The goal for last year’s Gaming Innovation Chapter 1, was to break down the stigma and inspire to seize the opportunities that exist within the gaming world. This year the bigger and better Chapter 2 got to show, once again different aspects of innovation in gaming.
By Pernille Svartveit Osmundsen
Engage and NTNUI E-sport, in partnership with Equinor and NTNU, hosted Chapter 2 early in April. This year, as last year, the event was divided into two parts. Lectures, a panel debate and some fun activities at the beginning of the day, and in the evening, there was gaming at Jotunheimen E-sport centre. It was a tight schedule with a visit from one of the world’s biggest E-sport organisations, that talked about their work. A presentation from how a fulltime gamer, Veronica Langø (@msvosch), managed to start her career, an E-sport show match, and much more.
Students from a great variety of study areas came to the event and was pleased with all the information and perspectives they got. One of the biggest audience favourites was the panel discussion with Bitfix, Jotunheimen and NOVA. Here the students were able to hear, among other things, concrete examples of the organisations helping kids to feel a sense of accomplishment and take part in normal schooling again.
Both Simen Voxen, PR manager for NTNUI E-sport, and Simon Sætre that lead the event from Engage’s part was happy with the event. Sætre, who is the brain behind the idea of the event says there is so many students at NTNU that deserves to take part in the innovation environment. As a gamer himself, he wanted to bring together people interested in technology with different professional backgrounds and thought gaming was the perfect gathering moment. Sætre says, «gaming is now fully on its way into working life» and that you can see aspects of it whether you work as a teacher, doctor or engineer. He says that because of this, students need to be lifted out of seeing gaming as something that only is social and fun.
Without doubt gaming is a growing part of our life, and the development on these fronts is not slowing down any time soon. According to a report from the Norwegian Media Authority in 2022, 86% of those between the ages of 9 and 18 play computer games and over half say that they socialise through gaming. But gaming is not just for the younger ones. Figures from Statistics Norway also indicate that more than half of everyone under 45 do play computer games daily. These numbers, together with the fact that skills developed through gaming can be transferred to working life, shows how important investing and innovation in gaming is. One of the students present at Chapter 2, Zabine, says that it is essential to show the importance of innovation on this front too. Especially with so many from elder generations that does not have knowledge on all the opportunities that exists within gaming.
Another audience favourite from Chapter 2 was hearing how Equinor works with simulations and how experience from designing games can lead to jobs with similar work tasks but very different outcomes. To hear how gaming was linked to working life and the opportunities there, was something the students, really appreciated. One of them, Ragnhild, emphasizes that gaming can be about so much more than just fun games. She refers to Equinor and their work and elaborates how this can lead to something entirely different, like VR-simulating for medical student to practise.
Voxen says there is people with a lot of engagement and dedication to gaming, but they don’t know where to start. He says through this event they got to see a path into a working life through gaming and hopes it can inspire student to dare to take a chance and go for a career they want, although it is out of the ordinary.
Both Voxen and Sætre is satisfied with the event and how much bigger than Chapter 1 it got. Now they can’t wait for Chapter 3 and Sætre says he wants a hole book in the future.