A Second Look at the GDC

When I took part in helping out at the Game Developer's Conference last year I really had little idea what I was in for. The following week was somewhat surprising, very tiring, and extremely enjoyable. It was a learning experience throughout that I found aided me in surprising ways with my work as an Ocean Master.

This year I came and began to see faces that I had not in the past year. Friendships that began then picked up immediately, which created a wonderful sense of camaraderie. The group I found myself with last year congregated again, and we spent a good amount of time catching up and noting the changes in the industry since we last met.

Thus far, I have not seen many of the talks, although I did catch part of the Casual Games Summit. One gentleman from Big Fish Games made the point that since the video game industry started, much of the progress has had the upshot of closing out potential audience. I missed a panel our own Captain Cleaver took part in, but I hope to catch another one this afternoon.

I did help out at the Intel Interactive Lounge, which had a very impressive set up for Microsoft's Flight Simulator. The chair and controls were such that you had a very immersive experience. Likewise, there was an interesting fully virtual racing game for attendees to try out.

Today has proven to be another light day, but I am sure that there will be new experiences throughout that will surprise me.