Reboot Develop Blue 2023 Wrap-up
By heydanthomas on 02/05/2023
So my epic drive to Reboot Develop Blue 2023 is done and as the dust has settled on the actual event itself, I thought I’d share some highlights from my first trip to Croatia and to Reboot.
The setting
Dubrovnik is perhaps not an obvious choice for a games industry conference. It is however, an inspired one. Who wouldn’t want great weather, stunning coastline and a beautiful walled city on hand when attending a conference?
Having driven down in the van, I was fortunate to find an “autocamp” (campsite) a beautiful 20 minute walk along the coast from Reboot HQ, The Sheraton Hotel.
The Content
With a total of 8 tracks, 120+ speakers, keynotes, daily pitching sessions, an indie expo, lunches and countless other activities and after-parties, all included in the very reasonable attendance price, it’s fair to say there was something for everyone.
I particularly enjoyed the end of day public pitching sessions. Pitching to investors is an intimidating prospect at the best of times, in front of a live audience too...
The People
I had heard Reboot was a more relaxed experience than other international games industry events. And this was absolutely the case. No meeting system, plenty of seafront chats, corridor meets and hanging out on the beach or in local restaurants. Everyone I met was always up for a chat and eager to listen and help. I absolutely loved meeting loads of new friends and catching up with familiar faces in such a unique setting.
Apparently this year was the biggest ever attendance for the event and Damir Durovic and the Reboot crew subjected themselves to a few late nights pulling everything together (not helped by a bout of Covid hitting the team in the run-up). But the event ran flawlessly and despite it’s growth, clearly has not lost any of the magic for which it is renowned.
If you get the chance to attend next year, I can't recommend it highly enough. Tickets are already available so I'll just leave this here:
