go Into Games Speaker Series was developed by Interactive Ontario to provide students studying video game development an opportunity to connect with industry professionals. It also allows business leaders to form relationships with students who will become their future employees and educates students about the types of employment opportunities that may exist with Ontario game studios upon graduation.