GDC 2008 First Impressions

by Derek Wilson on February 21, 2008 12:11 AM EST
Man there is a lot of motion capture going on here. I guess that's what stuck out most in my mind from today's experience at GDC. That's not to say that there wasn't a lot going on everywhere, just that almost every corner you turn you are within site of some way too thin chick wiggling around like an idiot with balls stuck all over her.
 
Well, okay, I do need to back up a bit. This year's GDC is huge. There are more people, more developers, more publishers, more tool makers. With the lack of a real E3 as the go to industry event, it seems like a lot of business is being done here now. There is a lot more buying, selling, deal making, and a lot more people in general.
 
On top of all the added functionality of GDC, developers still rule here. The classes are the key feature in spite of the extravagance of the expo, and there are some very cool things going on that I'll get into in a later blog post. Networking is also a huge deal. It seems that all around artists are running into programmers, designers are running into publishers, and everyone seems to love everyone. It's a very strange thing indeed for an industry that can be filled with people who are, let's say, a little less than outgoing. I suppose that everyone brightens up when they find themselves to be in their element.
 
I had a few meetings today and I got caught up on some other work, so I only really made it to the North Hall expo today. And even there I didn't have time to take it all in. But here are some of the highlights. 
 
 
Aside from all that goodness, there were plenty of game engine demos and game development schools on the North Hall floor. The IGF was also tucked away in the corner, showing off some very awesome independent games. We'll take a look at those as well, as some of them are very cool.
 
On a side note, it seems like those annoying "tighten up the graphics" style game development school commercials must be working. There are just so many game developers here that it borders on the ridiculous. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, especially since they are here. Hopefully they'll all be Carmacks and Molyneuxs and we'll live in a giant gamer centric world where everyone is happy and enjoys shooting each other in the face with a virtual gun. A man can dream can't he?
 
Also, In case you guys haven't noticed, we have started dipping our toes into the world of game reviews. Part of our purpose here to try to make some contacts in that direction and start getting some pre-release copies of games for review. Hopefully that goes well, but I imagine we will have to establish ourselves a bit in that arena first.
 
But it's been a very long day. I need some rest ...
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  • EODetroit - Thursday, February 21, 2008 - link

    "That's not to say that there wasn't a lot going on everywhere, just that almost every corner you turn you are within site of some way too thin chick wiggling around like an idiot with balls stuck all over her."
  • marsbound2024 - Thursday, February 21, 2008 - link

    "...just that almost every corner you turn you are within site of some way too thin chick wiggling around like an idiot with balls stuck all over her."

    Was this GDC 2008 or an adult entertainment expo?
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, February 21, 2008 - link

    That was during CES.... :D
  • Ryan Smith - Thursday, February 21, 2008 - link

    Oh what a shame it's going to be if they move CES somewhere else for 2009. =(

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