Somehow, you expect Sweden to mostly be snow/cold country. When I was offered to stay at the “beach house” during the Nordic Game conference, I was somewhat confused, but delighted nonetheless to be staying with other speakers similarly invited.

Turns out the beach house was not actually on the beach (more like a 10-minute walk away), but no matter. The uniquely rustic experience isolated a bunch of us away from the main hubbub of the conference itself and afforded for one of my most different/special event experiences to date.

And, the conference itself was very good as well! With over 1000 attendees from the various Nordic game development communities, the conference was bustling with energy and enthusiasm. The speaker line-up was diverse and of a high level. The sub-theme on audio was unusual for the more general audience on hand, but it was certainly refreshing and inspiring to have that much game audio/design related talent in one place.

Now in its fourth year, Nordic Game is a significant regional conference and I am personally pleased that I finally got to participate at it (thanks to E3’s implosion ;)

Here are some photos from the trip - a few of the event itself and a few from the “beach house”…


Malmo’s historic town hall in the central square of the city.

My personal tour guide, Per Stromback (Spelplan) settling pre-conference logistics.

An idyllic scene from within one of the many parks of Malmo.

The towering Turning Torso over the revamped docks area.

Nice to see all the bikes in use, making for a very green city.

Beach house host Sten Selander (NetPort) and Per loading up essential supplies.

Japanese Invasion: The bulk of speakers from Japan arrive at the beach house.

Tsutomu Kouno (Sony Japan) and Babsi Lippe (Avaloop) enjoy a beer on the “Hollywood swing”.

Masaya Matsuura (NanaOn-Sha) browsing Sten’s record collection.

Maki Hirami (NanaOn-Sha) and Yuki Grove enjoy the BBQ.

Watanabe san (RobotSound) succumbed to the jet lag.

Daniel James (Three Rings) out for a stroll on the beach.

Kouno san flirts with the waves…

…while Babsi and Dare Matheson (Harmonix) brave the freaking cold waters.

Daniel and I stopped in at the snazzy public library for free wifi access to work on our presentations.

Panoramic shot from the 54th floor of the Turning Torso (where the VIP reception was hosted).

And, the other side of town.

At the base of the Turning Torso…

…and looking straight up. Was very disorienting, especially with the clouds moving!

Erik Robertson (Nordic Game Program) struts his stuff on stage, welcoming the attendees and introducing the opening keynote speaker.

Paulina Bozek (Sony London) delivers a thoughtful and flawlessly performed keynote.

Kouno san discusses the creation of LocoRoco.

The career fair area was heavily trafficked.

Matsuura san (center) performs a techno-dance song to close out his lecture. Not viewable: the dancing Aibo!

Awesome viking-worthy trophies! Jorgen Tharaldsen (Funcom) picks up the award for most promising game for Conan.

Event party action at the Hipp (an revamped theater).

Danish Brain Power: Lisbeth Klastrup and T.L. Taylor of IT-U Copenhagen in lively debate.

Katsumi Mizushima (NTL) chills back at the beach house.

Babsi loads up while Paulina keeps back.

Babsi helping Mizushima san prep for his Dragon Ball Z talk.

Harmonix art duo Ryan Lesser and Dare Matheson give insight into the art direction/evolution for the Guitar Hero series.