Dundee Delights: Dare to be Digital / Indie Fest

For anyone who lives in Dundee: I know this was a month ago. 

But my electricity was being temperamental and everything was busy. 

Anyway, for the unfamiliar Dare to be Digital (and Indie Fest) is a computer games event held in Dundee every August (occasionally Edinburgh). And before anyone switches off this event does cater to everyone, one example being me as I am certainly not a 'gamer'. 

What Dare to be Digital is, is a computer games competition for students (worldwide) and the event in August is for them to showcase their prototypes. Indie Fest, which sometimes runs alongside it, is for smaller games companies in Scotland (maybe further afield but I've never spotted any) to showcase their latest offerings. It also acts as a good platform for new games companies, especially the ones who were started by recent graduates (every year I spot developers who I know to be recent graduates of Abertay).

Even if you do not consider yourself a 'gamer' I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't game in the slightest. The games available to try vary from the hardcore zombie games to the fun addictive ones for the iPad and Android phones. Naturally, I am interested in the later camp, and was drawn to the type of games which I had to elbow the Junior Judges out the way in order to play (I kid, I kid).

(The 2013 festival I played a fish game on the Playstation, a food throwing game on the iPad, a word cross puzzle on the iPad, a paper aeroplane game on the iPad and a milkshake game on the iPad, I promise I haven't moved over to the Apple camp, still an Android gal!)

You also get to vote for your favourite entry - mine was the food throwing gaming on the iPad (if you need any further proof that I am not an ultra-serious gamer).

My main interest in the event and the games industry as a whole is actually more from a business point of view. I am at the end of the day still a business marketer type person who likes to geek out over economics and the Financial Times, so it inevitable that I wish to keep up-to-date with one of Scotland' strongest industries (plus, it’s the creative industries I would like to move into). 

But anyway, if you are due to become a new student in Dundee - games course or otherwise - and you are there during the summer months (or even if you a Dundonian who has never been) Dare to be Digital is not the geek freak-fest you might assume it to be, and I reckon it is well-worth a look when it’s there even if you do just like play an iPad game where you like to throw food everywhere.