GDC 2K16 Write Up: Jason Chisolm

Post date: Mar 21, 2016 9:29:47 PM

This year was my first trip to GDC, going as a sophomore was definitely an interesting experience. While i don't think it'd be worth it for most sophomores to go it was a great way to grow FutureDev and have a little fun considering spring break was dedicated to my Race Level. 

Day One:

Day one of my First GDC, walking in i saw the PSVR booth and immediately scheduled an appointment for it. This was only the first of many VR experiences for the trip. The PSVR was awesome, the demo i did with Dio was a party game and was a lot of fun. After that i dropped by the Epic booth exchanged cards with Emily who told me about a VFX competition they run that has even resulted in internships. Afterwards i got my reel reviewed by an HR rep from High Voltage studios, it was pretty helpful. Later i met with a Hasbro Recruiter, and someone from Rockstar all who seemed pretty excited about FutureDev.  Later that night i went to the Epic games Party, and managed to meet all sorts of people in the insanely long line, call outs were level designers who worked on major AAA games.

Day Two:

Day Two the day i learned about the dangers of an open bar. The night before went great, the morning after was some rough stuff. But i persevered found the greasiest burger i could and was feeling great for the rest of the day. Day two was the day i learned always have cards on you ALWAYS. I ran into Tim Schafer but had nothing to give him, twas a sad time. I met Ted Price, President and CEO of Insomniac it went well we're in the process of setting some things up. I then met the Art Director at Riot games and we spoke a bit about VFX. Then comes the highlight of the day, i met Jason Keyser who i've emailed before, he's actually who inspired me to become a VFX artist. I got some portfolio feedback from him which was awesome because he remembered my reel from when they looked at intern applications. It was really fun we spoke about League, and VFX and Games. I'm excited for my Interview with Riot this coming week. Day two i took it easy at night managed to see my brother who lives in SF.

Day Three:

The last day of GDC. Also known as try all the VR day. Started off with an hour wait for bullet train. It's by far the most innovative and fun experience i've had with VR. It felt so intuitive to reach for the weapons and move where you're looking. After that i managed to try EVE valkyrie that game was amazing, no motion sickness and it was so immersive. Waiting for these games took most of the time on the Show Floor VR was in popular demand. The last networking opportunity i had at GDC was in line at Sushirrito, there was an indie dev who saw i was a VFX artist and called me a rare unicorn then gave me his card.

TLDR; Networking is awesome, Always have cards, Sushirito is king.