Reykjavik University’s Department of Computer Science at the world’s largest video game exhibition

In August, computer science students from Reykjavik University travelled to Cologne, Germany, to attend Gamescom, an international video game exhibition that brings together game companies, development teams, students, and the general public. The exhibition attracted 368,000 visitors, making it the largest event of its kind in the world.

RU was among the participants at the Raw Talent Booth, a shared exhibition space for student games at this year’s Gamescom. Eleven RU students showcased games they had developed as part of their studies.

In addition to showcasing their games, all the students were part of a volunteer team responsible for setting up the booth and promoting the event and the games. More than 90 game projects from 18 universities across five countries were presented at the Raw Talent Booth, with over 380 students taking part.

Steingerður Lóa Gunnarsdóttir, a specialist at RU’s School of Computer Science who accompanied the group, says that experiencing the opportunity to showcase their games at such a large event is invaluable for aspiring game developers.

“This provides practical experience in playtesting games on a larger scale, presenting their own games, and interacting with visitors. Raw Talent also fostered international connections for both students and teachers. It created an opportunity for me, as a game design instructor, to connect with colleagues. For example, I got to know instructors from Nord University, and we explored opportunities for collaboration between our universities,” says Steingerður Lóa.

Reflecting on the experience at a special event

Last week, the students hosted an event titled Let’s Talk About Gamescom in collaboration with Game Makers Iceland. The event took place at RU, where the 11 students discussed their experience of visiting the world’s largest video game exhibition.

They talked, among other things, about what it was like to travel abroad to showcase games developed at RU. Representatives from the Icelandic game development company Deadgroove Games, which is working on the video game Replay, the Musical, also shared their experiences of what it is like to be a small fish in the world’s biggest pond.

The 11 RU computer science students who travelled to Cologne for Gamescom are: