nDreams Festival 2024: Highlights From Our Fourth Annual Event
The nDreams Festival returned for its fourth year in 2024, and this year we were all about going global. With our acquisition by Aonic, a worldwide gaming group, and the upcoming Olympics in Paris, we're feeling the international vibes. Not to mention, our talented, diverse team hails from around the world with 36 nationalities represented.
We were back with the team at the Farnborough International Conference and Exhibition Centre, where we ran our previous festival with great success. A key aim for the Festival is not only to bring our teams together, but to empower our team members to tailor their experience. They can choose to catch up with colleagues, attend talks to gain knowledge, or participate in a mix of activities – making the festival uniquely theirs.
New to this year were workshops, meaning people could simply show up at the door and take part in a huge variety of activities. Some learned needle felting for the first time, and have now taken the hobby up beyond the festival. A games tournament with some epic prizes got the crowds cheering on. We even held a sound bath for those looking for some extreme relaxing!
But the highlight of the entire event had to be the evening entertainment, the Battle of the Bands. Our team members got to show off their talents outside of gamedev, with six different bands of nDreamers taking to the stage. But here’s the challenge: they had never performed together as a group until that night, live!
With our hybrid and remote teams dotted all around the country, each person had to learn their individual part and come together at the very last minute. The crowd went wild and were vocally supportive of our incredibly skilled co-workers, who produced some excellent covers of classic songs.
At nDreams, we believe that sustainability and safety should be at the core of our events. Thanks to our venue, we were able to confirm that zero waste from the Festival went to landfill, and we got a full breakdown of how our waste was recycled and repurposed into energy.
Meanwhile, Farnborough International has invested £1 million into solar panels which occupy the equivalent of 29 tennis courts on its roof. During the course of our two-day event, more than 6.1 megawatts of energy was generated – that’s enough to power an average two-bedroom home for more than two years!
The festival was developed with event safety in mind, via our Game On initiative. Volunteers on the day wore Game On badges to indicate that they were there to help should anyone feel uncomfortable for any reason within the event setting.
We created two separate quieter spaces – the sunset lounge, for those who want a more relaxed space without music to chat with friends or take phone calls, and our wellness room for those requiring rest, prayer or a private moment.
Phone chargers and powerbanks were also available in the evening, ensuring that everyone had enough power for a ‘got home safe’ text. We believe these small, considerate touches help people feel looked after at our events, so they can focus on the more important aspect: having fun!
We could not be prouder of all the nDreamers that made 2024's edition our most successful festival yet. If you'd like to be a part of the 2025 festival, check out our careers page for opportunities.
