Volunteering at iVentures 2017

On October 27, I had the pleasure of volunteering at iVentures, a conference organized by Interactive Ontario, in partnership with the Ontario Media Development Corporation and the Canada Media Fund.

My volunteering stint was at the registration desk in the morning which turned out to be very quiet with few people checking in (since most of them had done it the day before). However, I did have a chance to chat with my fellow volunteers: some were classmates from the same interactive media management program and others were from different programs at the same college.

After my shift was over, I headed to the Expo where companies had the opportunity to exhibit their products. It was a great chance to meet different people from various companies. I met the two principals, a digital animator and a developer, behind Inscribed Games. While I was chatting with them, I learned that they were recent graduates of Centennial College. Small world indeed! I also had an opportunity to try a VR game for the first time. The company was called VRGEN and I got to try out their VR headset with their Mech League Boxing game. I’m embarrassed to say that my arms were killing me afterwards. So much for my toddler-lifting workout.

With my arms needing a break, I thought the timing was perfect to sit in on the Content Showcase session. The session consisted of four different presentations from interactive digital media professionals. The one that really stuck out for me was the talk given by Jean Leggett of One More Story Games. Her company created a storytelling game platform where authors can customize their work into a game format. I found this fascinating since as a freelancer I’ve been working with a lot of science fiction and fantasy manuscripts recently that centre around stories which would make excellent games as well.

While I didn’t get much of a chance to interact with industry professionals at the registration desk, I did have an opportunity to meet with some afterward. I think this event was a great chance to network for newbies, but I think to get the most out of this event, I would recommend volunteering for two days rather than one. From what I heard, the first day definitely sounded busier. I thought the Content Showcase was excellent, and my only regret was that I wasn't able to attend other sessions. Well, there’s always next year!