General Guide and FAQs - Beyond Games

YOUR ONLINE CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE: IMPROVED

Thank you for joining Beyond Games, the completely-online conference from the makers of Pocket Gamer Connects. Our first online conference in April 2020 taught us a lot of lessons and so you should see some positive changes in each new event we plan. If you’re used to seeing webinars and streams online, you’ll get the idea pretty quickly about how the video talks and panels will work.

NOTE: The MeetToMatch meeting platform will go live approximately a week before the event, and you will be automatically added to it and notified by email once you have registered for a ticket.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

So how does this work?

Everything you expect from a conference, except the bumping into people on the stairs or at the bar. Beyond Games aims to distil the core elements of a regular conference into online form. There’ll be talks, panels, meetings, breakout groups and so on. Obviously we aren’t congregating in one physical venue, but using a series of online tools to arrange meetings and watch videos.

Does it all take place here on this website?

No. As well as this official website, there are other platforms you’ll need to get your head around. It all fits together seamlessly, don’t worry, but please be prepared to see links to these resources:

Eventbrite: our ticketing platform
MeetToMatch: our new meeting platform. Registered attendees will receive a log-in and password link in due course (it runs on the web, and will be familiar to you from other trade shows and events; here’s a dedicated FAQ)
Zoom: the video broadcast system we’re using for our webinars and our meetings (download that, sharpish)
BlockchainGamer.biz, PocketGamer.biz and PCGamesInsider.biz: our editorial sites where you’ll find the latest b2b news and features from the games industry.

When do I need to be online?

The event runs from just before 9am on Monday May 10th until about 8pm on Friday May 15th, and you can arrange meetings to take place any time during that period, to suit your local timezone.

Talks will be broadcast via Zoom webinars and take place on those days, with a short break in the middle of each session. All times listed on the site here are UK Time (British Summer Time, GMT+1, which will be the local UK time that week). We’ll try our best to spread things out so that you’ll be able to see at least some of the content live whether you’re in China or California.

The schedule will be available about three weeks before the event!

We will also email you to remind you of upcoming Zoom sessions, and to share the link with you, which of course is only available to registered attendees. These links will also be visible on the Program part of the Meet To Match platform, which is where you’ll also plan your meetings. Simply click on the Zoom link you see and you’ll become an audience member in the track.

Hang on. What is a webinar?

A webinar is an online seminar, a presentation broadcast live from anywhere in the world to your computer screen, via a video service.

Beyond Games has two main sorts of video presentations: talks (presented by one individual, often with a slide deck you can follow), which last 20 minutes, and panels (a number of individuals discussing a hot topic), which last 40 minutes. They will all be shown to you over Zoom. There’s more information available on our guide here and also below.

How do I watch the talks and panels?

Talks will be broadcast via Zoom webinars and take place between about 9am and 1:30pm (UK Time) and between 2pm and 8pm (UK Time), Monday May 10th to Wednesday May 13th. Although you’ll also have access to the Power Panels on Thursday May 14th. We will email you to remind you of upcoming Zoom sessions, and to share the link with you. You will also be able to find links in the MeetToMatch platform when that is live. See the note above about scheduling.

Talks will happen in a similar way to how they do in a regular Pocket Gamer Connects event. We’ll organise talks into specific themed tracks with a time for each track. Typically individual talks will have a 20-minute length and panels 40 minutes.

The difference, of course, is that rather than being in a track room in London, Helsinki, or Seattle, you’ll be watching from your home, using the popular Zoom video conference chat tool. It even enables you to interact with the speakers!

All the talks will be recorded with a video link posted to a private space for attendees within 48 hours. We’ll share the link with you so you can catch up later.

There’s a dedicated FAQ here about watching the scheduled sessions.

Please note: if the Zoom links are not opening for you, it’s because you’ve not logged into your Zoom account first. There are more hints here.

How am I supposed to have meetings?

Meetings will take place over video, so get your webcam ready. You’ll find people to meet, and schedule times to connect, using our matchmaking platform: MeetToMatch. You will probably have used this platform before at another event, for instance in San Francisco alongside GDC.

You will receive an email explaining how to get access about a week before the conference. When you log into MeetToMatch then, you will be able to establish a default video meeting service: we recommend Zoom or Skype, but others are available, including 8×8. We have a full guide and FAQ here, which should answer all your questions.

What about the guided breakout groups?

These additional sessions (free to ticket holders) are like interactive panels. They are round-tables that take the form of meetings where you’ll have your chance to exchange ideas with the experts.

Each one will have a moderator and two or three expert guests. Then the room will have a limited capacity of up to 20 people – you’ll join with your camera and mic on, and be able to talk back to the guests and other attendees. The moderator will direct the flow of conversation, make sure the key points are addressed, and ensure that people don’t talk over each other. Imagine Clubhouse, but over Zoom, discussing the hottest topics in the interactive entertainment technology space.

These sessions will run:

Monday 10 May: Where Games Meet the Metaverse
Tuesday 11 May: Where Games Meet Music & Live Performance
Wednesday 12 May: Where Games Meet Film and TV

These sessions will last about an hour. Although registration is free to Beyond Games ticket holders, places are limited so you must register your interest in a particular session so that we can allocate space. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to get in on the day if you haven’t submitted your details via this form in advance.

NOTE: You must have purchased a valid Beyond Games pass to be considered for this fringe event.

Who's behind all this?

This join-from-anywhere event is brought to you by Steel Media Ltd, the makers of Pocket Gamer Connects, the leading mobile games industry b2b conferences.

We’ve got seven years’ experience of running events where people learn new skills, hear from the leading industry experts, and meet other professionals to network and do business. We’ve got all that for you here too, using the latest web and video tools.

Sounds great. How do I get access?

Tickets are available to buy now, from our registration page or Eventbrite page (they’re identical, don’t worry).

If you are one of the following special cases, we may have additional discounts and benefits for you: press, media partners, small indie studios, students, jobseekers. Please contact [email protected] to discuss.

I have more questions!

You can find out more about the video talks and panels here.

You can find out more about the MeetToMatch, your meeting platform, here.

Or you can contact the team directly here: [email protected]