They do hang out at Pubs drinking until they can't think any more. If you are thinking of breaking into the industry you need to look like a bunny. Best advice is get one bunny on your side and infiltrate that way (unless you are a bunny).

Don't quit your day job. That's the best advice. Best to view game development as a fun activity instead of a career. Only the creme-de-la-creme actually get the job and even then they are likely to struggle. The worst thing about "breaking in" is the anti-social problem at interviews ... these people will not believe a word you say so you have to prove everything and Hammer the evidence deep into their brains (maybe it helps to be a Bunny) ... also they do not care if you worked your B**t off at Uni and in your old job, they would always rather hire their friends or someone they wanted the chance to push about in an office.

Best advice is "Keep your Day job".

Where do they hang out? Probably the pub.

Devs generally hang out in places where the players can't find em.


edit:
As for networking with devs, you generally need something to bring to the conversation.
Not that you need special social skills to hang out with devs, but If you're just getting started and wish to talk about something on a more professional level (making connections and networking), you might come off as rather annoying.

Personally I know dozens of people that "want to make it in the industry" and I find it quite annoying when they bring it up.
Not because of their goal, but mostly because they get ahead of themselves.
I don't particularly care for their "awesome game ideas" or their requests to "introduce them to <game director of game they play>".
In the latter case, even if I do have a direct line to some devs, I'm sure they don't want to bothered by someone without a resume either.

It's hard to put this in words, but basically: it's annoying to talk to someone about something they don't know enough about yet.
What I'm getting at, don't seek out devs before you've got some experience under your belt to show you're more than one of the zillion players dreaming to make their own game.
Networking only works if you can leave a good first impression.

Don't run too fast.

On this note, I hear that some IGDA chapters are having the problem that their meetups are too overrun by students and indies that don't know too much about what they're doing. There haven't been enough professionals guiding the direction of these meetups, so they started to take a more exclusionary approach to organizing and promoting them.

On 10/13/2011 at 10:55 AM, DavidNash said:

On this note, I hear that some IGDA chapters are having the problem that their meetups are too overrun by students and indies that don't know too much about what they're doing. There haven't been enough professionals guiding the direction of these meetups, so they started to take a more exclusionary approach to organizing and promoting them.

And let's not just pick on those outside the industry. Not everyone in the industry is particularly knowledgeable, good at what they do, great to work with, or good to hang out with. Sometimes the people running/organizing those events are the type of people who are trying to run their career on image, connections, and being an "insider". They get old pretty fast.

But consider this... What do you get when you put the two together? I know of one weekly get-together organized by a couple of industry recruiters and attended mostly by student hopefuls. The recruiters make a big deal about how it's a social gathering and they won't talk business. Basically it's an unholy orgy of social awkwardness designed to make the organizers feel like Gods. Few industry professionals can stomach it.

Personally, if I were you, I wouldn't "stalk" developers.
As many here have stated, when we're not at work, chances are we're trying not to talk about or hear about work.
If some fresh guy comes up to me with the intent of networking when I'm tired and half-sober, chances are I'll tell him to get lost.
There's a proper context to everything, and 'hanging out' won't net you a job.
I'd advise you read Tom Sloper's lessons rather than hang out with devs at a local pub.
Aside from these 'ever-scanning H.R.' most devs turn their lights off when they're off.

On the other hand, the best networking you can have is from working within the industry in an entry-level job.
If you put some effort into it, people will notice you, and people don't live and die within the same studio (I may be generalizing because there are 4 major studios where I am, so anyone feel free to correct me).
People move around, and before you know it, you'll realize that the people you knew from that first studio are now in 14 different studios. That's 14 studios you can get some insight on, and 14 studios where you can network based on the people you know there.

[quote name='Azgur' timestamp='1318343609' post='4871450']
Devs generally hang out in places where the players can't find em.


edit:
As for networking with devs, you generally need something to bring to the conversation.
Not that you need special social skills to hang out with devs, but If you're just getting started and wish to talk about something on a more professional level (making connections and networking), you might come off as rather annoying.

Personally I know dozens of people that "want to make it in the industry" and I find it quite annoying when they bring it up.
Not because of their goal, but mostly because they get ahead of themselves.
I don't particularly care for their "awesome game ideas" or their requests to "introduce them to <game director of game they play>".
In the latter case, even if I do have a direct line to some devs, I'm sure they don't want to bothered by someone without a resume either.

It's hard to put this in words, but basically: it's annoying to talk to someone about something they don't know enough about yet.
What I'm getting at, don't seek out devs before you've got some experience under your belt to show you're more than one of the zillion players dreaming to make their own game.
Networking only works if you can leave a good first impression.

Don't run too fast.

On this note, I hear that some IGDA chapters are having the problem that their meetups are too overrun by students and indies that don't know too much about what they're doing. There haven't been enough professionals guiding the direction of these meetups, so they started to take a more exclusionary approach to organizing and promoting them.


[/quote]

Nope the indies were the developers and the students were their friends. Its a Bunny industry -face it.

Its a Bunny industry

What does that mean?

[quote name='Access_Denied' timestamp='1318528503' post='4872254']Its a Bunny industry

What does that mean?
[/quote]



perhaps it isn't a career that will stay useful after a certain age.

I see. An industry mostly for young people.