One presentation really turned me on and piqued my interest. This session was probably the most technical of the lot, but even then it didn’t actually go in depth. What it did offer up however was a sense of the challenge involved in the area the company was working in. Additionally they were kind enough to give a very good idea about the type of company they were, and the hours of work expected. I suppose if you aren’t a computing person, you probably don’t get why that’s important but historically computing jobs have involved quite long hours of work. Needless to say I spoke to this company after the session to get an idea of what exactly they’d expect from a graduate and to get an idea of what sorts of things would help an application to that company be considered really seriously.

The next session I want to talk about was less than enticing. This session didn’t make any mention of trying to make an interesting prodcut. Instead it focussed solely on how the comapny could find new areas of exploitation, new ways to make money, new ways to involve advertising. Frankly it made me feel sick. I understand that business is business, but when you want to attract people to your company you surely at least want to give them an idea that you are making an interesting, worthwhile product. Instead we were treated to a presentation which stressed money above all else.

The final two sessions of the day had some issues as well. These were panel sessions, the first was a relatively dull afair “Is it a man’s world?” I wanted to shout out “Just look around the room.” Personally it’s a simple issue, most women don’t want to go into computing; fewer still want to go into gaming. There’s no problem within the industry, enough women make it to important positions within developers to suggest that there is no discrimination issue, but put simply far less women than men want to go into the profession. This session, and the one that followed, were not helped by the man that chaired the sessions. It’s probably a personal preference, but I got the feeling I wasn’t the only one that didn’t appreciate his sense of humour. Indeed I sensed he was making a number of the panel members rather nervous as they didn’t really want to be associated with some of his “funny” comments.

Overall though it was an excellent event, and one which I certainly intend to attend next year. I can’t stress enough how interesting and informative I found all but that one session. Maybe it’s just me but I’m really turned off by that sort of talk. I like to hear about products; more particularly I like to hear about a product that is designed either to help people, or to allow people to have fun. When it’s pruely business, I’m not impressed at all.

In the meantime I’m going to work away on some demos which I can hand out, hopefully I’ll impress a potential employer there. This work will hopefully be a subject for another day.