Jason Chisolm GDC 2017 Write up

Post date: Mar 06, 2017 3:16:21 AM

So this year was my second year of GDC, and it was definitely a good learning experience however had a different feel from last year. 

Wednesday: The First Day.

• 1. What: Met Several Indie developers, most notable one was the developer of Gonner.

     1. Gonner is a small indie project that received an IGF award during GDC. 

     2. Through this interaction i learned some pretty invaluable lessons about being an indie developer.

        1. The biggest one was about Specialization, in AAA studios it's more advantageous to be highly specialized because they are often looking to hire for a specific position. Whereas in indie development, wearing many hats is more desirable as you often times might not be able to higher someone for such a specific role. This conversation definitely made me more open minded to being a bit more of a generalist in regards to indie development.

     3. Now What, Now i plan on following up with several indie developers, especially in regards to how they got started because it's a side of game development i plan on doing after school as passion projects on the side.

  2. What: Riot Mixer

• • 1. The riot mixer was really great as I got the chance to catch up with old co-workers from the summer and learn more about the curriculum i'll be following. 

    2. I also managed to run into Alumni Jeremy Griffith, who's a freelance VFX artist. 

       1. the biggest take away from this talk is that 1, it's always awesome to meet other VFX artist and 2. he expressed interest in speaking at Ringling so i would love to help make that happen.

    3. Now What: I plan on following up with Jeremy Griffith, to learn more about a different style of VFX and learn more shader based ones as well as following up with him speaking at Ringling, possibly through Game Design Club as he started it and i now help run it.

Thursday: The Second Day.

• 1. What: More IGF + Day of the Devs

     1. I managed to learn more about what it takes to submit to IGF, which is something that hasn't been covered during thesis Pre-Pro ans as someone who very much want's to be a part of that scene after graduating it was really enlightening.

     2. I also managed to meet the developers of Ooblets, a really cool new indie game that was just picked up by double fine. 

        1. The biggest take way from them was how to build a game to go viral. Focusing on appeal and dev blogs early on is a really efficient way to get your game noticed.

     3. I plan on seriously taking a look at what it takes to submit a student game to IGF and talking it over with Hailey for Thesis Goals.

  2. What: Met Ringling Alumni Matt Oztalay

• • 1. Randomly met Matt at the Ringling booth, from here we had a casual discussion about studio culture and the importance of it when looking for jobs.

    2. Overall it was nice to get a little more knowledge about the studio he works for Certain Affinity.

    3. I plan on examining riot's culture a bit more while i'm there this summer and really coming to understand why i liked it so much last summer.

Friday: The Final Day.

• 1. What: Killer Portfolio Round Table

     1. The killer portfolio round table was a great panel to attend for Environmental Artist and Character Artist, as a primarily VFX artist it felt like there was a lot of general advice but not too much specific advice.

     2. Overall though the panel was pretty helpful.

  2. What:  Overall Opinions on GDC

• • 1. Next year i'm 100% going to purchase a higher level pass. the expo pass is great for simple access to GDC and meeting some recruiters and doing portfolio reviews on the floor. Last year the expo pass was great because i was trying to get my portfolio reviewed as much as possible. 

    2. However being in the position of someone with a mentor and several sources of critique, it made me feel like i should have been attending more talks.

    3. Missing the VFX Bootcamp was a huge bummer and if it happens again next year i'm going to try very hard to make it.