Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency hosted the Bu:net Conference on September 15 at the 5th-floor complex space of the Busan Culture Content Complex, drawing around 100 attendees including game developers, industry insiders, and aspiring professionals.

Rather than merely showcasing the success stories of finished games, this event was designed to share the actual struggles, trial and error, and decision-making processes developers face before a game finally sees the light of day.

Under the theme "Where Did We Stop and How Did We Cross?", the event covered team collaboration and setting development directions under limited resources, shifts in development methods in the era of AI, and the game completion and launch process.

In the first session, Grumpy CEO Shin Sung-gul gave a presentation titled "Why Do These Things Happen to Me When Making Games...". The speaker candidly unpacked the agonies encountered during production, such as unexpected problems faced while leading a small team, ways to mediate differences of opinion among team members, and the process of setting development priorities.

In the second session, Director Lee Seung-hyun of the Bluehole Studio new project development team, known as the Seed team, presented on "AI-Native Game Development: I See It a Bit Differently". The director shared personal experiences and perspectives on how AI is actually applied in development amidst a rapidly changing production environment, and how the roles and working methods of developers are shifting as a result.

The final session featured a talk with Circle From Dot CEO Yeom Jung-gyu. Drawing on the experience of spending eight years making "Kusan: City of Wolves", the discussion traced the countless choices and revisions one must go through to finish a game right to the end.

The Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency plans to foster a network among game developers building on this event. Starting with the "Bu:net Meetup Day" in August and following up with this conference, the agency aims to expand opportunities for current developers, companies, and aspiring professionals to continuously meet through various programs such as the "Insight Forum" and "Night of Game People".

Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency President Kim Jong-chul noted, "Completing a single game requires not just technology and ideas, but countless choices, trial and error, and collaboration with colleagues. When the experience and know-how gained from that process are shared and connected rather than staying with an individual or a single company, the regional game industry can grow together."

The president added, "We will continue our support so that Bu:net can serve as a bridge for current developers to share each other's experiences, and provide an opportunity for aspiring professionals preparing to enter the game industry to understand the actual development scene and find a direction for growth."