UDEN’s first networking event of 2020 was held as part of the 2020 Silicon Slopes Tech Summit, a huge annual fixture for the massive tech community in Utah, held on January 30th-31st at the Salt Palace Convention Center, downtown Salt Lake City. UDEN helped organize the first ever digital entertainment track at the event, as well as a new area within the Summit dedicated to digital entertainment called Slopes Arcade.
Slopes Arcade
A new feature for the Tech Summit was Slopes Arcade, a large hall that focused on entertainment. In the center was a huge stage with massive overhead screens. Throughout the space were pinballs and arcade games you could play for free, and around the sides were booths where you could, among other activities, play classic videogames thanks to our friends at Salt Lake Gaming Con. Plenty of seating in here too!
The UDEN booth was also there, where we chatted with our members and introduced our community to the wider tech world attending the Tech Summit.
On the main stage for most of the time were the final stages of the esports tournaments for local high-schools, companies and professionals, which had been organized by our friends at Game Tyrant.
Entertainment Track
On the second day, UDEN was proud to be able to introduce a new track at the Summit highlighting the digital entertainment sector.
While we only had three sessions, each was very well attended with more than 250 people and standing room only.
Digital kids: what every parent and media company should know
This was our first session. Wildworks have found a niche in kid tech, products aimed at children 13 and under. Animal Jam is the worlds #1 online playground for kids, a safe and secure space loved by over 120 million registered users. Clark Stacey, CEO, been making games in Utah since 1995, previously focused on games where you, and I quote him here, “blow shit up”, now focused on worthwhile games for kids.
Clark led the session through the current state of the market for children’s products, including the opportunities and pitfalls for both parents and providers alike, addressing issues such as privacy and data collection. This built upon the topics Clark first introduced at UDEN #22 last year.
Building community and making an impact through mobile gaming
The Global Gaming Initiative in collaboration with developers around the world, are a publisher of games that have a social impact. Elizabeth Sarkees recently relocated this business to Utah. Her background is in human physiology, political science including a masters degree in adolescent and child psychology. Elizabeth started coding when her oldest son was 2 years old (I assume she was bored :-)).
Elizabeth described how videogames could and are being used to bring people together, with developers finding ways to give back to their communities. Through such efforts, Elizabeth argued that far from being detrimental to health, games could help shape the future of humanity!
A super bowl every day: the global rise of esports
More than 70 million people will watch a single esports final this year – that’s higher than the US viewership of the MLB, NBA, NHL or MLS. This year consumers will watch 3 billion hours of esports, accounting for 10 percent of all sports viewing. If you thought esports was just a passing fad of young people wasting their time, know that the global esports economy topped $1 Billion for the first time in 2019, with a reach of more than 450 million viewers. That’s no passing fad or a waste of time.
AJ Dimick is an alumni of the world leading Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) program at the University of Utah; he went on to become a faculty member and then a champion of creating one of the first varsity esports teams, which he now leads. AJ spoke passionately about this topic, arguing why esports was just like traditional athletic sports but also how it differentiated from them in very important ways. He described the esports team at the U, how it is supported by sports psychologists, nutrition and wellness coaches, as well as cognitive and behavioral trainers. With strong support from EAE, the U is leading the nation in collegiate esports, fielding an initial roster competing across four established games.
UDEN #25 Meeting
At the end of the first night it was time for UDEN #25 in Slopes Arcade. No speeches from anyone, this was designed to be a mixer just like we have held up at Sundance in Park City at this time in previous years. It didn’t go quite as we had hoped, however. The doors to the space weren’t opened until around 8.30pm, prior to which brave souls needed the courage to open closed doors to find us. Even then, many UDEN members reported being turned away by event staff at the doors who seemed unaware there was a UDEN event or where it might be. This was quite frustrating for us as we weren’t the organizers, but we did what we could to run interference when we realized the problems, and eventually it got sorted out. For those who did make it inside, a DJ happily played music as the soundtrack to some excellent socializing, and UDEN’s video eventually got played on the big screens around 9.30pm.
Overall, we were happy to have contributed to Tech Summit and we want to thank our friends at Silicon Slopes for allowing our entertainment community to be part of this major event.