BCN Game Fest is exactly the kind of gaming event we need more of

Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Barcelona for the first time for IndieDevDay, an annual event dedicated to video games. Overall, I was very impressed by what I saw. I wrote about wanting to see something similar in Canada.. Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to return to Spain for this year's event, now called BCN Game Fest, and the experience further convinced me that this is a model that other countries, including Canada, should look at.

In many ways, this year's event was very similar to its predecessor. The event took place in La Farga, a large shopping and entertainment center in the center of Barcelona. It had a solid mix of online options for developers and publishers, as well as dozens of gaming demos for everyone, including the public. In fact, it is the largest gaming event in Southern Europe, with 17,000 people attending, up from 15,000 last year. At the same time it is still many more manageable than something like another European event Gamescom (more than 370,000) or Fan Expo Canada (more than 100,000). But these similarities have also only highlighted what continues to work well and what has improved, providing a template for future events both in Barcelona and, hopefully, beyond.

First of all, I can't stress enough how much I love this format. As a media outlet, I naturally like the business (B2B) side of things a little more than the average person. In this regard, the program included more than 65 panel discussions, seminars, more than 1,200 business meetings and the participation of 12 academic institutions. On top of that, well-known companies such as Larian (Baldur's Gate 3) and Gameloft (Disney Speedstorm) can attract talent by showing the faces of the people behind their popular games.

But even if you're just a consumer, there's plenty for you at BCN Game Fest. In total, more than 200 games from approximately 180 studios were presented. I'll talk about my favorites later, but some of the most notable ones include Devolver Digital. Baby steps Skate history And Cult of the LambToei Animation Company Project Re:Ver – Tokyo and Pentakill Studios Occultist. And since the event isn't too crowded, you can actually get some hands-on time with these games without having to wait perhaps hours like you probably would have at PAX or Gamescom. This is a great way to bring attention to indie developers, especially locally produced games like Gothic 1 Remake (Alkimia Interactive) and Ninja Gaiden: Rage Limit (Game kitchen). Plus, it’s so nice to discover a new promising game on the fly.

Cult of the Lamb was fun.

And this year I really appreciated how much more international the event has become. In particular, Japan was the guest of honor. Besides the above Project Re:Ver – Tokyo, Japanese outlet 4Gamer was the media partner of Yasuhiro Ohori, the developer of the cult classic PS1 game. Alundrathere was a panel. Games from the Taipei Game Expo were also on display. Besides my very valuable participation, I would like to see more Canadians at this event in the future, especially considering our own industry is so huge.

Having said all that, I admit that on a personal level I didn't like many of the panelists this time around. Last year I had two that I really liked: one with an award-winning Baldur's Gate 3 composer Borislav Slavov and another one of fellow Canadian Manda Farow O the importance of saving the game. It is clear that many of them are also in Spanish. But I also can't deny that it's objectively well-rounded in terms of the topics it covers (everything from diversity in games and female composers to indie publishing on Xbox and dissection Ninja Gaiden: Rage Limit (one of the most popular games of the year). The website also indicated which negotiations were conducted in Spanish or Catalan and which were in English.

Alundra developer Yasuhiro Ohori gives a talk.

And above all, I can't help but be impressed by all of this because there's a very small team working on it under the leadership of Daniel Santigosa. Even with much larger organizers and more resources, something like a Fan Expo can often feel disorganized for a variety of reasons, such as: chaotic overpopulation or deaf art of artificial intelligence. But as befits its old name, BCN Game Fest has an indie spirit throughout, giving it a beating heart unlike most other events I've been to. I'm really looking forward to seeing this legacy continue to grow, either by attracting more people from all over the world to Barcelona, ​​or by inspiring others to host their own event. I really hope both happen.