GDC 2016-Catherine Farinas

Post date: Mar 25, 2016 3:37:4 AM

GDC was an interesting experience to say the least. If I could describe it in one word, I’d say overwhelming. There was always so much to do, so many people to talk to. Regardless of this, I still had so much fun and learned so much. I made quite a few connections, and am looking forward to coming back again next year. If I had to sum up my experience in three major observations, it would be as followed:

Observation 1: Killer Portfolio or Portfolio Killer is one of the best talks

There was a panel of so many different big name company artists and  they were sharing what they look for in portoflios, and I feel that I took very meaningful and helpful notes.The biggest takeaways that I had never heard before were two things. The first, that art tests are created specifically to be too hard and the goal is to see where you can cut corners, and the second is that when reviewers look at your work, in the end all that matters is your work. Your resume, name, and past experience come second to how well you can present your skills.

Observation 2: GDC is a Game Developer’s Conference. Meet people other than artists.

The second experience happened while I was meeting up with an old work friend, Ben Prunty. Ben made the soundtrack for the game Faster than Light and is very well known in the indie game scene. When I went to meet him, he introduced me to so many different indie game people. The best part was that not all of theme were artists, and most of them were writers, PR, level designers, audio designers, and more! Some names I can remember off the top of my head are Sarah Baylus, writer for the Divinity Series and Matt Thorson creator of Towerfall!  So It was really awesome getting to talk to them about their processes and just see how games are made through the experiences of another discipline. And if you think about it, these people aren’t competing for the same job as you. If you become friends and your work can back you up, they’ll refer you to the job you want!

Observation 3: You’re on the hunt for a job, but talking to other students is important too!

Through lines and playing with the demos and indie games, I met a whole lot of other students who went to different schools. Before even talking about our protfolios, the first topic of conversation was learning about what they do and how long they’ve been doing it. Then it would switch to topics such as who they’ve met so far, etc etc.  So I think it’s important to remind yourself that there’s people everywhere, and connections everywhere. What is a friendship with another student can eventually lead on to other connections.