Call for Submissions

Submission Guidelines

The NZGDC brings together game development, VFX, animation, and interactive experience communities from all over New Zealand and beyond to share industry knowledge, insights, and experiences. We are excited to invite you to submit your proposals for talks, panels, and workshops for this year’s conference, which will be held in Wellington from August 31st – September 2nd, 2023.

This year’s theme is ‘SPREADING OUR ROOTS’, which celebrates growing our industry, learning new things, and expanding our knowledge. Talk streams for 2023 will include the following topics:

Talks are 15, 30, or 60 minutes with the option for questions at the end of the presentation. Accepted speakers will receive a free full pass to NZGDC 2023.

What We Are Looking For

The NZGDC aims to provide informational and inspiring talks that teach others about game development, VFX, and animation. There are no predetermined topics—we invite you to share your experience and expertise around what the industry needs most.

Here are some other things we consider when evaluating talk topics and designs:

• Unique takes on topics you’re really passionate about
• Diverse backgrounds such as age, gender, beliefs, working with a disability and more. Let us know what makes you YOU!
• A spirit of dedication and drive that supports the industry and the wider game development community
• Talks that give people practical knowledge or new techniques that they can try out in their own environment
• Conversations and industry contributions that spotlight how diversity, equity, and inclusion makes our communities, industries, and teams stronger. We encourage submissions that spotlight DEI content across every track

The main conference event is geared towards professional game developers who may already be involved in the game development industry. The student day is geared towards game developers ‘in the making’—whether that’s recent graduates or career professionals in other industries looking to build practical skills before making the move to game development—so we will be welcoming talks from all experience levels. If we feel that your talk could be beneficial to both events we may approach you about your interest in speaking at both.

Panels

Panels can range from a series of micro-talks where each panellist gives a small but impactful mini-talk on a similar topic or having a moderator presenting the panel with focused questions to answer as a group. If you have any questions on panels or need some help finding people to join the panel, feel free to ask the NZGDA. We can also help organise a moderator if needed.

Examples of potential panels:

• A group of discipline experts giving small micro-talks on practical tricks they have picked up over the years
• A group talking about a situation that caused them to adapt
• A game team doing a post-mortem on their recent release

Workshops

Workshops are three-hour sessions where experts from all areas of game development, VFX, animation, and interactive techniques deep dive into important topics or trends. They can cover any subjects and target any level of expertise, from beginner to expert. We welcome proposals from all corners of the industry.