Some people might be confused about who should attend InterPlay. While it’s definitely a must-attend event for game developers who are currently in the job market, it’s also a great event for future developers to attend. With that in mind, here are the top 10 reasons Computer Science students should add InterPlay to their calendar for May 22:

1. You. Who knows? You might be the next founder of a company in the gaming space or social web sphere, like InterPlay speakers Jim Greer, CEO and Co-Founder of Kongregate, or Shervin Pishevar, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Gaming Network. At InterPlay, attendees will have the chance to hear from several respected people in the industry, all at one conference. This is the conference that you might be speaking on a panel at one day
2. It’s who you know. In virtually every industry, networking is a business tool that could possibly make or break you. At events such as InterPlay, attendees have the opportunity not only to learn about the social gaming space, but to meet and network with other people just as passionate about the sphere as you are. Like you, they could be the next executives of start-up companies and it wouldn’t hurt to get in good with them now. More importantly, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to network with the professionals who are already leading their own companies in this space, while you’re still in school.
3. Learn what professors don’t teach you in class. There’s a good chance that at InterPlay, you’ll learn a good deal of information that you wouldn’t learn in class. It’s probably rare that someone like Patrick Chanezon from Google will come to one of your classes as a guest lecturer on OpenSocial. Take advantage and give yourself higher footing than your classmates who didn’t attend the event.
4. Get ahead of the game. While the social gaming sphere is somewhat new, hear about the future of the industry and the current challenges and questions it’s facing today, from those who know best and are immersed in it every day. Learn enough information to gauge for yourself if the future of social gaming looks promising enough to tell your parents that you want to work in this industry.
5. Money, money, money. One of the panel discussions is going to be dedicated to the questions of funding and monetizing the social gaming sphere. Hear about the ways that industry leaders are anticipating to make money in social gaming. Is it going to be a lucrative industry or not? And I know we all love a little money.
6. Kill the curiosity. Get any questions you have about the online gaming business answered, or at least debated, by some of the sharpest minds around.
7. See what everyone is talking about. Social gaming is catching on fast. Why? Find out at InterPlay!
8. Breakfast is included. You know that a free meal wouldn’t hurt your checkbook.
9. There’s a way-cool afterparty. Location TBA.
10. Your people will be there. If you’re looking to find like-minded college students that could potentially help you form a company after graduation, this is the place to meet them.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 9:15 am and is filed under InterPlay. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.