Science in the Triangle

Attendees at last year's Triangle Game Conference listen to a speaker. | Photo courtesy of Capstrat

Good news for cash-strapped game developers looking for a way into next week’s East Coast Game Conference: Organizers slashed the price of professional passes more than $100 last week.

The $99 pass grants visitors access to all the sessions and keynotes, as well as access to the expo hall. Pass holders can also visit the career lounge, where they can speak with industry professionals, and Unreal University, where they’ll be able to get hands-on with Epic Games’ Unreal Development Kit.

The lower prices are a result of conference donors Epic, Joystick, ECU, Trailblazer, Wake Tech, Autodesk and Cinesys, which provided greater-than-expected donations for the rebranded event once known as the Triangle Game Conference.

“We had a number of companies step up in their sponsorships,” conference co-founder Troy Knight said. “That allowed us to take the money we made for the conference and lower the costs for smaller incubators and independent companies.”

The passes, once priced at more than $200, were “really a stretch” for many smaller and aspiring developers, according to conference co-founder John Austin. He said organizers have already seen an uptick in registrations as a result of the lower price.

Although it’s in its third year, Knight said the organizers are able to make conference funding go further because the Triangle Game Initiative, the trade group putting it all together, is a nonprofit focused on benefiting the local gaming industry.

“None of us gets paid to do the conference. The money goes back into a pool to do more events,” Knight said. “It’s really a helping handout for the local community.”

A week out from the event, Knight and Austin said registration numbers already match attendance last year, which was around 800 people. Organizers are aiming for more than 1,000 at this year’s conference.