GDC '16

Post date: Mar 25, 2016 4:46:12 AM

This year's GDC was a totally different animal than last year's. I was definitely focused more on networking than anything else, but I still picked up some tips:

Monday: The larger the company, the more specialized they want you to be. For a place like Ubisoft, this goes even further than just focusing on Environments, Characters, VFX, etc. A recruiter at Ubisoft told me that when applying to their Environment positions, it’s good to try to be specific towards modeling, texturing, or level art (set dressing). This might just contribute to the general note of “tailor your portfolio”, but it’s something worth noting.

Tuesday: Professionals can tell your general level of skill no matter what style you tend to (stylized, photoreal, etc), and they’ll know if you’re capable of doing it, but they still won’t jump unless you have what they want.

Wednesday: Indie companies want to see wireframes and texture layouts more than larger studios did. At least, at first glance they did.

Thursday: With the growth of mobile games and the influx of titles and studios, loud, obnoxious marketing might be a way to go. I definitely cringed every time I passed the “Clash of Kings” booth with its loud, badly rapped commercials, but it’s the product I still remember. Not that that’s a good thing--it’s just effective, like most marketing.

Friday: VR is going to either explode or implode, especially with the number of companies jumping on the wagon right now. I tested some experiences that practically required VR and others that felt like the 3D option on a lot of recent movies.